The Sword and Laser discussion

Three Men. One Battle. No Heroes.

The next book in Joe Abercrombie's epic dark fantasy setting is out soon!

The Heroes
(above link contains a synopsis which involves minor spoilers for The First Law trilogy.)

At the moment you can still preorder the book from Amazon for 40-50% off.

UK release 01/27 - £7.49 (£5.99 paperback option)
US release 02/07 - $14.19 ($11.99 Kindle option)

If you can afford it, I recommend the UK hardcover. It's very large and has a great cover they put a lot of work into, which was changed in the US edition. For some reason.

The tradition of awesome audiobook adaptations will continue, though I'm not certain whether it will be read by Steven Pacy or Michael Page. I hope for the former but both are fantastic.

A great enhanced ebook edition is supposed to manifest "including Full Text, introduction by the author, afterword by the editor, unabridged audiobook read by Steven Pacey, annotated before and after chapters demonstrating the editing process, 20,000 word planning document containing notes, plans, and timelines, full behind the scenes interview with the author in text and audio, five maps showing the development of the battle, cover file showing the development of the separate elements and the design as a whole, and much more…"

WANT MORE?

Here's an extract from the book!

For an extra shot of The Heroes, you can check out Abercrombie's short story "The Fool Jobs" (UK | US) in the short story anthology Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery (as well as the upcoming Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Five).

I'll add some reviews later, as this is already getting kinda long.

Now, what characters do you think will make a guest appearance in The Heroes? I vote for Shivers.

I can't remember his name right now, and it's driving me insane! The guy that Jezal fights in the beginning, who eventually becomes captain of his guard. I believe he's one of the main characters.

Bremer dan Gorst ;)

Here is one review; http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2010/...

The time difference between U.S. and U.K. isn't so great that I will order it from http://www.bookdepository.com/ although it is nice to have free world wide shipping. One thing, from time to time the kindle or epub version will come out in the U.S. when the U.K. version is released. I bought Stonewielder from kobobooks.com when it came out in the U.K. Hopefully for those that like their ebooks the same will happen with The Heroes and we can read it sooner rather than later in the states.

Gorst! Thank you!!

Yeah, Gorst shows up for a little bit in Best Served Cold as well.

Finally ordered my UK copy (even tho the shipping time means I'll get it the day the US version is released -_- ) because it's so damn beautiful. It suits the author.

Also, excitement: "Therefore stand amazed as I announce that I last year signed a contract with my doughty UK publisher, Gollancz, for four more books set in the world of The First Law. That’s right. FOUR MORE BOOKS. Twice two. Or more accurately, one plus three, since at the moment, those books are looking like they’ll be another semi-standalone in the style of Best Served Cold and The Heroes, followed by another trilogy, though obviously I reserve the right to be coy and change my mind, possibly while flouncing out of a meeting. It’s a lady’s privilege, don’t you know. "

Just got the book shipped halfway across the world to me! I'll see you guys later!

Got mine this morning. Will post up some thoughts soon...

Finished a couple days ago. Kinda slow at parts but the battles are pretty nerve-wracking. The end is really great.

Bayaz is a dick. Dow/Shivers/Dogman/Craw/Calder NORTHMEN are awesome.

smeej wrote: "Bayaz is a dick. "

Think that was made clear in the first law trilogy. Unless he's gotten even more dickish?

Also, will be picking it up soon. Completely forgot it was coming out.

Not more dickish, just more of an emphasis on what a dick he is.

I decided to halt my reading of The Heroes in favor of going back to Best Served Cold instead. There were too many situations and characters I wasn't familiar with (even as a standalone book) for me to not want to read the "other" standalone book!

Just Shivers carried over from BSC, isn't it?

Yeah, Gorst carries over and refers to an event from BSC but the specifics aren't important. Shivers takes a jump in badass if you skip but other than that it's pretty self-contained.

Abercrombie writes fantasy combat better than anyone else. Loving this book so far (about half way through).

Y'know...

I just want a Ninefingers story now. Ninefingers and Glokta.

I just purchased a copy but now I'm wondering if I should go back and read some of his other books first.

David wrote: "I just purchased a copy but now I'm wondering if I should go back and read some of his other books first."

That's a very good question. I have seen that all his books have high reviews, so where is the best place to start if you have not read any of them? Any advice anyone?

Best place to start is just chronological order.

First Law trilogy, starting with The Blade Itself.

After the trilogy read Best Served Cold.

Then read The Heroes.

Well, each installment pretty much stands on its own, and its much easier to read a standalone book than it is to slog through a trilogy. His writing is getting a lot better as the books progress.

I'd say Best Served Cold is the best first book.

I prefer the trilogy first, so you can get the full feel for the world and the powers in play.

Reading Served Cold first is possible, of course, but you lose a feel for why certain things play out the way they do. Or why certain characters behave in that particular way.

I'll go with publication order. I was going to try the trilogy anyway, and I'd like to get the nods. And here I was thinking a stand-alone would be a good place to start!

I'd say if you like ASoIaF, and don't mind a grittier/bloodier story, then going straight into the trilogy is fine.

If that's not your cup of tea, and you're unsure if you'll like the style, then hit up Best Served Cold first.

I had read The Blade Itself, then Best Served Cold, then the entire trilogy in order, then BSC AGAIN, then The Heroes. BSC can stand pretty well on its own, but I would generally recommend people do NOT read The Heroes until they have read BSC. If you can, start at the beginning, but if you're really on the fence, go with BSC. Just know it's all in the same world, so you could be spoiling some major events (though Abercrombie uses some clever tricks to obfuscate some details for the uninformed reader).

I would also read them in order. Best Served Cold was pretty episodic for my tastes and does not have the flow of the other books. I think readers would get more out of the relationships and events reading through the other 4 books first.

I just finished The Heroes. You should really read things in the order Ala suggests. Otherwise little nuances get lost.

While I really liked the Trilogy and Best Served Cold, I wasn't nuts about The Heroes. Good book, but not up to par with the others.

Patrick wrote: "I just finished The Heroes. You should really read things in the order Ala suggests. Otherwise little nuances get lost.

While I really liked the Trilogy and Best Served Cold,I wasn't nuts about The Heroes. Good book, but not up to par with the others. "

I agree with Patrick. It was a good book but not as good as the others. I found it difficult to keep reading, in fact I read Game of Thrones while ignoring The Heroes.

Oddly enough, I listened to The Heroes audio book to ignore Game of Thrones. LOL!

Second Hunger Games book is pretty good so far too.

I have now listened to The Heroes audiobook 3 times. I laugh out loud every time (startling nearby walkers or people in the car next to me). Many thanks to Michael Page.

Looks like I'm in a minority of one but the internal dialogue (especially the inimitable battering ram his-own-self, Bremer dan Gorst) cracks me up.

Black (futility-of-war) humour for the win!

The US paperback covers for BSC and Heroes are frickin' amazing. Joe blogged them on his site: http://www.joeabercrombie.com/2011/08...

Just finished this, have read all his other stuff as well. Have to say I loved it - every character is flawed in some way but thats the great thing, people are not nice or perfect in general...

I don't remember a Fantasy or Sci Fi novel that illustates the futility of war this well - but has a dark humour that keeps you entertained at the same time