SciFi and Fantasy eBook Club discussion

Hello and Happy New Year! Hope you all had a chance to bid 2014 a fair goodbye and welcome 2015 with a good (hopefully realistic) wish list. And an even longer reading list :).

We have a wonderful start on Jan 1st with one of my favourite trilogies: First Law Joe Abercrombie, book 1, The Blade Itself. It's my fist time moderating, so I count on you to make it a success.

Why favourite? Because it's grim, bloody and has great dialogues: witty, sarcastic, often self-deprecating but always truthful and realistic.

What do you think about the style and world building?
What character did you like the most?

Do we hide spoilers in this discussion? The first book of the trilogy was an unusual beast. Strictly speaking, nothing significant happened in the whole book. It was all carried by interesting characters - and they kept it from being boring.

I had the impression that Abercrombie took his time to arrange pieces for the action in the next two books - and there will be plenty of it down the road.

This book also convinced me Abercrombie can write the best characters in modern fantasy.

One of the things like about Abercrombie is his ability to draw great characters. Both his primary and secondary characters are interesting. In this book, I especially like Inquisitor Glokta.

This is my second time through this book. I read it first in 2010 and it's the only one in the trilogy I've read, so I'm looking forward to the conversations the next few months.

I took an early start with this so I'm about a 1/4 through.

So far, I really like Inquisitor Glokta. He's cruel but the style of writing for him is entertaining.

I really enjoyed this. First time reading, and from the reputation I was expecting just wall-to-wall relentless grimness.

What a pleasant surprise. Sure, it's not exactly a world I'd want to live in, but there are some great characters put in place, and all of the ingredients for something interesting to develop in the next books.

I agree with Evgeny, this felt like the stage was being set for the rest of the trilogy. Usually that kind of thing would really annoy me, but I'm actually very happy that I've got two more books (plus the other non-series books) to look forward to.

I'm at the halfway point in the book and I'm amazed at how much I've forgotten about this book. Much of the time it's like reading the book for the first time. I know I thoroughly enjoyed it in 2010 but I usually retain much of a book I like this much. But, in a way, that's good for me as I get to read it for a first time all over again.

I read this book in 2009 and liked it, enough to read the next two back to back. Memorable characters.

Just started this yesterday. I'm really enjoying all the characters especially Logen. His die hard attitude coupled with his combat prowess makes him a joy to read. Very interested how the other characters flesh out.

I'm glad you all liked it. My favourite character is Glokta. Never before we had such hero: once a true chevalier, he is a human wreck after being tortured. Still, he hangs on and applies his intimate knowledge of torture to other people; we are supposed to hate him, but somehow I ended up liking him the most.
Going back to the story as a whole, both Evgeny and Michael felt the first book was like a stage being set, anyone has another opinion?
How about the magic? we are in a fantasy world after all.

I like that magic is fading from this world but that it apparently still exists in forms that have strength. That's an interesting setup that appears to be an odds with itself but may well not be.

I've always preferred fantasy with less magic and more hand-to-hand combat, and so far that's how this book seems to be (haven't read the entire thing yet so not sure).

Half way through so far I've only seen one spell with Bayaz, and it was pretty awesome.

I too have only seen one spell cast by Bayaz. I like a good balance between melee and magic. I'm hoping to at least see a more in depth look into Bayaz himself.

I've just started this today and read the first 10 pages - can't wait to get back to it tonight

I thoroughly enjoyed this when I read it...I wish I had time to reread it! I love a protagonist(s) with issues, so this series was right up my alley! I hated (but later lvoved) Jezel...

I really enjoyed this too - I like the complexity of the characters. Logan 9-Fingers is probably my favorite, and I totally remember being so shocked by Glotka at first.

Suzanne wrote: "I really enjoyed this too - I like the complexity of the characters. Logan 9-Fingers is probably my favorite, and I totally remember being so shocked by Glotka at first.". I know what you mean. Glokta is so unlikely any character I have read about. Come to think about it, all characters in this book are special, it is part of what makes this book great (apart from the delightful dialogues)

Jevon wrote: "I've always preferred fantasy with less magic and more hand-to-hand combat, and so far that's how this book seems to be (haven't read the entire thing yet so not sure).

Half way through so far I'v..." It's not like the magic is gone, its more thé fact that people have lost the knowledge on how to access it: they lack discipline and focus. Similar to what happens in every culture after a while.

I may be one of the few who did not find this appealing. The characters had few redeeming qualities as human beings, so I didn't really care what happened to them. I'm admittedly not a big fan of dark fantasy for this reason. I know many people find it entertaining, though.

He may be a gritty little man, for admittedly good reason, but his snark and wit can't be denied; I do enjoy Inquisitor Glokta. As to the magic, it may be sparingly used...but it certainly has that shock and awe texture to it when you do, which is pretty much how I like my magic. It's a solid start to the trilogy, to be sure, if, as D.L. shows, not for everyone.

Speaking of which, D.L, what do you feel would "redeem" some of the characters for you, so to speak?

Hi, Chris. Well, either a protagonist that I felt was a positive contribution to the species as a whole or at least a society that seemed worth preserving might have helped. The book has some wit, and it is not all that poorly written. The characters make sense given the society they are in, but they don't really develop much. I couldn't really CARE what happened to them anymore than I could for a bunch of cockroaches competing for position on a dunghill. It didn't really matter to me if they succeeded or failed...or if a huge asteroid hit the planet and turned it all into slag, for that matter.

I see what D.L. is saying. The story arc isn't very steep, and the characters don't go through any growth, other than being thrown into situations they don't like.

But it did introduce some mysteries like the eaters and the prophet Khalul. So while I thought it was unnecessarily long, I'm interested in seeing where it goes in book 2.

D.L. wrote: "Hi, Chris. Well, either a protagonist that I felt was a positive contribution to the species as a whole or at least a society that seemed worth preserving might have helped. The book has some wit, ..."

Ha! Got to give you that. The characters really don't experience all that much growth--and lord help us all with Jezal in this book--which puts extended pressure on plots/events/writing, if none of those characters immediately resonate as is. The solid writing, and the wit--as well as the mystery potential for the books that come after certainly held me, though, regardless of my feelings on the characters. It was good, not great, but I did feel the book was good on the whole--and for all that, I see your points, D.L. Thanks for elaborating.

Chris wrote: "D.L. wrote: "Hi, Chris. Well, either a protagonist that I felt was a positive contribution to the species as a whole or at least a society that seemed worth preserving might have helped. The book h..."

Hi D.L and Chris, thanks for sharing this with us. For D.L one major point in appreciating a book has to do with caring - either for the characters or for the world described. In retrospective, I do not care much about the characters either. Or the world for that matter. They do not seem to have any redeeming qualities to them. Strangely, I think that was a plus for me. Did anyone find themselves in a position to care for them?

Very enjoyable dark sword and sorcery fantasy. If you like Song Of Ice And Fire you'll probably like this too, very similar tone. Abercrombie is an excellent writer. Like Loren the best but none are admirable, except possibly the mage. Good setup for book 2.