The New York Times bestselling first book in Joe Abercrombie’s The Age of Madness Trilogy where the age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. The chimneys of industry rise over Adua and the world seethes with new opportunities. But old scores run deep as ever. On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat … borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal’s son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments.
Savine dan Glokta — socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union — plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.
The age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad hillwoman Isern-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or the curse, of the Long Eye. Glimpsing the future is one thing, but with the guiding hand of the First of the Magi still pulling the strings, changing it will be quite another . . .
For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:
The First Law Series
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
Abercrombie squeezes your heart till it matches his beat. No one writes with the seismic scope or primal intensity of Joe Abercrombie.
Abercrombie continues to do what he does best… Buckle your seat belts for this one… A vivid and jolting tale.
Rife with emotion with wit to spare, both honed to an effortlessly fine edge. A Little Hatred is the joy of watching a master of the craft with his tools at their sharpest.
Joe Abercrombie’s powerful voice raises the bar in any literary genre. Fantasy fans are beyond fortunate he chose this one.
A Little Hatred is Abercrombie at his very best: witty, wise, and whip-smart. Masterfully plotted… I had high hopes for this book, and it exceed them all.
I’m not sure you can miss a book. I’m certain you can’t miss a book you haven’t read but that was precisely the feeling I had within a few pages of A Little Hatred.
The book takes the world as it was at the end of the last series, adds a few decades and some coal, and builds on it. There is a new generation of characters, some of their parents, and references back to what had happened in the past. There are twists. There’s violence. There are flawed characters aplenty and a biting takedown both of capitalism and the consequences of revolution. The text is clean and easy to read and, impressively, the use of each character’s ‘voice’ is not just limited to their speech but to the entirety of the text when it is their turn on the page. And there is the rolling point of view Abercrombie does so well – when the protagonist of one section merges seamlessly into the protagonist of the next. (Seen best here when the revolution bites and one character’s actions knock on to the next’s in the subsequent paragraphs.)
All in all, this is a great book. The writing combines grit and glory, humour and horror, beautiful and bitter observations on life and all other manner of alliterating adjectives.
As with my review of The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow, I appreciate that this is not a ‘balanced, critical’ review but I don’t see the point of adding criticism for the sake of it.
That said, I have one issue. I think I missed some of the jokes and references because it’s been so long since I read the First Law books and the stand-alones. The solution? Get the rest of the series and reread from The Blade Itself forwards.
Reckon the books deserve it.
Abercrombie writes his books in his own way, and ‘A Little Hatred’ is no different. The story is very much character driven. And is propelled forward by an ensemble of highly entertaining personalities with problems you can relate to. Well, okay, some are more relatable than others. Anyway, all the characters have their own flavor, their own feel and their own unique way of telling the story.
The tale is of course dark and gritty, we are talking about “Lord Grimdark” himself after all, but it is also very funny and highly entertaining. The scene in the ballroom from several of the characters perspectives while they interact with each other had me grinning like a fool. In public, of course…
The references to his earlier books are thick and frequent, which just ads to the enjoyment. I highly recommend the book for everyone who appreciates the darker sides of the fantasy. Steven Pacey, who narrates the books, does a marvelous job bringing life to all the colorful personalities.
And, yes, I almost forgot; Abercrombie writes the most unsexy sex scenes I have ever read.
Some very innovative writing and several great scenes that are hard to forget. Trademark tight point of view throughout. Probably my favorite was Savine Dan Glokta.
Magic is leaking from the world of The First Law. What better to fill the cavity magic leaves behind than industrialization? What cost is Adua willing to pay in the name of progress?
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie is book one in The Age of Madness trilogy. It takes place 30 years after the events of The First Law trilogy. If you haven’t read The First Law, I recommend you do so before you read A Little Hatred. I would also recommend the stand-alone novels based in the world of the First Law. Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country are amazing reads, but I would not say they are required reading before you start The Age of Madness, like The First Law trilogy is.
Joe Abercrombie has made a name for himself as Lord Grimdark, and you can certainly see that in his writing. Abercrombie’s flavor of fantasy is violent, gritty, in my opinion, quite believable. People are imperfect and often choose the low road when it’s easier than doing the right thing. Abercrombie’s writing captures this. He writes about bad people doing horribly things in tough situations. So if you don’t enjoy grimdark fantasy, I would not recommend Abercrombie’s writing.
In A Little Hatred, familiar, loved, and hated characters return as gray-bearded men and old women. Their children venture forth into the world they have helped shape, for better or for worse.
The Dogman governs Angland: a protectorate of Adua. His daughter, Rikke has been blessed or cursed with the long eye. The power to see the future has its costs. The visions can be cryptic and imprecise. They often send Rikke into a fit of seizures that leaves her aching and sitting in soiled pants. The Dogman sends her to a northern witch to develop her ability and take control of her fits. Rikke foresees the destruction of her home, Uffrith, but she returns too late. She finds the city in flames. Stour Nightfall, son of Black Calder and heir to the norther throne had already launched a surprise assault on Angland. His warbands scour the land in search of Rikke.
Meanwhile, to the south, Savine dan Glokta is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Adua and a formidable ally or opponent in the world of investment and industry. Her ambition knows no bounds, and this is evident in who she shares her bed with, or an empty writer’s office anyway. None other than Crown Prince Orso, heir to the throne of Adua, son of King Jezal the First. Rich, refined, and powerful could all describe Savine, but so can greedy, manipulative, and dangerous. Progress in manufacturing goods as cheaply as possible is beneficial to the wealthy business owners. The working class, however, suffer.
Gunnar Broad returns from the war in the south to find a different Midderland than the one he left; the one he bled for. He and his family are forced to abandon their farm. Many farmers in their area are forced out in the name of progress. They move to the city in search of work. Within the walls, Gunnar finds overcrowding, horrendous living and working conditions, child labor, lack of food and sleep, and injuries from machinery as a result. Gunnar has promised his wife to leave his violent ways behind him, but this new Midderland does not make it easy for him. A mysterious man known as The Weaver gives the lower class direction and motivation to revolt. Gunnar is once again drawn into the fray and he struggles to remain a peaceful man, capable of such violence.
The burden of quelling this rebellion falls on the less than capable shoulders of Crown Prince Orso. He had been happy drinking, whoring, and snorting his life away until recently. He finds new ambition with the new lady in his life, Savine dan Glokta. Orso strives to make use of himself, plunging into the world of politics and leadership. His life had not prepared him for this.
Abercrombie constantly subverts expectations. When you see another door you think he will take, a third option appears out of nowhere and slaps the reader in the face.
Abercrombie once again induces cringe with awkward sex scenes, though they are purposely awkward. I think he meant for them to induce an uneasy feeling and he succeeded, at least, with me. None so far as weird as Logan Ninefingers and Ferro Maljin in Before They Are Hanged: book 2 in the First Law trilogy. That one would be difficult to top.
Once again, Abercrombie’s character work is the best part of his writing. Each character comes through as clearly their own person, fleshed out and fully realized, even as they discover themselves. I feel for them and I understand their thoughts even if the decisions they make are the wrong ones. This is a difficult thing to accomplish, and Abercrombie does it so well.
I love the setting. The world I have come to know so well with The First Law and the standalone books advanced 30 years is an amazing way to intrigue the existing fans of this universe as well as adding enough new stuff to keep it interesting. I had a bunch of, “ah, I remember you,” moments throughout my read.
Though A little Hatred is the first of the trilogy and much of it was set up for the rest of the series, I didn’t feel like it was just set up. This is one of the problems I had with The Blade Itself. A bunch of set up and promise of action. The First Law delivered eventually, of course. A little Hatred set up and delivered gut-wrenching plot throughout as well as leaving some tasty morsels for the rest of the trilogy.
The ending was painful for me for that exact reason. For the first time since I began The Blade Itself, I’ve run out of The First Law universe to read. September feels like such a long way off. I can’t wait for the release of The Problem With Peace.
I give A Little Hatred 5 stars. Though there were some little problems here or there for me, I couldn’t find enough of them to bring my rating down a star. I enjoyed it too much. Joe Abercrombie writes his ugly world in such a beautiful way and I look forward to reading more.
All of our favorites are back. . .sort of. If you love Grimdark, this is for you.
Great story
A good addition to the series. If you were a fan of the First Law Trilogy, then you need to read this.
Abercrombie remains, as always, a good step ahead of his imitators and this leap into the perils of industrialism, class warfare and gender equity is not only well ahead of its time in fantasy, but serves as a powerful indictment of today’s world.
I’m jealous.
Do not, however, take my initial statement to mean this book reads like a PhD dissertation. Far from it. Here you’ll find many familiar characters — Caul Shivers, Master Sulfur, King Jezal, Dogman — and a host of new ones you’ll love every bit as much if not more, including Savine dan Glokta, Crown Prince Orzo, Rikke, the Young Lion, and others. There’s plenty of action, desperation, sex, treachery and surprises to keep you reading all night, every night, until you’ve finished.
The challenging part about being a writer though is that, if you’ve done your job well, folks’ll finish your book and demand the sequel immediately. So, where is it, Joe? (Heh heh heh…)
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2020/02/29/review-a-little-hatred-by-joe-abercrombie/
The Circle of the World will never win an award for the most coveted touristic destination, but it is a hell of a place to find good stories and amazing characters. You just have to survive long enough in that crazy and messy political mess that is getting muddier with every book that comes out of Joe’s mind. And I couldn’t be happier for it! This new book puts the saga again in the right track, after a book that was a tad weaker than what we were used to. Let’s pack and travel to The Age of Madness!
About thirty years after the end of the first trilogy, we go back to Adua and the North to take a peek at the new Union under the constant vigilance of my most hated baldy, a.k.a. Bayaz. Except for a boom in industry, almost everything looks the same. The North can’t be the North without a war or two, so the King Scale, alongside his brother Calder and nephew Stour, is fighting against Dogman and his Union friends. The Great Wolf is ruthless, but he will find himself facing the brave Leo dan Brock aided by Rikke and her visions of the future. Will they satiate their thirst for glory or drown in their own blood? Sadly, Leo can’t expect help from Adua. Prince Orso had forged a small army to go help him, but a revolt in Valbeck, one of the cities with more industry and worse job conditions, provoke a change of plans. It is the perfect moment for Orso to prove himself as the future King. Unless there are other factors making their own move…
It is not a small book, but the pages flew before my eyes. If I had more time to read, I would have finished this book way sooner. Many days I went to bed with an unsettling feeling due to the story and counting the hours before I could get comfy in bed to keep reading. And yet, the story is rather simple. It is a simple war in the North. It is a bloody revolt in Valbeck. Nothing fancy or even lenghty. As it usually happens with this saga, its main strenght is the amazing cast of characters that take part in the plots. I do not want to belittle the story, though. It is very entertaining with a lot of nail biting moments that will be more than enough for people that need more than superb characters. All that without forgetting a bit of worldbuilding: we get to see how much Adua has changed and how little the North has. It feels like a natural evolution from previous stories, even though the temporal jump is rather big. I wouldn’t read this new trilogy without reading the stand-alone books that were published after the first trilogy. Many details will be lost to you if you don’t follow the meant order. Yeah, they are not game breaking details, but they give this book a thicker layer of depth.
But as I have already mentioned, the most impressive muscle of this book is its well oiled cast of characters (muscles and oil in the same sentence… naughty, naughty). I bet the author has a lot of fun moving his pieces all over the board and that has a very positive effect in the story. You can almost touch the writer’s enthusiasm with his little playthings. All that happen with the characters is for a reason. Sometimes it will be obvious almost immediately, but other times we must wait to see the consequences and ramifications of some actions. No better way of keeping me engaged, if I have to be honest. At first I was afraid of not liking the new guys, but it was just my own non-sense talking. In any case, the newbies are usually in the presence of some of our beloved old glories; which helps a lot for a smooth transition. We have Jezal helping his son Orso. Glokta training his daughter Savine. Dogman, Shivers and Finree helping Leo and Rikke. Tenez, Calder, Scale, Gorst, Bayaz, and Yoru are also in the book to help with nostalgic pangs.
From all of the new characters, maybe my least favourite would be Rikke, The Dogman’s daughter. It is a pretty interesting character, but I’m not sure what is her deal. Sometimes is a damsel in distress and in the next one she is a bloodthirsty savage. I have enjoyed a lot her honesty in front of big wigs like Savine or Orso, but dislike her attitude surrounding Stour and Leo’s decisions. The Long Eye mechanics are also a bit unclear. Sometimes her visions are like metaphors and other times they are pretty literal. Let’s see how her character is developed in the following books before making a definite decision about her.
A nice surprsied has been Orso, the Prince. At first he looked like a womanizer with an annoying habit of drinking too much and using drugs. But when the shove comes to push, he rises to the challenge and his true colours are shown. Too bad not everybody is happy about it… I have the feeling I’m going to suffer a little bit with this guy. Until the big revelation (that shouldn’t have been such a big surprsie, by the way), I was enjoying the strange relationshiop between Orso and Savine. Glokta’s daughter had to fill some really big shoes, so I’m glad she is not at all interested in them. She is her own character, but Savine shows some of her father’s cunning as the aggressive businesswoman she is. I’m not sure which role will she have from now on, but for some reason I predict a journey through the Dark Side…
I’m going to be pretty obvios here: my favourite new characters is Leo. Is it weren’t for his racist and homophobic comments, the Young Lion could be on my list of book boyfriends. And those comments are so weak and lame, that I could forgive him pretty easily in future books. I have enjoyed waaaay too much his naivety in almost all aspects of life. Always puffing his chest, but seeking to please his mother. But the reason that has made me seek his chapters with eagerness is not other than Jurand. His best friend. The guy who has a crazy crush on Leo dan Brock and has to suffer his obliviousness. Unrequited love sucks, but it makes for a really fun read. I’m shipping them so hard! I read too many Romance novels, I know… I blame Rikke for the images she put on my head, though.
And the ending. What can I say about the ending without spoiling anything? The ending is a literal stab in the back and front in the North and a metaphrical stomach punch in Adua. The ending has only made me wish harder for the death of that hideous character whose smile makes me puke. I needed justice when the first trilogy ended. Now I crave it. This can’t go unpunished much longer. Although I’m afraid he has too many new toys to play with… so he is not going away any time soon…
The return to the First Law world years later with new characters and story but the same epic plot, someone’s at war!
Brutal, unforgiving, and terribly fun. Everything awesome readers have come to expect from Joe Abercrombie.