This book, the first of a proposed trilogy, tells the story of a land in upheaval. Wars on the northern border. People unhappy with the ever increasing tide of an "industrial revolution", leaving them behind, homeless and penniless. Palace intrigue amid a crumbling dynasty.

The story is told from a few vantage points. Unfortunately, only one of them is a common man. The others are people in a place of power - heirs to the throne, or daughters of kings. I am hoping in future volumes, he adds more lower class characters.

But that doesn't mean the characters aren't interesting. Savine is a bloodthirsty wheeler and dealer who gets caught up in the revolution in ways she never could understand.The two princes are interesting characters themselves - one blustery but with a good heart and the other surprisingly lacking in confidence. My favorite character is Rikke, the daughter of a Northland noble, who has to escape from behind enemy lines. She has the "Long Eye", which allows her to see the future, albeit in sporadic and mostly uncontrollable ways.

Lucky for me, that's about it for magic so far. There is a High Priest of Mages who shows up, so I am sure magic will rear its ugly head sooner or later. But so far, it is mostly a sort of early industrial age / medieval setting, with violence and gore abounding.

So yeah, it is a very dark, gritty, brutal book, with graphic scenes of violence, death and sex. It is very nicely leavened with hearty sprinkles of humor, mostly of the gallows type humor. There are some seriously intense fight scenes, including a huge well described battle and a pulse pounding duel in the circle. There were many times I literally couldn't put the book down. I am so looking forward to the next book in the series, [b:The Trouble with Peace|40701777|The Trouble with Peace (The Age of Madness, #2)|Joe Abercrombie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|63304678]!