Beginning with a linked trilogy of novels and continuing with three stand-alone novels set in the same world, Joe Abercrombies First Law books are a law unto themselves. The first three books read as though (lazy tabloid comparison alert!) Quentin Tarantino had decided to rewrite Tolkien, and each of the following three uses the tropes of a different narrative genre revenge, war and western to tell a grimly realistic, fast-paced and darkly hilarious fantasy tale. Bursting with the kind of bluntly compelling characters that seem to only come along once in a lifetime for other writers, Abercrombies stuff is compulsively readable. Horrible things happen to everyone, often in an incredibly cheerful fashion, and there are no real heroes anywhere. If the caustic, gallows humour of Game Of Thrones is your cup of tea, then the First Law books are going to be a whole buffet. An evil buffet. Of all the epic narratives discussed in this article, an Abercrombie adaptation probably stands to be compared most favourably with Game Of Thrones itself, but the idiosyncratic, almost anarchic storytelling is faster and more energetic. Martin himself describes Abercrombie as Britains hottest young fantasist, and hes not talking about the mans rugged good looks. An adaptation for film and television is inevitable at some point, and wed like to cast our vote for Ray Stevenson as Logen Ninefingers now, if you dont mind.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
