Let's talk about Joe Abercrombie.
For those of you not familiar with him, picture the dark fantasy conflicts of George R R Martin, with the biting humour of Terry Pratchett and the sharp human dialogue of 'Stand By Me' era Stephen King, and you've got an inkling of what you might find in a Joe Abercrombie book.
Within the pages of an average book by ol' Joe, you'll find scoundrel lit at its finest. Characters ranging from grim, archetypal barbarians to shifty rogues and tortured old heroes fill the pages. But it's beneath the expected personalities where you'll find a complexity and nuance of character you won't find in other stories of the genre. Here are barbarians who doubt themselves, question their morals, and fight with the simple concept of barbarism. Storied commanders on the battlefield, with songs sung of their bravery, but fed up with the blood and the fighting, desiring nothing more than a farm or a wife to settle down with. These are human characters, with real faults and believable flaws, and it's easy to fall in love with the most heartless, hateful soul when you get to know them well enough.
Joe Abercrombie appeared on the fantasy scene only a short time ago, with an under-the-radar trilogy called The First Law. Chronicling the exploits of three seemingly unconnected heroes (in the vaguest sense of the word) who're swept into the machinations of superpowers far beyond their scope of understanding. It's bloody, hilarious, and genuinely thoughtful by turns.
With some of the most brutally lovable and enjoyably despicable characters I'd seen in the genre in years, I found the whole trilogy impossible to put down.
Joe would continue the world of The First Law with three more stand alone books, before expanding his horizons with an entirely new trilogy.
The Shattered Sea, the collected name for the trilogy of Half a King, Half the World, and Half a War, is Joe's latest work, and following in the footsteps of his earlier worlds, it's dark, gritty and fun all the way.
The Shattered Sea follows the events surrounding an inevitable war boiling amidst bordering countries, each individual nation with their own kings and queens, governed over in turn by a seemingly benevolent High King and his devious minister. Borders are being threatened, lines are being redrawn, and thrones are being vacated at an alarming rate. Unrest is particularly present in Gettland, where the young prince Yarvi is torn from his future as a respected minister when the male line above him is extinguished in a single night, leaving him as the unexpected and undesired monarch. In a world where kings are expected to be mighty warriors, Yarvi stands a frail figure with a crippled hand, but a mind sharp as any blade.
Half a King, the first book in the series, follows the first steps into the crooked rule of unexpected King Yarvi, as the broken King uses his wits and knowledge alone to survive backstabbing, betrayal, slavery and the advances of a drunken pirate queen. From this point on, into the second and third volumes, things only get bigger, wilder, and more enjoyable.
What separates Abercrombie's work from the rest is the fluidity at which our viewpoint character can switch. The story of the heir to the throne of Gettland is but one part of the larger war the Shattered Sea must face. More than just Yarvi's eyes are used to see the looming battle to come, and as the series continues, we're introduced to personalities like the savage Thorn, a young woman undeniably skilled in battle but scorned by other warriors because of her sex, and Brand, an untested warrior thrust Half the World away on a desperate mission to seek aid from the farthest reaches of the Shattered Sea. There are brilliant characters here, and lots of them. It's hard to pick favorites, in truth. Even the smallest roles are given character, history and a life of their own.
Like all great scoundrel lit, the villains are just as fun and likable as the heroes, like the towering barbarian king Grom-Gil-Gorm, whom it is prophesied that no man can kill, and the dashing Bright Yilling, a military commander who worships no higher power but Death herself.
The Shattered Sea books span a decade of plot, counterplot, scheming ministers and outright warfare, with the most dangerous weapons often being wicked minds. The writing is fast, intelligent, energetic and has some pretty solid twists along the way that'll impress the dedicated fantasy fan. Yet, as deep and complex as the story is, it isn't too dense or mired in its own world to be unreachable to casual readers, or even teen readers interested in a more mature fantasy experience.
Joe Abercrombie's work is breathing life into the speculative fiction genre in a way that I can't get enough of. While the story of The Shattered Sea may be over, there's glimpses of more brilliant characters in short stories to be found, and hints at greater enemies to come throughout The First Law trilogy. It's safe to say that whatever Joe has planned, his work certainly isn't over yet.
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