Review: Before They Are Hanged

Superior Glokta has a problem. How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, and your predecessor vanished without a trace? It's enough to make a torturer want to run – if he could even walk without a stick.

Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory. There is only one problem – he commands the worst-armed, worst-trained, worst-led army in the world.

And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a perilous mission through the ruins of the past. The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and the most selfish boy in the Union make a strange alliance, but a deadly one. They might even stand a chance of saving mankind from the Eaters. If they didn't hate each other quite so much.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost. Bitter enemies will be forgiven – but not before they are hanged.

“Before They Are Hanged” is the 2nd book in the First Law Trilogy. The First Law Trilogy is actually one long story which is published in three books. Compared to for instance Scott Lynch’s Lock Lamora series, the First Law books are much less suitable to be read as standalone books.

“Before They Are Hanged” picks up right after the open ended story lines of “The Blade Itself”.

Sand dan Glotka is ‘promoted’ by Arch Lector Sult to the position of Superior of Dagoska; a city state somewhere in the South. His task is to root out traitorous elements in the ruling council of Dagoska and to defend Dagoska from a possible attack by Gurkish forces.

Meanwhile, the Union Army and the merry band of Northmen lead by Threetrees prepare to fight their war against Bethod, the King of the North. The Union army is ill prepared and ill trained. Lord Marshal Burr has enough worries managing the two rivaling generals Kroy and Poulder and Colonel West is burdened with babysitting Prince Ladisla, who proves to be a useless weakling.

The third main plot thread is the quest of Bayaz, Ninefingers, Jezal and Ferro in the far far west. Their journey takes them through a war ravaged Old Empire and a dead ancient city to the very edge of the world where supposedly the Seed, an devilish weapon of enormous can be found. Bayaz is intending to use this weapon against his former co-apprentice Khalul, who is now a prophet behind the Gurkish Emperor and seeking to increase his influence on the world using dark methods.

Once again it was Glokta who stole the show for me. His constant inner dialogue makes Glokta the most developed and best rounded character. Logen Ninefingers is a close second for me, he is the one that ‘carries’ the quest plot thread. Character development is the strong point of this book anyway, like it was in “The Blade Itself”. We see Jezal changing, being humbled by his experiences on the road. Bayaz remains bit of a mystery but perhaps we’ll learn more of his motivations in the last book. Collem West is bit ‘flat’ to me, but I really liked the parts with the Dogman, Black Dow, Tul Duru Thunderhead, Harding Grim and Rud Threetrees. It will be interesting to see where their adventures take them in “Last Argument of Kings”.

Concerning the plot: The war in the North is the only plot thread that remains completely open ended in this book; the other two story arcs have a beginning and an end, but what they actually contribute to the story as in advancement of the plot remains to be seen. Sure, there is the character development, but for me the result of Glokta’s activities in Dagoska and especially the result of Bayaz’ quest left me wondering a bit about the actual contribution to the overall story. (Spoiler ahead: they travel several months to the end of the world and find… nothing? Ah it’s not here - well, let’s get back to the Union then. ) Maybe / probably we will understand some things better after reading “Last Argument of Kings”.

Point of criticism once again: there’s no map. In this book it’s even more annoying than in the first one because the characters are on the move a whole lot more and there are even more references to faraway places. I still think it’s a cop out to not include a map and say it’s because it might restrict the reader’s own fantasy too much. But hey, I rather read a good story without a map then a bad story with a map. And a good story it is.

Conclusion: I liked “Before They Are Hanged” , albeit a little less than “The Blade Itself”. The novelty and freshness of Abercrombie’s approach to the epic fantasy genre is naturally a little less in the 2nd book. Without it there’s still plenty to enjoy – the action, the political intrigue, the humor /cynicism and especially the dialogue, the characters and their development. But regarding plot advancement I have mixed feelings and some of the musings of the main characters tend to get a little repetitive. But still: “Before They Are Hanged” is a very entertaining and enjoyable book and if you enjoyed “The Blade Itself” you will like this one too without a doubt!

8 / 10

Review: The Blade Itself

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught up in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but some bad songs, a few dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.

Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends as cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendships. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government... if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.

Finally… I read The Blade Itself, the much-hailed and critically acclaimed debut of Joe Abercrombie. I bought this one and it’s follow up “Before They Are Hanged” over a year ago. It took some time however before I could get my hands on the last book in the trilogy. The George RR Martin experience taught me not to start a series anymore before the series is actually finished. In the Netherlands the paperback edition of “Last Argument With Kings” was released just last month, so after I picked it up and had it actually sitting on my book shelve, I felt save to start the First Law Trilogy.

It certainly was worth the wait and actually I am happy I waited, because after finishing “The Blade Itself “ I know I would have been frustrated if I had to wait a year (or five) to be able to continue reading. Now I have no problem – I ‘m already well on my way in “Before They Are Hanged” and the 3rd one will follow immediately after that one. Be warned: “The Blade Itself” is not a standalone novel and if you buy it you might as well by book 2 and 3 right away.

About “The Blade Itself”: I really liked this book, almost everything about it. You have to like it just by looking at the books: beautiful cover art (the whole series) and also the booktitles: not standard and therefore intriguing – at least to me. I maybe strange that way, but if a book ‘looks ugly’ I will not buy it; even it got raving reviews.

The characters make this book shine. Not really your typical fantasy stereotypes to be found here. Also all of the characters have their own distinctive voice, which is an achievement because it's where a lot of writers fail.

We have a barbarian, but this one, Logen Ninefingers, is tired of fighting. He is a legendary warrior turned tired and somewhat philosophical. But that doesn’t mean there will not be fighting… I liked his philosophy when he accepted a sword, even though he would rather not use a sword anymore: “better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it”. You have to be realistic after all.

There is a young officer in the King’s Army, Jezal dan Luthar; who is reluctantly training for the yearly sword fighting Contest. He wants the honor and the glory, but doesn’t want to be bothered too much. He is superiorly arrogant, selfish, snobbish, lazy and should be utterly unlikable. But maybe the reader sometimes recognizes some things in his way of thinking…?

The star of this book is Sand dan Glotka, a former legendary sword fighting champion and war hero. Now he is a cripple (after having spent two years in an enemies torture chamber), who is employed by the Inquisition – so he is now a torturer himself. His constant inner dialogue is what makes this the most interesting character. “Why do I do this…?”

Then there is the old wizard Bayaz, the First of The Magi. Not your typical kind of wizard, who’s character is used to provide most of the history of the world and through who’s storyline we see most of the direction in which the books will go. This book is setting the ground for some kind of quest it seems.

Other characters that will play a role are Ferro; a savage ex slave woman from the south hell bent on revenge on her former masters and Collem West; an officer in the King’s Army and friend of Jezal, despite him being not of the same (good) blood as Jezal himself; and we have a pack of Northmen, barbarians who used to be with Logen Ninefingers.

All these characters start off with storylines of their own, but it soon becomes clear that somehow somewhere their paths will cross.

I also liked the world itself. Not really the standard medieval setting, something similar but ‘fresh’. I liked the humorous references to standard fantasy: the barbarian and the wizard with his apprentice going to a prop shop to buy costumes before an audience with the King to really look like… a barbarian, a wizard and an apprentice. Or Ardee who is reading a history book (in three volumes..) about wizards and knights and swords; about magic, romance and violence – and calls it ‘utter shit’. Funny stuff, just read it to appreciate it.

The political intrigue is there and it’s well done. There’s a puppet king with a useless heir; the Kingdom is really ruled by the Closed Council, consisting of different figures vying for power.

One thing I didn’t like: there’s no map. Abercrombie seems to have his reasons for not including a map but whatever these reasons are: I just like a map in a book like this. I want to know where the characters are in relation to each other; especially when they are on the move (like they will be in the 2nd book.) An argument seems to be that it is better if the reader uses his own fantasy and creates a map of the world in his own head or else the readers imagination is restricted or something. Hmmm. I just disagree. This is my only complaint however and it doesn’t stop me warmly recommending this book to anyone who likes their epic fantasy with an edge.

Conclusion: this is epic fantasy with a twist. Hard edged, not for the faint of heart because of the explicit violence and swearing, with some clever humor; this is a character and dialogue driven book that is clearly laying the ground works for something bigger. A good, fast and enjoyable read that will make you want to jump in its sequel “Before They Are Hanged” right away!

8,5 / 10

Review: Red Seas under Red Skies

Escaping from the attentions of the Bondsmagi Locke Lamora, the estwhile Thorn of Camorr and Jean Tannen have fled their home city. Taking ship they arrive in the city state of Tal Varrar where they are soon planning their most spectacular heist yet; they will take the luxurious gaming house, The Sinspire, for all of its countless riches. No-one has ever taken even a single coin from the Sinspire that wasn't won on the tables or in the other games of chance on offer there. But, as ever, the path of true crime rarely runs smooth and Locke and Jean soon find themselves co-opted into an attempt to bring the pirate fleet of the notorious Zamira Drakasha to justice.

The second installment in the Gentleman Bastard Sequence is a strange, difficult one to review. It seems that there are a lot of things to criticize, but I still finished the book with a good feeling; I simply enjoyed it, despite its shortcomings. And now I will try to explain why...

Like the first book I enjoyed the world Scott Lynch created. We get to see more of the world now, not just the city of the first book. Because the first book was exclusively limited to the city state of Camorr it’s fair to say the world in the first installment was a bit better developed, more detailed for sure. But I enjoyed seeing more of the world and not being limited to just Camorr. For me seeing more of the world worked and it’s good to know there is much more to discover left for the next 5 books.

The sharp and crisp dialogue, the humor, the drama & tragedy, the intrigue, Scott Lynch’s stylish style (?) – it’s all there and it’s all good. This is escapism as it should be – read an hour before sleeping and being completely transported to and absorbed by the world the writer created – this feeling is what I remember from being a young boy who started reading and being totally absorbed by the stories I read. The Gentleman Bastard books do this for me and that’s good. I even found myself ‘saving’ the book for reading in bed, without distractions of wife, child, television and telephone during the evenings. Lesser books I can read with whatever going on around me, the two Lock Lamora books I wanted to save for optimal enjoyment it seemed. Good job Mr. Lynch!

But there are also some problems. Locke and Jean are invulnerable. In itself this is not too bad (I mean I can also enjoy a James Bond movie while I know James will never die) but being in mortal peril constantly and coming out alive no matter what gets to be a little bit much after a while (and takes away some of the tension and excitement). Leading characters in ongoing series obviously usually survive, but in Locke’s and Jean’s case is too often because of dumb luck or because of other contrived reasons.

There were also some problems with the pacing. The first third of the book is used for setting up the Sinspire heist and the Archonate plotline. Nice and slow, no problems here. Then we get a part that’s a bit too long to my taste and drags a bit in which Locke and Jean learn to be sea men, which is the set up for the pirate part of the book. It is a too sudden departure from the Sinspire / Requin plotline; somehow it didn’t feel right, like Lynch threw together the plans for two separate books – one about the heist and one about pirates and crammed these two books into one. It felt somehow inconsistent I guess.

I actually liked the pirate part when it started good and well; the characters of Zamira and Ezri and the rest of the pirates, the description of Port Prodigal, the adventures at sea. Biggest problem arises when the plotlines of the beginning of the book are wrapped up in the last 50 pages or so; which seems to be ridiculously fast compared to the much slower pace of the early and middle part of the book. I appreciate the dramatic effect of a quickening pace toward the end of a story, but this was a bit too quick and too conveniently wrapped up.

Another unsatisfactory part of the ending: who was Merrain really working for? Didn't seem to be for Requin or the priori and she definitely wasn't working for Stragos . Did she work for the Bondsmagi? Doesn’t make much sense does it? Something for the next book maybe. And what’s the deal with these Bondsmagi anyway? I’m not a big magic fan and if it’s used it has to be explained well. The bondsmagi are completely off scene in this book, which is fine, but we are led to believe that they are super powerful. Why then don’t they just kill Locke and Jean them if they hate them so much? We’ll find later I suppose.

But all criticism aside: I still enjoyed this book a lot. A bit less than its predecessor, but I’m sure that everybody who read ‘Lies’ will want to read this one, and that the overall vibe and being in Locke and Jean’s world is enough to provide enjoyment. And although both books feature a lot of graphic language and violence, this one has a somewhat ‘darker’ vibe overall. No problem for me, but I can imagine that readers who particularly liked the devil-may-care vibe of the first book are a little bit put off by this one.

Conclusion: Despite its shortcomings it is still an enjoyable and entertaining story with the same sense of adventure as the first Gentleman Bastard book and I recommend this book to everybody who enjoyed ‘The Lies of Locke Lamora’.

8 / 10

PS: Although this is the second installment of a supposedly seven book series, this book like the first one is pretty much self contained. There are some open plotlines and there’s even a ‘cliffhanger’ at the end of ‘Red Skies’ but these books are nothing like for instance GRRM’s Song of Fire & Ice where all plotlines stay open. This makes the waiting for an extra year (Gentleman Bastards #3: Republic of Thieves seems to be postponed to 2010) less aggravating than in GRRM’s case.