Joe Abercrombie: You Say you want a revolution [SPOILERS including the new sample chapter]

[BigFatCoward]

2025, who does he think he is Martin/Lynch/Rothfuss?

[Gaston de Foix]

8 hours ago, Maithanet said:

It might be a hot mess, but I will absolutely check that out.

Why would it be a hot mess?

[Ser Not Appearing]

That description:

"And now for something completely different."

[Zorral]

Aren't elves as the Bad so ... two decades ago?

[Calibandar]

On 7/3/2023 at 11:58 PM, Infidel said:

What is Joe writing now??

Per the last update he seems to hope he will be finished by year's end, which would allow for the book to be out late next year.

Its taken quite a while this one, and not done yet obviously, but it sounds like it might be a great novel.

[Corvinus85]

Why have I heard about this one only now? The Great Change (and Other Lies)

Quote

The Great Change (and Other Lies) is a novella-length collection that gathers four short stories related to Joe Abercrombie’s The Age of Madness, featuring old friends and new: from smugglers to kings, from diamond-cutters to dress-makers, from the most apparently insignificant of slaves to the most feared man in the Union, Old Sticks himself.

Regarding his next big novel, sadly it appears The Devils won't release until next year, despite it being close to the final edit as per his blog. https://joeabercrombie.com/blog/

Quote

Disappointing for some of you, I am sure, but it’s currently looking like The Devils won’t publish until early/mid 2025, which’ll make this the longest gap in my publishing thus far. Partly that was a date we plucked from the air which gained a kind of inevitability the longer it stayed in the diary. Partly it’s a function of the bigger, slower and more distributed US market, where I’m less well established, and my publisher want plenty of time to get the word out and set this up as something new and exciting and different to give it the best chance of the MASSIVE SUCCESS it, and I, obviously deserve. Still, there’s always an upside, and with any luck the time will mean translators can get busy and have some of the key foreign editions come out around the same time as the UK/US ones. Hopefully a later release for the first book also means a shorter gap before the second, which I’ve started writing, and I’m already a couple of chapters into.

 

[BigFatCoward]

4 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

Why have I heard about this one only now? The Great Change (and Other Lies)

 

Just took me to the amazon page but that book isn't showing as available? 

[Corvinus85]

3 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Just took me to the amazon page but that book isn't showing as available? 

On his blog he says that all the printed books are already gone, so only the ebook is available. 

[TormundsWoman]

Gosh, I don’t care how I get it! I will even listen audio even if Ser Rodrigo says that’s not reading!!!!!! 
 

I read twice his Sharp Ends stories and they are simply brilliant. He’s damn good at it.

[HexMachina]

13 hours ago, TormundsWoman said:

Gosh, I don’t care how I get it! I will even listen audio even if Ser Rodrigo says that’s not reading!!!!!! 
 

I read twice his Sharp Ends stories and they are simply brilliant. He’s damn good at it.

I think Abercrombie has my favourite audio books, Steven Pacey is masterful at performing them. I usually read them first but I make a point of getting the audiobook afterwards

[BigFatCoward]

Its on amazon US but not UK, this is very f'ing annoying. 

[TormundsWoman]

I got it on kindle yesterday and it’s short. 4 stories. Only read The Thread completely. 

Say one thing about Abercrombie, say that he  always delivers.

It has almost the entire Circle of the World under the lens, through the POVs of different characters we meet in the chain of production of a specific item that gets from the raw material (cotton) to to finished product (dress). I got a few pages into The Stone as well.

I love it.

[Heartofice]

Halfway through 'The Blade Itself' audiobook and I have to say I wish I had found this earlier. It's a very enjoyable listen / read. I was initially put off by the first chapter, which felt a little too full of fantasy cliche, but I came back to it a year later and I think I was grabbed by the Inquisitor Glotka chapter and it was full steam ahead from that point. 

I appreciate that even though it jumps around from character to character, there is a level of connection between the stories and I never feel disappointed to have to be listening to another perspective. Also, narration is very good and this makes a big difference.

[Larry of the Lawn]

2 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Halfway through 'The Blade Itself' audiobook and I have to say I wish I had found this earlier. It's a very enjoyable listen / read. I was initially put off by the first chapter, which felt a little too full of fantasy cliche, but I came back to it a year later and I think I was grabbed by the Inquisitor Glotka chapter and it was full steam ahead from that point. 

I appreciate that even though it jumps around from character to character, there is a level of connection between the stories and I never feel disappointed to have to be listening to another perspective. Also, narration is very good and this makes a big difference.

Stephen Pacey is, imo, about as good as it gets for audiobook narration.  I think TBI is the weakest First Law book, so it only gets better from here.  Enjoy.  

[HexMachina]

6 hours ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

Stephen Pacey is, imo, about as good as it gets for audiobook narration.  I think TBI is the weakest First Law book, so it only gets better from here.  Enjoy.  

I say this every time he is brought up, usually by you, but I couldn't agree more. Its the one set of books where I go out of my way to get both the audiobook and actual book. The voices Pacey uses just makes it feel like a stage production 

[BigFatCoward]

On 3/6/2024 at 1:21 PM, Heartofice said:

Halfway through 'The Blade Itself' audiobook and I have to say I wish I had found this earlier. It's a very enjoyable listen / read. I was initially put off by the first chapter, which felt a little too full of fantasy cliche, but I came back to it a year later and I think I was grabbed by the Inquisitor Glotka chapter and it was full steam ahead from that point. 

I appreciate that even though it jumps around from character to character, there is a level of connection between the stories and I never feel disappointed to have to be listening to another perspective. Also, narration is very good and this makes a big difference.

I wish i had the 9 books to read from scratch. 

I also agree that TBI is by far the weakest of the series.

[Pellert]

Can anyone pitch in if The Shattered Sea is worth a read? 

The First Law books (+ the standalones and Age of Madness) are one of my favourite reads, but I have so far been steering away from the Shattered Sea as it seems to be a bit YA. 
 

But planning my next read soon and thinking of giving it a go, but if it is very “young YA” I may be looking elsewhere, but if it’s something that also fits quiet well for “old YA” I would probably give it a go, a decent JA series is probably better than 99% of everything else..  

[BigFatCoward]

17 minutes ago, Pellert said:

Can anyone pitch in if The Shattered Sea is worth a read? 

The First Law books (+ the standalones and Age of Madness) are one of my favourite reads, but I have so far been steering away from the Shattered Sea as it seems to be a bit YA. 
 

But planning my next read soon and thinking of giving it a go, but if it is very “young YA” I may be looking elsewhere, but if it’s something that also fits quiet well for “old YA” I would probably give it a go, a decent JA series is probably better than 99% of everything else..  

i thought it was pretty good, and the only reason it would be considered YA is the main characters in each book are probably late teens, the story and the themes aren't particularly YA.

[williamjm]

5 hours ago, Pellert said:

Can anyone pitch in if The Shattered Sea is worth a read? 

The First Law books (+ the standalones and Age of Madness) are one of my favourite reads, but I have so far been steering away from the Shattered Sea as it seems to be a bit YA. 
 

But planning my next read soon and thinking of giving it a go, but if it is very “young YA” I may be looking elsewhere, but if it’s something that also fits quiet well for “old YA” I would probably give it a go, a decent JA series is probably better than 99% of everything else..  

I liked the series, I don't think it's quite as good as the First Law books but still definitely worth reading if you like Abercombie's work. I agree with BFC that it doesn't feel very YA.

[Maithanet]

I would check out Shattered Sea, it's worth a read if you're a fan of Abercrombie's work.  It is probably a bit more teen angsty than his other works, but then his other works don't really feature any teenagers, so that makes sense.  It's still Abercrombie - it isn't particularly thick with melodrama or will-they-won't-they nonsense.