Reviews

The second installment of Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy suffers from the same flaw that plagues most 2nd novels in a series: There is a great amount of going places, but not much gets accomplished. Yet, thanks to an astounding author who deserves to be one of the Named Men of his genre, I was still engrossed for most of the ride.

This installment opens (and continues along its various storylines) with everyone on the move:

West, Black Dow, the Dogman and company are traveling with the incompetent Prince Lasisla to face Bethod and his Northmen.

Glotka and his Practicals are traveling to Dagoska to find a traitor and route a Gurkish incursion.

And, in the greatest of all these journeys, Logen, Jezal, Ferro, Bayaz and Quai are traveling to the end of the world.

As with any book that is setting up for something larger to happen, Before They are Hanged is an awfully lot about going places, but not so much about what happens once you get there. It is a testament to Abercrombie's storytelling skills that he keeps all three arcs interesting, despite their often moving at drastically different paces.

Abercrombie is a master at keeping his readers turning pages. His characters are among some of the most truthfully and vividly rendered I can remember reading and, like them or not, you want to know what happens to them. And I am an enormous fan of his gritty, realistic approach to fantasy; where not everything is poetry, gallantry, elves and dwarves. Even sorcery takes a back seat to grueling human sacrifice. Having never been a fan of "traditional" fantasy, writers like Abercrombie and Richard K. Morgan are a much-welcomed breath of fresh air. They tell real, human stories that happen to have elements of the fantastic, and I'm actually curious to see what this new, grittier sub-genre will eventually come to be labeled.

But back to the book at hand. Sadly, having been introduced to Abercrombie through The Heroes, which takes place after The First Law, I have more than an inkling of who does and does not make it through the series alive. This makes me somewhat reluctant to dive into The Last Argument of Kings, as some of my favorite characters

Spoiler

including West, Jezal and Glotka

do not appear in The Heroes or are mentioned as being dead. I will persevere. I want to know what happens.