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: KPop Demon Hunters – Sony Pictures Animation
This animated musical follows K-Pop group the Huntr/x, who use the magic of singing to protect the world from demons, and strengthen the Honmoon, a magical barrier shielding our world from that of the demons. As the girls gear up to permanently banish the demons, one of them is forced to confront not only the demons she and her friends are fighting, but also the markings on her skin indicating that she is part demon herself
Review: The Minority Report – Philip K. Dick
The Minority Report is Philip K Dick’s 1956 short story on which the probably more widely known Hollywood film is based. It tells the story of John Anderton, the aging chief of Precrime, a police agency that prevents crimes on the basis of predictions of the future, whose life is turned upside down when it is predicted that he himself will commit a murder in the next week. Believing he is being framed, he prepares to flee, but there are other forces at work…
Review: Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Guy Montag is a fireman. His task? Responding to alarms by pulling up to houses and hosing them in kerosine before setting them ablaze if they contain any – highly illegal – books. But Montag harbours doubts. Why must all books be destroyed? Has society not changed for the worse since the rise of anti-intellectualism?
Review: Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus – Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein discovers a formula for imbuing inanimate objects with life. He builds a man, but is so repulsed by his creation that he flees in horror – and leaves the creature to fend for himself. Rejected by his maker and by society at large, Frankenstein’s creation returns to his creator to demand his pound of flesh.
Review: Practical Magic – Alice Hoffman
The Owens sisters have always been different from their peers. All Sally and Gillian wanted was to get away from the kids and school, who shunned and teased them for the magic that surrounded them and their aunts. When an unexpected death brings the sisters back into each other’s lives years later, they discover that the love of a family is its own kind of magic.
Review: The Grace of Kings – Ken Liu
Kuni Garu is a charming bandit that cheats and finesses his way into a leadership position in the rebellion against the Emperor. Mata Zyndu is a stern aristocrat and scion of a noble family that was wronged by the regime. At first, they find themselves brothers, fighting for a new order in the place of the old one. But when that battle is one, their visions for a brave new world turn out not to be compatible.
