Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

July 31, 2011 By

Below is a review on the novel Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, a stand alone novel based in the in The First Law world.

I’ve raved about Joe Abercrombie before. He’s a fantastic modern writer, full of wit and originality. After working my way through his The First Law trilogy, it was time to pick up his next novel Best Served Cold. Best Served Cold loosely follows on from the original trilogy, now following a mixture of original secondary characters, as well as some completely new ones. However, rather than set the story in the Union, the North, or  the Gurkish Empire, we instead follow the internal wars of Styria – the very same country that came to the rescue of the Union in The Last Argument of Kings.

best served cold by joe abercrombie1 Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

It actually took me a chapter or two to get into this novel. This is no disrespect to the story, but instead down to an overwhelming set of new characters and locations which I had to get my head around. However, with an explosive start, and a arguably better and more exciting location for the story to be set in, it didn’t take me long to get stuck into this novel.

The story revolves around Monzcarro Mercatto, an army general to a mercenaries army, and her bloody path to revenge. With seven targets to kill, before she has her revenge, the story revolves around her struggles and toils – as well as conscious at times –  before she can finally get peace. She is also support by the original secondary character’s of Caul Shivers and Nicomo Cosca. I think this is a great move, as both fantastically grow into rich and intriguing characters - which you don’t get a chance to see in the original trilogy.

Like Abercrombie’s other novels, Best Served Cold ticks over well before exploding with unexpected twists and turns near the end. His stories always remind me of a Hollywood blockbuster, with gripping scenes that genuinely immerse the reader into.  Unlike some other readers out there, I would controversially say that Best Served Cold is better than the original First Law trilogy. A tall ask, but I think it manages it!

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Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie: Review

February 13, 2011 By

Below is a review on Last Argument of Kings, the third and last book in The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie.

I finished the Last Argument of Kings novel this weekend. This is the last book in the The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie, a series I’ve been reading for the last couple of months. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books –  The Blade Itself and Before They are Hanged – and was curious how Abercrombie would finish the series off. I was not disappointed. In this review, I’m not going to describe each main character, like I did in my last reviews. Instead, I’m going to try and sum up the third novel, and in doing so, the series as a whole.

last argument of kings1 Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie: Review

Last Argument of Kings

Throughout The Last Argument of Kings, I was once again reminded of Lord of the Rings. If you have read my reviews of the other books in the series I say something similar for both other novels. It has similar characters, similar plots, similar backgrounds. The Last Argument of Kings is also non-stop action, with one big event, normally numerous different battles, after another. This is just like the final Lord of the Rings book, Return of the King, with The Battle of Pelennor fields and The Battle at the Black Gate.

However, finishing the last chapter, I realized the startling difference between the two. The modern writing that Mr Abercrombie brings to The First Law series is not just refreshingly different to JR Tolkien, it makes the story fundamentally different too. Without giving the ending away, the final few pages are very unexpected and not a tidy finish up, like Lord of the Rings. This highlights that this not a happy ending, but also that the story is based on real life influences, and things never really end (or turn out the way you want it too). I think this is why I enjoyed the series so much. It takes the best bits of stories, like Lord of the Rings, and gives it a refreshingly new sound. The result is a fantastic ending novel, to superb series. If you like Lord of the Rings, read it now.

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Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie: Review

December 31, 2010 By

Below is a review on Before They Are Hanged, the second book in The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie.

I’ve read some great books in 2010. One of the best things was being introduced to Joe Abercrombie. I read The Blade Itself, the first in his The First Law series, a month or two ago and it was quite simply fantastic. So it was not surprising that I had high expectations for Before They Are Hanged the sequel. It was certainly something I wasn’t disappointed with.

 

Before They Are Hanged1 Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie: Review

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Similar to Lord of the Rings, the novel picks up where we left off and follows multiple different plots. With one, Colonel West is with The Union army in Angleland fighting the Northmen lead by Beothed. The second follows Bayaz and his crew (including Logen and Jezal) in the West, as they look for a mysterious object that could change the fortunes of war. The last follows Inquisitor Glokta in the south as he tries to defended the city of Dagoska from the hords of the Gurkhal Empire.

I enjoyed all three, although for me, the plot in the north does take a while to pick up. I have read some reviews who weren’t impressed by the plot in the west. I don’t agree with this, as the development of the characters more than makes up for any drop in storyline. I particularly like the interaction between Logen and his fellow explorers. Likewise, the Inquisitor Glokta is growing on me more and more with his dry sense of humour.

I did find it strange that, unlike a lot of trilogies, this middle novel doesn’t finish with any cliffhanger. I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad thing, but will make the final novel, Last Argument of Kings, a different kind of read. Whatever the case, I would strongly recommend not only reading Before They Are Hanged, but also the whole of The First Law series. They are both expectationally good. Hopefully something I will still agree with after reading Last Argument of Kings too!

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The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie: Review

December 4, 2010 By

Below is a review on The Blade Itself, the first book in The First Law by Joe Abercrombie.

The Blade Itself was introduced to me as Sharpe meets Lord of the Rings. I was naturally interested. In reality its more along the lines of Lord of the Rings. However, it is based in a more realistic world, with clever modern writing by Joe Abercrombie guiding the story. The book itself is the first in The First Law trilogy, a fantasy based world, similar to Europe over a thousand years ago. In it three rival nations threaten to go war with one another. The Union is similar to continental Europe, and personally reminds me of the Roman Empire grown far too large. The Northmen are similar to the Vikings, and to me seem like the Scandinavians around the time they evaded Britain and Alfred the Great. Finally the Gurkish Empire is like a large collection of middle eastern countries ruled by a strong and ruthless emperor.

BladeItself1 The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie: Review

The Blade Itself

The Blade itself introduces the three main characters which the trilogy will revolve around. Logen Ninefingers, the main character, is a renowned northmen berserker, unhappy with the norths rule, and fighting for The Union. Sand dan Glokta, once a famous military man for The Union himself, is now a cripple – due to the wars with the Gurkish Empire – and working for the Union’s Inquisition, torturing confessions out of unlucky Union citizens. Finally Jezal dan Luthar is a cocky, self centred, captain in The Unions army.

Of the three, Jezal dan Luthar is the one I can’t work out. Having not read the next two books yet, I am not sure how he influences the book. However his, and the other two characters, interaction in the The Blade Itself is engaging and exciting. With minor characters such as Major West, Dogman from the north, and Bayaz, First of the Magi (basically the Gandalf of this book) involved too, The Blade Itself switches between all the story lines nicely. As the different story-lines move along, they slowly entwine and come together well. Somehow though, you will have more questions moving onto Before They are Hanged, the second novel of the series, than when reading through this novel. But that is why I enjoyed The Blade Itself. Like Lord of the Rings, the storyline is deep, rich, and never ending. Now I just need to get reading Before They are Hanged!

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