RSB vs Joe Abercrombie

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Wilshire

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« Reply #15 on: April 05, 2014, 09:52:56 pm »
There is at least one other topic about Abercrombie lying around with more thoughts.

For me, I think his main series The First Law (Consisting of The Blade Itself, Before they are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings), is a great read. His characters are great: they are all dynamic, they have  a lot of depth, and they all operate with some kind of grey morality (no easy right/wrong). There is a lot to like, and I'd say your missing something if you don't at least read the first book. BTW if you like to listen to audiobooks, this series is probably the best I've ever heard.
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Royce

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« Reply #16 on: April 06, 2014, 05:50:47 pm »
I might check him out later on. I am all sci fi ATM :)

Have never checked out audiobooks actually, to fond of reading.

mrganondorf

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« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2014, 10:27:58 pm »
@ Wilshire - Thanks for the tip about the Abercrombie audiobooks.  I love audiobooks, but the reader has to be good or its just intolerable.

@ Royce - You gotta check Abercrombie out!  I am rereading the First Law trilogy (that's what I recommend) and it's plenty of fun the second time around.

Wilshire

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« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2014, 01:44:17 pm »
Steven Pacey is absolutely incredible (the guy who reads The First Law). If you can find a book you are interested in that he reads, you simply must get it.

The guy has great voices for every single character, including the women, and he carries through similar accents for people who originate from similar geographical locations. It really is superb.
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MSJ

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« Reply #19 on: August 08, 2015, 12:48:16 am »
Yea, I loved The First Law trilogy. And, what made me seek this thread (or start a new one, but I looked harder this time Wilshire ;) ), is what Francis Buck wrote in the Who's the Manipulator thread. Its about accessibility. Joe has already surpassed Bakker in sales and is a much more popular author. I love the books I flew through the trilogy. Joe's writing is addictive, when I pick it up I can't put it down. Last night, I purchased Half a King on kindle and blew through half of it in one sitting, its great. Its easy reading and very interesting and keeps you wanting more. Yet, I couldn't go and analyze and do what I do with Bakker. Francis Buck made a great point and Abercrombie is immediately who I thought of.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Wilshire

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« Reply #20 on: August 13, 2015, 12:38:03 pm »
I loved First Law, but his stand-alones left me very disappointed. He obviously likes to whole character inversion thing, but a single book doesnt seem like enough time to build up a perception of a character and then flip it over on its head. He does this with nearly every character in every book, and it just didnt work when he tried to do that in anything less than 3 books.

I always recommend First Law to people look to read some good fantasy. Its a series that most every can enjoy, and so far no one has ever come back to me saying they couldnt finish it or didnt like it. I do not always recommend Bakker, and I think only twice the people I recommend it to come back and actually bothered finishing it and liked it.
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Garet Jax

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« Reply #21 on: August 13, 2015, 02:38:34 pm »
I always recommend First Law to people look to read some good fantasy. Its a series that most every can enjoy, and so far no one has ever come back to me saying they couldnt finish it or didnt like it. I do not always recommend Bakker, and I think only twice the people I recommend it to come back and actually bothered finishing it and liked it.

No sure if you recommended it to me, but I didn't like it. 

I find it rather difficult to compare RSB to Abercrombie with an impartial mind.  One author I enjoy reading and on I don't.  Just my $0.02...

Wilshire

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« Reply #22 on: August 13, 2015, 03:23:42 pm »
Ah, you are one of the defectors, I forgot. I'm sure there are plenty out there that detest him, but I'm just using anecdotal evidence to suggest that he's generally fairly popular, bolstering the idea that he is more accessible.

Accessibility does not necessarily beget great writing.
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Camlost

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« Reply #23 on: September 14, 2015, 01:18:52 am »
Quote
I loved First Law, but his stand-alones left me very disappointed. He obviously likes to whole character inversion thing, but a single book doesnt seem like enough time to build up a perception of a character and then flip it over on its head
Only stand alone of his I've managed to read so far is The Heroes. I read it out of sequence without knowing, but from the small bit that I took in, it did follow that character model you described, but I think it worked out slightly better than described only because the novel builds on exposition one should have collected from the First Law trilogy. I have Best Served Cold on my shelf, even though I know it should have been read before The Heroes.

As cliche as Logen Ninefingers ended up being, I want the Bloody Nine. I want broken bones and blood in the snow and single combat. I found I really enjoyed Abercrombie's small combat descriptions.

The other two POV characters from the series didn't really catch me the same way. That said, I liked Black Dow all throughout his page time

Wilshire

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« Reply #24 on: September 14, 2015, 05:06:05 pm »
I liked Best Served Cold well enough, but couldnt finish Red Country, it was just too formulaic.

That said, if you want more Bloody Nine... well I can't even tell you what book you should read or it will spoil it, though its not a terribly big reveal. If you'd like to know the title, read below. Otherwise, read all the stand-alone books, he's in there somewhere ;).
(click to show/hide)

Anyway, if I read Red Country before Best Served Cold, I would have probably finished the former and not the latter, as above, so I dont think there was anything missing from Red Country... I just didn't want to keep reading the same thing. Other things on the shelf to read.
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