I just finished the third volume (ending one story arc, but clearly setting up another—especially since ‘First Law’ is the trilogy over-title) of one of the two best fantasy series I’ve read lately. The tomes are by new author Joe Abercrombie, and consist of The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings.
The characters are, on the face, pretty standard, including a grumpy mysterious wizard, a Conan-esque barbarian, a feckless young fool who may become a hero, etc. Of course, it’s not the ingredients so much as what you do with them, and Ambercrombie does a great deal with his. Especially interesting is a state torturer who took up the trade after being left a literal wreck of a man—this aspect is not romanticized at all—by his state’s enemies. Even so, all the characters end up being rather more complex than they would have been in most other writers’ hands.
The books gave me exactly what I personally look for; great characters (avoiding particularly the Informed Attribute—i.e., fearsome or intelligent characters actually believably read those ways, rather than us just being told of their qualities), a good deal of humor mixed with some real horror and tragedy, solid world-building, and magic being presented in a credibly systemized fashion. Like most good fantasy books dealing with magic, the rules, limitations and especially the dangers and costs of employing magic are solidly constructed.
I could go into the plot, but again, it’s less the plot that interests me than the world building, characters and such. There is a quest, a war, etc., but there are hundreds of awful books with those things. If you like fantasy and good writing, give these a shot.
The other series I mentioned, which I may like even a bit better, is Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard series, consisting so far of The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies. A third volume, The Republic of Thieves, is due out in February. Everything I liked about Abercrombie’s books hold even truer here, and especially mind blowing to me was that after constructing a VERY well realized milieu for the first book, Lynch leaves it behind for the second. Also great is that the main characters are members of a gang of high-end scam artists, allowing for some terrific heist and con job stuff, which I love. I can’t think of anything I’ve read in the last five or ten years that I’ve enjoyed more.
How about you guys? What are you reading these days?
