Last Argument of Kings

The first law. Book 3

by Joe Abercrombie

Paperback, 656 pages

English language

Published Sept. 8, 2015 by Orbit.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-38740-8

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(32 reviews)

5 editions

Marek reviewed Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

Grim, unrelenting, but good for all that.

4 stars

Content warning Spoiler-ridden thoughts

I am very late coming to this - my friends have been singing its praises since it was published, and it's only in the last year or so I decided to pick these up and work through them. It's worth, and I'll probably look for some of Abercrombie's other stuff.

I'll confess I'm not a huge fan of stories that revel in darkness or insist on being uncompromising in their portrayal of the frailty and corruption of human beings. I can respect it done well, but it's not something I love.

This is a case of it done well - in fact, I think particularly well. I don't read much fantasy these days, and this impressed me (though I have some criticisms, which I'll come to in a second). Since the modern authors started properly deconstructing the tropes of the classic high fantasy genre, they've become ever more "gritty" and merciless in the treatment of the characters, who are tapestries of strengths and weaknesses rather than caricatures or icons of good or evil.

I guess the most famous of such authors is George RR Martin, but with this trilogy I think Abercrombie beats him. Partly by keeping the story under control so that it hasn't expanded and ultimately beaten him, but also because he makes a very deliberate decision to make none of the point of view characters have a full grasp of the actual power plays that are driving events. The point is to keep the perspective "in the trenches", so to speak, so it is only after the fact that we come to understand what was really going on, as momentous, historic events overturn the established order and a new age begins. Even then, there is only one POV character who might possibly understand, and even he probably doesn't see the full story.

The result is that the story always feels bigger than the characters, but the characters are themselves generally interesting enough that following them for their own small motivations within this bigger narrative that they cannot see, is compelling and satisfying.

While this is for the main very well done, with admirable skill and discipline by Abercrombie, there are a few times when it drags, and when the main events come to a head, we get a good 150 or so pages (maybe more?) of epilogue. That epilogue drags quite badly as a result, and while there is a lot to like in it, it is here that a few actions are taken to be almost mean-spirited in the finishes. Anything positive in the outcome is poisoned and corrupt. Where someone might have really done well, accident or happenstance ensure that it is undone or soured.

What is more, there is a very deliberate "history repeats itself" pattern which is too complete and too pat for the textured, insistence on messy patternlessness that is present in the rest of the story.

Overall, a mostly rollicking good read (until it drags), with excellent (though grim and mostly unpleasant) characters, and certainly one of the better deconstructive takes on the fantasy genre.

Kevin Guertin reviewed Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

Review of 'Last Argument of Kings' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This exceeded my expectations. There was never a dull moment and it was hard to put down at times. A lot of grim action that kept me turning the pages.

Jonathan Arnold reviewed Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

Review of 'Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The last book of the First Law trilogy, it is mostly about the climatic battle for, hmm, not sure, the capital city, Agrimont(?). Logen has a big battle as well, then heads south to help out. Glotka battles palace intrigue and tries to stay out of the crosshairs of Bayaz, the crazy(?) mage. Jezal gets promoted and whines about it a lot. And Commander West does the best he can to steer military strategy.

To be honest, this book was a bit of a grind. As you can see, it took me a long time to finish. The first part wasn't too bad but then the giant battles started and to me it just dragged on and on. There were the usual Grimdark touches of bizarre deaths and strange doings, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.

So I am docking it one star for, once again, the overuse of torture as a kind of deus ex machina. I know Glotka is a torturer but it still sucks how gruesome it is and, even worse, always successful. Even just the threat of torture always brings out exactly what was necessary to find out, which just isn't how torture works, actually, in real life. I just hate it.

And I'm docking it another star because the battle scene(s) from the last third to half of the book just weren't that interesting. Yeah, plenty of action but it just went on and on and on and on. The final battle for the capital city was endless and just was one bloodbath after another. I just couldn't wait for it to finish. And of course it finished in a flash of giant magic. Ugh.

So a bit of a downer in the end. I just loved A Little Hatred, a kind of sequel to this trilogy. I am going to try some of the standalone books in the "series", like Best Served Cold, because I think the world it great, the characters interesting and the descriptions realistic. Just hope the battles get smaller.

Daniel Andrlik reviewed Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

Review of 'Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

An excellent conclusion to the trilogy, that left me yearning for more, which I'm sure will come someday, as this world is too rich to be abandoned at this point.

Some may be a bit put off by how grim the ending appears to be, but I would argue that there was no other way this story could have ended. The characters are what they are, their personalities, histories and impulses were well established in the first two books. While some of the characters are ultimately good people striving to be better, they must also struggle with the influence of powerful companions who have specific, and sometimes contrary goals in mind. In fact, any attempt by Abercrombie to craft a "happily ever after" conclusion to the book would have struck me as an insult to the reader. The story ends perfectly for what it is, and once the story was set in motion, it ended the only way it possibly could have.

The series as a whole was wonderful, with well-drawn characters, lots of well written intrigue, fantastic action, and a wicked sense of humor. I loved it and this has quickly become one of my favorite fantasy series.

I sincerely hope that Abercrombie will provide us with more stories set in this world soon. There is much more to be explored, and I, for one, would love to see a story where a certain wizard gets taken down a few pegs.