Joel Hill

If you like fantasy you NEED to read this book.

The Way of Kings is a journey through a world like nothing I've imagined before. A place ravaged by storms so harsh that topsoil is alien and the only living Flora have adapted to hide in porus rock or retract into shell-like exoskeletons. Horses have been replaced by giant hermit crabs, and man's best friend has antenna and six legs. To top it all off, the ruling class are determined by their eye colour and the most powerful kingdoms are those that posses “shards” and “plates”; magical swords and armor leftover from a forgotten era. More I learned about the world the more I grew to love it, and despite being so alien it was never so off-putting that I was pushed away. It pulled me in and kept me wanting to experience more.

The story is told through the perspectives of wildly different characters: an uncle to a king, a slave in the king's army, and young woman on a quest to become a renowned scholar. There wasn't a single character I didn't want to know more about, and when the perspective changed from one to the other I was always eager to progress through their personal journeys.

This book has everything. Magic, epic battles, politics, tragedy, humor, redemption, forgiveness, betrayal, and delicious campfire stew. I seriously can't recommend it enough. Do yourself a favour and read this book!

This, along with Lying by Sam Harris have given my brain firmware upgrade.

3.5/5

A short story collection that was a nice sprinkle of lore and character development. It's a good read, and some of Abercrombie's writing is in here, but I wasn't really into the main set of stories that follows a couple of characters throughout the years. It was interesting, but I think their story would have been better as a stand alone book.

Worth reading? Absolutely, especially if you like Nine Fingers (read the last story for that one).

It handles the topic of death with grace and humour, but I found the plot a bit thin. Not as good as “Guards, Guards!” But I still really enjoyed it! Probably closer to 3.5.

4.5/5

Hey, someone spilled a western novel all over my favourite fantasy saga! What is fresh hell is this?? It's actually one of Abercrombie's better books as it turns out.

I picked this up after finishing The Heroes and couldn't put it down. Gold rush towns, greedy prospectors, and a sprinkle of characters from previous books fleeing war and violence (or seeking it out) for a better life in “The Far Country”. It's definitely the most disconnected book from the ongoing First Law Saga as not much of consequence happens here to set up the next trilogy, but we do learn a bit more about the lore of the old empire, which is always welcome.

I can't spoil much in this book with my review. Just... if you're a fan of certain characters from The First Law you need to read this because it goes places. Lamb... oh Lamb. My favourite coward, shame he lost that finger at some point...