Last Argument of Kings

I’ve been marathoning my way through the First Law trilogy now for a while, and with each new chapter, falling more and more under Joe Abercrombie’s spell. And yet, I couldn’t have been more wrong in some of my comments that I made about the first and second books in the series. Not in their quality, and not in their strengths – the rich character building, the black sense of humor, the complex plotting. No, what I misjudged – and what punched me in the gut as Last Argument of Kings finished – was its sense of hope. Because while I thought that Abercrombie was presenting deeply flawed characters who were doing their best to be good people, and that those good people might be capable of redemption, it turned out he had a whole secondary game waiting for me in the shadows – one that left me pretty stunned by the end of the series.In most ways, though, Last Argument of Kings continues the threads we’ve seen for the other books. The wars we’ve been setting up on both sides of the Aduan kingdom – that with Bethod to the north and the Gurkish to the south – finally break loose, in all of their horrific violence and cost. And as those wars play out, our various “heroes” (put in quotes because, as anyone who’s read these books knows, calling any of these men pure heroes is a stretch of the imagination) find themselves in positions of surprising power over the events unfolding. Logen Ninefingers – a.k.a., the “Bloody Nine” – reunites with his old group of men, and does his best to turn the tide in the North, while continuing his internal debate of whether he could ever undo the damage he’s done in his old life. Sand dan Glokta – cripple, torturer, cynic – finds himself torn between two very demanding masters, and with the power to quite possibly save the kingdom – or maybe destroy it. And Jezal dan Luthar finally realizes exactly why Bayuz, the First of the Magi, has been following him around for so long.More than anything else, though, this is the book where we finally see Abercrombie’s full design, and just how elegantly he’s been putting all of this together. I’ve commented about the previous books that one of their joys is the sense that we’re not quite sure what the endgame is – just what, exactly, is the common thread of this trilogy? By the time Last Argument of Kings ends, you’ll realize exactly what’s going on, and see that what we’ve been watching play out has been far more controlled, manipulated, and shaped than what we expected. And our assumptions about our characters are going to take some serious blows.What Abercrombie seems to be fascinated by, overall, is the blurred line between good and evil, and that’s something that gives the ending its brutal punch. Characters we like, and even admire, turn out to be something less than heroic. Cowardice turns out to have its benefits. The cruelest, in some ways, show themselves to be capable of the greatest kindnesses. And more than anything, the question of power and survival hang over everything. Exactly how far should we be willing to go in order to survive and succeed?These are thorny questions, and Abercrombie doesn’t give us easy answers. Nor does he make the book an easy read, as he displays a Martin-like willingness to butcher and maim characters, to turn them on their heads, and make us question their motives. It’s a bravura performance by Abercrombie, and while the end can be a painful, heartbreaking read at points – one character’s fate, in particular, is truly awful in ways that I never dreamed of – I’m also floored by what he accomplished here. Each character developed, changed, evolved, and shaped over the course of the series in incredible ways, giving you a complexity and depth that many authors just dream of, and setting up moral shades of gray without ever betraying our assumptions. More than that, by the time you finish Last Argument of Kings, it becomes evident just what a grand scope Abercrombie was working on, and just how intricately structured the entire series has been from the beginning.In short, it’s a fantasy trilogy that I absolutely loved. It’s darkly funny, shockingly violent, richly written, beautifully rendered, thoughtfully constructed, and brilliant. And I’m thrilled that there’s more stand-alone books to come – I don’t plan on waiting long to jump into them. If you like George R.R. Martin and haven’t read these, you’re missing out, plain and simple.

There was so much action in this book, I'm surprised it didn't leave bloodstains on my bookshelf!Last Argument of Kings is the finale of the First Law Trilogy.In order to understand what's going on in this book, you really need to read "The Blade Itself" and "...Before They Are Hanged."Imagine an epic fantasy trilogy like Lord of the Rings populated with the characters from Sin City. (Marv, Kevin, Dwight...)This is a truly gritty fantasy world exclusively inhabited by crazed misfits and sociopaths. The plot is complex, the action is savage, and the dialogue is entertainingly grim.Story:It picks up right where "Before They Are Hanged" left off with the kingdom in serious trouble from Bethod in the North, the Ghurkish Empire in the South, and traitors within. The survivors from the first two books are all back and they're in more trouble than ever. The character driven story arcs weave in and out of each other to create a page turning experience. This is a true finale and you'll get satisfying conclusions to almost all of the story arcs.Characters:Any of the "Good Guys" in this book could easily be villains in any other fantasy novel. They're flawed, violent, warped, and severely lacking any morals whatsoever. If that doesn't bother you, you might find them refreshingly dark and entertaining. Half of the fun of this book is reading about what these psychopaths are going to do next. The dialogue will have you laughing out loud, then feeling a bit dirty for laughing.Writing Style:The story is told through well written scenes with very interesting characters and good dialogue. This book is filled with gory battles. There's dark humor, action, interesting plot twists, and resolutions. The descriptions of just about everything are gritty: Clothes are stained, warriors stink of sweat, faces are scarred... It's quite a change of pace from most fantasy novels where everything is black and white.The World:It's a dark medieval fantasy world where there is ancient magic, humanoid races, and conflict. There are no dragons, elves, dwarves, hobbits, butterflies, or unicorns. If a unicorn actually appeared in this book, it would probably eat fairies, impale children with its horn, and cuss like a drunken sailor.Action:The Last Argument of Kings features about 400 pages of the most intense battle scenes that you'll ever read. It's a bone crunching blend of Zach Snyder's 300 and those Bloody Asphalt Movies they use to scare kids in school when they get their driver's learning permits. There are epic battles, duels, supernatural beings, magic, sieges, massacres, and carnage. The body count is well over 100,000. And there's none of that, "Character gets stabbed, quietly falls to the ground, and magically disappears from the battlefield." In this book, characters get stabbed through a lung, gurgle as blood pours out of their mouth and the gaping hole in their chest as they crawl along the ground grasping futily while their companions trample them into the mud.Maturity Level:This book is dark, has foul language, torture, sex, violence, and gore. You should probably only read it if you've been to prison or you have a strong stomach. Otherwise, it may be too shocking for you.Overall:The series is very fun to read if you like grim humor, dark characters, and violent action. But it is missing humanity. There are no virtuous characters to offset the misfits. If the whole world is rotten to the core, then why struggle? In the end, it falls a bit short from becoming a classic and settles for being ruthlessly entertaining. There's nothing wrong with that.Pick it up if you're tired of noble heroes, perfect princesses, and convenient endings. If you enjoyed the first two books, this is a satisfying conclusion. If you're a fan of George RR Martin, this is an excellent read while you wait... and wait... and wait... for him to finish his series.Avoid it if you are squeamish about bloody entrails laying in the mud, dirty fingernails, gaping wounds, greasy hair, or bloody spittle. You might not have the stomach for this adventure. If you need noble heroes with perfect teeth and a white horse, you should probably skip the series as well.

This is the third book in the series and as a finale you couldn't ask for better. Plenty of plot twists, an unlikely hero, a coward that becomes king, and an apparent savior that is more evil than anyone ever knew.The Union joins forces with a small band of North Men to overthrow the self acclaimed King of the North and his witch. Meanwhile The Bloody Nine, Logen, rejoins his comrades that thought he was dead. The crippled torturer finds himself finally caught between two merciless masters, all while the Union faces invasion and the destruction of its capital.This is truly a book you can't put down. Just when you think more can't happen or there can't be any more surprises a new chapter starts with even more action.One of the best fantasize that I have read the past several years.

Book showed up in good condition. No damage. Great series.

2md read was probably even more better than my first one , probably because I noticed things , didn't note in my first read , or because I knew things this time that I hadn't the last timeWHAT I LIKEDThis is a character driven book , which blurs the line between what's good and what's evil , the ambiguity of the characters is further supported with a well layered story , that is filled with subtlety and intrigue and hidden smartly behind many foreshadowing moments . So much so that the first two books may well feel sort of meaningless but this books makes it all make sense like pieces of a completed jigsaw puzzle .The book is filled with action sequences and there are countless times you feel as a reader that the story has reached it's climax and a fitting , satisfactory conclusion only to then realise there's still about a few hundred pages left .The humor is dark , the action crisp , and the plot full of jaw dropping surprises and reveal . Honestly it's my favourite read of all time

We start off relatively soon after the events of the second book. West and Dogman are still in the North but they have Bethod on the run. Bayaz, Jezal, Ferro and Logan have newly arrived back to Adua while Glokta is threatening and bribing people as the ailing King is now heirless. At the same time whispers of a Gurkish invasion are starting to occur.I still don't really know how the author does it. All the characters are pretty horrible people, OK Dogman is still cool, and Jezal has grown on me immensely but still. Saying this I absolutely love them all and want them to succeed no matter how bad and deep they descent. You feel Logan's weariness but in this book especially you realize how much he has been lying to himself and that everybody was right about him. Ferro feels a few tinges of regret but still doubles down on her vengeance. Glokta just keeps hobbling along doing Glokta things. Jezal has grown but at heart is still a coward and caves at the slightest pressure. Dogman and West are definitely doing the right thing but are getting nowhere. And Bayaz, well let's just say he's absolutely perfect for this book and series.The action ramps up in this book but it is never sacrificed to plot and character development. Things get dark, and we do find out about a lot of stuff, particularly in relation to Bayaz and the distant past, but as usual most of the main characters don't really care. They continue to be involved in their petty, and sometimes not so petty, concerns.I also loved that there were quite a few chapters wrapping things up. I notice in a lot of books now, even big series, can just end quite abruptly. Here we follow up with all our characters, most get a superficially happy end, but none actually do really and there are still a lot of things in the air and unknown but it was still a very satisfying end to the series. Now the dilemma is whether to re-read the standalones again or move on to the sequel series which I had originally planned. Not a bad problem though :)

Say one thing about Joe, he’s the man himself! This trilogy was a journey where I enjoyed everything in it, the characters, the twist, the story itself.

Bella trilogia, la giusta dose di fantasy e una narrazione che si segue molto bene.