4.5/5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy (First Law). The characters were fantastic and the plot was fun and quite a ride.

The third book started slowly for me, but I loved it to the end... and let me tell you, WHAT AN END. To be fair, in other books, this ending would probably have annoyed the heck out of me, but I was so into the storyline and these characters, it just made me laugh out loud - in a scolding-the-author kind of way. ( )

After my first foray into grimdark fantasy wasn't entirely positive, I did wonder whether this kind of story-telling just did not click with me. However, Joe Abercrombie has totally changed that view for me with The First Law trilogy, and I can totally see why this is a cornerstone of the sub-genre.

If you are after happy endings, heroic triumphs and heartwarming character redemptions, this is not the series to read. This trilogy, and this final book in particular, drives home the point that failure and disappointment, in all their various forms and permutations, are facts of life, and try as the characters might to strive for something greater and recognise a capacity to change, such hopes are often dashed by the harshness of reality, and adversity can just as easily bring out the worst in people as it can the best. A lot has been said about how character-focussed this series is and how they are what makes the series great (and I agree), but the thing that really struck me was that Abercrombie is able to tell this decidedly unrosy tale set in this cynical, unforgiving world without making me feel despondent throughout the entire read - instead, there was just enough levity, just enough intense action sequences and just enough highs to make the experience enjoyable but still have the gut punches be impactful, and it is that balance which I feel makes this series work for me.

I have seen some comments say that the trilogy felt like one elongated story instead of three episodes of a larger story arc, and I can definitely see that - it helped the flow of the events to be able to read the books one after the other, and they definitely built up in scope and scale culminating in Last Argument of Kings, which tied together the various plotlines and linked up all the characters very well, assisted by one of the most comprehensive denouements I have ever read. The only minor gripe I had was that I felt that one of the final reveals was somewhat contrived in that it meant that essentially the entire plot had been orchestrated by one character from the beginning, but this didn't meaningfully impact my overall enjoyment of the series as a whole.

The First Law trilogy certainly surprised me for the better, and though I think I need a bit of a palate cleanser for now, there's definitely going to be more Joe Abercrombie on my to-be-read! ( )

I'll still read/listen to the next one in the series. And given how averse to series fiction I am, that's something of a recommendation. ( )

The first two books moved slowly in building towards the culmination to so many plots that tied up nicely in this final volume of the series.

I will admit that I had visions of sunny, happy endings for the characters, but I should have known better. This is Grimdark at its finest.

If you have read the first two books, then you need to finish the series. Action abounds here, and if for no other reason, one cannot get enough Glotka! ( )

Fantasy with grit. And mud. And more mud. ( )