A fragile peace gives way to conspiracy, betrayal, and rebellion in this sequel to the New York Times bestselling A Little Hatred from epic fantasy master Joe Abercrombie. “A master of his craft.” –Forbes
“No one writes with the seismic scope or primal intensity of Joe Abercrombie.” –Pierce Brown Peace is just another kind of battlefield . . . Savine dan Glokta, once Adua’s most …
The Trouble with Peace
Peace is just another kind of battlefield . . .
Savine dan Glokta, once Adua’s most powerful investor, finds her judgement, fortune and reputation in tatters. But she still has all her ambitions, and no scruple will be permitted to stand in her way.
For heroes like Leo dan Brock and Stour Nightfall, only happy with swords drawn, peace is an ordeal to end as soon as possible. But grievances must be nursed, power seized, and allies gathered first, while Rikke must master the power of the Long Eye . . . before it kills her.
Unrest worms into every layer of society. The Breakers still lurk in the shadows, plotting to free the common man from his shackles, while noblemen bicker for their own advantage. Orso struggles to find a safe path through the maze of knives that is politics, only for his enemies, and his debts, to multiply.
The old ways are swept aside, and the old leaders with them, but those who would seize the reins of power will find no alliance, no friendship, and no peace lasts forever.
For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:
The Age of Madness
A Little Hatred
The Trouble With Peace
The Wisdom of Crowds
The First Law Trilogy
The Blade Itself
Before They Are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings
Best Served Cold
The Heroes
Red Country
The Shattered Sea Trilogy
Half a King
Half a World
Half a War
more
This book is better than mine. I admit it. I don’t toss around that kind of praise lightly. It’s worth the price of admission for one scene towards the end alone–a battle written in a boldly experimental style that might be the best I’ve ever read in a fantasy book. More than a few fantasy books try to capture the horror and futility of war, but few do it with such a dazzling combination of black humor, pathos, and panache. Abercrombie has become what George RR Martin failed to be–he’s got the twists and the turns and the backstabs, but he never loses sight of the emotional journeys of his core cast of characters.
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2021/02/03/review-the-trouble-with-peace-by-joe-abercrombie/
Epic fantasy: This book takes a little leap into the timeline after the events of the first Breakers/Burners revolt. Some big fishes of the Union are not happy at all about the state of things (when are they?) and they have decided to take matters into their own hands. But to fulfill those plans they would need a lot of support. So… who will get more allies? The King of the Union or the peoiple who wants to shake the system?
Gold star, Frenzy: This book is divided into two clear parts. The first is a pure political dance, where favors are charged and new ones are forged. It is all about charisma, stealthy speechs and juicy carrots. I bet this is not going to be your first story of this saga, so I guess you are already familiar with that slow style where the characters talk and talk and talk. In any other book that would be boring, but we know all that diplomacy is brewing a much lively outcome. That outcome would be the second part of the book: the battle. It is not even a war. All the chips are on the table for an epic chest bumping encounter between alphas. The kind that has clear losers, but no so clear winners. Well, the reader would be the winner; because that part of the story kept me on my toes the whole time. I blame life for forcing me to put the book down now and then and interrupting the pure bliss I was experiencing.
Great cast: I always say this when reviewing this author’s book, but I can’t be insistent enough about Joe’s mastery to create, develop and utterly torture his characters. Every single one has their own quip that makes them special and a total delight for the readers. We have some classic characters, like Glokta or Bayaz, and some of the newest ones, like Orso or Leo. When you are invested on the whole cast, the fact that they fight each other makes the experience much more rewarding. And stressful, but in a good way. I’m Team Leo all the way. He is my favourite character from the new batch. He is a very honorable man, but also a very gullible one and many take advantage of that. And Leo and Jurand together are just too much for my heart to handle. I know I’m reading too much between lines, but I do not care!
Joe Abercrombie has a way of writing characters that is just next-level. The conversation between King Orso and King Jappo?- was incredible. And of course, there is the awesome plot. I am forever a fan of this guy. Thanks Joe!