The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie

[mix]

I am not one for fantasy books but upon receiving a recommendation I could not put this trilogy down. there are no goblins, dragons, trolls or such like but rather focuses on an ancient army.

This book is about a fearsome warrior that appears to be schizophrenic. His name is Logan Nine-Fingers. All he does is battle, fight and sort out other people's petty politics.

In battle or a fight and once he has been beaten to a pulp and can hardly move, the change happens. The Bloody-Nine arises and god help any who are in his way, friend or foe.

There are another three books in this series but I recommend reading these three first.

[Anomander]

As an avid fantasy reader I too read this series, in the hope that it would at long last provide a successor to David Gemmell's style of writing.

While I agree that the gritty realism is a selling point, I was sadly disappointed by its grim, almost nihilistic message. You can have realistic, gritty, yet still inspiring, or you can have gritty, cynical and depressing. Sadly, Abercrombie's work falls into the latter category.

I was really enjoying this series, until:


Spoiler....






The Bloody Nine kills a certain person close to him while in the midst of one of his berserk states. Then I realized that there is no hero to root for in this series, and all of the characters merely represent different shades of evil. I find that this type of moral relativism is in high demand these days, and Abercrombie no doubt is able to tap into this growing market for his impressive sales stats.

However, this is not for me.

I certainly like the gritty portrayal of war and battle, and the vivid way in which he brings you into the heart of such scenes. But where I find he differs from David Gemmell - my favorite fantasy author - is that Gemmell had a more romantic approach to the heroism that exists within each person, and in the face of evil, heroism would still shine through, even in flawed individuals.

Gemmell did not create perfectly flawless protagonists by any means. Some of his heroes were grey characters in the extreme. But in the end, they were, as he put it, "strong in the broken places", and through this approach he led you to a point where you could still fist pump when they embraced their heroic selves, or reached a Damascus moment to stand up to evil.

I find that in Abercrombie's case that is now portrayed as a childish and naïve worldview, and instead he embraces the so called "grimdark" mantle, where modern authors like Lawrence, Bakker etc. try to outdo each other in the quest to celebrate the themes of cynicism, nihilism and the lack of meaning to life.

As I said, not my cup of tea.

[414gates]

As an avid fantasy reader I too read this series, in the hope that it would at long last provide a successor to David Gemmell's style of writing.

So far, there is none. But if you like sci-fi, take Neal Asher for a spin.

[mix]

As an avid fantasy reader I too read this series, in the hope that it would at long last provide a successor to David Gemmell's style of writing.

While I agree that the gritty realism is a selling point, I was sadly disappointed by its grim, almost nihilistic message. You can have realistic, gritty, yet still inspiring, or you can have gritty, cynical and depressing. Sadly, Abercrombie's work falls into the latter category.

I was really enjoying this series, until:


Spoiler....






The Bloody Nine kills a certain person close to him while in the midst of one of his berserk states. Then I realized that there is no hero to root for in this series, and all of the characters merely represent different shades of evil. I find that this type of moral relativism is in high demand these days, and Abercrombie no doubt is able to tap into this growing market for his impressive sales stats.

However, this is not for me.

I certainly like the gritty portrayal of war and battle, and the vivid way in which he brings you into the heart of such scenes. But where I find he differs from David Gemmell - my favorite fantasy author - is that Gemmell had a more romantic approach to the heroism that exists within each person, and in the face of evil, heroism would still shine through, even in flawed individuals.

Gemmell did not create perfectly flawless protagonists by any means. Some of his heroes were grey characters in the extreme. But in the end, they were, as he put it, "strong in the broken places", and through this approach he led you to a point where you could still fist pump when they embraced their heroic selves, or reached a Damascus moment to stand up to evil.

I find that in Abercrombie's case that is now portrayed as a childish and naïve worldview, and instead he embraces the so called "grimdark" mantle, where modern authors like Lawrence, Bakker etc. try to outdo each other in the quest to celebrate the themes of cynicism, nihilism and the lack of meaning to life.

As I said, not my cup of tea.

The Bloody Nine killing one of his comrades was most certainly not expected but I suppose that is the nature of HIS beast. Personally, I found it refreshing that there was no hero to root for.

Have you read the following Abercrombie trilogy?

• Best Served Cold
• The Heroes
• Red Country

There is a hero in the first book, a strange one, but a hero none-the-less. I have his books 'Half a King' and 'Half the World' so I am looking forward to reading those after I finish 'Atlas Shrugged'

I will have a look at my ebook collection for David Gemmell. Which of his books do you suggest I read first?

I read a paperback recently by Raymond E. Feist. What an absolute let down. Infantile to say the least. Magician was not bad but it seems he is going from bad to worse.

Have you read much of John Steinbeck's work?

[Anomander]

The Bloody Nine killing one of his comrades was most certainly not expected but I suppose that is the nature of HIS beast. Personally, I found it refreshing that there was no hero to root for.

Have you read the following Abercrombie trilogy?

• Best Served Cold
• The Heroes
• Red Country

There is a hero in the first book, a strange one, but a hero none-the-less. I have his books 'Half a King' and 'Half the World' so I am looking forward to reading those after I finish 'Atlas Shrugged'

I will have a look at my ebook collection for David Gemmell. Which of his books do you suggest I read first?

I read a paperback recently by Raymond E. Feist. What an absolute let down. Infantile to say the least. Magician was not bad but it seems he is going from bad to worse.

Have you read much of John Steinbeck's work?

Gemmell has about 20 books, give or take. Maybe more.

I would start with Waylander.
Then Waylander II.
Then Waylander III: In the Realm of the Wolf.

Then Morningstar, which is a standalone novel but one of my personal favourites.

My favourite stories of his, are the Jon Shannow novels, of which there are three:

Wolf in Shadow,
The Last Guardian
and Bloodstone.

Those blew me away. They are set in a post apocalyptic future with only a loose tie in to some of his other novels.

After that I would recommend the various books about Druss the Legend. Ironcially, it was his first Druss novel, titled simply "Legend" that made his fame, but that is probably his weakest novel, given that it was at the very beginning of his writing career. Still, you have to read that to get to the rest of the Druss novels.

After that, I enjoyed Echoes of the Great Song tremendously, as well as his fantasy reworking of Alexander the Great's story, focusing on Alexander's brilliant general, Parmenion as the main character. This is a two book series titled:

Lion of Macedon and
Dark Prince.

After that, I really enjoyed Ironhand's daughter and its sequel the Hawk Eternal.

Then you have his Rigante series, which is a favourite of many readers but lower down on my enjoyment list.

He also has some Arthurian novels like Ghost King, if I recall correctly.

Of course, this still leaves the rest of his Drenai series, the world in which his Waylander and Druss novels are set. These are all highly entertaining and well worth reading.

I may have left some out, but these are the novels that stand out in my mind. He was a prolific writer, and had a big impact on my reading life.

He is sorely missed.

[Psychosis]

Have you read any of Raymond E. Feists books Anomander?

Specifically Magician, followed by all of the other Riftwar Saga books.

Probably my favorite collection.

[Anomander]

Have you read any of Raymond E. Feists books Anomander?

Specifically Magician, followed by all of the other Riftwar Saga books.

Probably my favorite collection.

I better phrase this carefully!

Magician was one of my favourites when growing up in the 80's. I remember going to every public library in our town to try and find its sequels Silverthorn and a Darkness at Sethanon, (because in those days I could not afford to buy books).

Sadly, Feist has deteriorated greatly over the years. He has admitted himself that his heart was not really in it anymore for his later series', and that he was mostly continuing to write novels in Midkemia to pay for his costly divorce.

Also, looking back now, I think Feist's work was appropriate to a specific period of my life, which I have outgrown since then.

[Psychosis]

No need to pander to me...

Each to his own and all that. LOL.

People have differing tastes.

I still pull them out occasionally, and reread them... some lighter reading purely for the entertainment value and all that.

[mix]

Psychosis, without pandering to you(!), I was really let down by Feist's latest books. The earlier books which included Thomas and the Valheru were capital. As far as I know Feist has not written a stand alone about the Valheru but I think it would be epic - provided he regains his passion.

Anomander, I will look through my library this evening and make a start on Gemmell's work. Thanks for the recommendation. I hope I have Waylander on my Mac...

[Anomander]

Psychosis, without pandering to you(!), I was really let down by Feist's latest books. The earlier books which included Thomas and the Valheru were capital. As far as I know Feist has not written a stand alone about the Valheru but I think it would be epic - provided he regains his passion.

Anomander, I will look through my library this evening and make a start on Gemmell's work. Thanks for the recommendation. I hope I have Waylander on my Mac...

Pleasure. You can start with any Gemmell novel as long as it is not a sequel to a previous book in a particular series.