The Wisdom of Crowds
Ratings166
Average rating4.5
Abercrombie turns grim dark dial to eleven
Starts off very strong and intriguing right after the ending of The Trouble with Peace, but then slows down after a few chapters to create a setup in a new situation. And for a long time you just wonder what will the characters do, how will they survive?
Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he knows how to write chaos…
The plot takes so many twists and turns and we get a couple of very epic battles with stakes higher than ever before. And it’s really surprising and amazing that characters continue to change even after a half of the book which is almost the end of the whole trilogy.
Also that open ending is so much more intriguing than The Last Argument of Kings.
Can’t wait for the next First Law book!
The weakest entry in the Age of Madness trilogy. The plot doesn't get going fast enough, and reaches closing-up-nine-books-at-once-territory before it can produce a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
The plot twists range from predictable to ludicrous.
As always with Abercrombie, the prose is exceptional.
Tipico libro de Abercrombie. En el libro 9 de la serie ya no tengo nada que decir de su estilo que no haya dicho ya.
Tipico tambien del ultimo libro de una trilogía es atar todos los cabos sueltos. Todo esto muy bien, los diálogos y los personajes como siempre increíbles.
El mayor problema de este libro es que las cosas van avanzando muy lentas, demasiado lentas. Creo que es el primer libro suyo que creo que hubiera mejorado quitándole algunas paginas de la parte de la revolución.
Goodreads gives this 4.6 stars which is incredibly high but is also ridiculously low at the same time. WHO could possibly read this and not give it 5 stars? Do you not even like fantasy?
The amount of political machinations in this book has to be a literary record. I truly didn't predict a single thing happening or a single person living/dying by the end. I love this series so much and Joe has said that he plans on coming back after his next trilogy! My only issue is that Queen Terez just vanished and wasn't talked about the rest of the story.
Can't wait to reread this before his next installment in 5-7 years!
Made it to the end of first law. Too many thoughts to put into words just after reading but this series was great especially the characters. Even though most of the time they made decisions to frustrate me they were so well realized and despite my best efforts I could never guess what was going to happen next
“It is sort of an atrocity contest.”
Despite some major flaws (one of the villains is immersion-breakingly one-dimensional), it is so much fun!
9/10
An awesome conclusion to what has become my favourite fantasy series. The characters are wrapped up beautifully and in his classic style way Ambercrombie manages to make not a single main character happy with their situation.
In the shadowy corners of literature, where morality blurs and characters tread the fine line between heroism and villainy, Joe Abercrombie reigns as the undisputed Lord of Darkgrim. To dub his mastery as extraordinary would be an understatement; it's a plunge into the depths of human complexity, where every character is an unapologetic, legitimate asshole, yet somehow, we find ourselves attached to their twisted narratives.
Remarkably, amidst the moral murkiness and philosophical ponderings, I struggled to pinpoint any negative aspects. Abercrombie's storytelling is a double-edged sword – it cuts deep into our emotions, leaving scars of attachment and empathy. If there's a flaw to be found, it lies not within the pages but in the inevitable reality that after nine captivating books, the time has come to bid adieu to the captivating world of the First Law. Closing the chapter on this epic saga feels like bidding farewell to old friends, a poignant reminder of the emotional investment Abercrombie's narrative demands
I should have “made my heart a stone”, I'm never going to emotionally recover from this
Overall I enjoyed the wrap up of the plot quite a bit and the action as always is top notch. But as I said in the first review that were just a couple POV and side characters that I could never really get interested in which makes parts of the story drag. Also some of the events that unfold feel very much like “cause the author wanted” rather than “this is consistent with the narrative, world and character”.
The original trilogy is a cut above, but even still, there are enough positives here that this series is definitely worth the read.
I am blown away. This is a masterpiece of work. Joe is currently dining with the great fantasy writers, alongside GRRM, Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, amongst others who should be named but I'm far too lazy.
This is one of the worlds that you could read for the rest of your life and never tire.
The plot was fantastic, twist and turns throughout, keeping you on your toes.
Characters, well this is the author's speciality. He could make you hate someone for half the book, to then turn him/her into one of your favourites. The growth these characters go through is brilliant.
World building is top tier. You feel as though you are in this world with the characters, living, breathing the world of Adua and the like.
It doesn't get anymore epic than this. No criticisms, none at all. 5/5, my best read of 2021.
People who know me know that I am a massive Abercrombie fan. His Third Law world ticks all the boxes for me - the grittiness of grimdark, a wonderful cast of characters and dark, cynical sense of humour. This world has evolved from the more classical fantasy settings of the earlier books to a world of industry in this latest series and the parallels it draws to the French Revolution and Industrialization of Europe are fascinating. This is fantasy based on real world events that have transferred to a fantastical setting.
The Age of Madness has evolved from the initial Luddite style anti-progressive rumblings of the first novel into a full on revolution at the start of this. King Orso's victory is short lived as he stumbles straight into revolution as the Breaker's and the Burner's take charge. We continue to follow Savine, Leo and Rikke as they navigate this new order, with Savine and Leo learning to survive the revolutionaries and Rikke learning how to control the North.
The strength of Abercrombie is really in his characters. They are all flawed, all somewhat Machiavellian. You end up both liking and despising them at the same time. The growth in the characters over the series arc is impressive as well - the naivety has definitely worn off and these are some clever, scheming and morally ambiguous people. Abercrombie's world has no room for shining paragons of virtue. It gives it all a gritty reality that belies its fantasy setting
Just my favourite writer of the genre. With the added bonus he is better (and takes himself far less seriously) than others at describing the Human Condition. My only wish and hope that this trilogy, like D. Adams' trilogy can be made up of five books...
This one closes out the Age Of Madness trilogy. Not the best jumping on place for new readers, but those who have been on the ride so far will be familiar with Abercrombie's oh so readable cocktail of brutal violence, political intrigue and dark humour, allied here to some of his best character work. But....
It's more than a bit annoying that one lovely dangling plot line that I'd been expecting to come into play at the climax is parcelled off to the epilogue and used as bait for what I presume is the next trilogy in the world of the First Law. I've invested 1000+ pages in reading this(and don't get me wrong I had fun along the way) and then for the climax of the trilogy to be “here's some stuff that's going to happen in some books I haven't written yet” feels a bit off to me. I suppose that means more books so I won't grumble too hard, but yeah felt a bit cheated when I got to the last page.
6 stars!
Seriously, I need to reevaluate my rating system in order to do justice to this book.
I've been looking forward to the conclusion of The Age of Madness all year and by the dead, Joe Abercrombie did not disappoint. The characterization and dialogue are off the charts. It's been quite the emotional and intellectual ride. I miss it already.