LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Highly Recommended.
Fans of Joe Abercombie will be delighted to hear that this is a collection of tales set in the world of his First Law novels. Like those novels these stories are high on vivid yet realistic world building, rich in laconic characterisation and delivered with real wit. Like the novels they are easy on the supernatural and as such would appeal to readers of Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow every bit as much as fans of George RR Martin.
In these stories we meet charming bastards, troubled thieves, pragmatic mercenaries. Men and women alike these are characters who are immediately knowable, sharply drawn and sometimes deeply sympathetic (despite having done harsh things). Characters familiar to readers of the novels appear or are talked about. If you are already a fan spotting these characters, drawing together the threads is a hugely enjoyable part of reading this book. If you are new to Abercrombie it acts as the perfect taster to both his world and the people in it.
Abercrombie is an immensely accomplished novelist and on the strength of this collection an excellent writer of shorter tales. Each story is perfectly paced and structured and they don’t always rely on twists (as some short stories do). Villages burn, duels are fought, rooftops are leapt but always we learn a lot about the characters and want more time with each of them. What more can you ask of a short story than you wish it were longer? Essential fantasy.
Simon Spanton
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Sharp Ends Stories from the World of the First Law Synopsis
The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta. Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: no one seems to know what the item is. Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp. And after years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There's only one obstacle left - his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine ...Sharp Ends combines previously published, award-winning tales with exclusive new short stories. Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue's gallery of side-shows, back-stories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law. 'Joe Abercrombie is doing some terrific work' George R. R. Martin 'Delightfully twisted and evil' Guardian 'Joe Abercrombie has written the finest epic fantasy in recent memory.' Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize Winner, on Red Country 'Joe Abercrombie is probably the brightest star among the new generation of British fantasy writers ...' The Times
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780575104679 |
| Publication date: |
26th April 2016 |
| Author: |
Joe Abercrombie |
| Publisher: |
Gollancz an imprint of Orion Publishing Co |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Primary Genre |
Fiction
|
Press Reviews
Joe Abercrombie Press Reviews
'Highly recommended - a funny, finely-wrought, terrifically energetic work of high fantasy. Seek it out' -- Joe Hill
Author
About Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie was born in Lancaster on the last day of 1974, the son of an English teacher and a sociologist. He spent much of his youth in imaginary worlds, and left school with a good idea of how to make stuff up. He moved to the big city, learned to brew tea, and ended up as a TV editor, working on documentaries, events and concerts for bands from Iron Maiden to Coldplay. But in the darkness of the night he was still making stuff up, and his first book, The Blade Itself, was published in 2006. He now lives in Bath with his wife Lou and their three children Grace, Eve and Teddy and makes stuff up full-time.
Author photo © Lou Abercrombie
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