In three books, you will see the hallmarks of fantasy dragged out, laid infront of you, and tortured until they squeal.
The First Law trilogy stretches across a crisis in the history of 'The Union', a kingdom of colonies centred around the heartland of Midderland, as it is assailed by the savage and hardy Northmen, under Bethod, and the massive and cultured Empire of Gurkhul.
In all of the characters, the fire, edge and unbelievable passion of this book comes forward.
This is not Tolkien. The three protagonists make it a habit to kill an innocent, insult a cripple, or maim a friend atleast once per chapter, but the ability of Abercrombie to make us like these characters regardless is astounding. Mainly because everyone else is just as bit worse; the 'Circle of The World' is a place where the bad guys do not win; they've already won. Now it's just the villains trying to see who gets the scraps. This bleakness does contribute to the only flaw; after a while, it's pretty easy to guess that nothing good will happen.
Every major event is a deconstruction. The duel is so brutal and cringe-inducing that it's almost hard to read, and has far more in common with a gutter brawl than some grand contest of arms. Each battle is filled with terrified men hoping for salvation and getting none, every victory won at the cost of characters who you can't help but weep for. Tropes are deconstructed left and right, from the Gandalf, to the Berserker, to the Rightful King Returns, and then to Torture Technician just because.
And the wonderful thing is, you won't want to miss a second of it. The First Law manages to drag black humour into the most horrific of situations, it manages to keep tension so butt-clenching you might fall out of your seat through entire books, and you'll wish for more. Because the characters all have real, inherent flaws, you cheer for them, because they're not fantasy ciphers...they're people. Perhaps that is why the First Law hit this troper so hard. It is truly a terrible world. The North is unruly, harsh, heavily implied to be locked in a cycle of civil war. The Union is treacherous, hedonistic, pompous and ruled by possibly the most despicable character in the series. Gurkhul is worse.
Yet, every now and then, a good guy gets a little victory...and it's all the brighter for it.
Deconstruction at it's finest
In three books, you will see the hallmarks of fantasy dragged out, laid infront of you, and tortured until they squeal.
The First Law trilogy stretches across a crisis in the history of 'The Union', a kingdom of colonies centred around the heartland of Midderland, as it is assailed by the savage and hardy Northmen, under Bethod, and the massive and cultured Empire of Gurkhul. In all of the characters, the fire, edge and unbelievable passion of this book comes forward.
This is not Tolkien. The three protagonists make it a habit to kill an innocent, insult a cripple, or maim a friend atleast once per chapter, but the ability of Abercrombie to make us like these characters regardless is astounding. Mainly because everyone else is just as bit worse; the 'Circle of The World' is a place where the bad guys do not win; they've already won. Now it's just the villains trying to see who gets the scraps. This bleakness does contribute to the only flaw; after a while, it's pretty easy to guess that nothing good will happen.
Every major event is a deconstruction. The duel is so brutal and cringe-inducing that it's almost hard to read, and has far more in common with a gutter brawl than some grand contest of arms. Each battle is filled with terrified men hoping for salvation and getting none, every victory won at the cost of characters who you can't help but weep for. Tropes are deconstructed left and right, from the Gandalf, to the Berserker, to the Rightful King Returns, and then to Torture Technician just because.
And the wonderful thing is, you won't want to miss a second of it. The First Law manages to drag black humour into the most horrific of situations, it manages to keep tension so butt-clenching you might fall out of your seat through entire books, and you'll wish for more. Because the characters all have real, inherent flaws, you cheer for them, because they're not fantasy ciphers...they're people. Perhaps that is why the First Law hit this troper so hard. It is truly a terrible world. The North is unruly, harsh, heavily implied to be locked in a cycle of civil war. The Union is treacherous, hedonistic, pompous and ruled by possibly the most despicable character in the series. Gurkhul is worse.
Yet, every now and then, a good guy gets a little victory...and it's all the brighter for it.