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?
Curator Question: What is your favourite The Lord of the Rings-meme?
Our curators share their favourite memes based on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy!
Review: Fool’s Assassin – Robin Hobb
Fitz is slowly adapting to his new life at Withywoods.However, he still struggles to let go of old friends and the echoes of his past. When his wife Molly comes with a surprise announcement and a mysterious messenger appears, it becomes clear his former life still haunts him in more ways than he knows…
Review: Leviathan Wakes – James S.A. Corey
Jim Holden serves on an interplanetary ice hauler when disaster strikes. He and a handful of his crewmates are thrust into the center of an encroaching conflict between the superpowers of the solar system: Earth and Mars. Joe Miller works security on the most populous space station in the Kuyper Belt until his investigations lead him to a mysterious connection with the cause of the looming war.
Review: Avatar – James Cameron
In this visual spectacle, a disabled marine, travels to the distant moon of Pandora to join a corporate mining operation. He will enter the avatar-programme, whose members transfer their consciousness to human-alien hybrid clones to communicate with the local population.
Review: Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution – R.F. Kuang
Robin Swift is taken from his native Kanton to Oxford to study translation: the art of producing magic from the difference in meaning between translated words in different languages. He is torn by the contradiction between his love for Oxford’s translation institute Babel and the study of languages on the one hand, and his growing unease at Britain’s role in the world and Babel’s role in Britain.
Review: Hades – Supergiant Games
Zagreus, son of Hades, god of the dead, wants to escape from the underworld to see the surface, where the mortals live, and to discover his heritage. His father is dead set on preventing this from happening. In this rogue-like video game, battle through chambers filled with hordes of Hades’ minions, slain heroes, and mortals undergoing punishment as you enlist the help of the Olympian gods to fight your way to the surface.
