The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie

CONSPIRACY. BETRAYAL. REBELLION. PEACE IS JUST ANOTHER KIND OF BATTLEFIELD . . . 'Nimble, brutal and hilarious' Daily Mail 'Will leave fans begging for more' Starburst * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Unrest worms into every layer of society. The Breakers lurk in the shadows, plotting to free the common man from his shackles, while yesterday's heroes nurse grievances and noblemen bicker for their own advantage. The King of the Union struggles to find a safe path through the maze of knives that is politics, only to see his enemies, and his debts, multiply. The old ways are being swept aside, but those who would seize the reins of power will find no alliance, no friendship, and no peace, lasts forever. Second in the AGE OF MADNESS trilogy, THE TROUBLE WITH PEACE is the next instalment of a series which is revolutionising fantasy . . . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 'A breakneck- speed fantasy book that brings in all the elements of a political thriller, action romp and reflective memoir. Job well done' The Sun 'Joe Abercrombie is a master of the genre' Lev Grossman 'It's smart. It's witty. This is an absolutely top-notch work of fantasy' Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews 'The Trouble with Peace mauls expectations to serve up a sublime sequel that's even better than it's showstopper of a predecessor' Novel Notions 'Effortlessly brilliant' The Bookbeard's Blog 'I had insanely high expectations for the sequel. But The Trouble with Peace met pretty much all of them' The Fantasy Inn

Part five (or nine, depending on how many spin-offs you’ve read) of “Same old, same old Abercrombie”

It’s hard to describe all features of Abercrombie’s writing especially when it’s the second book in the second trilogy and you probably already know what’s going on. And unfortunately I haven't read any spin offs yet because I was very tempted by A Little Hatred’s rating and reviews, so I'm getting more and more spoilers for those here.

The book starts a little slow to remind where the previous one has ended and spends a lot of time to build up the stage for something very big and epic, but to me it somehow—I rarely like long setups, especially when it’s the second part—still feels very interesting, probably because of the writing. And I think because of the pacing and some hints from the first book you sometimes have a feeling that you know where some storylines are going like “she will do this and it will be so epic”.

Also I really like the chapters where main characters get together in one place and we get different points of view in one chapter. For example, there’s one where two characters arrive at an “entertainment” house at the same time but they’re the worst enemies and everyone there is wearing a mask, it’s awesome. Overall I find a couple of characters not very likeable, though it’s still interesting to follow their path and see how they change. To me Leo is the most boring and has almost no development, when in A Little Hatred he seems very similar to Jezal from the first trilogy.

Although there’s almost no action until the last 100 pages, it’s fine because we get a big, mad, impersonal, pointless battle which is shown from many very different points of view—pikeman, crossbowman, canon guy, messenger—that are chained together, which is a great way to show this kind of action scene.

The ending has three plot twists, one of which is shocking and devastating where a character is crushed completely. But for some characters it feels like a long awaited redemption. Also the endings in the first and the second books in both trilogies are filled with so many gripping events that you want to grab the next book.

So I really can’t wait to read The Wisdom of Crowds!

Joe Abercrombie books are my happy place. They are pure comfort reading for me, albeit with a somewhat grim and dark theme. I think it is the character work he does. Every single one of his characters has there morals and manipulations going on - a seething web of different objectives and purposes tangled into delightful tale of pointless and bloody rebellion.

The Trouble with Peace takes up pretty close to where A Little Hatred left us. Savine is trying to reestablish herself in society, Orso is confused as hell but oddly likeable as a King. The Northerners are plotting and squabbling (like much of the rest of the union). It all comes to head in a glorious battle of rebellion against the crown. Very bloody and ultimately very pointless (like most war). It also sets up for an intriguing finale with plenty of foreshadowing of things to come (where are the Burners and the Breakers?).

Ultimately it is the array of tragi-heroic characters and their interactions that make this book, and there are few better in the business than Abercrombie at painting vivid characters. Beneath the blood and guts is a warmth of wit and wry cynicism that brings the characters he is gradually murdering off to life.

Oh man, what a ride! I could not put this book down and I really don't know if I'll be able to resist immediately picking up the next entry in the series!

I'm so completely invested in every single character in these books (some more than others), and I could not stop reading towards the end (you'll know why). I find myself cheering for both sides of every conflict even though some of them are honestly terrible people.

My only real complaints are fairly minor. It was heavily focused on a smaller subset of the overall cast and I was looking forward to exploring some storylines outside of the inner Union politics. It was also occasionally difficult to follow the plot due to the barrage of family names, but, meh.

All in all I'm recommending this series to everyone I talk to. It's so. Damn. Good! Perfect? No. But I don't know what else I'd give 5 stars to, so yeah, 5 stars!