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


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20 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Fucking ebooks never ship early. 

Nope. And I lost my credit card late last week and haven't received my replacement yet, so... might have to forgo my usual MO and buy the physical book first. Grumble.

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On 9/2/2021 at 11:46 AM, SeanF said:

I think Orso is far more shrewd than either Louis XVI or Nicholas II.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the twist were for him to come back as First Consul/President.

 

 

Well, that prediction did not age well.

What a complete and utter shit Leo Dan Brock turned out to be.  My only hope is that at some future point, he comes to an extremely unpleasant end.  There are a lot of women left in this world with very good reason to hate him, starting with his own wife.

As so often, no good deed goes unpunished.  Jezal’s decision to spare Brock’s father, and Orso’s decision to spare Brock turned out badly.[Spoiler/]

Edited by SeanF
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10 minutes ago, Caligula_K3 said:

I just read the beginning of the last post and believe I got spoiled. Watch out, people who come to this thread after me.

 @SeanFplease edit your post and spoiler tag it. Most people in this thread haven't got their copy of the book yet, and the thread title only includes spoilers up to the sample chapter.

Sorry.  Now edited.

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So, havent got to start this yet, but if someone could spoiler tag whether or not we see Ninefingers for me id be much obliged! Im one of those weirdos that dont really care about spoilers and can still enjoy things knowing. 

Edited by bms295
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Also finished it last night. 

Testing spoiler tags

Spoiler

blah blah blah

That was easy. 

Spoiler

 

I really enjoyed it. Abercrombie is as funny as ever. Absolutely thrilled that he's set us up for the next story.

A couple of quibbles though:

  • Gunnar's arc was kind of a let down. A lot of time spent on him for his purpose to be "don't push them off the tower"
  • Glotka's return was kinda telegraphed. If he wasn't coming back, he'd just be dead. Or in retirement. The fact that we had exactly no news was a bright shining beacon, IMO.
  • I think he got a little heavy handed with the plight of the masses at times. I get he has a point to make, but at times I feel like he strayed from the classic "show, don't tell" advice and it seemd like I was reading an essay, not a novel.

 

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Edited by Ninefingers
was testing spoiler tags before including spoilers
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About 355 pages in now; I'm sure I'll be done by tonight or tomorrow.

Spoiler

Things are really heating up and getting exciting in the revolution plotline. I've loved everything involving the conspiracy so far, especially Vick's role and Savine's sham trial. Orso is a delight as always. I'm still not sure I buy Leo's character development, but that's my only quibble.

I've enjoyed the North parts overall, and I like all the characters involved, but I do have to say that it has been very predictable so far; the twist that all of Rikke's "fights" with her advisors were faked was very obvious. At this point I'm maybe also a little tired of the never-ending wars in the North. But, again, Clover and Rikke are great characters, and I thought Calder got a fitting (and sad) death.

All in all, this book really does seem like it's a farewell to the world of the First Law, with characters like Brint and Calder who've been around since The Blade Itself getting farewells. The reference to Lamb also seemed like a final farewell to that character. But I'm sure in the last 150 pages there are going to be twists and turns as Glokta and Bayaz come back to the forefront, so we'll see how it all ends...

 

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Done with the Age of Madness.

Spoiler

I agree with @Ninefingers about just about everything. It was a very good and enjoyable book. But a major weakness of the trilogy as a whole is Broad's character. In the end, he's pretty two dimensional and doesn't do much. Considering this is about a revolution and the plight of the common people of the Union, I think you need a POV character to really explore that dimension of things. But because Broad can't do that, there's a lot of telling and not showing about the revolution; a lot of "everyone seemed so hopeful but now things are turning to shit." All in all, this trilogy has a great cast of characters, from Vick to Savine to Clover to Rikke, but Broad and Leo both fall flat; and given how important they are (or should be), that's a little unfortunate.

Orso, on the other hand, the highlight of the trilogy for me. What a delightful character, and a rare very sympathetic one for Abercrombie. I'd gotten spoiled above that Leo was going to betray him (and that he'd probably die), but I let myself hope towards the end that he might make it. Rikke's betrayal was a gut punch. But what a hilarious narrator. I loved his last words to Leo.

Glokta's reveal was certainly satisfying, as was the Eaters vs. Sulfur fight. But I do agree that a lot of the book and the ending was pretty predictable, from Rikke's plan to the identity and goals of the true Weaver, especially once we saw Pike targeting Valint and Balk above all else.

But... my biggest complaint is probably the very ending. The First Law and each of the standalone books planted seeds for future possible storylines, but it left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth to end this all on a prophetic cliffhanger. I guess the next trilogy or series of books is going to be Bayaz + Hildi (that felt random) + Calder's son + magical awakening against everyone else, including yet another war for the North, but... I'm not sure this story needs to go on much more.

That may seem like a lot of quibbles, but I really did enjoy this book and trilogy; Abercrombie remains the rare author who has never disappointed me. I'm sure whatever he cooks up next will be great.

 

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Finished the book 

 

The fucker has me rooting for Bayaz again . Kept hoping against hope that Orso would get out okay even up until his last chapter. Loved the character. Clover and Vick had great endings imo. I didn’t think either of them would get out alive and I hope we haven’t seen the last of either of them. Broad was a slight disappointment. Just don’t think his character ever really went anywhere that made him worth the page time. The 2nd “Little People” chapter during the battle at Carleon was one of my favorites of the entire First Law world.

Edit: I actually take that back. I hope we don’t see Vick again and she lives out her days in peace 
Now I live in wait for a Ferro standalone 

 

Edited by Mark Antony
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4 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

Done with the Age of Madness.

  Hide contents

I agree with @Ninefingers about just about everything. It was a very good and enjoyable book. But a major weakness of the trilogy as a whole is Broad's character. In the end, he's pretty two dimensional and doesn't do much. Considering this is about a revolution and the plight of the common people of the Union, I think you need a POV character to really explore that dimension of things. But because Broad can't do that, there's a lot of telling and not showing about the revolution; a lot of "everyone seemed so hopeful but now things are turning to shit." All in all, this trilogy has a great cast of characters, from Vick to Savine to Clover to Rikke, but Broad and Leo both fall flat; and given how important they are (or should be), that's a little unfortunate.

Orso, on the other hand, the highlight of the trilogy for me. What a delightful character, and a rare very sympathetic one for Abercrombie. I'd gotten spoiled above that Leo was going to betray him (and that he'd probably die), but I let myself hope towards the end that he might make it. Rikke's betrayal was a gut punch. But what a hilarious narrator. I loved his last words to Leo.

Glokta's reveal was certainly satisfying, as was the Eaters vs. Sulfur fight. But I do agree that a lot of the book and the ending was pretty predictable, from Rikke's plan to the identity and goals of the true Weaver, especially once we saw Pike targeting Valint and Balk above all else.

But... my biggest complaint is probably the very ending. The First Law and each of the standalone books planted seeds for future possible storylines, but it left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth to end this all on a prophetic cliffhanger. I guess the next trilogy or series of books is going to be Bayaz + Hildi (that felt random) + Calder's son + magical awakening against everyone else, including yet another war for the North, but... I'm not sure this story needs to go on much more.

That may seem like a lot of quibbles, but I really did enjoy this book and trilogy; Abercrombie remains the rare author who has never disappointed me. I'm sure whatever he cooks up next will be great.

 

My apologies for that.  I liked Orso a lot, and hoped he’d come through.  At least he died like a boss.

I ended up loathing Leo with a passion.  Leo, Nice-But-Dim, became Leo the Piece of Shit.  I expect he won’t last long.  His wife hates him, his mother despises him, I presume Terez and her daughters hate him;  he’s surrounded by treacherous people like Isher and Heugen.  His only real supporters are Jurand and Glaward who want to get inside his pants.  I don’t doubt Rikke hates him, too.  I doubt she enjoyed what she had to do for peace.

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3 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Finished the book 

  Hide contents

The fucker has me rooting for Bayaz again . Kept hoping against hope that Orso would get out okay even up until his last chapter. Loved the character. Clover and Vick had great endings imo. I didn’t think either of them would get out alive and I hope we haven’t seen the last of either of them. Broad was a slight disappointment. Just don’t think his character ever really went anywhere that made him worth the page time. The 2nd “Little People” chapter during the battle at Carleon was one of my favorites of the entire First Law world.

Edit: I actually take that back. I hope we don’t see Vick again and she lives out her days in peace 
Now I live in wait for a Ferro standalone 

 

Hopefully, Vik wasn’t just dumped on the bottom of the canal, after she rejected Glokta’s offer.

Like you, I couldn’t help thinking Bayaz might be *less bad* than the Union’s new rulers.

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6 hours ago, SeanF said:

 

  Hide contents

My apologies for that.  I liked Orso a lot, and hoped he’d come through.  At least he died like a boss.

I ended up loathing Leo with a passion.  Leo, Nice-But-Dim, became Leo the Piece of Shit.  I expect he won’t last long.  His wife hates him, his mother despises him, I presume Terez and her daughters hate him;  he’s surrounded by treacherous people like Isher and Heugen.  His only real supporters are Jurand and Glaward who want to get inside his pants.  I don’t doubt Rikke hates him, too.  I doubt she enjoyed what she had to do for peace.

Spoiler

No worries! It happens, not the end of the world. Like I said, I still managed to delude myself into thinking that you were only referring to Orso's arrest... I continued to hope that he'd somehow make it out alive.

As for Leo... He's like a Napoleon that nobody likes, ever. I'm curious, for those of you who finished the book: did you buy Leo's transformation? I'd have to reread the whole trilogy to really track his character arc, but for me the development of Leo from stupid Achilles to ruthless wannabe Napoleon didn't come together. I compare that to Shiver's arc in Best Served Cold, which was executed perfectly and felt very believable, even though it was a more drastic transformation.

Speaking of Shivers... I'm glad that he made it out of this trilogy alive, and that he's become a much better man. Poor Gorst, though, died for nothing.

 

 

Edited by Caligula_K3
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29 minutes ago, Caligula_K3 said:

 

 

On the whole, yes, I think I did buy it.  Leo was, and remained, a stupid man, in my view.  His (self-inflicted) sufferings stripped away the veneer of chivalry, leaving behind a bitter, vindictive, venomously ambitious man.   That  may seem a strange point of view, given that on the face of it, he won, through ruthless treachery.  But, not only did he make himself hated, he left a lot of bitter enemies in a position to hurt him.  As I said, his wife is one of those enemies.  He doesn't have a majority on the Closed Council, Starikland can defy him at will, and no doubt Sipani will cause him trouble down the line.

I suspect that if his enemies demanded Leo as the price for remaining on good terms with the Closed Council, there would be quite a few people willing to hand him over.  After all, he set the precedent for it.

An intelligent man would have realised that with Orso back in charge, he'd be the second man in the State, brother in law to the King, with great power on the Closed Council, an admired war hero, with a long and prosperous career ahead of him.  Sometimes, the smart move is to remain loyal.

Edited by SeanF
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I do worry a bit about Abercrombie's characterization in that he's become a bit one note. 

Spoiler

 

It seems like all of our main characters follow the same arc:

1. Have failing/flaw 2. Struggle to change 3. Fail because that's just who they are.

Ninefingers, Shivers, Broad, Glotka, Savine, Leo, Ferro, Monza, etc etc

Just about everyone everyone who we have a POV into how they think goes through this. It would be nice to work in a couple people who just change for the better (or worse). 

 

 

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