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Dan Schwent's Reviews > Last Argument of Kings
Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)
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** spoiler alert **
As the Gurkish march on Adua, Bayaz schemes to defeat them, Jezel discovers his secret parentage, and Glokta tries to learn things no one wants him to know. Meanwhile, the Northmen are holed up in a fortress in the hills with Bethod's army at their gate, waiting for the Union army to arrive. Will they arrive in time? Is even Bayaz enough to defeat the Gurkish?
Apart from my Dark Tower reread of 2011, It's been a long time since I read the final book in a fantasy series. I guess re-reading the Elric books was the last time and probably Amber before that. The Last Argument of Kings, final book in the First Law trilogy, is way up in the series ender hierarchy.
The manure hits the windmill in a serious fashion in this volume. Several pretty important characters die. The rest of them have their lives change in real ways. Who would have Jezel dan Luthar and Logen Ninefingers would wind up kings? Or what would happen after they did?
Glokta and Bayaz were by far the most captivating characters in this volume. Glokta shocked me time and time again and I'm still not sure if Bayaz slew his mentor or not, only that he has his fingers in most of the pies in the bakery. All the revelations toward the end blew my mind.
There are so many things I want to gush about in this volume, like Bayaz using the Seed against the Eaters, Glokta marrying Ardee West, and the fight between The Bloody Nine and the Feared. I knew the confrontation was coming as soon as the Feared was introduced and I was pretty sure of his weakness. I just didn't picture the battle to be so brutal.
The character development over the course of the three books was pretty damn amazing considering where Jezel, Logen, and the rest started. The ending was the icing on the cake.
Like I said in my reviews of the other books, people compare these books to George R.R. Martin but they aren't that similar other than the brutal deaths. The First Law is way more like Pratchett. This particular volume reminds me of Watchmen quite bit when the heroes find out just how thoroughly they've been jerked around.
Five blood drenched stars. That's all I have to say.
Apart from my Dark Tower reread of 2011, It's been a long time since I read the final book in a fantasy series. I guess re-reading the Elric books was the last time and probably Amber before that. The Last Argument of Kings, final book in the First Law trilogy, is way up in the series ender hierarchy.
The manure hits the windmill in a serious fashion in this volume. Several pretty important characters die. The rest of them have their lives change in real ways. Who would have Jezel dan Luthar and Logen Ninefingers would wind up kings? Or what would happen after they did?
Glokta and Bayaz were by far the most captivating characters in this volume. Glokta shocked me time and time again and I'm still not sure if Bayaz slew his mentor or not, only that he has his fingers in most of the pies in the bakery. All the revelations toward the end blew my mind.
There are so many things I want to gush about in this volume, like Bayaz using the Seed against the Eaters, Glokta marrying Ardee West, and the fight between The Bloody Nine and the Feared. I knew the confrontation was coming as soon as the Feared was introduced and I was pretty sure of his weakness. I just didn't picture the battle to be so brutal.
The character development over the course of the three books was pretty damn amazing considering where Jezel, Logen, and the rest started. The ending was the icing on the cake.
Like I said in my reviews of the other books, people compare these books to George R.R. Martin but they aren't that similar other than the brutal deaths. The First Law is way more like Pratchett. This particular volume reminds me of Watchmen quite bit when the heroes find out just how thoroughly they've been jerked around.
Five blood drenched stars. That's all I have to say.
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Jason
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rated it 5 stars
Apr 03, 2013 05:18PM
I am glad that you loved it to too. The Last Argument of Kings is one of the most satisfying ends to any trilogy out there. It is so awesome that this series has so many unforgettable characters...bravo Joe!!!
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I agree. Most satisfying ending
great review mate. I loved this series. couldn't get enough of them. Abercrombie is a great writer.
"The First Law is way more like Pratchett. This particular volume reminds me of Watchmen quite bit when the heroes find out just how thoroughly they've been jerked around.Five blood drenched stars. That's all I have to say."
Nail. Meet hammer. Bam!
I am loving the new blood-drenched star designation.
Gavin wrote: "great review mate. I loved this series. couldn't get enough of them. Abercrombie is a great writer."I agree. Now to pick to the stand alones...
i think i'm going to read Best Served Cold next. nice review!
Thanks! I've got my eye out for Best Served Cold and Heroes. Like I need more unread books in my house.
Damn, the Watchmen comparison is spot on. Really enjoyed the series, loved Glokta's arc especially (he CRIED, sorta).
Glokta was my favorite character. Have you seen the First Law graphic novel Abercrombie is doing on his website?
I'm enjoying that comic. But I think Glokta and Logen are too pretty. They are certainly not so good looking according to the book.
that were my also thoughts while reading the comic
Logen being too pretty was my first thought when I started reading it.
It was refreshing to have an ending different than what we normally see in fantasy style books. However, the ending in my opinion was absolutely horrible. It was so unexpected that it didn't even give you a closure at all. I actually threw the book across the room after reading how Logen dies. He deserved at least a bloody death, he was the bloody nine after all. Not falling from a cliff running away from a fight. When did the bloody nine EVER run, as a matter of fact, where the hell was the bloody nine at all in the last fight. He never came out of Logen at all.I can get over Ferro being changed and not even saying a word to Logen before she left. I like how Glokta ended his character just carrying on torturing. But I refuse to see the relevance with Logen. Was it to show the realism or the "You have to be realistic" if your going to jump out of a window down a cliff??? BAH!
Mikey wrote: "It was refreshing to have an ending different than what we normally see in fantasy style books. However, the ending in my opinion was absolutely horrible. It was so unexpected that it didn't even g..."You haven't seen the last of Logen Ninefingers...
Mikey wrote: "But I refuse to see the relevance with Logen. Was it to show the realism or the "You have to be realistic" if your going to jump out of a window down a cliff??? BAH! "The title of that last chapter is "The Beginning;" a mirror of the first chapter of the series titled "The End." Both chapters end with (view spoiler)
Dan wrote: ""
Wow, nested spoiler, never seen that before but love it. :)
I hadn't even noticed that the end mirrored the beginning even though he seems to have spelled it out. I blame it on reading Malazan after First Law - didn't have my thinking cap on until then. :)
Seak (Bryce L.) wrote: "Dan wrote: ""
Wow, nested spoiler, never seen that before but love it. :)
I hadn't even noticed that the end mirrored the beginning even though he seems to have spelled it out. I blame it on rea..."
The nested spoiler seemed necessary. I wasn't sure it was going to work.
I didn't catch that either but it makes sense. I still need to bridge the gap between Last Argument of Kings and Red Country.
Yeah, I think Malazan requires slightly more thinking :) - and it has a few more characters
Five blood-drenched stars-- that's the best comment I've ever heard on this series.
Karthik wrote: "Five blood-drenched stars-- that's the best comment I've ever heard on this series."Thanks! I need to read some of his standalones besides Red Country.
Richard wrote: "Great review Dan."Thanks!
