Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say he’s my favorite character of all time…

While I’ve been whittling away at my projects I’ve been reading Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy and bugger me is it very quickly rocketing skywards in my top five fantasy series of all time.

Are the twists and base concepts so imaginative and mind-blowing that character fallacies can be let slip by? No. They are thoroughly enjoyable. It’s a cracking storyline. But they aren’t mind-blowing. And that’s not what this post is about.

What IS mind-blowing are Abercrombie’s characters. They are absolutely fucking awesome. I have to set a timer on my phone for my work breaks so i don’t forget to go back to work on time. I have to tear myself from the page.

Superior Glotka, the cripple. West, the low born union officer. Captain Jezal dan Luthar (Who I absolutely hated at the start but am very attached to by the third book). Even Bayaz, the all-planning, all-knowing, First of the Magi (I love Abercrombie’s method of applying magic to his world). Finally, Logen Ninefingers – the “Bloody-Nine” – has sky-rocketed to my favourite character of all time. Hands down. Why?

I laugh, I cringe, I laugh some more, then I wince and feel his every effort to be a better man while every action inevitably draws him towards becoming what he fears (and generally towards a pretty good beating). He’s:

More loveable than Gemmell’s Grymauch (Rigante series, books 3 and 4).
A different and slightly more enjoyable leader than McNeills Captain Uriel Ventris (Ultramarine’s series).
More heroic and flawed than Tolkein’s Boromir (Lord of the Rings).

 

Now, to give you perspective. The three characters above are three of my favourites of all time penned by three of my favourite authors of all time. For an author to leapfrog them in their first series is something – in my opinion anyway. I reckon, in my life, I’ve gotten through a thousand or so sic-fi, fantasy and war history books, along with a smattering of other genres. And ‘boom’, there goes Logen Ninefingers, racing to the top.

Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, he’s well worth your time and money.

First Law Trilogy: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/First...