Sharp Ends: Tales from the World of the First Law - Review
It's difficult to discuss Joe Abercrombie's excellent The First Law series without treading on George R.R. Martin's toes via the expected Game of Thrones comparison. It's true that both writers adopt the term 'grimdark' in similar ways, presenting European-influenced medieval fantasy that's light on the magic and heavy on the shock-value gore festivals. It's also true that both sets of narratives are sprawling exercises in superlative worldbuilding, where stories can be told at the farthest points of the world and still feel like they're all interconnected. Also, both authors really like their swearing characters. I would, however, argue that Abercrombie has this realm of writing locked down far better than Martin does. Most of that's because Abercrombie has a penchant for well-drawn and investing characters, while Martin relies a lot more on plot movement and external circumstance to shape our understanding of the main characters. Pit someo...