Sunday, 31 January 2010

SFX Weekender / Gemmell Award

I have received a schedule for the SFX weekender, taking place at no less a location than Pontins at Camber Sands. Apparently there may still be some changes as the details get ironed out, but for the time being, here is my schedule:

Friday, 12.45-13.30 (Main Void) - Gollancz panel, along with imprint stablemates Dave Moody, Chris Wooding, Justina Robson, Tom Lloyd, John Meaney, and Richard Morgan, and who knows, perhaps one or other of the magnificent Ozzes who make it all happen from behind their curtain...

Saturday 5th Feb, 10.00-10.45 (Main Void) - David Gemmell Legend Award Panel, along with award organiser Debbie Miller, and authors Stan Nichols, Richard Morgan, Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Saturday 6th Feb, 16.00-16.30 (Slaughtered Lamb) - Me, alone - my incandescent brilliance undimmed by the presence of other authors as the tiny moon briefly occludes the majestic fiery orb of the sun during a solar eclipse - reading readings from books written by me, probably including something from the forthcoming The Heroes, to an awestruck crowd (should there be one) and answering questions (should there be any).

Anyone who's attending the Weekender, and would like anything signed, can by all means collar me at any of these places, though I'll also more than likely be happy to oblige if you collar me elsewhere, which probably, I shouldn't wonder, for the rest of the time, means in the bar. Books should be available from dealers there as well, though I couldn't absolutely swear to that.

Talking of the David Gemmel Legend Award, which it looks like I will be at the Weekender, I note that Nic Clarke has completed a probing examination of last year's shortlist at Strange Horizons (part I here, and part II here). It's interesting reading, and not just because she clearly realises what the internet-using population of the world was clearly TOO DAMN THICK, WRONG-HEADED or PROFOUNDLY EVIL to realise, that mine iz the bestest ritten out of that hole load of bookz.

This caused author Mark Charan Newton, who is running a very thoughtful and insightful blog (curse him), to reflect upon the absence of serious discussion about last year's Gemmell Award, or at least serious comparison of its nominees:

"I must admit to finding it bizarre that any award can have a shortlist where titles are barely compared to each other. How can you call a book the "best" without such an analysis? Getting as many people to vote online seems a spurious way to go about this, when clearly no one could have read so many titles."

I certainly agree about the online vote aspect, I much preferred the idea of a public vote on the longlist - which would have meant a decent amount of public involvement and a relatively commercial shortlist - then a panel to decide the winner, which would hopefully encourage debate, reduce any chance of vote-stuffing, and hopefully prevent the award endlessly going to the most popular series currently going (I'm a little worried it'll just end up going to, say, the final three books of the Wheel of Time three years in a row, which there probably isn't much point in. Awards are at their most useless when they just point Catholics towards the Vatican, as it were.) as well as meaning that the people making the choice do actually have to read and compare the books, rather than just vote for the one they've read.

But overall, though I'd like to see more, I'm not honestly sure lack of in-depth discussion is that important. Firstly, it's a new award, and it takes time for these things to bed in and be taken seriously, and a lot of what determines how seriously it'll be taken and by who is who actually wins the awards - the character of this has yet to really be established. In due course it may wither or it may become important. It's also interesting that despite everyone saying a public vote would be incredibly predictable, no one actually predicted the outcome at all last year. Secondly, the award generated some debate in those places that people talk about these kind of books, which generally aren't the same ones where people talk about other awards, since other genre awards really don't tend to go to these kind of books - follow me? Thirdly, I'm not sure debate on blogs should be the barometer of success for an award. The Gemmell did get a little attention outside of the genre, and it did get a little attention from booksellers, all in its first year. The more knowledgable can by all means correct me, but my understanding is that genre awards are not terribly significant commercially, and some of the bigger ones are getting less significant by the year. Be nice to have something that can actually get some books in a window, wouldn't it?

Anyway, just talkin'. I like serious criticism as much as the next guy. I look forward to Mark's in-depth comparison of this year's entire DGLA longlist.

Labels: appearances, reviews

Thursday, 31 December 2009

Best Of...

Happy Birthday to Me. Happy Birthday to Me. Happy Birthday dear me-eeeee...

Yes indeed, another year of dry humour, wet nappies, sleepless nights, wonderful reviews, shitty reviews, and storming success drags to a close. So long 2009! Nice knowing you. A busy year, for me. I had a baby. I moved from London to Bath. I sold a flat and bought one. I even published another book! With all these good things to celebrate, one wonders why I still feel slightly anxious all the time. It's the modern condition, people!

An end, as well, to another year of blogging. Shall we look back to some of the highlights...?

Most Commented On Blog Post
Storming up the charts with 80 comments was my response to my favourite review of the year "People suck, war is bad, and the world is a bottomless shithole," which included, alongside the trademark apparently self-deprecating while actually being self-glorifying wit, some thoughtful introspection on the subject of ragged and unhappy endings. It even managed to beat last year's 60 comment winner. Proof positive, as if any were needed, that thought-provoking consideration of genre issues CAN be more interesting than being hit over the head with a piece of wood. A score for the intelligentsia. Runners up were an opportunity for you all to bitch about my US cover (always popular), with 55 comments, and my musings on my neighbour's teenage son never having heard of Dungeons & Dragons, with 42. Perhaps if I can think of more worthwhile and thoughtful posts to make I can break the 100 mark next year. No. I don't think so either...

Best Foreign Trip
I might have felt strangely sick the whole time I was there for no apparent reason, but Sweden/Norway your streets is clean, your trains is reasonable yet punctual, your people is friendly and above averagely good-looking, and your sf&f specialist bookstores is excellent. I also remain a committed fan of your modernist minimal design, unassuming royal families, and efficient education, health, and welfare systems.

Best Authorial Bitch-Fight involving me
Was definitely the no-holds-barred grudge match between me and Brent Weeks at the Borders Book Blog wich I totally won. Ask anyone. There's even some talk that we'll be taking this show on the road next year...

Best Authorial Love-In involving me
My thoughtful yet hilarious interview with Patrick Rothfuss on the occasion of his recent charity drive.

Best Authorial Blurb about my Works
Has to be the George RR Martin. I still feel deeply smug about that one.

Best "Best SF&F of 2009" list of 2009
Werthead demonstrates his impeccable good taste by selecting Best Served Cold as his best book of 2009, saying, "a tale of revenge, murder, assassination, war and generally pleasant stuff, with Abercrombie somehow outstripping the first trilogy in terms of mayhem." Graeme demonstrated an equal level of discernment - "It delivered on all fronts and just kept delivering." The redoubtable Dave Bradley, editor of SFX, has also declared Best Served Cold his best book of 2009 calling it a "brilliantly brutal tale of revenge". I note in passing he also had Dragon Age up there. Nice call, Dave. Rob Grant's taste at Sci-Fi London would have been as good if it weren't for that pesky Jesse Bullington and his bleak medieval european stylings...

Best Served Cold has popped up on a few other lists too. Fantasy Book Critic's, Joe Sherry's , even the editor's picks for sf&f at amazon.co.uk, where I stand proudly among such notables as Terry Pratchett, Jane Austen, and Stephanie Meyer. It's a varied crowd over there...

But lest we over-sugar the pudding, Best Served Cold also made Western author Iain Parnam's most disappointing books of 2009. He thought, "everyone is repellent, the story is dreary, nothing matters much, and the wit is missing." I shrug me a river. It's all subjective, people.

Books
I know what you're thinking - who the hell reads books any more? But this year I managed to get through a few, and some of them weren't even written by me. Non-fiction highlight would probably be CV Wedgewood's Thirty Years War. A classic of narrative history. Fiction highlight? Despite some tough competition from the likes of Fritz Leiber, Junot Diaz and Jeff Vandermeer, you'd have to walk a very long way through a post-apocaplyptic wasteland to beat Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Searingly stark and bleak, but somehow still life-affirming. Like a visit to Brooks Nightclub in Lancaster used to be.

Films
Well I must say my socks were quite blown off by Avatar, it may well have been the most jaw-dropping cinema experience for me since Fellowship of the Ring, way back in 1904 when I didn't have kids, but along somewhat more traditional lines District 9 and No Country for Old Men were certainly memorable too. Watchmen ... not so much.

TV
Battlestar Galactica ended more with a whimper than a bang, which left the final season of The Shield as my TV Highlight. That certainly ended with a bang. IN YOUR FACE. Michael Chiklis also stalks off with my coveted "Most Loathsome yet Strangely Sympathetic Bald Character" award. Mad Men continued to be great, second series of Dexter was good but, for my money, not as good as the last. Other things that have variously titillated, intrigued and amused included 30 Rock, True Blood, and, of course, Strictly Come Dancing. What am I going to DO with my Sunday mornings now it's over?

Games
Good year, good year. Despite tough competition from the old-school roleplaying of Dragon Age and the Medici-stabbing thrills of Assassin's Creed II, it has to be the smooth-as-velvet next-generation adventure charms of Uncharted II that gave my boat the most float this year. The importance of PC games seems to be very much dwindling for me, as console games gradually invade the rpg and srategy territory that was traditionally theirs. Medieval:Total War is possibly my favourite game of all time, so I found Empire to be a tad disappointing. I haven't played it a lot since I lack a PC powerful enough to run it well, but the AI seems kind of rubbish to me. It usually takes them a year or two to get those games properly balanced, though, so who knows. Perhaps a future classic...

And there we have it. Let rip the party poppers. Roll on 2010...

Labels: film and tv, games, interviews, reading, reviews

Wednesday, 23 December 2009

God Bless Us, Every One

'Tis the season of joy, and a merry christmas unto you all. I look out of my window at a winter wonderland, which looks lovely until I contemplate a four hour drive tomorrow morning. Brrrrrr.

But christmas is not only the season of good cheer, smiling kiddies and presents under the tree. It is also the season of end-of-year best-of lists. So has Santa anything in his sack for me? Oooh! Pat of Pat's Fantasy Hotlist voted Best Served Cold his Number 1 book of 2009!

What's that you say? It's a 7? Well, you know, if you squint and kind of turn your head a bit sideways...

Ken has his best reads of 2009 up as well, though they're not necessarily in order, so let's just ASSUME that he thought Last Argument of Kings was bestest of all, shall we?

As for genre sf&f author Andy Remic, he didn't think The Blade Itself was the best fantasy he read this year at all, he thought:

"The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie is the best new fantasy book I've read in the last 10 years. Yes. You heard that right ... The writing is precise, perfectly crafted, and so very well put together, the story is a sublime interaction better than any so-called World of Warcraft immersion, and the violence and language a necessary harshness of the world Abercrombie has created."

Zing! A very merry yuletide, everyone.

Labels: reviews

Friday, 20 November 2009

Best of 2009? Already?

In what I trust shall be the first of many such appearances, Best Served Cold has been rated among the ten best sci-fi and fantasy releases of 2009.

In other news, an interesting discussion about fantasy cover art over at A Dribble of Ink kicked off by responses to the latest Mass Market Cover for Mark Charan Newton's Nights of Villjamur. The comments include some insightful stuff from industry insider-types like Lou Anders (of Pyr, who publish the First Law in the US, and also happens to have a Chesley award for art direction), Lauren Panepinto (who designs the covers for Orbit, including those of Best Served Cold), and the ever insightful Simon of Spanton (Hype-Meister General at Gollancz, my primary publisher, and was largely responsible for the idea behind the parchmenty covers for the First Law - some of the only covers I've ever been aware of that get near universal love). Well worth a look, since I know many of you like to tear your hair out/vomit in your mouths/otherwise express outrage about cover treatments.

Discussion runs particularly toward the area of dramatic figures on covers, and the commercial sense of making books look like other books in the genre, or trying to make them look radically different. Particularly interesting since the alternative UK artwork for Before They are Hanged should be along shortly, with its dramatic figure of Superior Glokta. I bet you can't wait to tear your collective hair out...

Labels: artwork, reviews

Sunday, 20 September 2009

People Suck, War is Bad, and the World is a Bottomless Shithole

An interesting negative review of Best Served Cold from Elizabeth Vail at Green Man Review got me thinking a little bit t'other day, not only because it's quite amusingly snarky, but also because it seems to coalesce some criticisms of the book I've seen a few times, and also hints at some interesting attitudes to what a fantasy story (and maybe just any story) should or should not contain to be successful.

SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS. There may well be spoilers ahead, so those who haven't read Best Served Cold, I strongly advise you to purchase at least one copy immediately and read it (possibly, as Elizabeth suggests, with prozac and a teddy bear to hand, though probably not a copy of the Sound of Music, for its deeply unpleasant subtext of the rise of nazism may tip you over the edge) before returning. Let us begin at the beginning (roughly):

"The twist? Instead of making this an exciting tale of adventure and discovery and colourful world building -- let's make it nauseatingly violent, overwhelmingly bleak, relentlessly depressing, while coming this close to being utterly pointless."

Youch. It's a pretty bleak book, sure, but I'm not sure it's quite so unrelentingly horrendous as she makes out. Still, even if it is - and ignoring the eye-searing (for me, at least) adjectives of nauseatingly, overwhelmingly, and relentlessly - is (the presumably) much preferable "exciting tale of adventure and discovery and colourful world building" fundamentally superior to a violent, depressing and bleak book. In what way is Best Served Cold utterly pointless?

"his novel is hampered by a lack of thematic conclusion. There's too much build-up for too little narrative payoff. There is no point to his story of vengeance. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, because Best Served Cold is nothing but one big, long tunnel that comes to a dead stop at one end. Characters do not improve, and ultimately they do not change."

I'd argue that some of the characters do change. Shivers undergoes a radical transformation. I mean it's for the WORSE, but why is that objectively inferior to a change for the better, from the standpoint of whether a book is worthwhile or not?

"While the world of Styria experiences upheaval, it quickly settles back into bloody-mindedness again. Hope glimmers only to be snuffed out."

Again, I'd say there are significant glimmers of hope within the context of it being a pretty dark story about some pretty dark characters - there's every sign that Monza is a lot less ruthless than she pretends to be, and that she'll make a much better ruler than what Styria has had so far - but even if not, why can hope glimmering only to be snuffed out not be a thematic conclusion? Why is that an inadequate narrative payoff? Why can that not be "the point"?

It interests me, this apparent distaste for a world that is as dark and messy at the end of the story as it was at the beginning. Epic fantasy is full of climactic battles with massive and enduring consequences, of epoch-making events and struggles after which nothing will ever be the same. It's full of lasting victory and purposeful sacrifice. Experience seems to indicate the real world doesn't particularly work that way. Great conflicts rarely change the world, and often carry within them the seeds of the next conflict. The Thirty Years war depopulated swathes of Germany and changed virtually nothing, even politically. The Napoleonic wars killed a lot of people and shifted a lot of big hats around, but one could hardly say Europe did not settle back into bloody-mindedness thereafter. The First World War led to the Second, the Second to the Cold War, and the ending of that ushered in a glorious era of peace, love, and an end to fear, right? Er... Well at least relations between the West and Russia are improving, right? Er... Hope constantly glimmers only to be snuffed out, it's the normal cycle of life. Every victory is touted as the last, great one, and it never is. "An end to boom and bust." Er... "Peace in our times." Er... The declaration of victory and freedom in Iraq, let alone Afghanistan, proved to be a little premature. Sooner or later hope glimmers again. The world moves forward by tiny degrees. Clearly we are a lot better off in all kinds of ways than we were in a state of pre-Roman barbarism, but, you know, it takes a long time and progress, such as it is, seems always to be very painful. I don't see reflecting that in a work of fantasy as overwhelmingly cynical, I see it as relatively realistic, and standing in contrast - by no means with all of epic fantasy - but with a lot of pretty schmaltzy stuff that has been and still is out there. Why should a cynical message be so unpalatable in a fantasy book?

Far from there being no point to the story, it seems to me that Vail got the point very thoroughly, she just really didn't like the point, which is a slightly different argument. But let us continue...

"By novel's end, Monza learns (surprise, surprise) that People Suck, War is Bad, and the World is a Bottomless Shithole. Oh, but maybe also that Revenge is Bad, too. A ridiculously tiny step in the character development of one person is the reward for more than six hundred pages of callous murder"

Again, perhaps I'm reading this wrong, but the implication seems to be that "the reward" for getting to the end of a story should be measured in the improvement of the characters, in what they learn. A little bit like the assessment of a government programme for the rehabilitation of offenders. How many prisoners became productive members of society? Hurrah! How many re-offended? Booo! I've put in my work by reading the book, now I want it payed off! I demand the world and characters be a better place, or at least a changed place!

Now again, I'm not saying she's wrong and the book's ace, or anything (you know I'd never do that), this isn't intended to be a criticism of Vail or her well-written and considered review (cause you know I'm not like that), I'm just pondering here, because they're criticisms I've seen from other people in other places and in other forms. Why should change in the characters, let alone improvement, be a requirement? Classic Epic Fantasy, again, is full of neat stories of growth and change. The coward who leanrs to be a hero. The weakling who finds his strength. The farmboy who becomes a king. The man of violence redeemed through love. You know the kind of thing I'm talking about. Is there something fundamentally superior or more satisfying about characters who change and improve to ones that don't change, fail to change, change by tiny degrees, backslide to their original pitiful selves or simply get a lot worse? To me those options all seem equally, if not more, truthful than the option of neat improvement. Of course, any of those can be done well or badly, something can work for a reader or not, be hamfisted, rubbish, or crap, but she seems, in fact, to say that I'm not totally crap:

"as for his protagonist, Monza is a vivid character. She's single-minded on vengeance without being underdeveloped, and mouths her "morals are for suckers" mantras even though it's obvious she cares a lot more than other people think. This is part of what makes it so frustrating how little she learns from her experience."

So she's a good character, and that makes her refusal to change and learn just *so* frustrating. In this case, it would appear, the better the characters are, the worse the book becomes...

Is it a type of complaint you'd get outside of epic fantasy circles? (and forgive my ludicrously overblown examples drawn from the best the literary and televisual world have to offer) Would folks cuss The Great Gatsby because some of its characters are unable to change or improve themselves? Are even doomed by it? Would folks cuss LA Confidential because Elroy's LA is as dark and cynical at the end of the book as it is at the start? Is The Wire reduced because its central theme is that the world is grim and corrupt and its very, very difficult to change it? I don't know, maybe they would. Maybe that's why a lot more people watch CSI: Miami than The Wire.

One more time, I'm not criticising this particular review. I actually think it's a pretty good review, and there are plenty of reasons why lots of people don't like the book. Too long, too violent, too dark, too unsympathic, and so on. No one's ever wrong about their own opinion, and there's nothing wrong either with a preference for smoothly developing characters or worlds transformed for the better. The massive preponderance of stories of that type seem to indicate that it's a pretty common preference. I'm by no means immune to it myself either - I found the bleakness of No Country for Old Men, its deliberate refusal to provide narrative payoff, and the fact that its central villain could kill with utter impunity, pretty hard to swallow. I'm just wondering how widespread this is - a distaste for the ragged and unchanging, especially when it's also dark and unpleasant, and whether it's something more common in epic fantasy than outside it.

"If fans of the First Law trilogy insist on reading this novel, this reviewer would like to suggest they take the necessary precautions. Remove all razors, painkillers, and lengths of rope from your house. Keep Prozac close to hand, along with a teddy bear and a copy of The Sound of Music. Maybe even a dog-eared copy of The Lord of the Rings, where the good guys actually win once in a while."

Correct me if I'm wrong, by all means, but don't the good guys nearly always win in everything? Are a couple of books in which - not even the bad guys win, necessarily, but the line between bad and good is kind of hazy and we're not really sure who won - really so unpalatable you need to keep a happy ending on hand to wash away the hideous taste of cynicism?

Answers on a postcard, and remember, I don't want to be affirmed, here, nor scorn heaped upon Ms. Vail's head. I'm interested in discussing it...

EDIT: As an amusing postscript to this, Best Served Cold was just one-starred by an irate punter on amazon complaining that, "There was even a happy ending! Also, it wasn't as gritty as the First Law." Truly, you can please some of the people some of the time...

Labels: opinion, reviews

Friday, 18 September 2009

What THEY are saying 09/09

Some time has passed since I last stole from port before first light and trawled the internet for reviews like an illegal trawler trawling the North Sea for cod in contravention of the EU's fishing policy. Except that in my case, however hard I trawl, the stocks never seem to reach exhaustion. What a metaphor. It's shit like THAT that allows me to earn a living as a professional writer, yo. So, who and what have we slithering from the nets in the last month or two's catch?

First up we have a review of Best Served Cold from either Paul Witcover of Matt Staggs (it doth not specify precisely) in Realms of Fantasy magazine. Realms is old-style printed written word stuff and hence cannot be linked to, therefore you'll have to take my word for it (never a good idea) that it says, among other wonderful things:

"When you read as much fantasy as I do, you appreciate a writer who has the restraint to depict the frenzied chaos and bloody confusion of battle in all its beauty, terror, and black humour. And when, as with Abercrombie, that approach extends beyond the battlefield, you know you've found a writer to follow."

Have you ever had that feeling you were being followed? A ha! A ha ha! A ha ha ha haaaaaaaah! It's jokes like THAT which allow me earn a living as a professional writer, yo. Next we have an opinon on Best Served Cold from Elena at Book Spot Central , an occasional visitor to this very blog, here:

"This story could easily have spanned several volumes (then again clocking in close to 700 pages could arguably be considered several volumes), but yet there isn't really a lot of wasted space ... If you like your epic fantasy gritty, well, it doesn't come any sandier than this. Best avoided by those who need happy endings and sterling heroes, but highly recommended to anyone who thinks they might like it - you know who you are"

You know who you are, you grit-loving mo-fos! Someone who might like it, but I'm still not completely sure whether he did or not, is Niall Harrison, who has made a characteristically deep and thoughtful probing of Best Served Cold over at Strange Horizons:

"This inevitably makes Best Served Cold something of a novel of parts - some very good, exhilarating or terrifying or amusing, but no more a coherent whole for that ... Best Served Cold is a novel that can be understood to deliberately deny the higher heroic possibilities of its imaginative premise, because it refuses to believe there are any."

Hmm. I feel ... probed. It's a piece that asks questions about big issues - the role of truth in fantasy, the role of fantasy in truth, the use of fantasy as analgesic, the necessity for historical accuracy in dialogue and setting, and more. Big questions, and it is perhaps a piece that asks more than it answers, though no less interesting for that. Asking the simpler question - is the book good? was Jason Henninger at Tor.com, a man whose doubt-riddled review of The First Law forced me to learn him up good style some time back. Did he learn from the experience, and grow as a reviewer? Let us see...

"Because of the narrower scope, the pace is quicker than before, which means it's gone from the reader feeling like they got jumped in an alley to feeling like they got shivved fifteen times on the way to the prison cafeteria. In an entertaining way."

Exactly the effect I wish to have on readers.

"I've never before read an author so willing to chuck his characters from high places. He just defenestrates the shit out of people."

Good use of the word defenestration. Outside of the context of Prague, it simply doesn't get used anything like enough, especially in sentences that also contain the word "shit". But what of the book, Jason, the book?

"what we get is a thrilling, funny, vicious and exhilarating story, because above all, he writes great characters. That is, as always, the strongest part of his storytelling. I truly marvel at his skill in generating concern for the wellbeing and success of people who are more or less degenerate bastards."

Huzzah for degeneracy! But the darkness/nastiness/unsympatheticness (yes, it is on account of coining catchy words like unsympathicness that I am able to earn a living as a professional writer, yo) of the characters went too far for some, such as James of Speculative Horizons - for those who like their horizons speculative rather than strange, and their speculations horizontal rather than fictitious (presumably):

"The main issue I had was - surprisingly - with the characters. I just couldn't connect with most of them on any real level. Perhaps it's because the entire lot of them - to varying degrees - are cheating, lying, backstabbing scumbags with barely a redeeming feature among them. It was odd to read a novel where there was no 'hero', where it's not clear who you're meant to be siding with (none of them, I suspect). This is not to say that some of them are not likeable in their own way, but I found it so hard to invest in any of them because they are all so morally vacant."

Man, moral vacancy is my occupation! (it is thought provoking juxtapositions such as vacancy with occupation that allow me to blah, blah, blah). To think I actually bought a pint for James when I was up in Manchester recently. And when I say, bought a pint, I don't mean demanded that my publicist put it on his expenses, I mean, actually reached into my own pocket. Last time I'm doing THAT.

Labels: reviews

Wednesday, 5 August 2009

Both Sides of the Coin

More opinions on my writing pour out into the ether with every exhalation, it sometimes seems, and some over the last few weeks from notable sources too. We begin with a review from Lisa Tuttle in no less historic organ than The Times:

"Joe Abercrombie is probably the brightest star among the new generation of British fantasy writers"

Probably? How dare you, madam?

"Abercrombie never underestimates the horrors that people are prepared to inflict on one another, or their longlasting, often unexpected, consequences. I am not the target audience for this sort of story but it hooked me. Abercrombie writes a vivid, well-paced tale that never loosens its grip. His action scenes are cinematic in the best sense, and the characters are all distinct and interestingly different."

Closely followed by a review from Time magazine's book critic and geek supremo Lev Grossman:

"Abercrombie writes dark, adult fantasy, by which I mean there's a lot of stabbing in it, and after people stab each other they sometimes have sex with each other. His tone is morbid and funny and hard-boiled, not wholly dissimilar to that of Iain Banks ... Like Fritz Leiber he has a gift for describing hand to hand combat -- you can see in your head where the blades are going, what is clanging off what, the sweat, the blood, the banter. And like George R. R. Martin Abercrombie has the will and the cruelty to actually kill and maim his characters ... Volumetrically speaking, it's hard to think of another fantasy novel in which this much blood gets spilled."

There you go. I am like all the best bits of Iain Banks, Fritz Leiber, and George RR Martin combined. Honest. Lev Grossman says so, so it is fact. I'm reading his book at the moment, as it goes, and muchly enjoying it, of which more in due course. Best Served Cold has also been perused by the star of Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog, The Guild, and much more, Felicia Day, also a connoiseur of all things geekly, who tweets:

"OMG Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold is out today and its great! LOVE his "First Law" Trilogy. Hard-edged, gritty fantasy at its best!"

Seems like a throwaway line, but I am shocked to be informed that whenever she twitters it reaches over a million people. That is some internet muscle right there. Probably that's more people even than my blog reaches, if you can believe it.

But it's not all champagne and oysters over here, oh no. I have always undertaken to provide the world with both sides of the coin, the rough with the smooth, the bad reviews with the good, and so to a consideration of The First Law trilogy from Jonathan Goodwin, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. I will quote its searing conclusion:

"A book, presumably written during this decade, which seems to specifically invoke various doctrines of power and the exercise thereof, and which prominently features torture, might be said to be a political allegory malgre lui. To extend this would take me to into the type of quasi-Zizekianism that I warded away earlier; but I think it's there. I hear echoes of the Drurian Strauss in some of the discussions of power and (not to) the people, and what popular revolt there is in the novel is eaten or led by the Eater. Vaguely pregnant with meaning, this."

Oh, man, he made mincemeat of me! Or, at least, he might have, if I had the foggiest clue what the hell he was talking about.

Labels: reviews

Monday, 20 July 2009

Day. Made.

One opinion I didn't quite get to in the last post:

"Joe Abercrombie's BEST SERVED COLD is a bloody and relentless epic of vengeance and obsession in the grand tradition, a kind of splatterpunk sword 'n sorcery COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, Dumas by way of Moorcock. His cast features tyrants and torturers, a pair of poisoners, a serial killer, a treacherous drunk, a red-handed warrior and a blood-soaked mercenary captain. And those are the good guys. Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, could teach even Gully Foyle and Kirth Gerson a few things about revenge. The battles are vivid and visceral, the action brutal, the pace headlong, and Abercrombie piles the betrayals, reversals, and plot twists one atop another to keep us guessing how it will all come out. This is his best book yet. All that's missing is a map."

George R.R. Martin

Colour me extremely pleased, not only because it's a great quote, not only because commercially I couldn't get a better endorsement, but also because Martin is an author I greatly admire and his Game of Thrones was a big inspiration to me when I read it back in the 90s, made me realise that you could write an epic fantasy that was gritty, deep, unpredictable, and character-focused. I doubt my writing would be the same without having read that, if I'd decided to start at all. Makes me feel a bit giggly to think of him reading my stuff and liking it...

Tee hee hee.

Labels: reviews

America Catches Up! (and reviews)

Great news for Americans! Finally, you have caught up with the British. No, not in economic, diplomatic, industrial, constitutional, military, scientific, sporting or cultural ways, obviously, but in something FAR MORE IMPORTANT. Yes, indeed, it would appear that you can now get a US Hardcover of Best Served Cold, for as far as I can tell amazon.com are now shipping the book.

No doubt the US release will lead to a new wave of reviews and opinions, which I am naturally chomping at the bit to see. A few have floated past my consciousness in the last month or so, though. Interzone did an in-depth review and interview this month, and said, among other things:

"Abercrombie's narrative twists and turns, playing with but also against the reader's expectations. His characters do likewise; as a result it is easier initially to indetify with them, but their realistic unpredictability means that it's almost impossible to determine what will eventually happen. Rather, in fact, like life, and for me, one of the great pleasures of Joe Abercrombie's fiction is that his characters are lifelike."

Come forth and be pleasured. By lifelike characterisation. Writer Tim Stretton has also had a look at the book over at sf&fantasy enthusiasts. He is enthusiastic:

"Best Served Cold is every bit as bleak, gory, funny and accomplished as its predecessors ... this is a vigorous, morally complex book, vivid in its depictions of war and its grown-up cousin diplomacy. Best Served Cold is highly recommended."

But I dunno, are you allowed to be unenthusiastic over there? You can certainly be unenthusiastic at Neth Space, though, and Ken was, just a little, in his review of Best Served Cold:

"The First Law Trilogy was a refreshing offering in the often stale genre of epic fantasy. Hoping for an equally refreshing read in Best Served Cold, I found that any novelty remaining quickly wore off."

Hmm. This complaint about everything feeling a little familiar feels a little familiar. Where did I read it before, now? Ah! In Ken's review of Before They are Hanged.

"Before They Are Hanged does all this (and more), but since this is the second book of the trilogy, the novelty of the approach has worn off. With the novelty gone, things almost become tiresome in places."

Hmm. One might almost be tempted to say something like - "the more-of-same approach of Ken's reviews entertains, yet becomes tedious at times and unfortunately left me wanting more of that special something that I'm convinced he can give." But of course I've got way more class than that. WAY MORE. Not as much as the folks at ferretbrain, though, who are prone to write some criticism both insightful, amusing, and well-written while yet being conversational (yes, I can be nice when I'm in the rare mood). And there's a very interesting and in-depth reaction to Best Served Cold from Kyra Smith , who you could say has a love it/hate it relationship to my work, and finds herself once again conflicted:

"By the end I wasn't entirely sure what I thought, although the fact I got there at the speed I did proves one thing at least: the man can write a gripping story. And, even though I have yet to fully establish whether I actually like what he writes, I'm still hopelessly intrigued by his books."

Well, I guess that's a lot better than being hopelessly bored by 'em, eh? She finishes with a conclusion not dissimilar to Ken's actually, though perhaps more positively expressed:

"It's set in the same world, it has a similar approach, similar characters and, hell, even the same damn cover. It has the comparable strengths and weaknesses of The First Law Trilogy, except the weaknesses bothered me less and the strengths seemed more pronounced. In short, if Joe Abercrombie is a one trick pony, it'll be a fucking stallion by the time he's done."

Hi ho silver!

And finally, to possibly the strangest review of my works I've ever come across, from BC Woods at Dunce Upon a Time, an amusing yet slightly scary piece which begins with an examination of the First Law and ends (or perhaps I was hallucinating) with the torture of giant talking Penises. For real. And he really liked the books. I can only imagine what he has to say about books he doesn't like. Actually, scratch that. I CAN'T imagine it.

Labels: news, reviews

Saturday, 13 June 2009

Best Served Cold Reviewed ... Lots

Much movement upon the blogosphere and, indeed, in the realms of printed media, with all manner of opinion expressed about Best Served Cold . I will try to get through all the ones I'm aware of. First up, a review from that esteemed organ of the US book trade Publishers Weekly has also weighed in, with a starred review, no less:

"Abercrombie returns to the blood-drenched arena of the First Law trilogy (The Blade Itself, etc.) with this skillfully crafted and bleakly humorous sword and sorcery adventure. Duke Orso imagines that he can become king by ending the civil wars that have devastated Styria, but he errs by trying to kill his overly popular general, mercenary Monza Murcatto. Recovering from her massive injuries and mourning her murdered brother, Monza vows vengeance on Orso and half a dozen of his accomplices. Employing her own motley crew of death dealers, Monza gets her revenge, but it's neither simple nor satisfying; each target requires fresh strategy, and each death has unexpected effects. Abercrombie is both fiendishly inventive and solidly convincing, especially when sprinkling his appallingly vivid combat scenes with humor so dark that it's almost ultraviolet."

You want more stars? How about five of the bastards from UK Genre magazine Sci-Fi Now:

"All in all, we can't say enough good words about Joe Abercrombie's latest addition to the genre."

Oh, go on! Give it a try!

"It's intelligent, measured, thoughtful, well paced and considered, but retains a sense of fun that has flavoured the rest of his excellent bibliography. We can't recommend it enough."

Nice. And another from from Mark Yon at SFFWorld:

"For all its gruesomeness, its bleakness and its moral cynicism it is a rich, memorable tale, exciting and well structured. This will be a ‘best of the year’ novel for many in the genre. It is still a pleasure to see this author’s talent develop."

It certainly would be a pleasure to see it develop. Yet another opinion on Best Served Cold at Drift Line

"Not exactly very heroic, but very human. One of the strengths of Joe’s writing is his very believable, very human and very complex characters. They are mesmerising and engaging, and are a joy to read."

Be mesmerised. And even yet another from Simon A at BookGeeks:

"It's a testament to Abercrombie's skill as a storyteller that he can, over the course of your acquaintance with them, make you care about generals, assassins, cut-throats, barbarians, poisoners and (worst of all?) politicians so much, and in spite of their dubious deeds. Best Served cold is definitely this author's best work to date."

Lovely. And I'll leave the last word for Dave Bradley, editor of SFX:

"Overall this is an immediately rewarding experience. There are unexpected reveals in the final third that are unexpected yet satisfyingly logical. The standalone nature of this instalment should attract new readers, and its tight, uncompromising focus makes for an absorbing read. Best Served Cold? Modern fantasy doesn't get much hotter than this."

Well said, that man. I'll bring you some slating just as soon as I find some but, and I'm being totally honest here, when it comes to shitty opinions about Best Served Cold, as far as I can tell the internet cupboard is bare ... so far. Ah, with all these props what a fine book it must be. But don't take my word for it, or even that of all these blogging and journalistic worthies. There's an attractive young man with a very full head of hair talking about it on the Border's newsletter. Weirdly enough the piece was also edited by yours truly. I am indeed multi-untalented.

Oh, I almost forgot in all the excitement over new books, a thoughtful comment on that crumbly old fossil The First Law fromElf M. Sternberg if that is his real name,

"Abercrombie's series has everything you could want ... The characterization is astounding, and his characters go deep and real. It is a brilliant and bold story that climbs over the bodies and scales the battlements of extruded fantasy product, unbuttons its fly and pisses all over the generic doorstops that litter the big box bookstore shelves. And yet, for all the astounding dramatic pyrotechnics, the ending leaves me vaguely depressed, vaguely upset, and without sympathy for losers, without celebration with the winners, without any real heroes."

Score!

Labels: reviews

Monday, 25 May 2009

Bedlam, Bath

Experiencing the most manic couple of weeks of my life at the moment. Been to Portugal for a wedding and Southport for a funeral with a two year old and a two month old in tow, and during the two days in between the two trips entirely packed up and moved all our stuff into storage, sold our flat in London, bought a house in Bath. That house has been rewired, has the plumbers in and will be shoddily decorated by me this week, then I'm off next Monday to sign a thousand books at the warehouse, will be looking after the kids on tuesday, will actually move in on wednesday, then I'm off to manchester, then london to do signings on thursday and friday. Life's rich tapestry.

Progress on the new book, as you might imagine, has been negligible. At least this once I have an excuse.

To add to my woes my email is screwed, so I can get emails via the usual route (see contact page) but unfortunately cannot send any. So do not hope to get a reply to anything any time soon...

In the meantime, I note that Pat of the redoubtable Hotlist, noted organ of the internet sf&f scene, has reviewed Best Served Cold and he actually quite liked it thank you very much:

"Abercrombie's latest is his most ambitious work to date. Moreover, if it's any indication of what he is capable of, it bodes well for the future indeed. His accessible style could make him one of the biggest names in the genre in the years to come."

11 letters surely makes mine one of the biggest names in the genre already...

"Best Served Cold is an excellent tale of murder and vengeance. It's a morally ambiguous work with many shades of gray. The good guys become the bad guys, and vice versa, and back again. There are more twists and turns than in The First Law, and I get the feeling that Joe Abercrombie truly came into his own while writing this one. Best Served Cold is filled to the brim with all the elements that made The First Law such an enjoyable reading experience, yet it is definitely the work of a more mature author."

I have been accused of many things, but never before maturity.

"If you are one of those poor drifting souls who have yet to give Joe Abercrombie a shot, Best Served Cold is your opportunity to get acquainted with the author's style. For fans of Abercrombie, it will scratch that itch and more. Hard to put down."

You heard the man. Scratch that itch, people.

Right, back to the madness...

Labels: Other Life, reviews

Monday, 13 April 2009

interviews, reviews, awards

Various things to link to. A lengthy and in-depth interview with me up at Literatopia, a german books-related site. English version here, German translation should be coming shortly. Though it occurs to me that if you can read this, your English is probably good enough to follow the English version. Anyway, we discuss all kinds of things, from writing female characters, to inspirations, to foreign covers, to whether I'm like Inquisitor Glokta. Only in that I often poo myself in bed. A ha ha. I'm joking. Really.

Or am I?

Next, I note, somewhat tardily, that my close personal friend Joe Mallozzi (alright, I admit we've never met) - writer, producer, executive producer, and dark overlord with sundry parts of the far-flung Stargate empire has cast his discerning eye over a proof of Best Served Cold:

"It's fast-paced, absorbing, darkly humorous, and unabashedly violent, fraught with crosses, double-crosses, triple-crosses and 'back up a second did that really happen?!' moments. Gripping stuff. A terrific introduction to the work of Joe Abercrombie for first-time readers, and an immensely rewarding read for fans of the author. Highly recommended."

I'd like to deny it, but it's all true.

In other news, I note that I've wormed my way onto the Shortlist of five for the inaugural David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy with Last Argument of Kings. Also appearing are Juliet Marillier, Brandon Sanderson, Andrzej Sapkowski and Brent Weeks. Hmmm. My hissed congratulations through gritted teeth to my mortal rivals AHEM colleagues on the ballot. My heartfelt commiserations (alright, touchdown-dance-style gloatings) to those who didn't make the shortlist.

The process for deciding the winner is some kind of a public vote, so naturally I will let you know how YOU can help ME overcome the forces of evil as represented by these four authors, and strike a blow for righteousness in the form of ... er ... me, as soon as I know. It is YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE, PEOPLE.

That is all.

Labels: interviews, news, reviews

Friday, 20 March 2009

Still More Opinions

Opinions on Best Served Cold are continuing to spring up like mushrooms on a damp and misty autumn morning. Good thing they delayed the sending out of the ARCs to avoid loads of reviews appearing six months before publication. Now they're all appearing three months before. I only invite you to examine the review at Dreamwatch Total Sci-Fi from the youthful-seeming yet strangely hirsute Den Patrick:

"Harsh language, unrelenting violence and flawed or broken characters are de rigueur in Abercrombie's bleak fantasy world. However, it's the deft humour, the bruised wisdom and the entirely likeable (but no less treacherous, lethal, selfish and proud) characters that really keep the pages turning ... Fans of Abercrombie's work will not be disappointed by his latest offering, which features all his usual hallmarks: cold steel, black comedy, fully realised characters and internecine struggles, both personal and epic."

He gives me 9/10, which is scraping the bottom end of what I would consider acceptable, of course, but we'll let it pass for now... Meanwhile, Jared at the interestingly named Pornokitsch has taken a gander:

"Best Served Cold is packed with engaging characters that pin the reader from the first page and refuse to let go. Through their dark hours and their (brief) moments of brilliant triumph, Monzcarro, Shivers and Cosca are funny, fascinating, inspiring and painfully, wonderfully human. Although it is a treat for the reader to explore Abercrombie's world, the real pleasure is in the company we get to keep while doing so."

And finally Graeme with an 'e' (or two, in fact) has finished up the book and passes judgement upon it at Graeme's Fantasy Book Review:

"Best Served Cold is a sordid examination of the lowest points of the human condition. Everyone is out for themselves and they don't care who they have to step on to get what they want."

Well they say one should write what one knows...

"There are battles that are about as real as you could possibly imagine although you may not want to after you've read about them. People actually respond in ways that seem reasonable given the situations that they face. There's even a noble goat with important lessons to teach us... All of this results in a book that gives us a better look at a wider world only hinted at in the First Law trilogy ... Best Served Cold was sat fairly high on my Most Anticipated Books of 2009 list, now it's firmly on my Favourite Books of 2009 List. Read it."

I take no interest in numerical ratings, as you all know. But I note in passing that Graeme gave the book 10/10. Top Marks. I'm no mathematician, but I make that 100%.

Alas, unlike Graeme, you won't be able to read Best Served Cold until June. But you can get one over on him and turn the tables by doing something he hasn't. Yes, you guessed it.

You can buy the book right now...

Labels: reviews

Friday, 13 March 2009

More Opinions

As predicted, reviews of Best Served Cold have started springing up like saplings in springtime. Some are very good, one is very bad. Let us look at the good ones first then turn our attention to the rotten, like having a lovely warm shower and then diving head first into a peat bog...

First to the punch was Adam at the Wertzone:

"The story is gripping and compulsive, the humour is blacker than midnight, the prose is a notable step up from the already-enjoyable First Law Trilogy (although the gloriously terrible sex scenes remain intact) and the characters massively conflicted. There are more enormous battles and some even bigger, eye-raising twists than those from the end of the prior trilogy ... if you like your books gritty, dark, funny and violent, than I can recommend this book without hesitation."

Five stars. Since you ask. You didn't ask? Well. Still five stars. Alice at Sandstorm Reviews has also read the book ahead of time:

"Abercrombie is a master at twisting expectations, and the familiar setup soon heads towards some very uncomfortable territory. There's violence enough for all, and some battle and siege setpieces to rival anything in the trilogy, but as usual, it's the character interactions that are the highlight ... I imagine that Best Served Cold is on a lot of people's Most Wanted lists for 2009 - well, you've not long to wait now, and you're in for a real treat."

I can only echo that last part. 9.5/10, by the way. Bit upset about that missing half point but, you know, nobody's perfect. Especially sf&f bloggers! A ha ha ha ha. Joining the chorus of approval is Marcus Gipps of the bookseller Blackwells:

"This is a really fun book, and if you've read the other Abercrombie's, you're going to like this. In fact, you're really going to like it. Everything that made those books so fun - the pointless gruesome violence, the well-defined characters, the moral greys and shadings, the incessant use of the word fruits, the harsh treatment of people we've got used to having around - are here, but ramped up another level ... It won't be to everyone's taste - it's too bleak for that (and a fantasy, of course) - but it really is very good, and another step upwards for Abercrombie. It'll go to his head, of course."

Go to my head? How absurd. Anyway, Marcus gave me seven broadswords out of seven. A ha ha again. I'm joking of course, Marcus doesn't have a numerical rating system on his blog. But if he did, I like to think I'd have got the full seven broadswords. What are you going to do with half a broadsword, after all?

So, as promised, three top-drawer reviews. But I haven't forgotten that I promised you a bad one too. We all like the bad ones really, don't we? The thing is ...

I lied. There are no bad reviews yet. Why not? Well, I guess it must be because the book is ace.

Why else?

Labels: reviews

Thursday, 26 February 2009

First Review

Be still my beating heart, for the first review of Best Served Cold has slipped onto Her Majesty's internet, from Rob Grant at Sci-Fi London. But did he love or hate the book? He says, among other things:

"This is deep, dark stuff but it's a mark of that nice Mr. Abercrombie's talent that he can wrap such complex themes in the kind of rip-roaring adventure that is so utterly compelling that, from the first page, it is impossible to put down."

Ooh, that's nice, I like that. Deep, dark, yet rip-roaring. Anything else?

"the whole is peppered by turns with gut-wrenching violence, nasty, visceral and real and the banter is interspersed with a terrific black humour, the kind that only people for whom dealing out death has become a mundane necessity can really carry off. The pacing throughout is excellent, the language beautifully crafted and, while I guessed the outcome of a couple of the story segments, there's one hell of good twist right near the end that I defy anybody to have seen coming!"

Consider yourselves defied. So there you go. You are strongly advised to rush out and buy a copy.

In three and a half months.

Or I suppose you could always immediately preorder the very reasonably priced and beautiful hardcover at amazon.uk, play.com or Waterstones.

Just sayin'....

Labels: reviews

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

What They are Saying Feb '09

Some ongoing responses to / and discussion of / the US cover to-do, including a positive response from the aptly named BRUTAL WOMEN who, I have a sneaking feeling, may appreciate the content of the book as well...

With nearly fifty comments on my own post on the subject, it's clear that, as far as getting attention for your forthcoming book, controversy over US cover art is second only to getting hit over the head with a length of poor-quality pine. Moving swiftly on.

It's been a while since I surveyed any reviews of my own work from around the internet. I hear it's bad form to respond to your critics, you see. An author would have to be a complete IDIOT to do such a thing. So let's begin with an interesting review of Last Argument of Kings, from Ken at Neth Space:

"Abercrombie embraces the cliche of fantasy, spins it around, turns it upside down, and covers it in stinky, dark, sardonic wit ... In the Last Argument of Kings Abercrombie offers up more of the same from the previous two books and then adds some more with an ending that is simply brilliant ... This series has overwhelmed many and under-whelmed more than few - but it something that fans of epic fantasy simply must read for themselves."

Chalk up a win to the forces of righteousness. Overall I think it's fair to say he liked the first book a lot, felt the second was not bad but disappointing, then liked the third a lot again. I'm kind of strangely pleased by the spread of opinions the First Law books produce. My own feeling was always that they got steadily better, and I'd say overall most readers who get past the first book seem to broadly agree, but I've seen pretty much every variety of opinion expressed. I've seen people who liked the first, second, or third books the most (as well as some who just didn't like the whole approach, of course). The ending in particular leaves some disappointed/befuddled/swearing they will never read anything by me again, but many others love it. Who loves it, you ask? Well, how about Joe Sherry?

"This is where Abercrombie excels, in creating characters the reader can care enough about that when Abercrombie brings the pain and the nasty, the reader can't help but be fully engaged. Make no mistake, Abercrombie brings the pain and the nasty. Abercrombie excels at pain and nasty and Last Argument of Kings is chock full of pain and nasty. This is Abercrombie's wheelhouse ... The deal is, this is a damn fine book and one of the best conclusions to a trilogy I have had the pleasure to read."

Mmmm. I love the smell of wheelhouse in the morning. Smells like ... victory. I actually recently experienced what must be a key moment in the development of any author - I was sent the first post-graduate dissertation by an English student focusing on my work. You think I'm joking, don't you? Joe, I can hear you saying, stop! Stop! My sides are splitting! Your stuff is disposable genre fantasy trash, who could possibly take an interest in serious academic analysis of your semi-literate sword-obsessed scrawlings?

But I'm not joking. It came from a very polite student at Arhus University, Denmark, and focuses on the affirmation of meaning versus non-significance, analysing the key differences between the approaches of the First Law and classic epic fantasy using Bakhtin's theory of chronotopes sprinkled with a little existentialist philosophy.

That's right. Shelve me with the literature, motherf*ckers, because not even I understand how high-brow I am. What with that and the Junot Diaz quote, it's high time I got some frakkin' RESPECT around here! RESPECT! IT COSTS NOTHING!

Before I forget, for those of you who, like me, can't get enough of the sound of my voice, there's a little interview with me up at Fantasy Book Review. Read it and weep.

WITH LAUGHTER.

Labels: interviews, reviews

Sunday, 4 January 2009

New Year Honours List

Admit it! I got you! You thought I'd been given a knighthood like that Terry Pratchett. Well, no. I waited by the phone all night, getting more and more annoyed, and her Majesty never rang. Just like last year. But only slightly less prestigious than the approval of the monarch and the opportunity to insist that everyone call me "Sir Joseph", is the approval of various people what blog on the interweb, and inclusion on their end-of-year best of lists. Now, you may be forgiven for thinking this post looks like just a load of self-aggrandising, self back-slapping, self-congratulation. And you'd be right. I mean, is this your first time here? So without further ado...

Amras at A Slight Apocalypse made the obviously wrong-headed assertion that, "Joe Abercrombie started off just okay-ish", but said the mere memory of Last Argument of Kings sent chills down his back. They must have been good chills, cause he ranked it number 3 of the year.

Paul at Blood of the Muse had Last Argument of Kings down as his favourite Fantasy of 2008, and his 2nd favourite genre book. "Incredible battle scenes and classic characters will brook no argument ... the king of fantasy in 2008." And he called Inquisitor Glokta, "one of the greatest fantasy characters of all time." So there.

Benjamin at the Deckled Edge had LAoK down for best fantasy of the year, and second best novel, calling it, "one of the strongest series finishes you'll ever read." Oh yeah.

Aidan at Dribble of Ink had LAoK down for his favourite novel published in 2008, saying it was, "littered with memorable characters, one of the best scenes of single combat I've ever read, and enough surprises to please anyone."

Graeme called Last Argument "a superb ending to a superb trilogy", and rated it his best book of the year. Oh yeah again.

Lastly, but by no means leastly, The Hotties at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. I must admit I was somewhat disappointed to see that I'd only won "Most Accessible Author," which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but feels a tad like being voted, "Most Likely to Put Out," in a school yearbook. Imagine my delight when I scrolled down to see that he'd made me his SFF Author of the year. Partly on account of my writing talents, but mostly because of my banister-repelling thick head. Hey, I'll take em any way I can get em.

Okay, okay, I know, you're feeling sick. But you've got to give me something, I mean to say. Not even an OBE to dry my tears on?

Labels: news, reviews

Wednesday, 31 December 2008

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday dear meeee-eeeee...

You know the rest.

Yes, I'm 24 for the tenth time today. I tried being 25 for a year back in 2002, but it didn't work out for me, so I've decided to stay where I am...

Out goes 2008, the year of Barrack Obama's election, some world economic thingy, and, more importantly, of course, the thrilling completion of The First Law Trilogy to universally rapturous popular acclaim (DISCLAIMER: actual acclaim may differ from the acclaim stated both in terms of universality, rapture, and popularity, the staff and management of this blog accept no responsibility for crushing disappointments or, indeed, anything else. Always read the small print on any claims of acclaim).

In comes 2009, a year that will no doubt be remembered for various stuff, but chiefly, of course for the publication of Best Served Cold, for I can reveal that my latest book is now totally finished. Yes, I have carried out my own exhaustive and exhausting program of read-throughs, revisions and rewrites, I have absorbed and acted upon some comments from Devi, my wonderful new editor at Orbit in the US. And I have been through the Line Edit from Gillian, my wonderful old editor in the UK. Though she is quite young, in fact.

The Line Edit, for anyone that's wondering, follows the more general edit, and is where your editor goes through the manuscript in detail and physically marks up anything that still bothers her - typically creaky sentence construction, repetitive wording, but also making sure details like timelines, time of day, positioning of settings and so on all make sense, as well as some final tinkering with making plot points as clear as possible. Many of those changes I accept, some I scornfully cast aside with a wrinkled lip and a cry of "Never! How dare you presume to edit ME?" But in the vast majority of cases, even if I don't necessarily agree with the solution out of pure bloody-mindedness, I am often spurred to come up with my own improvement. Which is handy as, by this stage, it becomes harder and harder to tell what's good and what isn't.

Then a final read-through of the whole manuscript, in order, to get a sense of how it flows and correct any little errors, add in a couple of last-minute thoughts and do a tad of tightening here or there, and the book is FINISHED.

Naturally when I say finished, I mean, not actually finished. There is still the copy-edit to wait for and look at, then a final proof-read to undertake. But those should be pretty light. Creatively, it's FINISHED. Mostly. The version I send off today will be the one from which the proofs will be made, which hopefully will be going out to readers, taste-makers and critics some time during the next couple of months. I can almost feel the bile tickling the back of my throat at the thought of the first reviews...

It occurs to me that it's probably been four or five years since I had more than one day at a time where I didn't do any writing, even if it's just been something tangential - a bit of planning, a bit of reading over, a bit of blogging or responding to emails. So I've promised myself (not to mention some of the hazy, dimly-remembered figures who were once my friends and family) that I'd have a couple of months properly off, to read, relax, try to sort out my crippling neck pain, and recharge the batteries.

Sits staring into space, drums fingers for a minute...

Thank god that's over. Right. Next book. And could someone pass the painkillers?

Labels: news, process, reviews

Wednesday, 24 December 2008

God Bless Us, Every One

Ho, ho, ho! Ah, tis Christmas Eve. Some very merry Yuletide cheer to all readers of my books or blog at this most festive season of the year.

All alone at Christmas? Reconstituted turkey roll and one bar on the electric fire? Never fear, there is an extremely lengthy and in-depth video interview with yours truly available courtesy of Rob Grant at Sci-Fi London. Why, it's the next best thing to actually having me as a house-guest over the Christmas period!

Er...

As well as the season of holly, carolling, snowmen and Santa, it's also the season of year-end best-ofs throughout the blog-o-sphere. Let me dip into my sack (ooh er) to see what Christmas goodies I can find...

SFX magazine asked its readers to vote for their favourite book of the year. Who's down there at number eight? Why, it's only Last Argument of Kings! And Pat of Pat's Fantasy Hotlist has posted his 10 favourite genre novels of 2008. His top four are a total mess, but around number five he starts to sort himself out. Werthead did better, he only got number 1 wrong! Last Argument of Kings came in at number 2 on his list.

No doubt there will be more top 10 style amusement as we pass into the new year. I for one can hardly WAIT.

Labels: interviews, reviews

Friday, 5 December 2008

Sympathy for the Doubtful

Coming down from the blaze of excitement that accompanied daily posting during Best Served Cold Artwork Week, it occurs to me that it's been a very long time since I addressed any reviews of my work. I couldn't allow a review of the First Law trilogy over at Tor.com by Jason Henninger to pass without comment, though. The article is probably best avoided by any unfortunate souls who haven't read the books yet, riddled as it and its comments are with spoilers, but for the rest of you...

"In general, I loved the series. I found it perfectly paced, brutal, funny, shocking and lyrical."

Well, that's very nice. That's lovely. No problems at all. This is the kind of review that more of you should be--

"I have one problem with it, though."

WHAT?

"The third book, The Last Argument of Kings..."

Last Argument of Kings, Jason, there is no 'the', but pray continue.

"...seems like it should be a conclusion. The word last in the title implies that surely?"

Yes it does.

"The number of reviewers in the front matter gushing about how great the ending is would indicate, to my gullible mind anyway, that this is indeed the end of the story."

Yes it is.

"Oh sure, most of the story ends. Not all. Certainly not all. There are chunks on unchewed plot-meat still sitting on the table, waiting for a carving. The final chapter is even called "The Beginning." How the fuck is that a fucking ending, Joe?"

Well, Jason, the last chapter is called "The Beginning" in the same way that the first chapter is called "The End", that's fucking what! It's a fucking ace fucking ending, actually, I'll have you know! I get, like, loads of emails saying how ace it is! Maybe it's just TOO ACE FOR YOU! All about the circularity of history, and how life, unlike fantasy, has no neat endings, and how the end of every conflict contains the seeds of the next, and, and, and, and LOADS of other clever, high-brow shit what I can't be arsed to think up right now, that's what! Yeah! What are you saying anyway? That not neatly closing off every loose thread of a story is some kind of uncommon and major offence--

"Not entirely ending a story despite all appearances to the contrary is, in the SF world, a pretty common and minor offence. So, no worries, Mr. Abercrombie. I don't want to torture you over it very much. And on the glass-half-full side it means this incredibly talented writer has more to offer. I look forward to it."

Oh. Well. Incredibly talented, you say? Well. That's very nice, then. Hmm.

Forget I spoke.

Labels: reviews

Friday, 17 October 2008

Two More Things

Tired of reading me make an arse of myself?

Now you can LISTEN to me make an arse of myself, because I've been interviewed by Michael Stackpole, Summer Brooks and Michael Mennenga at The Dragon Page. I am really not so good at this spoken interview business yet ... but conversation runs towards language, violence, and innovation in fantasy, plus an enormous amount of dithering and massive over-use of the meaningless phrases, "if you like," and "kind of". It starts about 15 minutes in, by the way, because Mike Stackpole takes that long to really rip a book to shreds (not mine, I'm relieved to say).

Not like me to link to the blog of another author, you would have thought, but in this case it's OK to share the glory because the redoubtable Pat Rothfuss, stablemate at Gollancz, owner of the most exciting new beard in fantasy, and author of the vastly successful Name of the Wind, has been speaking about The First Law. A little quote:

"The books are good, really good. They pulled me in. Well-developed world. Unique, compelling characters. I like them so much that when I got to the end of the second book and found out the third book wasn't going to be out in the US for another three months. I experienced a fit of rage, then a fit of depression, then I ate some lunch and had a bit of a lay down."

I owe him a beer now if I'm ever in the States, but it's OK because Marcus Sakey emailed me the other day promising me a beer if I'm ever in the States for giving his The Blade Itself a shout. Authorial karma.

Hey, maybe I could just get Marcus Sakey to drop off a beer to Pat Rothfuss...?

Labels: interviews, reviews

Friday, 10 October 2008

Two Things

Some fantasy-minded folks are setting up an award to commemorate the late, much-loved, David Gemmell. The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy will be given for the first time in June 2009 for the best fantasy novel of 2008, which means ... oh ... Last Argument of Kings will be eligible, fancy that, I hadn't even realised until just now ...

*Ahem*

Anyway, check out the website, and the long list so far. The idea is, as I understand it, to focus on the more heroic/epic (dare one even say commercial) end of the fantasy spectrum (the type of work for which Gemmel was famous). Sounds like a good idea to me, since that stuff doesn't always get a lot of representation in the shortlists of existing awards. Nothing to do with me writing that sort of work. No, sir. You lot know me, and I never think of myself. Never. Anyway again, the process sounds like an interesting idea - publishers nominate any works they think fit the criteria, then there is an open public vote to establish a shortlist of five. A panel of genre experts then debate and select a winner. Current confirmed panelists include Aragorn, Cugel the Clever, the Grey Mouser, Conan, and Druss the Legend. I'm joking of course. Conan was unavailable, he's getting his back waxed that week.

But seriously, I think that process has the potential to combine the better elements of public and panelled awards. Unless I don't win, in which case I'll declare the entire thing an ill-conceived failure, and, more then likely, some kind of fix-up like that Campbell Award what I didn't win just because other nominees got a lot more votes than me. But seriously again, perhaps this is an opportunity for any among you who might complain that existing awards are too elitist and that epic fantasy never gets a fair crack of the whip to involve yourselves with something more proletarian? Hmmmmm?

But before you rush off to vote for Paul Kearney! 2008 isn't over, stoopid. The best fantasy book of this year might not yet have been published. Voting does not open until Christmas...

So to keep you entertainted until then ... there's a humblingly in-depth piece by Steve Tompkins - review? examination? essay? all three? on The First Law at The Cimmerian, a journal focusing on the work of the grandfather of Sword and Sorcery, Robert E. Howard. He talks about the covers, about long form fantasy versus short form, about the main characters, and much, much more. Well worth a look, if you're so inclined...

Labels: news, reviews

Friday, 15 August 2008

What THEY Said Over the Last Month

High time for my periodic self-indulgent sado-massochistic trawl through the dark corners of the interweb. I can't help it. It's an addiction. So without further ado ... Writer Bill Ward had a look at The Blade Itself:

"at heart it's a High Fantasy with a hardboiled, Sword & Sorcery attitude. The pace, the command of voice and dialog, and the strong characterization all make this a series to watch."

He followed it up with a main course of Before They are Hanged:

"Questions are answered and new ones raised, characters push and pull against one another, glimpses of plots are dangled with skill before the reader, and the whole conspires to keep the pages greedily turning - in short, everything is done well and will have fans rushing to get their hands on Last Argument of Kings, the concluding volume of The First Law."

Dread Pirate Terje was one among that very rush. I'm not sure if he's really a pirate, or what dark acts have earned him the prefix 'dread' or not, but you have to appreciate his Marxist analysis of The First Law:

"In Marxist terms, the superstructure is transformed, while the base remains the same. Or, perhaps more precisely, the base remains the same, as does the superstructure, but the relation between these become apparent to the main characters, and thus to the readers - the illusion of ideology (the Marxist term refering to the ideas and philosophies that legitimize and shroud that the system is, ultimately, based on power - according to Marxist theory, democracy and liberalism are part of the ideology of capitalism) is shed and shredded. In the end Last Argument of Kings, while magnificently brutal, morbidly fun, recklessly fascinating, and at times awesomely inspiring, was too fucken dark for my taste, so I dock it about half a point or so for that. 9.0/10."

9/10 even after the half point deduction? I reckon I can live with that. Just. An insightful look at the whole trilogy from occasional visitor here, Elena at 500 pages and a bottle of wine:

"For every genre staple/cliche that is included, another is pissed upon. There is a near-constant undermining of expectation, both by the standards of fantasy epics and those of literature in general. Another way to summarize the trilogy - mine, in fact - would be: Reservoir Dogs + "Dr Heidegger's Experiment" + The Empire Strikes Back, dropped into post-apocalyptic Middle Earth. As I mentioned initially, this book speaks in the cant of a 21st-century 20-something, hence the inclusion of a Tarantino movie. Well-written, witty, and full of violently poetic descriptions and snarky one-liners, if also littered with more comma splices than bodies (and that's an awful lot, girl)."

I believe it was the Emperor Sigismund who said, "I am the King of Rome, and above grammar." Don't try to limit my genius with your dusty rules, commar fascist! Though it's worth noting she had something of the same 'intellectual admiration yet emotional disappointment' reaction to the ending that I did with No Country for Old Men a couple of weeks back. Thomas L. Martin, meanwhile, reveiewed the book for SFCrowsnest, and the only real problem he had with the 240,000 word monster was that it was just too damn short. Well, alright, rushed and with uneven pacing, but, you know:

"A fourth book to extend the battles and keep the pacing more dramatic may have truly completed the 'First Law' sequence but even as it is they stand as fantastic examples of the best heroic fantasy. In his first three novels, Joe Abercrombie has shown that the road travelled by so many tired and cliched quest novels has not been exhausted. There are other ways to do it without re-treading the old formulae and by populating his complex world with dynamic, immensely imperfect characters Abercrombie has produced a reinvigoration of the genre."

Reinvigorate THAT, motherf*ckers. And finally, kind words on the trilogy as a whole from no lesser light than the star of Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog, would you believe, Felicia Day:

"And boy did this series finish! After reading the third book in the trilogy, I definitely have to say that this is one of my top 10 favorite series of all time. It's that good. The finale pays off all the genre-bending plot twists and crazy left turns that occurred in books one and two, and in a way that will leave you gasping. I could not have looked up from the last 100 pages if you had paid me!"

Who would pay you to do that? Not me, that's for SURE.

Labels: reviews

Monday, 7 July 2008

Innovative-ni-ness

As though Publisher's Weekly's review had burst an internet dam, or were a necromancer invoking the restless corpses of the web community, or were a great king of yore calling his shining cohorts to battle (work with me here), a spate of First Law-related activity this past week.

Like Sergio Leone, whom I try to imitate in all things, let us begin with the good, and work our way steadily towards the ugly, though this time, alas, without the comic talents of Eli Wallach. A review of Last Argument of Kings from Paul at the rather nicely designed and fearsomely titled Blood of the muse (I like it, literary, but violent):

"Last Argument of Kings is the best fantasy novel released so far in 2008 ... Abercrombie brings the trilogy to a rousing and very satisfying conclusion, peppering the novel with incredible battles, grim humor, and many unforeseen twists ... the characters become even more nuanced and complex, fighting hard against the reader's expectations of them. It is as though a new light has been shined upon them, making for stunning transformations."

He awards me 94 out of 100. Have at you now! It's like 94 fingers in the eye for the doubters. John D. Borra has also been reading LAoK at Flowers from the Rubble, and he thought:

"The concluding book of The First Law trilogy could not have been more exhilaratingly, subversively, compulsively delightful. A tired old genre, populated either by the doddering remnants of formerly great writers, or sadly bereft of truly inspired creators, is suddenly fresh again."

Fresh, inspired, and delightful? Oh, don't! Oh, stop! I'm blushing! My face is on fire! Alright, carry on. What do you think of when you picture readers of epic fantasy? My guess is that would vary, but it is extremely unlikely to be this. At all. But the world is jam-packed with surprises, folks, because vintage pin-up model Fleur de Guerre (nom de plume?) has apparently been tearing through the filth, betrayal and carnage that is Last Argument of Kings. No, really, I'm not making this up. My imagination is nothing like that powerful:

"Anyway, suffice to say it is an absolutely cracking read. It's a fantastically well-written series, and the characters are so ... full of character! They have both good and bad sides, and unlike some books, there were no character chapters that I wanted to (or *gasp* did!) skip through. The battle scenes were particularly epic, and suitably bloody. My only niggle is the ending!"

Bah! Dah! We'll forget that last sentence ever happened, shall we? Ably assisted by an overview of the entire trilogy from Australian webzine The Specusphere (although does it have a nationality if it's on the web? A question for another day...):

"In The First Law, UK fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie has produced one of the most impressive first trilogies ever to hit the market. It is remarkable not only because of its brilliantly complex plot and characters, but also because of its fearless investigation of the dark labyrinths of the human condition. Here be no dragons, and hardly a mage or a McGuffin is in sight, either. Instead, we have a blood, sweat and tears tale of the first water ... If you like your fantasy harsh and gritty, can stand a great deal of death and destruction, and if you don't want everything tied up in neat packages with "happy ever after" stamped on them, you must read this trilogy."

See? See? They liked the ending! "But Joe!" I hear you cry, "if your admirers span the entire gamut of persons from vintage pin-ups to ... Australians, from where oh where will the dodgy reviews that we all love so much appear?" Ah, from none other than sometime-absent but long-established internet reviewer Gabe Chouinard, who has some thought-provoking issues with the level of originality displayed in The Blade Itself:

"For all the talk of innovation, The Blade Itself is still generic epic fantasy. While it is a rousing good read, for me it is also a disposable read; the genre equivalent of a few hours spent watching television."

As disposable as time spent watching The Wire, Deadwood, The Sopranos or Battlestar Galactica? Wasted hours indeed, I hang my head in shame...

"In hindsight, I find it difficult to distinguish Abercrombie's characters from other generic epic fantasy characters. Logen Ninefingers could as easily have been the equally-reluctant berserker Barek from David Eddings' Belgariad sequence. Bayaz could just as easily have been any number of mysterious mage figures; making him bald and sarcastic does not make him unique."

Now Gabe's only read the first book, and I'd be interested to see what he made of the whole series. I think if The First Law has any insights to offer it's as a whole. The Blade Itself was always intended to introduce the characters, to set the scene, but also to firmly anchor the trilogy as being part of a familiar brand of epic fantasy in which readers might think they could guess all the outcomes, such that, as the series then later ingeniously flips those notions on their heads and reveals the characters to be other than expected, readers are double shocked and amazed, squealing with delight at the cleverness of the merry dance on which they have been so entertainingly led.

Or perhaps not. It don't work for everyone, that's for sure. But I'd argue the number of people disappointed, dismayed, or even utterly crushed by the ending would seem to support the idea that it's not entirely formulaic. Still, having been underwhelmed by book one, Gabe might well not have the patience for two more doorstoppers. That's fine. And even if he did, he might well consider the whole approach ill-advised, ineffective, or even mildly ham-fisted. Certainly he found the first book 'entirely undistinctive', and is forced to meditate on the shortcomings of the critical community these days:

"And so I wonder... what is it that compels reviewers to laud The Blade Itself as innovative, ground-breaking, and all the rest? I believe reviewers are responding to the surface gloss of The Blade Itself, which is foolhardy. Bloody fights, sarcasm, the "gritty" addition of a few fucks and shits and damns... these are a mere veneer of coolness, not signs of real innovation. And so, when some reviewers use books like Abercrombie's to suggest that epic fantasy has, at last, "grown up", I find myself cringing in dismay."

Exactly what people respond to or not in a book is an area of some fascination for me, as you can imagine. I think the single biggest lesson I've learned since getting into the game (writing, not prostitution) is that the difference in the ways different readers look at a text, the differences in what they expect, what they want, what they value, in every area, are unimaginably vast. But my impression is, when people do respond well to my stuff (the aforementioned John D. Borra above being not untypical), what they find original is the relatively small twists on the familiar, though growing as the series progresses, the sense of humour with which it's delivered, the relatively unpretentious style from the extremely pretentious author, the vivid characters and the emphasis on those characters rather than the world. What you might call relatively basic virtues, really.

I disagree that those things constitute surface gloss, necessarily, that all depends what you're looking for. I disagree also that something needs to be wildly innovative in order to offer something that a lot of readers will find fresh and interesting. Honestly, I think unique-ness can sometimes be a bit over-rated. Much beloved of critics, but perhaps not so much of the great body of readers. You can be unique and still be, for want of a better word, shit. A man with an arse for a face is unique, but I don't know that I'd want to be him. To write an appealing story, I think you need to balance the original with the familiar, and for me, quite small nuances of style and approach can be enough to make some familiar components fascinating all over again, especially if they're components much beloved of the readers in question. Familiarity might repel some readers, but I think it draws far more in, providing you don't get stodgy and boring (don't you dare even think it), creates expectations and allows you to pull tricks that would be impossible on much less familiar ground.

So I'm not sure I'd ever claim that my stuff is particularly groundbreaking, beyond being my own particular take on the classic fantasy trilogy, emphasising my own concerns and trying to be as honest and realistic as possible. To quote myself from an interview, which you'll be surprised to hear I kind of love doing:

"I'd like to think of what I'm doing as standing in relation to Lord of the Rings (and the classic epic fantasy that's been strongly influenced by Tolkien) in the same way as - if I can use a cumbersome extended metaphor - Unforgiven stands in relation to High Noon. A slantwise look at the cliches of the form from a more modern, cynical, realistic perspective, perhaps even a bit of a satirical riff on the form at times, but first and foremost a strong example of the form. I hope that I've got something to say about the ways that good and evil, power and violence are traditionally represented in fantasy, but at the same time I hope that above all what I've written is a cracking fantasy tale, and can be enjoyed purely on that level."

Man, that Abercrombie can turn a phrase. And so when Gabe says, in order to sweeten the bitter pill of criticism:

"Abercrombie has a slick, active style that aids in propelling the reader along. Everything about The Blade Itself is crisp; the dialogue is excellent, the pacing is excellent, the characterization is excellent. In truth, while reading The Blade Itself I enjoyed myself."

I think I probably find most of the praise I'd ever want. In the end, if given the choice, I much prefer things that are good, to things that are original. Both would be best, for sure, but hey...

Either one's something.

Labels: opinion, reviews