The characters were also very well written, consisting mostly of violent, conflicted people with checkered pasts, but each is written quite differently with very different outlooks. Abercrombie does a good job of making them sound genuine and varied from one another, among other things through their habits of using certain phrases and other such mannerisms. There is angst, but honestly it was quite downplayed. Unlike most of these "doorstopper" fantasy series, I actually liked almost all of the characters, and I didn't dislike any of them. There weren't any POVs where I would read the first page and say "oh crap, not another so-and-so chapter," which is probably the most annoying part of most authors who employ the revolving POVs (even good ones, like GRRM). Most of the characters themselves aren't very original in concept, but Abercrombie takes the fantasy archetypes (powerful old wizard; battle-hardened barbarian; dashing, pretty-boy fencer; physically deficient yet mentally proficient man caught in the web of court intrigue) and builds them in interesting and unusual ways. The barbarian for example comes across as reasonable, level-headed, and sympathetic, despite being a generally murderous bastard. The contrast between the way he comes across to the reader from inside his head and the way he comes across to the other characters is very well done.
As for style, well...as with most of these modern "doorstoppers", the style is somewhat lacking, though better I think than GRRM's. The problem with these really long series I think is that consistently good style is very hard to sustain throughout, as it requires every single word to be selected with the utmost care. Instead the style is closer to the "transparent", with workmanlike descriptions and metaphors and dialog that set the scene and get the ideas across, only very occasionally intruding into the reader's consciousness as being exceptionally good or bad. The characters speak fairly believably, and he eschews made-up bullshit for real swearwords (fuck, shit, etc.), which seems to bother some people, but honestly I think that works out better in the end. Otherwise he would have had to affect some nonsense, whereas the more modern diction allows us to grasp relative social context much more easily. There are times though where the style falls a little flat, but with such a lot of material to cover I can forgive some editorial oversights. Abercrombie's style is probably at its best in the voices of the various main characters, though I feel he does lean a little too heavily on certain repetitive idiosyncratic mannerisms to establish character. One thing I did appreciate was how he invented his own sayings (or altered existing ones) for his universe, and rather than treating them as universally revered wisdom, characters react as you might if quoted an old chestnut like "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." If the real world has its cliche sayings, why shouldn't an invented one?
The plot really kept me on the edge of my seat, and while I was able to call some twists, there were always more that I missed. There were also some instances of intentional dramatic irony, where the reader is given clues to figure something out long before the characters do. Abercrombie juggles a lot of balls as is expected from this style of fantasy, but he manages to keep them all in the air as we go from one end of the world to the other as the Union struggles to keep itself afloat as it's beset by enemies on both sides as well as from within. More discussion of plot, but with spoilers:
*SPOILERS*
Some people I think weren't satisfied with the way it played out, but honestly I thought the ending was excellent. Logen for example managed to fuck himself around in a big circle into essentially the exact same position he was in at the very beginning, while Jezal got more or less what he wanted and then some, but it ended up being mostly a sham (even if he isn't aware of just how much of a sham it is). Despite that he's probably most moral of all. Ferro got some of her vengeance and the tools to get more, but basically chose the vengeance over everything else. Glokta probably gets the most undilutedly "happy" ending of all, while also being one of the least deserving from a moral standpoint. Of course the "big reveal" at the end is how much control Bayaz has over everything, the Union being essentially his puppet in his fight against Khalul (with the Gurkish Empire as his puppet), with economics being Bayaz's method of control and religion being Khalul's. A lesser author might have tried to kill Bayaz off and end his questionably evil tyranny, but instead the wizard reestablishes his iron grip. I called early on that Bayaz would be trying to put Jezal on the throne, but I didn't guess that he would be behind Valint and Balk and through them the entire Union, so that was cool. It was a very unconventional and realistic ending for the series, without any kind of unconditionally positive or negative outcome for any of the characters. Even West, though physically debilitated in a way similar to Glokta and possibly near death, is still a Grand Marshal.
*END SPOILERS*
Overall I was very satisfied with the series, it was a rip-roaring read of exactly the sort I was looking for, but with the added bonus of having a better sense of humor than I anticipated, as well as more depth. The backstory of the Magi, the Maker, Juvens, etc. was especially compelling, even more so because there were so many unanswered questions. While I wouldn't rank it among my top favorites, the First Law trilogy definitely has its place on my bookshelf and I don't doubt I'll be re-reading it eventually. It's nice to find a fantasy author still living and writing whose continued output I can look forward to.
No comments:
Post a Comment