First Law World Archives - Gary David Gillen

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #7

Introduction

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie has thirteen stories from the World of the First Law. The stories are arranged chronologically by the date the story was set. They are either novel chapter outtakes, scenes set between the novels, or part of the sequence featuring Shev and Carcolf. Six stories were first published in this anthology, four stories were first published in other anthologies, and three stories were published as extras in the author’s novels in this series. Will the protagonists in these thirteen fantasy action stories prevail or fail in their efforts?

Summary

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie has these thirteen stories from the World of the First Law.

A Beautiful Bastard whose main character is Sand dan Glotka from the main series.
Small Kindness which features the first appearance of Shev the thief.
The Fool Jobs feature Curden Craw and occur in the North.
Skipping Town is another Shev story.
Hell occurs in Dagoska and features Temple the beggar.
Two’s Company is another story about Shev.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time occurs in Styria during the events of the novel named Best Served Cold.
Some Desperado features Shev.
Yesterday, Near a Village Called Barden… is an outtake chapter from the novel named the Heroes.
Three’s a Crowd is about Shev.

Recommendation

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie fills in the blanks between the six novels of the World of the First Law. The stories are excellent, but I enjoyed two of the stories the most. Yesterday, Near a Village Called Barden… is an outtake chapter of the novel named the Heroes. The story shifts between six POV characters including Colonel Bremer dan Gorst resulting in a surprising ending. Tough Times all over was first published in the Rogues anthology. The story wraps up the Shev and Carcolf story sequence. It has fourteen different Pov characters. I like how both stories are constructed, connected, and build to a satisfying ending. Reading all the stories in this anthology will help the reader to understand the background of the First Law World better. Reading the six novels first will help the reader to put these stories into context.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #7

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26030742-sharp-ends

This is the link to my Book Review of the Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie, Age of Madness Series Book #3. They defeated the rebellion, but all is not well in the Union. Will the wisdom of crowds start a revolution and bring down the Union once and for all?

Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie, Age of Madness Trilogy Book #1

Introduction

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie is the first book of the Age of Madness Trilogy, a follow-up trilogy of the First Law World Trilogy. The Trilogy occurs thirty years after the First Law Trilogy. This Trilogy follows an additional set of characters; some are the children of characters from the First Law books. First Law characters also appear in secondary roles in this series. There is a war brewing in the North as the Northmen invade Angland, the northern province of the Union. The Industrial Revolution has arrived in the Union and civil unrest increases following unfair labor practices. The city of Valbeck is the center of the unrest. Will they destroy Angland and Valbeck or will they survive?

Summary

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie features seven points of view characters from both sides of the Angland and Valbeck conflicts. The characters meet and part in this complex narrative.

Summary Angland

Leo dan Brock, the first character, is about to come into his inheritance as the Lord Governor of the province of Angland, a part of the Union. His mother is his regent. Angland ally is the Protectorate, ruled by the Dogman, the chieftain of the city of Uffrith. Rikke, the second character, is the Dogman’s daughter. She has the Long Eye, a way of seeing images from the past or the future. Leo and Rikke meet and renew their childhood relationship.

The Northman invade the Protectorate and Leo’s mother command their troops to fall back toward Angland. The king of the Northmen is Iron Scalehand. His brother is Black Calder and Calder’s son is Stour Nightfall. Stour is the king’s heir. Jonas Clover, the third character, was a famous warrior but is now an observer of the Northmen’s court. The two armies face either other, leading to a confrontation between Leo dan Brock and Stour Nightfall.

Summary Valbeck

Savine dan Glokta, the fourth character, is the daughter of Sand dan Glokta, the head of the King’s Closed Council and the head of the Inquisition. She has substantial wealth and invests in new businesses at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution of the Union. She lives in Adua, the capital of the Union. The fifth character is Crown Prince Orso. He is the do-nothing, wastrel son of the King. He wants to make a name for himself and he has a romance with Savine.

Victarine (Vic) dan Teufel, the sixth character, is an undercover agent for Sand dan Glokta’s Inquisition. She is infiltrating the group called the Breakers. The Breakers want to destroy the factories and bring sweeping change to the Union. The revolution is brewing in Valbeck. Gunner “Bull” Broad, the seventh character, brings his family to Valbeck looking for work and becomes involved with the Breakers.

Savine, Orso, Vic, and Bull all have roles to play in the Valbeck plot.

Recommendation

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie is a fabulous start to the Age of Madness Trilogy. The action runs smooth and the characters bounce between the two plots. Most chapters follow either a single viewpoint or two sequential viewpoints of the seven main characters The exceptions are the chapter titled The Little People where a series of people react to the revolution in Valbeck and the chapter titled The Battle of Red Hill where a series of people react to the conflict in Angland. Those chapters were my highlight of the book.

I liked the arc of the two sets of lovers; Leo and Rikke; Savine and Orso. I’m looking forward to their struggles in the next book of the trilogy, The Trouble with Peace, publishing on September 15, 2020.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie, Age of Madness Series Book #1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35606041-a-little-hatred

This is a link to my review of Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #6

Bandits burn Shy South’s farm and kidnap her sister and brother. She must fight tribal members who live in the Far Country who are called Ghosts, a mercenary captain bent on obtaining the rumored treasure of the Ghosts and the remnants of an ancient empire to rescue them.

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #6

Introduction

Shy South has many problems. Her farm was burned by bandits and the bandits took her younger sister and brother away across the Far Country. Their farmhand, Gully, was hung until dead. She must decide if she is up to the task to track down and rescue her siblings. Her only help comes from her cowardly stepfather named Lamb, though he has secrets that could help her in her quest. She must fight tribal members who live in the Far Country who are called Ghosts, a mercenary captain bent on obtaining the rumored treasure of the Ghosts and the remnants of an ancient empire as well if she is to achieve her objectives.

Summary

The author brings his grimdark mentality to a mix of fantasy and western tropes in this novel. The story starts in Shy’s hometown of Squaredeal. Her and Lamb search for Shy’s siblings, Pit and Ro, in the town of Averstock. They join a sort of wagon train, called a Fellowship, that’s headed to the mountains where there are rumors of gold. They try to avoid the Ghosts hunting them and the mercenary force lead by Nicomo Cosca, who is employed by the Union to seek out the rebel named Conthus.

Cosca’s lawyer named Temple joins the wagon train as it heads to the mining town of Crease. They must pass the Old Empire bridge that crosses the Sictus river. Cosca follows them and believes that the Ghosts are hiding a huge treasure. The final showdown is at the Ghost city of Ashranc where Shy gets the chance to achieve all that she wants.

Recommendation

I question whether Shy should be the main viewpoint character in this novel. Lamb is the character who changes the most. He is the one who drives the action. Maybe my opinion is colored by having read the previous book in the First Law World called Best Served Cold. In that book, the main viewpoint character was named Monza. She seeks revenge against the men who left her for dead. Her character was more intriguing to me than Shy and in comparison Shy is a pale shadow of her.

I would have liked to read the book with Lamb as the main viewpoint character, but Red Country is about Shy’s journey to save her siblings. It was an interesting attempt at putting western themes into the First Law World and well worth reading. However, I am more looking forward to reading the second First Law Trilogy, which the author is working on at this time.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, First Law World Series Book #6

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13521459-red-country

This is a link to my review of Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan, The Powder Mage Series Book #1.

This book is similar in tone and grittiness to Red Country. The book is a gunpowder fantasy. There are three main characters. The book opens with the story of Adamat. He is a retired detective. His magical gift is a perfect memory. Tamas is the second main character, a wise leader of men. He is a powder mage, a person that can use gunpowder as magical dust to heal oneself or to manipulate bullets. The third main character is Tamas’s son Taniel. Taniel is a powerful powder mage, the action hero of the story. He uses gunpowder as a narcotic. His reaction to snorting gunpowder is a cross between snuff and cocaine. This is a link to my review.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan