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elfsI can't help but be disappointed by the end of Joe Abercrombie's 600,000-word epic first trilogy, The First Law. It is a series that promises one thing and very quickly gives you another. It has twists and turns that set your expectations on edge, and yet... it leaves you with only ashes, at the end.
The First Law begins is three places: the nation of The Union with its capital in Adua, a rich country situated near the equator, Gurkhul, a nation south of the equator, and "The North." Adua has colonies in both Gurkhul and the North, and at this point in its existence is stretched thin.
Into this story we get only a few unique points of view: Jezal dan Luthar, a nobleman's son and something of a fop earning his Captaincy in His Majesty's army, his friend Collem West, the hideously unpleasant Inquistor Sand dan Glokta, the vicious woman Ferro Maljinn with a special need for vengeance, and the Northman Logen Ninefingers. Later, you will meet West's sister, and Jezal's commanding officer, and many of Logen's friends, not as viewpoint characters but still so important you come to know them. For every one of these characters, you come to want something. You want justice. You want fairness. And I will warn you now: you will never get it from Joe Abercrombie. His theme is simple: People Suck. The Weak Get Crushed. Life Isn't Fair. You want much from and for these characters, and you don't get it.
Abercrombie's series has everything you could want: a quest to the End of the World, mystical high castles, high magic feuds, spectacular battle scenes, bloodthirsty villains, desperate heroes, amazing stylistic moments of description that start out pedestrian and win you over in the end. Every single one of his characters has depth and uniqueness, every single one is his own voice, his own background, his own culture. You will never stop to wonder in who's head you find yourself. The characterization is astounding, and his characters go deep and real. It is a brilliant and bold story that climbs over the bodies and scales the battlements of extruded fantasy product, unbuttons its fly and pisses all over the generic doorstops that litter the big box bookstore shelves.
And yet, for all the astounding dramatic pyrotechnics, the ending leaves me vaguely depressed, vaguely upset, and without sympathy for losers, without celebration with the winners, without any real heroes.
If you want to see a writer at the top of his game and pushing all of the pieces across the chessboard to make his point by the end of the game, then read Joe Abercrombie. But don't be surprised if you come away from him they way you come away from Peter Watts: for all that you discovered, after 600,000 words you finish wondering why you put yourself through that in the first place.
The First Law begins is three places: the nation of The Union with its capital in Adua, a rich country situated near the equator, Gurkhul, a nation south of the equator, and "The North." Adua has colonies in both Gurkhul and the North, and at this point in its existence is stretched thin.
Into this story we get only a few unique points of view: Jezal dan Luthar, a nobleman's son and something of a fop earning his Captaincy in His Majesty's army, his friend Collem West, the hideously unpleasant Inquistor Sand dan Glokta, the vicious woman Ferro Maljinn with a special need for vengeance, and the Northman Logen Ninefingers. Later, you will meet West's sister, and Jezal's commanding officer, and many of Logen's friends, not as viewpoint characters but still so important you come to know them. For every one of these characters, you come to want something. You want justice. You want fairness. And I will warn you now: you will never get it from Joe Abercrombie. His theme is simple: People Suck. The Weak Get Crushed. Life Isn't Fair. You want much from and for these characters, and you don't get it.
Abercrombie's series has everything you could want: a quest to the End of the World, mystical high castles, high magic feuds, spectacular battle scenes, bloodthirsty villains, desperate heroes, amazing stylistic moments of description that start out pedestrian and win you over in the end. Every single one of his characters has depth and uniqueness, every single one is his own voice, his own background, his own culture. You will never stop to wonder in who's head you find yourself. The characterization is astounding, and his characters go deep and real. It is a brilliant and bold story that climbs over the bodies and scales the battlements of extruded fantasy product, unbuttons its fly and pisses all over the generic doorstops that litter the big box bookstore shelves.
And yet, for all the astounding dramatic pyrotechnics, the ending leaves me vaguely depressed, vaguely upset, and without sympathy for losers, without celebration with the winners, without any real heroes.
If you want to see a writer at the top of his game and pushing all of the pieces across the chessboard to make his point by the end of the game, then read Joe Abercrombie. But don't be surprised if you come away from him they way you come away from Peter Watts: for all that you discovered, after 600,000 words you finish wondering why you put yourself through that in the first place.
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 06:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 03:44 pm (UTC)Also, the story got boring after a while. This often happens to me after a few hundred pages so it is probably my defect as a reader, but at any rate I was just ready for it to be over by the third book.
Cynism
Date: 2009-06-13 09:26 pm (UTC)