Since there’s only limited information in the blurb, I’m not going to spoil any surprises, but at least one of the new introductions is heading towards my favourites list already. If this is a book about what the past has to teach us, it’s clear to me that many of the characters have learned all the wrong lessons.Īnd what characters they are. Everyone’s favourite psychopath, Logen Ninefingers, figures heavily in the hero worship of this new age of young warriors, exerting the kind of influence that changes the course of the future.

Or at least, the memory of them or their legend.

Not only are there characters from past books playing significant roles (no, I’m not telling who), many of the issues in play come directly from the other books in the series. Perhaps you could begin your reading journey here but I highly recommend you don’t. The events detailed in the First Law Trilogy form more than just the backdrop for this book, they inform the actions and attitudes of all the players. The author isn’t the only one who has been looking at the past for inspiration, the narrative is steeped in the supposed glory days of what came before. Plots within plots, brutal violence, death and destruction, surprises, and a gold thread of humour to balance the grim. Fear not though, if this all sounds a bit serious, this is pure Abercrombie. Look around, fellow readers, at the world we live in now this isn’t just a book about the past. Revealed here are the dangers of idealised Progress, especially when it’s really just about Profit, and action for and by the People, especially when it’s just about Power. It’s a clear eyed look at who people really are and what they really do, in wealth or poverty, in revolution, in war. This is history in action, bloody and indifferent. And because of that, it’s the very best kind of story telling. It’s nothing less than a deconstruction of humanity.

If nothing else, the author must have done some serious research into the Industrial and French revolutions to so evocatively and effectively depict this kind of terror, these sorts of turbulent times.

As a result, the book reads a bit more like historical fiction. It's a sign of the times- even the big hitters are pursing influence though finance and banking instead of sorcery… The First Law world is, for all intents and purposes, our world. Undoubtedly epic, with more than a hint of magic, this is a high fantasy world with a low fantasy feel. ‘War? It’s a fight so big almost no one comes out of it well’įirst of all, this is not fantasy as we know it.

A little hatred book