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A review by onthesamepage
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was an excellent end to a fantastic trilogy.
Picking up where Before They Are Hanged left off, we continue to follow Glokta, Logen, Jezal, the Dogman and West. After failing to find the seed, Bayaz's little group splits up. Logen is determined to head back north so he can help with the fighting against Bethod. Jezal, a changed man after his adventures, wants nothing more to do with the army. Instead, he'd like to marry Ardee and settle down if she'll still have him. Ferro finds herself sticking with Bayaz, who is still promising her vengeance. Glokta is dealing with his own struggles. Stuck between two masters who want opposite things, he must find a way to balance their demands and keep his head attached to the rest of him.
I always enjoy trying to think about where the author is going with a story, but Abercrombie makes that almost impossible. And yet, every direction the book takes makes perfect sense for the world he's created. It's a harsh and difficult world, where the heroes are just men who make really bad mistakes sometimes, and where fair is something you only see in fairytales. Above all, these characters are flawed humans, and it's their flaws that make them shine and interesting to follow.
This is also not a series with a neat ending. For every plotline that seems resolved, there's another left wide open, sometimes opening the door to even more questions than you start out with. I have no idea what's in store in the standalone books and the second trilogy, but I am happy to find out and let the author take me on another fantastic journey.
Picking up where Before They Are Hanged left off, we continue to follow Glokta, Logen, Jezal, the Dogman and West. After failing to find the seed, Bayaz's little group splits up. Logen is determined to head back north so he can help with the fighting against Bethod. Jezal, a changed man after his adventures, wants nothing more to do with the army. Instead, he'd like to marry Ardee and settle down if she'll still have him. Ferro finds herself sticking with Bayaz, who is still promising her vengeance. Glokta is dealing with his own struggles. Stuck between two masters who want opposite things, he must find a way to balance their demands and keep his head attached to the rest of him.
I always enjoy trying to think about where the author is going with a story, but Abercrombie makes that almost impossible. And yet, every direction the book takes makes perfect sense for the world he's created. It's a harsh and difficult world, where the heroes are just men who make really bad mistakes sometimes, and where fair is something you only see in fairytales. Above all, these characters are flawed humans, and it's their flaws that make them shine and interesting to follow.
This is also not a series with a neat ending. For every plotline that seems resolved, there's another left wide open, sometimes opening the door to even more questions than you start out with. I have no idea what's in store in the standalone books and the second trilogy, but I am happy to find out and let the author take me on another fantastic journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Torture