Welcome to the Escape Velocity Collection!
We are an opinionated group of friends reviewing all sorts of fantasy and science fiction media. Don’t forget to get to know the curators and visit our curated Collection, where we discuss the stories that never cease to transport us to another world.
Will you escape with us?
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- Book written by Joe Abercrombie
- Published 15 March 2007
- Part two in the First Law Trilogy
Bayaz, first of the magi, gathers a party of misfits around him for a quest to the end of the world. Among them are Logen, the barbarian looking for a better version of himself, Ferro mal Jin, the woman looking for revenge on an empire, and Jezal dan Luthar, the nobleman not looking for anything at all. In the meantime, Inquisitor Glokta is sent to an outlying Union colony to solve the murder of his predecessor, and Colonel Collem West is sent to the North, Logen’s homeland, to defend the civilised world from the unholy alliance of northmen, sorcery and Shanka that threatens to engulf the northern reaches of the Union. How they’re all connected remains to be seen…
Listened to the audiobook with Steven Pacey (whom I liked a lot).
I really felt like the first part of the trilogy was a prelude, so I am glad the story took off in the second instalment. The prose remains great and scene for scene, the book is a page turner, but as with the previous part, the plot progresses slowly once you take a step back.
I liked that Abercrombie had us spend a lot of time with Logen’s former crew in the North, which I think are some of the best characters from the series. I am also glad that Abercrombie manages to make the distant-past worldbuilding that will be necessary to understand where the overarching plot is going enjoyable, though I do have to admit that the worldbuilding itself is not mind-blowing.
Overall, a good read which sets up a lot of pegs for the final installment to knock down. You can read my review of The Last Argument of Kings to see whether I thought the conclusion to the plot was as satisfying as Abercrombie’s prose was in the first two parts.
Tagged:
- Book written by Joe Abercrombie
- Published 20 March 2008
- Part one in the First Law Trilogy
A cast of diverse characters, each broken and twisted in his or her own way, struggle to find meaning in a world where everything seems bigger than they can handle. Follow the stories of, among others, Logen Ninefingers, a grizzled champion from the barbarian north, Inquisitor Sand dan Glokta, a former war hero and current torturer, and captain Jezal dan Luthar, a fencing duelist with more skill than sense – all the while Bayaz, the First of the Magi, a quick-to-anger wizard, seems to have an agenda of his own…
Listened to the audiobook with Steven Pacey (whom I liked a lot).
An interesting read that features a lot of really dark characters that will, depending on your likes and dislikes, straddle the divide between too-edgy for their own good and refreshingly grim, but realistic. Personally, I found the characters well-written though I could not bring myself to like them, despite Abercrombie clearly trying.
The book has some of the most enjoyable prose I’ve encountered in a long time in a fantasy book, and it has an absolutely terrific balance between humour and serious storytelling.
Somewhat disappointingly, however, you cannot read this as a standalone book – this is the first book in a trilogy, and it shows. If you want to read this, plan on having to read the entire story for any of the story lines and character arcs to progress out of their initial stages. This book is a set up – and does well in that role – but requires further storytelling to bring home the rewards.
Initially I was a bit frustrated with Abercrombie for leaving so many endings open, and it took me a while before I caved and listened to the other two instalments; having now finished the trilogy, I can say that it is well worth the read.
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Welcome to the Escape Velocity Collection!
We are an opinionated group of friends reviewing all sorts of fantasy and science fiction media. Don’t forget to get to know the curators and visit our curated Collection, where we discuss the stories that never cease to transport us to another world.
Will you escape with us?
Review: Consider Phlebas – Iain M. Banks
In a galaxy-spanning conflict between the Culture, a post-scarcity human civilisation, and the Idirans, an empire of proud, reptilian three-legged warrior giants, one of the Culture’s artificial super Minds is nearly destroyed and hides on the forbidden planet of Schar’s World. Both the Culture and the Idirans send their agents after it. Bora Horza Gobuchul, a shape-Changer, is hunting the Mind on behalf of the Idirans – but it is a long way to Schar’s world in a war-torn galaxy, and his Culuture nemesis Perosteck Balveda, is on his heels…
Review: Renegade Nell – Sally Wainwright
Nell Jackson, previously assumed dead, returns home to reconnect with her family. Here she’ll soon discover the dark powers that are at work in England, as well as the mystery of her own powers that make her almost invincible.
Review: Annihilation – Alex Garland
Lena is a professor of cellular biology with a past in the army. When her husband leaves on a mysterious mission and doesn’t come back, she is heartbroken. But when he suddenly reappears, her life takes a turn and she, too, is dragged into the exploration of the Shimmer, a mysterious and slowly growing phenomenon from which no expedition has previously returned.
Review: Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Bioware
A long search for the Dreadwolf culminates in the accidental release of Elven Gods Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain from their ancient prison. You are Rook, a nobody who finds themselves leading a band of adventurers called the Veilguard, tasked with stopping the elven gods, and preventing the dreadwolf from tearing down the veil.
Review: The War of the Rohirrim – Kenji Kamiyama
200 years before the War of the Rings and the other events of the Lord of the Rings, Helm, king of Rohan, slew a Dunlending lord who sought a marriage between his son Wulf and Helm’s daughter Hera. In the ensuing war between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings, not just Helm but also his daughter Hera will make a name for themselves that will go down in history.
Review: Annihilation – Jeff Vandermeer
A biologist is part of the 12th mission to discover the secrets of the mysterious Area X, an abandoned and poorly documented zone now overtaken by wilderness. From the moment she wakes up from the trance necessary to cross the mysterious border, the seemingly tranquil Area X feels oppressive. Tension between the mission member rise as they discover an unmapped feature: an underground structure with mysterious writing on the wall…
