Jakyro’s Reviews > Sharp Ends > Status Update

Made A Monster - this story brings us back to the North, Carleon, and also back to the past (Summer 570). This is the time in which Bethod hadn’t conquered the whole North yet and was settled on having peace with Rattleneck. His champion was still The Bloody Nine. Very good story, especially as it was told from the pov of Bethod. It shows his doubts in regards to Logen. One of my favorites in the collection!

Tough Times All Over - The final story with Shev and Javre, in Sipani this time. Events take place two years after their previous story. This is a story with the typical Abercrombie trademark of shifting viewpoints; one scene with one pov leads to the next with another pov. This also means that screen time with Shev and Javre is limited. Center of the story is a package that everyone wants to have.

Freedom! - a retelling of the liberation of Averstock, in the Near Country, by Nicomo Cosca and his mercinaries. If you’ve read Red Country you know how this went. This retelling is different, it’s pure propaganda for Cosca by his hired writer Sworbreck, who is working on his biography. Still a nice and fun story. However you can ask youself the question if we shouldn’t expect more than a rewriting of earlier events

Three’s a Crowd - This is the next story with Shev and Javre, this time taking place in Talins. You can situate the story about 7-8 years after events in Best Served Cold. Shev has finally solved her problems and doesn’t need to run anymore. Off course there’s a twist and she needs to seek aid from Javre. It’s the longest story in the collection. I liked it the best of all the stories so far.

Yesterday - back in the North, near a town called Barden, this story takes place right before events in The Heroes. Abercrombie gives more of what we got in that book; a clash between the Union and the Northmen, here the men from Pale-As-Snow. Gorst is the main returning character in this story; it’s always nice to read about Gorst. Nice job from Abercrombie in showing the effects of war on both sides.

Some Desperado - we go to The Near Country and meet up with Shy South, known from Red Country, my least favorite First Law book so far. The story take place before events in Red Country. Shy still hasn’t returned home and is currently on the run for her former allies after she left with their loot. She is stranded in the middle of nowhere and awaiting their arrival. Decent story, not great.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time - This story takes place in Styria. We revisit three events from "Best Served Cold" through the eyes of some random people: a bank clerk, a whore and a soldier. Each story is linked to one of Monza’s vengeance plots. Nice to come back to and see those events from a different perspective, but it doesn't add much new, and this seems to become a trend among these stories. Still a decent one.

Two’s Company - this is the third story featuring Shev and Javre. They’re in the North now, still on the run for their enemies. They meet Whirrun of Bligh, who’s on the run himself. Their encounter results in some hilarious situations. We get some more encounters afterwards, these with some actual fighting. Nice story again!

Hell - This story brings us to Dagoska, after the siege has been broken. We get a better insight in stuff that happened off screen during ‘Before They Are Hanged’. We follow these events from the POV of Temple, one of the main characters in ‘Red Country’. This was definitely a nice read, but it didn’t bring much new to the table if you read all previous First Law books.

Skipping Town - This is the second tale with Shev and Javre. The story takes place about two years after they met. They’re in the Near Country now, and after having finished a job, they’re about to meet with their client to get paid. Things however turn out differently. This was a decent story, but on the short side. What I especially liked is that we get some more information about the history of Javre.