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Joe Abercrombie: The Collected Works 2 (A new trilogy on the horizon)


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8 hours ago, A True Kaniggit said:

About to finish rereading The Heroes. Forgot how much this book reminds me of the Battle of Gettysburg. 

Are you trying to derail the update debate thread :)

The heroes is the book I'm most looking forward to on my reread. Which I need to start in the new year if the new book is out September ish. 6 books at 2-3 weeks per book (with sanity breaks of other authors in between). I probably should make it a new year's resolution. I think the ones I'm most curious about on the reread are "the blade itself" (which I recall was ok until the end when it became great enough to try the next book) and "red country" which just didn't click as well with me but think I'd maybe appreciate more the second time. Joe's own reread post suggests he really likes some of the characters from red country suggesting he may return to them.

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14 hours ago, red snow said:

Are you trying to derail the update debate thread :)

Absolutely yes.

 

I've just about reached the mind-state where I'm going to make a long post consisting of the similarities I see between the two battles.

Edit:  And now the sidebar of my computer is trying to get me to buy The Blade Itself, the first law trilogy box set, Half a King, and ........

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence? WTF?

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2 hours ago, A True Kaniggit said:

Absolutely yes.

 

I've just about reached the mind-state where I'm going to make a long post consisting of the similarities I see between the two battles.

Edit:  And now the sidebar of my computer is trying to get me to buy The Blade Itself, the first law trilogy box set, Half a King, and ........

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence? WTF?

Joe has been known to joke about "homages" particularly with the second trilogy. There are obvious ones in BSC and red country so battle of Gettysburg might well be a genuine influence.

Grey sister is pretty good. If you can stand teen protagonists the first book in the series is worth a look

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On ‎5‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 6:35 PM, red snow said:

I think it's also important to recognise there's an ego at play too. So even if there is remorse, there's a "I beat them all" aspect to him to which makes the remorse a little empty.

That's a really good set up for a sequel if Joe ever entertains the thought of returning. Who knows how messy Yarvi could have made things after another generation?

Rather a delay in replying, but, I think a fourth Shattered Sea novel is an absolute necessity.

I think Yarvi would have made himself hated as well as feared, across the Shattered Sea.  

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2 hours ago, SeanF said:

Rather a delay in replying, but, I think a fourth Shattered Sea novel is an absolute necessity.

I think Yarvi would have made himself hated as well as feared, across the Shattered Sea.  

I guess Joe is focussed on the new first law trilogy but it would be interesting if he has any wish to revisit the shattered sea in the future and/or whether sales would allow. I'm guessing it performed well but with the rapid release it's maybe hard to tell.

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  • 3 weeks later...

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/gollancz-snaps-abercrombies-trilogy-significant-deal-899606

Described by the publisher as “Les Miserables meets Game of Thrones”, it is billed as “a landmark trilogy from one of the best and brightest fantasy writers working today”.

“A return to his bestselling First Law universe, the trilogy combines sharp new characters with familiar faces from the original trilogy, which has sold more than five million copies to date,” an Orion spokesperson said. “Written with flair and originality, this new series offers a gripping take on the industrial revolution, the power of money and the visceral dangers of politics when being stabbed in the back is a far from metaphorical experience.”

Already sold in six territories, including to Orbit US and German publisher Heyne, the publication of the first novel in the series, A Little Hatred, in September 2019 “will be a sensation for readers of fantasy and historical novels alike”, Orion said though the series itself is believed to be currently untitled.

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I'm very curious as to how he handles an industrial revolution within the setting. There were hints in earlier books but given several years have passed from red country and the new trilogy the world of first law could be very different. It might also be a world where being good with a sword doesnt get you far (but arrows did and they are similar).

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On 11/2/2018 at 7:16 AM, A True Kaniggit said:

About to finish rereading The Heroes. Forgot how much this book reminds me of the Battle of Gettysburg. 

I started reading Abercrombie by devouring The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings, after I was done I immediately picked up The Heroes, but for some reason it didn't feel the same and left the book unread. Seeing your comment I might go back to it. 

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2 hours ago, red snow said:

I'm very curious as to how he handles an industrial revolution within the setting. There were hints in earlier books but given several years have passed from red country and the new trilogy the world of first law could be very different. It might also be a world where being good with a sword doesnt get you far (but arrows did and they are similar).

Unless machining has come on extremely rapidly, any firearms around would probably still be relatively clunky. But even from the beginning, the Union had a very British Empire feel, and Red Country was just a Western, regardless of whether they had guns or not. I can't see this being too different.

 

I do wonder where it'll be set primarily. We haven't looked into the Old Empire or Gurkhul (in great detail at least.)

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1 minute ago, L’Age d’or said:

I started reading Abercrombie by devouring The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings, after I was done I immediately picked up The Heroes, but for some reason it didn't feel the same and left the book unread. Seeing your comment I might go back to it. 

Best served Cold is chronologically the next in the list, and pretty vital with regards to Shivers (who appears in the Heroes.)

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48 minutes ago, L’Age d’or said:

I started reading Abercrombie by devouring The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings, after I was done I immediately picked up The Heroes, but for some reason it didn't feel the same and left the book unread. Seeing your comment I might go back to it. 

In addition to what Bear said, each of the stand-alones feels very much like it’s own genre within a genre. Best Served Cold for example (my personal favourite) is revenge/thriller in a fantasy world, Red Country is Western. Just thinking about it now I don’t actually remember the heroes so I think somehow I haven’t read it. Odd.

Chronological order is always interesting for me because like Robin Hobb’s RotE you get to see the development of the world over time, and it sounds like the new trilogy is going to show that to an even greater extent. One of my favourite parts of the RotE series was little things like changing Court fashions and increasing urbanisation so very excited for Joe’s new trilogy

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3 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

In addition to what Bear said, each of the stand-alones feels very much like it’s own genre within a genre. Best Served Cold for example (my personal favourite) is revenge/thriller in a fantasy world, Red Country is Western. Just thinking about it now I don’t actually remember the heroes so I think somehow I haven’t read it. Odd.

Chronological order is always interesting for me because like Robin Hobb’s RotE you get to see the development of the world over time, and it sounds like the new trilogy is going to show that to an even greater extent. One of my favourite parts of the RotE series was little things like changing Court fashions and increasing urbanisation so very excited for Joe’s new trilogy

Excuse my ignorance, I have only read the first two books in the FarSeer series, which series is ROTE? Is it tied to the Far Seer universe? 

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57 minutes ago, L’Age d’or said:

Excuse my ignorance, I have only read the first two books in the FarSeer series, which series is ROTE? Is it tied to the Far Seer universe? 

Yes, it’s the tale of FitzChivalry (and others). It begins with the Farseer trilogy, then Liveships trilogy (which is set outside of the Six Duchies), then its the Tawny Man trilogy (back to the 6D) then Rain Wild Chronicles (Away from the 6D) then concluding with the Fitz non the Fool trilogy (back to the 6D). 13 books total all telling an interconnected story and you get to see the world (not to mention the characters) develop over the span of those years. 

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5 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

In addition to what Bear said, each of the stand-alones feels very much like it’s own genre within a genre. Best Served Cold for example (my personal favourite) is revenge/thriller in a fantasy world, Red Country is Western. Just thinking about it now I don’t actually remember the heroes so I think somehow I haven’t read it. Odd.

The Heroes is the war novel out of the three. I thought it was the best of the stand-alones, although they're all good.

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1 hour ago, williamjm said:

The Heroes is the war novel out of the three. I thought it was the best of the stand-alones, although they're all good.

I'm with you on that. It felt like the tightest story in terms of pace and theme as well but maybe the war genre lends itself to that?

7 hours ago, The BlackBear said:

Unless machining has come on extremely rapidly, any firearms around would probably still be relatively clunky. But even from the beginning, the Union had a very British Empire feel, and Red Country was just a Western, regardless of whether they had guns or not. I can't see this being too different.

 

I do wonder where it'll be set primarily. We haven't looked into the Old Empire or Gurkhul (in great detail at least.)

I guess it depends on the technology and people. Bayaz could arguably push things forward at a higher rate than our world.  And it does seem like the old empire could provide forgotten tech that speeds things up.

Adrian Tchaikovsky did a great accelerated industrial revolution in his shadows of the apt series that felt natural as opposed to forced despite them going from crossbows to planes in a decade. 

The key thing is being able to keep the setting recognisable despite the changes. The "les mis" comparison does suggest a tech level similar to what you suggest eg cannons and muskets that require reloading and the bayonet/cavalry still being essential.

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6 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Yes, it’s the tale of FitzChivalry (and others). It begins with the Farseer trilogy, then Liveships trilogy (which is set outside of the Six Duchies), then its the Tawny Man trilogy (back to the 6D) then Rain Wild Chronicles (Away from the 6D) then concluding with the Fitz non the Fool trilogy (back to the 6D). 13 books total all telling an interconnected story and you get to see the world (not to mention the characters) develop over the span of those years. 

What does ROTE actually stand for? Reign of the Emo?

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