Download PDF The First Law Trilogy Joe Abercrombie 9780316361194 Books
sOkay, I have only got through the first third of the first book, but it was so good that I wanted to see what else Joe Abercrombie has published. I was very surprised to see so few reviews for this book. First thing I thought when I started was This guy can write! Second thing I thought This guy can write great characters! The first chapters introduce us to the main characters and the world they inhabit. You get a very clear picture of these characters with the authors great descriptions, and the world comes alive as the characters inhabit their place in it. Abercrombie's writing is crisp and snappy, his characters fully three-dimensional, no fluff, no filler! I
I think another reviewer compared this to Game of Thrones, and I think in some ways that is fair. Each chapter is from a different characters point of view, there is a lot of political gamesmanship and backstabbing, motives are unclear, mysteries are slowly revealed and the characters come to life in the action and unfolding of the plot, and the magical elements are not overwhelming. Unlike Game of Thrones (which I thoroughly enjoyed!) there are not as many characters to keep track of so it is not as dense. The pace of The Blade Itself is therefore a bit faster and an easier read. But that does not mean it is not full of great characters and great writing.
Seriously, this is great stuff! I have been reading quite a bit of fantasy between non-fiction stuff and read this trilogy and was pretty much blown away from the start. Abercrombie is a fantastic writer and has created an amazing group of characters. The story and the characters will pull you along and it's a difficult series to put down. I'm just glad I had all three books to rip through without waiting.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and was excited to see how it was all going to end. Not the way I thought - but that's a good thing! The only complaint is that I wanted more. His characters are so fully three-dimensional and well written that you can smell them! I was disappointed that everything wasn't neatly wrapped up and resolved, but my understanding is that Abercrombie will revisit these characters in a future series. All the characters initially seem like types familiar from the fantasy genre the hero, the wizard, the evil manipulator, the warrior, the female warrior, etc. But the skill and talent of Abercrombie is to take those types and fully flesh them out so they are more than just types you have seen before. Compare these characters to say those of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I daresay Abercrombies are more fully developed, with conflicting desires and motives, with a fair share of good and evil within them that stops them from being cliched. I've already read the first book in the series, so I figured I'd get this set to finish it off, and add to my collection. These things look worse than the original doom graphics. Seriously, they look like they made the graphics for the covers at about 400px400p, then stretched it and warped it to fit the size of the books.
I still going to read them, but this is some seriously terrible printing quality. Definitely not putting these ugly things on my shelf. I started reading Joe Abercrombie's books in the wrong order (best served cold, the heroes, red country and then this trilogy), so I caught with him on a more developed stage that this one. Because of this, his characters feel more developed in the later books than in "First Law". However, nothing of this diminishes the quality of the trilogy...complex plot, characters that are deep, human, believable.
Even at the length of the trilogy you are left with a need to understand more of what motivates and moves and makes the characters tick...and I do not mean it in a bad way Joe gives us a good view of them... however, precisely because of this, you are left wondering what could happen to all of that people that you cared about. There is enough material for a book on Ferro, on Glotka (however despicable he has become), on Jezal, on Bayaz; there is even some sense of wonder at the mythology of Juvens and Kanedias and the history of the Old Empire.
Overall an excellent read...highly recommendable. Some parts of the second book may feel slow hang in there, the third book more than makes up for it with a pace that leaves you breathless
I think another reviewer compared this to Game of Thrones, and I think in some ways that is fair. Each chapter is from a different characters point of view, there is a lot of political gamesmanship and backstabbing, motives are unclear, mysteries are slowly revealed and the characters come to life in the action and unfolding of the plot, and the magical elements are not overwhelming. Unlike Game of Thrones (which I thoroughly enjoyed!) there are not as many characters to keep track of so it is not as dense. The pace of The Blade Itself is therefore a bit faster and an easier read. But that does not mean it is not full of great characters and great writing.
Seriously, this is great stuff! I have been reading quite a bit of fantasy between non-fiction stuff and read this trilogy and was pretty much blown away from the start. Abercrombie is a fantastic writer and has created an amazing group of characters. The story and the characters will pull you along and it's a difficult series to put down. I'm just glad I had all three books to rip through without waiting.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and was excited to see how it was all going to end. Not the way I thought - but that's a good thing! The only complaint is that I wanted more. His characters are so fully three-dimensional and well written that you can smell them! I was disappointed that everything wasn't neatly wrapped up and resolved, but my understanding is that Abercrombie will revisit these characters in a future series. All the characters initially seem like types familiar from the fantasy genre the hero, the wizard, the evil manipulator, the warrior, the female warrior, etc. But the skill and talent of Abercrombie is to take those types and fully flesh them out so they are more than just types you have seen before. Compare these characters to say those of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I daresay Abercrombies are more fully developed, with conflicting desires and motives, with a fair share of good and evil within them that stops them from being cliched.
I still going to read them, but this is some seriously terrible printing quality. Definitely not putting these ugly things on my shelf.
Even at the length of the trilogy you are left with a need to understand more of what motivates and moves and makes the characters tick...and I do not mean it in a bad way Joe gives us a good view of them... however, precisely because of this, you are left wondering what could happen to all of that people that you cared about. There is enough material for a book on Ferro, on Glotka (however despicable he has become), on Jezal, on Bayaz; there is even some sense of wonder at the mythology of Juvens and Kanedias and the history of the Old Empire.
Overall an excellent read...highly recommendable. Some parts of the second book may feel slow hang in there, the third book more than makes up for it with a pace that leaves you breathless
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