Last Argument Of Kings (Gollancz)

It was with much excitement that I opened the box that months ago I had pre-ordered and had rapid-shipped from the UK.

As with the first two books, Last Argument of Kings has superb cover-art. It's a very dashing trilogy displayed on your bookshelf appropriately.

But to the story:

In the first two installments, in particular the first, action took a back seat to characterization. You can check out my critiques of both those books if you like. Some of the most interesting and original-yet-archetypical characters in fantasy were made flesh and earned high-praise for me for that feat.

In Last Argument of Kings, action definitively steps to the fore. All of the plot-lines that were set up like dominoes in the first two books are tipped, and before you know it you're swept up in a tide of the little black bricks like Mel Brooks' entrance in the computer-animated 'Robots'. From climax to climax, Mr. Abercrombie charges you through exciting conclusions to every plot and sub-plot introduced before-hand.

This is a difficult review to write because, even more than usual, I would be loathe to give away even the slightst hint of what happens, but most of those characters from the first books that you felt needed some comeuppance get it in this book. But Joe Abercrombie isn't sentimental, and by the end of this book it will be plain that some of those that got a comeuppance didn't deserve it as much as others or as much as you might have thought they did, and those that deserved good certainly don't get it, and many of those that you used to want good things for you'll find you no longer do.

The character Sand Dan Glokta has a saying not quite as ubiquitous as Logen's "You have to be Practical", but far more descriptive of Last Argument of Kings: "Nobody gets what they deserve."

In a manner of speaking, no character gets justice in this book. None of the character arcs end in a way that conventional fantasy norms indicate they should but are nevertheless ended with integrity. In a way, this is a masterful feat. I took JK Rowlings unsentimental killing of characters like the owl Hedwig or the house-elf Dobby for ungraceful, gratuitous acts included in the story simply to showcase her unsentimentality. I perceived none of that artless hackery here. The story concludes as it should, consistent with the world Joe Abercrombie established in the first book.

True - not everything is perfectly graceful. Some of the surprises that are inevitable in any tale - characters thought gone turning up in new guises, etc. - seemed a little forced, but these are small concerns. As a work of art, Mr. Abercrombie stayed true to his original vision.

Ironically, this is as much a source of dissatisfaction for me as a reader as a source of admiration for Mr. Abercrombie as a writer. These are great books. This is great writing. These are amazingly whole characters. What a flipping depressing way to end a great tale though - I get enough dissatisfaction about how things turn out by reading the news. It's not that everything ends badly for every character, but I would have loved to end the tale with a swelling of joyous emotion for just one of these perfectly crafted characters receiving a truly wondrous reward for all of the sacrifice they endured through the three books.

No such luck. Joe's broader message is really that all the struggles we endure, as the struggles of characters like Dogman, Colonel West, Sand Dan Glokta, or Jezal dan Luthar, mean essentially nothing at the end of the day, at the end of the struggle, at the end of their lives. We endure the futile struggle and are not rewarded.

Joe chose to not be kind to his characters. As the god that divines their fate, he implies our own fates are as forsaken. So depressing. I could hope he'd write a spinoff of one of the surviving characters that ends in showers of good fortune, but by then that would seem a cheap device. The moment has passed to lift the reader's heart with inspiration, or to at least lift one of these characters out of the mud and gore of a miserable world.

I think this series is a work of literary art - all too rare in my favorite genre. But like watching a great but basically bleak cinematic drama, I only watch it once. Or like driving through South Dakota in the wintertime - I recognize the majesty of all that flat land, but am eager to be done with it. My ultimate position is that I think Mr. Abercrombie got carried away with his own cynicism and left on the table what might have been a great opportunity to inspire and uplift - and ultimately what might have been an unforgettable tale is instead one merely superbly crafted.

The first two books of the trilogy were very good. This last book is a joke on the consumer. I won't do a spoiler article but I will say that nobody could even begin to guess this... this....whatever it is. There is no "end". It just carries on and you must wait till the next book to see what happens. There is no next book!! This was the last book. It's like Abercrombie wrote an ongoing series and changed his mind and said "Oh I can't be bothered, I'll say it's a trilogy and cut it here". I spent all this money on three books and feel disgusted. My advice is don't buy any of these books because you'll feel taken.
This author goes on the ignore list.

The good:
It is a good ending. The story ties up well, and the writing style is fiendishly good. The way Abercrombie ties certain parts of the story together is very entertaining and well done.

I really enjoyed the way he unfolded the story. It reminded me of the movie Snatch at times.

The irony Abercrombie weaves at times is extremely delicious. As a certain character gets whats coming, while another one doesn't see it coming. I've laughed out loud a number of times at reading the unexpected twists.

The battles too are great. Very entertaining.

The bad:
The characters seem though to take sudden and drastic turns, completely different from the first two book's development. Logen, and Bayaz stick out in my mind.
I wanted so badly for the character to go a certain way... when it didn't happen or something completely unexpected came up, it feels like Abercrombie just stuck it in there to bring that kind of situation up.

Or he got a different idea about how he wanted it,... or maybe he just had a bad few months while writing the book.

Over all it is a good book, and I recommend the series to everyone.
The first two were great. The third is good, while still being a good ending.

Overall:
If the third had had a bit more polish it would have been fantastic.

I look forward to what Abercrombie writes in the future.

The first two were passable attempts at bloody fantasy; nicely drawn up characters, very distinct from one another, good action. But this one was much better as far as plot is concerned. Abercrombie follows the lead of George RR Martin by not allowing happiness and hopefulness to get in the way of a good story, so (**spoilers**)Logen doesn't get the girl, or peace, Ferro barely finds vengeance, the wizard is not the blanket of safety like all the other wizards in fantasy, Glotka doesn't earn a conscience or a death, and Jezal's slight brush with danger doesn't permanently make him a noble and humble soldier. Goodness doesn't prevail, life is pretty unfair, and there really aren't any true resolutions, only an ending moment of slight forced peace, for the time being. Hope he reuses some of these characters for his next one.

Fantastic end to the trilogy. Logan and the Northmen carry this book to a satisfying, although not a 'hearts and flowers', ending. I'm sorry it's only a trilogy and can't wait for his next foray.

The first two books in this trilogy was brilliant. Absolutely magnificent. Then this... it is as if it was written by someone else. Everything turned bad, no heroes left!!
Still, one of the best trilogies ever written, due to the absolute brilliance of the first two.