Joe AbercrombieThe Trouble with Peace

Joe Abercrombie, with his First Law books, long ago established himself as one of my favorite authors. The kind of author you eagerly await release days for. The kind of author for which you drop all other reading when those days arrive. The kind of author whose books you finish reading on a Saturday afternoon--sitting in a chair at the park--staring off into the middle distance with a small smile on your face at the sheer impressiveness of their work; happy that you only have to wait a year for the next one, furious that you have to wait an entire year for the next one. Joe is that kind of author. The First Law are those kinds of books.Those returning after A Little Hatred know that all is not well in the Union. Years of avarice and corruption, ambition and negligence, have resulted in a ticking time-bomb of a nation, and it's ready to blow. Around a hundred pages into The Trouble with Peace I had to smile, because I felt it. That hook in me, expertly laid as usual. That hook dragging me along in Joe's wake. His prose flowing, his dialogue sharp, his plots finely woven, and his world vibrantly alive as he shows me around once more. The thing is that anyone who has made it this far into the First Law series--and for those counting this is number nine, if you count Sharp Ends--we are no longer surprised as to what Joe is. He writes some of the most compelling, realistic characters out there and displays a total mastery of cinematic POV. And if it seems like I'm being too generous with my praise I can do nothing but apologize, in my mind he deserves it.When you can write this many books set in the same world and not just maintain quality but somehow continue to improve, then you deserve the praise. Maybe Joe is not treading entirely new ground here, but that doesn't make it any less impressive, or any easier to put down. He is leading us through a fully realized world, through matters of consequence. Forcing us into situations of ambiguity with high stakes, dragging us along kicking and screaming into an age of madness where chaos reigns. But there are always those who stand to benefit from a little chaos... And besides, in such a tumultuous time in our own world, the Age of Madness seems more relevant than ever.

I am behind on reviews, but as the pendulum of the world begins to swing toward sanity (hopefully), I find that I finally have the energy to catch up. So I will start with my most recent read: The Trouble with Peace by the infamous Lord Grimdark, Joe Abercrombie.Joe rekindled my love for fantasy with The Blade Itself, and some of you might know that he is no small inspiration to my own writing. He’s on autobuy, and I’d been looking forward to this sequel for some time. First, I want to recognize Joe for writing a summary of A Little Hatred. People need that these days, and it is a huge service. Helps that his summary was so well written. I felt almost entirely caught up.Second, Joe continues to excel at characterization. The POVs were each distinctly fantastic. Orso had some serious growth in this book, just like his (true) father had in the first series. There are clear parallels. Savine was my favorite. Smart, cocky, and impossibly savvy, she feels so very real. Joe excels in the political intrigue, and I really appreciate how all sides of the conflict seemed to have motivations that went beyond just good versus evil. As before, I don't care for the "everyone knows about Bayaz, and his evil manipulations" take; it seems to take some of the mystery out of the environment. Battles continue to be visceral, chaotic affairs, and I love how close to the action you feel. The theme that “war is horrible, why do we do it when little is accomplished” stands out as always. It’s helped by the new industrial setting, which really lays on the grimdark. It’s not quite as pollution heavy as before, but the theme of worker’s rights is interwoven without being over the top.Did I mention I love Savine?Anyhow, do yourself a favor and read this damned series, assuming you’ve lived life to its fullest and always read all other Abercrombie books.Five stars.

Definitely his best to date! And that is saying so much. Incredibly action-packed and not at all at the expense of Abercrombie’s skillful characterization across a diverse and unforgettable cast. The only flaw is the wait until the final installment of the trilogy. Only a year to go, by the dead!

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie is the second book of the Age of Madness Trilogy, a follow-up trilogy of the First Law World Trilogy. The Trilogy occurs thirty years after the First Law Trilogy. This Trilogy follows an additional set of characters; some are the children of characters from the First Law books. First Law characters also appear in secondary roles in this series. The principal characters must face the consequences of the peace after the war in the North between Angland and the Northmen, and also with the end of the Breakers rebellion in Valbeck. Intrigues occur. Will peace prove more deadly than the wars?The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie continues the Age of Madness Trilogy well. The action builds and plot shifts land hard. Most chapters follow either a single viewpoint or two sequential viewpoints of the seven main characters The exceptions are the chapter titled The Little People where a series of people react to a devastating event in Adua and a chapter also titled The Little People where a series of people react to the climactic battle in Stoffenbeck. In Stoffenbeck one character observes, then encounters the next character, and then that character takes on the narrative. It continues in the chapter, creating a kaleidoscope where the events build to a greater whole. Those chapters were my highlight of the book.It was a brilliant book. I liked the love triangle arc of Leo, Savine, and Orso. I’m looking forward to seeing their struggles to conclude in the last book of the trilogy, The Wisdom of Crowds, coming on September 16, 2021.

As the age of magic ends and reason gains ascendency the Union finds itself torn apart facing threats from outside and in not least a new violent king of the north and the seeds of civil war are sown, as the games of intrigue and war are played. Savine, Leo , Orso and Clover, Rikke and Vick will all find themselves having to pick a side as events spiral out of control while in the background the first of the Magi Continues to pull strings.The trouble with peace avoids the dreaded sophomore slump and instead kicks the age of madness into high gear, for those who felt that A little hatred, book one, lacked action then this book makes up for it especially in its final quarter. The characters are glorious, the morals are murky and while things are technically bleak verging on soul destroying there’s Abercrombie’s trade mark pitch black humour to ease the way through.I love this series both because it’s perhaps it’s his most accessible work outside his original trilogy and because it’s also a treasure trove of Easter eggs and hints for long time readers I called the first book Discworld for bastards a dark mirror to the kind of optimistic humanist fantasy that Sir Terry Prattchett used to write and The Trouble with Peace only cements my opinion in that regards.The best part of this series is long time readers get to try to read between the lines and take guesses to what is going on , to come up theories and then see if there are right either way knowing Abercrombie I don’t expect to be disappointed. Roll on book three.

It can be frustrating when you think an author is milking a seam. I really loved the first law books and then was slightly ‘meh’ about the far county ones. This though absolutely smashes it. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the depth of the characters. There isn’t a right or wrong side and right until the end you are sympathetic to pretty much all of them (some exceptions). This is without a doubt the best of his books and in my top five of any books I have read. I can almost forgive the long wait given how much I enjoyed it

With the artful cruelty of one of his own inquisitors, Abercrombie creates characters we care about and then puts them through hell. There were parts of this book I found genuinely difficult to read - not because it wasn't gripping or well written, but because I felt too much empathy for the poor buggers he's created.Abercrombie is a writer at the top of his game. His prose is elegant and concise. His setting is convincing and well fleshed-out. His plots are intelligent, unpredictable and merciless.I'm guessing that if you're reading the second book in his latest trilogy and ninth book in the setting, then you're already reasonably invested, so will mainly want to know if it's good. To that, I'd answer yes - very.

Not much to add that all the previous reviews haven’t covered. I loved every single page of this book. Joe’s pace in storytelling is unmatched. I love the GOT novels but Joe builds such an expansive world and such fleshed out characters in a far more succinct fashion. A true pleasure to read.How he weaves so many threads of such a satisfying narrative, spread all over the circle of the world, is beyond me.His prose are on another level. I don’t normally bookmark a page for a great paragraph but I did for this (No spoilers): “They say belief is righteous, but to Muslan only doubt was devine. From doubt flows curiosity, and knowledge, and progress. From belief flows only ignorance and decay.”Just amazing. So annoyed I have to wait for the next instalment, but it’s a small price to pay for excellence.If you gave this less than 5 stars, reevaluate your life choices.Keep up the good work Joe.

You know what's annoying about someone telling you a book will subvert your expectations? You end up spending the whole book trying to guess ahead about how your expectations might be smashed to bits, and potentially lose out on the joy of not knowing what's coming.Fans of Joe Abercrombie will be used to him playing fast and loose with the laws of the genre, and this book is no exception. Some readers haven't enjoyed the move to a more Industrial society in The Age of Madness trilogy, but really it's refreshing to read a fantasy book inspired by early industrial England that doesn't fall into eye-rollingly terrible steampunk.This book leans back from the industrial setting, but the tensions caused by a society in the grips of technology induced change underpin the main conflicts of the book. The main plot follows another, different type from rebellion from A Little Hatred. I found the motivations of the main rebel to be unconvincing at first, but the characterisation is done so well, that in the end I came round.The "old" characters from the first law trilogy barely make an appearance, which to be honest, I felt glad about as they felt like they were holding back progress in some regards for the new characters (there are some hints they may return).Overall I really enjoyed reading it once it got rolling with the main narrative and leading up to the climax I really could not guess what would happen, but enjoyed every minute of it.