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: Fallout – Amazon Prime
The bomb has gone off, but that doesn’t mean civilisation has to collapse. Deep underground, life goes on for a select few in the Vaults. 219 years later, Fallout follows Lucy Maclean, who has grown up with all the luxuries 1950’s life has to offer. After an incident in her vault, she ventures out into the wastes where she discovers what nuclear radiation has done to the people of America, in both mind and body.
Review: Spiderlight – Adrian Tchaikovsky
A group of adventurers sets out to defeat the Dark Lord – meticulously following each of the steps foretold by the prophecy. The adventurers’ relationships are tested and their faith in the Light is challenged when their quest requires them to welcome a new member into their party. A creature of the Dark, transformed, bound to help them – but a creature of the Dark nonetheless. But if Darkness helps to fight Darkness, and the Light does not always shine so bright – where does that leave the quest, and what does the ever-lasting war between Light and Dark mean?
Review: Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
Alina is an orphan who serves in the Ravkan army as a cartographer. Together with her childhood friend Mal, she is sent on a ship through the Shadowfold, a rift populated by monsters. As the ship finds itself attacked by the terrifying creatures that live in the fold, Alina discovers she has a rare gift that makes her very powerful but also places a target on her back.
Review: The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens, Bod for short, orphaned as a toddler, grows up in a graveyard, raised by the dead in a cosy mausoleum. His vampire guardian brings him food, teaches him, and protects him from any threats from the world of the living. Though the world outside the graveyard is foreign and odd to Bod, as Bod grows up and makes friends, his urge to learn what is out there becomes difficult to resist. But he was not orphaned without motive, and he lives with the dead in the graveyard for a very good reason…
Review: A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller Jr.
A collection of three short stories set in a post-apocalyptic world, A Canticle for Leibowitz follows the story of the abbey of the Albertian order of Leibowitz. The monks of the order are the guardians of a collection of pre-war scientific texts that their patron saint Leibowitz saved from the chaos and anger following the so called flame deluge. As time progresses, society is rebuilt, the scientific texts are again understood, and humanity falls into old patterns.
Review: Moon – Duncan Jones
Sam Bell is nearing the end of his three-year contract as the single crew member of a mining base on the dark side of the moon. Due to an outage in the communications equipment, he has been unable to contact either his family or his employers live. With only an AI assistant for company, he feels like he is slowly going insane from loneliness. When his lunar rover crashes, however, things take a turn for the worse.
