- ISBN13: 9781591026907
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
The end is coming.
Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him-but it’s going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the king of the Northmen still stands firm, and there’s only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy: it’s time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.
With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no one is safe, and no one … More >>
#1 by N. Shearer on March 24, 2010 - 1:00 am
This whole series is pretty much about nothing. I know that you could put this all into one book and make it a whole lot more interesting because something other than killing would happen. The only reason I kept reading them is b/c the one char. Is outstanding, and b/c there is lots of violence. Most of the violence is completely pointless but still kind fun. The writing is smooth and easy to follow to the point you could call it young adult level reading. All of the characters are all complex their still kind of boring only the one is in anyway likeable and he has a split personality, one side is loveable the other half is a super human sociopath. I finished the book and I’m still not sure who the good guys were meant to be.????
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by B. Clark on March 24, 2010 - 3:33 am
The first two books of the trilogy were very good. This last book is a joke on the consumer. I won’t do a spoiler article but I will say that nobody could even begin to guess this… this….whatever it is. There is no “end”. It just carries on and you must wait till the next book to see what happens. There is no next book!! This was the last book. It’s like Abercrombie wrote an ongoing series and changed his mind and said “Oh I can’t be bothered, I’ll say it’s a trilogy and cut it here”. I spent all this money on three books and feel disgusted. My advice is don’t buy any of these books because you’ll feel taken.
This author goes on the ignore list.
Rating: 1 / 5
#3 by Keri on March 24, 2010 - 4:48 am
I read the first book of this series and thought it was all right so I bought the next two. That was a mistake. The books are endless torture and endless wars and endless self pitying. I got so irritated with Glotka that I wished he would jump off a bridge and get rid of his aches and pains. The only character I liked was Col. West. I did not understand the reason for Bayaz’s journey north; there was nothing there and it seemed like a pointless part of the story.
I will take a very good look before I read any more of this author’s works.
Rating: 2 / 5
#4 by Harriet Klausner on March 24, 2010 - 6:44 am
With war on two fronts, the Union is in jeopardy; from the south come the violent Gurkish horde while from the north the even more brutal Northmen continue their invasion. However, the real virus to survival resides inside the capital, Adua where sedition and betrayal are rampant and the king is apparently dying.
Loaded down with guilt and doubt berserker Logen Ninefingers knows he must go home to fight his dearest friend but now enemy King Bethod of the Northmen. Drained to the bone from the constant fighting and sending good people to their deaths Union officer Colonel West wants out but prepares for one last battle in the North where he gains allies from questionable sources. Jezal dan Luthar no longer yearns for glory and adventure as he has tasted how bitter that is, but may be too late to settle down with his beloved. Superior Glokta uses his greatest weapon that of torture and its threat to obtain acquiesence from the Union leaders. Finally amazon warrior Ferro seeks revenge and is not concerned about collateral damage to her so-called allies. In this mix, the mage Bayaz has returned to the Union, but as friend or foe iis hard to tell. Together they may be able to repel the enemies, but this team has always at best been dysfunctional when they are not fighting one another.
The aptly titled LAST ARGUMENTS OF KINGS may be the best final book to a fantasy trilogy I have read in years. The exhilarating story line hits on all notes as the major threads from THE BLADE ITSELF and WHEN THEY WERE HANGED are resolved in a reasonable manner with the key ensemble cast remaining true to their respective essences. Joe Abercrombie is at his brilliant best with this excellent powerful climax that entertains throughout yet has readers pondering the implications of how far do you go when the debate turns to using the taboo First law of magic.
Harriet Klausner
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Christopher Gehrman on March 24, 2010 - 8:49 am
This series started out great but in his attempt to avoid “cliches”, the author sucked all the joy out of the series in the last book. This series is now a classic for depressives and/or misogynists. So if you truly want to ruin a series make sure you accomplish the following.
- End the last book with a whimper
- Make the complicated and difficult to like characters truly despicable
- Make the likeable characters despicable as well, leaving the reader no one to identify with, empathize or even root for.
- Reward all evil characters and destroy any sense of hope
- Have the heroes go on a totally pointless long journey to the ends of the earth for an important object that just shows up later in the middle of the big city. (sorry, that’s from book two).
Clearly I cannot express how befuddled I am by this series. Perhaps the real world does turn all people into mewling syncophants or evil manipulators. I guess that’s just not what I look for in my FANTASY books.
Rating: 1 / 5