The ultimate chapter of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy left me feeling a little disappointed. It's rare that the middle part of the story is the best part, but overall I felt Before They Were Hanged to be a stronger offering, story wise...It was the book where I actually cared about these really rather dark characters.
Which is not to say that he dropped the ball or choked on this. It's a suitable ending that builds to an incredible climax.
I've written before of how I admire the flawed and multi-faceted characters. They remain the series' principle strength. But...the grinding darkness of the story and the characters does get to me overall and I think that fatigue was the main reason that I liked this a little less. I just wanted a little bit of light in the darkness and frankly, I didn't get it.
But as an addition to the fantasy genre it does a great job of turning several tropes on their heads and I applaud that. It's a highly interesting series from that perspective.
And I don't dislike dark fantasy: I was a fan of Thomas Covenant from an early age and A Song of Ice and Fire is one of my top ten all-time favorites...but this book is actually much darker than all of those. I mean, the leavening factor here is the cynical and omnipresent sense of humor...but frankly, it's not enough for me.It IS funny, though. Make no mistake.
Ah, well, I will read more of Joe Abercrombie. I think he's a pretty good writer. I just felt a little more weary after reading this than I would like.(less)
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