Last Argument Of Kings

The only difference between war and murder is the number of dead.

The First Law concludes with a grim and dark finish. There is no cheerful and happy ending here. The characters don't retire atop a gilded hall and reminisce fondly on their times together and that makes this story fantastic.

You could argue that no one had a happy ending, expect for some of the most despicable characters. This series is such a departure from standard fantasy stories that the fact Abercrombie doesn't write that expected ending is almost as shocking as how the story plays out.

We all got our reasons. Good men and bad men. It's all a matter of where you stand.

The series walks a fine line between good and bad, and that continues in Last Argument of Kings. If you have made it this far in the series then you know how Abercrombie writes and you get all of that and more in this final story.

The hardships of war continue, the innocent lives lost in the process are numerous and unnecessary. This weighs on the conscience for some of the characters...some, but not all. It's because of that what makes this story fun to read. Characters have bonded together, evolved and sometimes shown sights of maturity, but they still behave as you expect them to.

The con will lie, the brute will seek violence and others will be manipulated to serve a greater purpose. The lack of a surprising character development keeps the story faithful and such a pleasure to read.

Do you know what's worse than a villain? A villain who thinks he's a hero.

That one quote summarizes the entire series. The line between hero and villain is fine and can be a simple matter of perspective. This is a dark, gritty and sometimes surprisingly violent story, but for any fan of fantasy I think The First Law is a must read.

I highlighted so many passages in the book that relate to the story and series as a whole that I couldn't part with them not being in the review so here are the other items I highlighted while reading this book.

People would far rather be handed an easy lie than search for a difficult truth, especially if it suits their own purposes.

He was gradually starting to realize that the more powerful a man became, the fewer choices he really had.

If you want to be a new man you have to stay in new places, and do new things, with people who never knew you before. If you go back to the same old ways, what else can you be but the same old person? You have to be realistic.

Everything beautiful has a dark side, and some of us must dwell there, so that others can laugh in the light.

Well, everyone lies. The differences between a hero and a villain is whether anyone believes him.

Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy is a remarkable work that brings epic fantasy down into the gutter. The writing is sophisticated and compelling and yet I feel the need to have a shower after I finish reading.

In the third book Last Argument of Kings all the plots so carefully put into place are brought together in a series of thrilling set pieces and the answers to several puzzles are revealed.

Characters and Voice

One of the areas where Abercrombie excels is in giving his characters such a distinct voice and attitude. Whether it's Logen (got to be realistic, say one thing for Logen Ninefingers say he's) or Sand dan Glokta (body found floating at the docks) he provides easy ticks and behavior to distinguish the characters while at the same time giving them complex, and sometimes inconsistent motivations.

It might seem odd to praise inconsistent motivations, but people generally tend to be highly inconsistent and portraying that in fiction while still having them come across as credible characters is an impressive feat.

Almost to a man, or woman, these are people who believe that they are the heroes of the story. They think they're doing the right thing and they're doing it for the right reasons. Of course then we switch to another viewpoint and Abercrombie takes great delight in showing us exactly how wrong that belief is.

We also get credible villains. People who are equally motivated and whose arguments when we here them sound just as credible as those of the supposed heroes. The result is compellingly complex.

Does it Have to Be So Miserable?

The previous two books weren't exactly a boy scout camp out but the pessimism on display by the end of this book was quite hard for me to take. If the author has a message at all it would seem to be some combination of the fact that people don't change and that blood breeds more blood.

In the end almost everyone pays for their sins and the only exception is a person who arguably was already paying for them. There are no heroes here and there's really no evidence that the characters changed or grew. They think they did, but in the end when put to the test, they revert to what they were before.

It's probably a realistic view of humanity, we don't really change very much, but I sort of like reading about people who are better than me rather whereas in this world the people are universally dark and twisted. When the most honorable character is a murderer who also attacked a woman in a fit of rage, it's hard to cheer for anyone.

A Brutal Game of Chess

Abercrombie holds back the reveal for very near the end, but it had become pretty obvious even in the previous books that what is really going on here isn't some titanic struggle of good versus evil. Rather it is a ruthless game played by two powerful men who manipulate, use and discard any and all who come within their grasp.

And in the end, much like the characters don't change, neither does the power balance between the two of them. The character of Bayaz plays off readers expectations for kindly old mages. But look at his actions from the first book onwards and you will see something entirely different at work.

This is an incredibly violent and brutal world that's being described. It's not just the wars and battles. There's rape, torture, beatings, betrayals. It's as though the author took the expression "no good dead goes unpunished" and built a story around it. And in the end, most of that violence is fundamentally pointless because these are all puppets whose strings are pulled without them even realising it.

Why Won't It End?

While I think the writing in general is extremely good there is a stage in the last hundred pages or so where things really seem to drag. It's as though the author felt the need to spell out a dozen little details for his readers.

Some of it felt obvious and some redundant. There was also a just a bit too much glorying in how screwed over everyone had been. When things are turning out that spectacularly miserably for everyone I don't really need it drawn out.

And yet the actual ending, with it's call back to the very beginning of the first book is pretty much note perfect.

Who is This For?

Do you like epic fantasy?
Do you prefer a gritty realism?
Is Grimdark a good thing?
This one is for you.

Did You Like It?

Yes I did like it, almost despite itself. The plot is compelling and the characters are so well written it's hard not to care, regardless of the darkness of the events. That said, I'm not sure if or when I'll read the sequel stories. There's only so much darkness I can take.

Buy, Borrow or Skip?

The skill displayed in the writing makes this one a must buy if you can tolerate the brutality and cynicism on display.

Well, enjoyed it thoroughly until every thing unraveled. and suddenly everything I thought I saw, but talked myself out of, was laid bare before me as truth. and here I am holding this book and wondering why I'm not more upset. because, by all accounts, I should be upset. I watched characters I spent three books learning to love and laugh with get kicked in the dangly fruits and left to cry about it. figuratively. I might have liked the ending better if that had actually happened. But, as the conclusion to a large arcing theme, the ending is perfect. And I really should have known.

Also, how is Sand dan fucking Glokta the only one with a satisfactory ending? besides Bayaz of course. damn Magi.

but, this is no reflection on Abercrombie's writing. The man has a talent for bluntness that verges on poetry. and his ability to narrate in third person, but through any of his character's various lenses is downright enviable.

I still recommend the series, and look forward to reading future works from Joe Abercrombie.

Disappointing.

I read all three books back to back. Credit is due for the characterisations throughout the novels, with flawed characters and gray morality throughout. Gone is the normal good versus evil nonsense seen throughout most books. The end to the series is original for the genre, entertaining and well planned.

Unfortunately the journey to that end was the disappointing part, In retrospect much of the story feels like padding, and didn't really move the story towards its conclusion. So many of the sub-plots in the end seemed totally pointless, with whole huge sections of the plot coming full circle and to no conclusion. A deus-ex-machina moment in the final 1/3 of the final volume instead brought the plot together. Although many of the subplots were probably designed to draw the reader through the rich world, sadly the unsatisfactory conclusions to most of these sub-plots undermined the whole effort.

Add to that some rather overlong and over-detailed battle and fight descriptions, and frankly almost the entirety of the tedious chapters involving the northmen and so much of what could have been a great series of books was undermined. The "shades of gray" characters themselves even became less of a draw as no sympathy was left for any character by the end of the long journey, with the possible exception of one.

To my mind the series was 1 book too long, with one too many "defeat snatched from the jaws of victory" moments that instead of being an enjoyable read and being able to savour an original ending, it felt more like an unsatisfactory slog with a bunch of characters I'm glad to see the back of. It's an ok book, but a disappoint ending to a series which started with such promise. I would read an individual Abercrombie book again, but could never commit to any new series.