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\nAuthor:<\/strong> Joe Abercrombie<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Paperback<\/strong> Joe Abercrombie<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first novel, The Blade Itself<\/strong> slipped under my radar for a long time. Somehow I had missed a novel that many named 2006\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best debut novel. I rectified this mistake recently by tracking down the novel and proceeding to read it, love it and write it a rather glowing review<\/a>.<\/p>\n \tSo it was with much excitement that I picked up the sequel, the recently published Before They Are Hanged<\/strong>, eagerly looking to dive back into Abercrombie<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world. A world full of despicable, charming, dastardly, funny and downright evil characters. Before They Are Hanged<\/strong>, and especially those aforementioned characters, didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let me down… too much. \tAbercrombie<\/em> accomplishes this by giving equal screen time to each of his characters and this is where the ultimate strength of his novel lies. The concept of a motley group of travelers embarking on a quest is something that has been done to death in the Fantasy Genre. Usually I find that the biggest failing in most of these \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fantasy Quest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d plots is that you often see the events of the story and the other characters in the group through the eyes of only one central character, leading to a group of characters who, ultimately, feel expendable. Abercrombie<\/em> avoids this by letting the reader experience the events of the story through the eyes of the majority of the group, settling on multiple POVs (Points of View). This allows us to not only relate to and get to know each of the POV characters in a more intimate manner, but also allows us to see how they respond internally to each of their traveling companions. This is especially interesting because, unlike the groups generally found in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Quest Fantasy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (brought together under noble circumstances, each of whom has a virtuous cause for their participation in the quest to save the world), this group of anti-heroes is forcibly brought together for reasons that they are entirely in the dark about… and on top of this they hate eachother with a passion. A group of questers has rarely been handled this well before.<\/p>\n So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve raved and raved<\/em> and raved<\/em><\/strong> about the characters in the novel, but said little about plot and story-line. Unfortunately this is where I feel the book loses some steam. Once again, the pacing of the story (with the exception, perhaps of the storyline taking place in The North) could be called methodical by some and just plain slow by others. This did not bother me as much as it might bother some readers, I felt that the pacing of the plot allowed the character development to really shine, but it is definitely something that a potential reader should consider before picking up the novel. If you found the pace too slow in the first novel, you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t all of a sudden change your mind with its sequel.<\/p>\n Similar to my thoughts<\/a> on Tad William<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Shadowplay<\/strong>, it is somewhat troubling that the second book in a trilogy leaves me feeling as though not a whole lot has changed, plot-wise, since the end of the first novel. That being said, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m assured that Abercrombie<\/em> has a heck of a concluding volume planned as he brings together all the loose strings and he finally brings to light the true reasons for the events of the first two novels.<\/p>\n Regardless of any misgivings I had about the plot, Before They Are Hanged<\/strong> is still a strong second effort by Abercrombie<\/em> filled with intriguing anti-heroes who rarely fall into any cliches of the genre. I will be eagerly awaiting the final volume in the trilogy, tentatively titled Last Argument of Kings<\/strong>, if only for the simple fact that I already miss Logen Ninefingers, Collem West, Brother Longfoot and the rest of the broken, despicable but ultimately lovable cast of characters.<\/p>\n Before They Are Hanged<\/em> Before They Are Hanged Author: Joe Abercrombie Paperback Pages: 448 pages Publisher: McArthur & Co \/ Orion Con Trad Release Date: April 12 2007 ISBN-10: 0575077883 ISBN-13: 978-0575077881 Joe Abercrombie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first novel, The Blade Itself slipped under my radar for a long time. Somehow I had missed a novel that many named 2006\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best debut… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nPages:<\/strong> 448 pages
\nPublisher:<\/strong> McArthur & Co \/ Orion Con Trad
\nRelease Date:<\/strong> April 12 2007
\nISBN-10:<\/strong> 0575077883
\nISBN-13:<\/strong> 978-0575077881<\/p>\n
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\n\tAs with the first novel, Abercrombie<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization is top notch. As we spend more and more time with characters such as Logen Ninefingers, Sand dan Glokta and Jezal dan Luthar we find ever more intriguing facets to their personality. I stated in my review of The Blade Itself<\/strong> that I felt closer to some of Abercrombie<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characters than I ever have before in reading a novel and this holds true to his second outing as well. The most surprising aspect of the novel is with whom some of this empathy and connection lies. Abercrombie<\/em> once again creates characters who, by the hand of almost any other author, would be hated and despised, and makes the reader care for them, to empathize with them and realize that the despicable things they do are not necessarily a product of who they<\/em> are, but rather a product of the world they live in and the circumstances under which they find themselves.<\/p>\n
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