JRockBlues
Well-Known Member
Excellent author. Haven't read all of her works (yet) but what I have (Xenogenesis trilogy & this Patternist series) I've enjoyed immensely. Still have Kindred on my TBR shelves which I need to get to at some point.
Reading Challenge 2024
- Thread starter RobMCFC
- Start date
1961_vintage
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 21 Sep 2009
- Messages
- 15,321
Just finished POTD. Excellent.
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10
Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.
There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.
Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.
The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.
I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10
Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.
There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.
Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.
The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.
I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
JRockBlues
Well-Known Member
& the good news is that there's another trilogy of stand-alone books and a short story collection set in the same world. Occasional characters from this trilogy do make appearances.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Glad you enjoyed the series. And now you can probably see why I say that Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora is the best single book I have ever read, but Joe Abercrombie is bar far my favourite author. As you have picked out, his characters are superb - even the bit-part players.1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10
Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.
There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.
Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.
The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.
I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
As @JRockBlues points out, there’s plenty more where this came from. There are 3 standalone books set in the same world. The first, Best Served Cold is an absolute riot of charcaters and the story is engaging too. The Heroes is a long story that covers a three-day battle in the north and Red Country is his take on a western. All three are worth your time and feature some characters from the original trilogy.
Then there is a collection of short stories and then a new trilogy that picks up a few decades after the First Law series finished. Oh and a young adult trilogy set in a different world, and finally he has a new book out in May.
Plenty of Joe Abercrombie to get your teeth into over the next few years!
Thanks guys. I'll definitely be back for more. Joe Abercrombie has occupied much of my attention of late, so I'll cover a few other areas of interest in the next two months, and maybe pick up again next year.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
I agree with this approach. Too much of a good thing can spoil it. I always like to breaks books in a series up with other reads.
jimmy blue shoes
Well-Known Member
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10
Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.
There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.
Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.
The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.
I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
Having read the First Law books I'm now currently listening to them on Audio. Steven Pacey does an absolutely brilliant job of bringing them to life. You can find them on YouTube if you don't have an audible account.
You should definitely finish the series and be careful to read the stand alones in the correct order. The final three (Age of Madness) are just on another level!
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Yes, I love the way he did his version of the French Revolution, also weaving in a version of the Luddites, in the Age of Madness series. And, of course, it was good to see the return of a few old faces.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
- Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
- Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
- A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
- A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10
- Tomorrow's Children – Daniel Polansky – 3/10
- The Mobster’s Lament – Ray Celestin – 8/10
- Priest of Crowns – Peter McLean – 9/10
- Get It On: How the ‘70s Rocked Football – Jon Spurling – 9/10
- The Effigy Engine – Scott Lynch – 7/10
- The Ferryman – Justin Cronin – 8/10
- Catch a Wave – Peter Ames Carlin – 8/10
- Sunset Swing – Ray Celestin – 7/10
This is the final book in the “Blues City Quartet” series, which tells the tale of the rise of the mob in 20th Century America and intertwines it with the story of jazz through the same period.
Whilst this is a very good series as a whole, I think that it’s finishing at the right point because I did notice a bit of repetition creeping in. To illustrate this point, let’s look at what I wrote to summarise the third book:-
This time post-war New York is the scene of the action as mobster Gabriel Leveson sees his secret plans to escape a life of crime come unstuck when his boss sets him the task of recovering $2M in stolen mob money.
Meanwhile, detective Ida Young teams up with retired former partner, Michael Talbot, whose son has been wrongly accused of a killing spree at a house where he’d been staying.
And now I’ll summarise this fourth book:-
This time sixties Los Angeles is the scene of the action as mobster Dante Sanfelippo sees his secret plans to escape a life of crime come unstuck when his boss sets him the task of finding out what has happened to his soon, recently released from prison.
Meanwhile, detective Ida Young teams up with troubled army nurse, Kerry, whose brother has gone missing.
See what I mean? What was once engaging has started to become a bit weary in its repetition. Still, it’s well written, features some returning characters and wraps up the series nicely. Ray Celestin already has a new book out, set in a different time and place, and I’ll certainly be picking it up next year.