An Improvement
Mar. 23rd, 2014 05:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Aug 2013
Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - Gollancz ebook, 2009
* * * *
I was not particularly complimentary about the previous book in this series, so I'm pleased to be a bit more positive about this one. Which is not to say that all the problems have been fixed - the map is still missing, women are still under-represented, and the world and the magical system are insufficiently explained - but the chief problem of lack of character agency is less overt. This feels like a proper start to the story and one that I can now see myself finishing.
We left our heroes about to undertake three quests, conveniently at three cardinal points of the compass. Captain West has been sent north to the war against King Bethod in Angland where he soon meets up with the Dogman and the other members of Logen's band and is given the unenviable task of keeping the nominal but useless leader of the military expendition, Prince Ladisla, out of trouble. Inquisitor Glotka and his team of torturers are investigating an alleged conspiracy in Dagoska, a southern city which is threated with invasion by the Gurkish hordes. And Logen the barbarian with anger management issues, Jezal the useless swordsman and Ferro the stereotypical man-hating Amazon are accompanying Bayaz, the first of the magi, on a quest to find a mysterious magical maguffin called the Seed in the ruins of the Old Empire to the west.
All three strands have enjoyable moments, but it is the Bayaz quest that is the best. The characters and relationships of Logen, Ferro and particularly Jezal are deepened and complicated, making them much more engaging for the reader, and the trip to the oldest part of the world gives some much-needed historical and magical background. It is a shame, therefore, that the annoying ending to this strand indicates that Abercrombie has either not read a certain mid-trilogy fantasy volume by an author popular in my youth, or has failed to learn the lesson of the remarkably similar (and much reviled) storyline. It is also a pity that Ferro, although a fully rounded character by the end of this volume, is the only woman among the dozen or so principal characters, and a rather atypical one at that. This really isn't good enough for a twenty-first century writer.
Still, the realistic politics (I particularly liked the characteristic and weaselly way in which the people in charge will the ends but not the means, putting middle managers like Glotka and West in an impossible position) and the humorous and engaging dialogue largely make up for the flaws. But not entirely. All the viewpoint characters are under orders from superiors, so lack of agency is still a problem. And the fact that there are relatively few links between them raises concerns that the final volume will fail to bring the individual character arcs and the main story to a satisfying climax. But we'll see.
Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - Gollancz ebook, 2009
* * * *
I was not particularly complimentary about the previous book in this series, so I'm pleased to be a bit more positive about this one. Which is not to say that all the problems have been fixed - the map is still missing, women are still under-represented, and the world and the magical system are insufficiently explained - but the chief problem of lack of character agency is less overt. This feels like a proper start to the story and one that I can now see myself finishing.
We left our heroes about to undertake three quests, conveniently at three cardinal points of the compass. Captain West has been sent north to the war against King Bethod in Angland where he soon meets up with the Dogman and the other members of Logen's band and is given the unenviable task of keeping the nominal but useless leader of the military expendition, Prince Ladisla, out of trouble. Inquisitor Glotka and his team of torturers are investigating an alleged conspiracy in Dagoska, a southern city which is threated with invasion by the Gurkish hordes. And Logen the barbarian with anger management issues, Jezal the useless swordsman and Ferro the stereotypical man-hating Amazon are accompanying Bayaz, the first of the magi, on a quest to find a mysterious magical maguffin called the Seed in the ruins of the Old Empire to the west.
All three strands have enjoyable moments, but it is the Bayaz quest that is the best. The characters and relationships of Logen, Ferro and particularly Jezal are deepened and complicated, making them much more engaging for the reader, and the trip to the oldest part of the world gives some much-needed historical and magical background. It is a shame, therefore, that the annoying ending to this strand indicates that Abercrombie has either not read a certain mid-trilogy fantasy volume by an author popular in my youth, or has failed to learn the lesson of the remarkably similar (and much reviled) storyline. It is also a pity that Ferro, although a fully rounded character by the end of this volume, is the only woman among the dozen or so principal characters, and a rather atypical one at that. This really isn't good enough for a twenty-first century writer.
Still, the realistic politics (I particularly liked the characteristic and weaselly way in which the people in charge will the ends but not the means, putting middle managers like Glotka and West in an impossible position) and the humorous and engaging dialogue largely make up for the flaws. But not entirely. All the viewpoint characters are under orders from superiors, so lack of agency is still a problem. And the fact that there are relatively few links between them raises concerns that the final volume will fail to bring the individual character arcs and the main story to a satisfying climax. But we'll see.