This has been an odd series to read, somewhat enjoyable, but very much a chore. I’m about 80 pages from the end of the third book and I’ve decided not to finish it: I no longer have the energy to read it for more than a few minutes at a time. But many of my friends enjoyed the book, so I thought I’d briefly give some of my thoughts on it.

The First Law is the debut of Joe Abercrombie, and is fairly standard, “gritty”, genre fantasy. It has an ensemble cast, and we the reader follow the novel’s fairly standard array of fantasy characters through their various attempts at preventing unwanted forces from overtaking the world.

The plot summary: The Union, a large country made up of various states, is under attack on multiple fronts: its northern frontier is being invaded by wild, menacing barbarians, while in the east the port city of Dagoska is threatened by the highly religious Gurkish Empire.

While the Union is mobilising to handle these threats, a wizard arrives at the Union capital and proceeds to lead a motley group of people on a quest to locate a magical weapon that will save the day. All of these plot strands go horribly wrong and right in various ways, some characters fall in love,  lose love, become kings and generals, and die.

While the story gives us nothing new, it is enjoyable. However, we do have to contend with the characterisation. Each character is well defined, and one can usually figure out who a chapter is about from how it’s written. However, the characterisation crosses over fairly early into caricature: each character’s most extreme oddities are highlighted and stressed. This comes across in the writing style: throughout the series any chapter concerning a given character tends to use certain catch phrases and various stylistic mannerisms specific to the character. Chapters concerning  Glokta, the inquisitor, often have every paragraph end with a sentence concerning his thoughts and views on what has just preceded, always sarcastic and acerbic. Chapters concerning Ferro, a mistrustful demon-halfbreed, are often concerned with listing things that she hates or mistrusts. Logen, the berserker, has chapters filled with catch phrases such, “Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say <insert momentary state of being here>,” or perhaps, “You have to be realistic,” among many others. This is repeated often enough that by the third book the characters feel like little more than a collection of these phrases and mannerisms. I found the tedium of repeatedly
having to read this growing into irritation by the third book, overshadowing any enjoyment I found in the storyline or the novels as a whole.

Through the course of their adventures the characters grow, change, and have things revealed about them, but most of this is not surprising or deviating from type: Jezal, a Noble’s son who has never worked for anything in his life, learns through hardship to work and care for others. The magician — who like all magicians is full of hubris and has hidden agendas of his own — has been lying about his past, his role in bringing about current events, and ultimately what he wants to achieve. I haven’t read the last 80 pages, but this stands for the first two books and the bulk of the last.

What you get out of this series will depend on what you’re looking for: if you enjoy the darker, ensemble fantasy works of authors like George R. R. Martin, then this series might be something you’ll enjoy — from the setting and plot down to the characters (or caricatures) themselves. But if the thought of continuously having a caricature remind you to “be realistic” sounds like more of an irritation than good characterisation, you’ll probably be more interested in reading something else.

The series opening: “Logen plunged through the trees, bare feet slipping and sliding on the wet earth, the slush, the wet pine needles.”

Books in the series:

Joe Abercrombie’s website:    http://www.joeabercrombie.com/
Joe Abercrombie on Wikipedia:     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Abercrombie