Product Description

The end is coming.

Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him-but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the king of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy: it's time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.

With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. As his days with a sword are far behind him, it's fortunate that he's deadly with his remaining weapons: blackmail, threats, and torture.

Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is too painful an undertaking and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too-and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.

The king of the Union lies on his deathbed, the peasants revolt, and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No one believes that the shadow of war is about to fall across the heart of the Union. Only the First of the Magi can save the world, but there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, than to break the First Law...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1272 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 639 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The sword & sorcery trilogy that began with The Blade Itself (2007) and Before They Are Hanged (2008) comes to a violent, sardonic and brilliant conclusion. The shaky Union, menaced simultaneously by rampaging Northmen and by Gurkish invaders from the south, now must contend with intrigue and treachery in its capital, Adua. Summoned to play parts in a devastating confrontation between magical forces, conscience-ridden berserker Logen Ninefingers and honest, weary Union commander Colonel West come down from the north to meet painfully self-aware torturer Glokta, revenge-obsessed female warrior Ferro, pliable young adventurer Jezal and scheming, unscrupulous mage Bayaz. All these people are believable, especially as they dabble in grimly convincing magic and struggle to hear their consciences through the roar of carnage and betrayal. Abercrombie is a fresh new talent, presenting a dark view of life with wit and zest, and readers will mourn the end of this vivid story arc. (Sept.)
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Review
"You should always end with the best...Last Argument of Kings is the textbook example of this theory in practice. The third in Joe Abercrombie's debut fantasy series, The First Law, reveals everything a finale should: conveys some answers, ties together the loose ends from various plot strands, knocks over pieces painstakingly set up in the preceding stories, and in the aftermath delivers the character development that surprises as well as delights. This series was always a swords-and-sorcery sequence that rejected the overwrought Tolkienesque myth building in favor of wry dialogue and tough, interweaving plotlines. Although it's never a comedy, the author's tongue lurks inside his cheek as he re-energises the fantasy staples." -- SFX (five-star review)

"Joe delivers his normal dose of intrigue, action and black humor but ramps it all up a gear and smacks you in the gut with some stuff that I guarantee you will not see coming. And then (while you're gasping for breath) he does it all over again, rendering some of the most powerful battles I've seen in fantasy literature almost pointless with the revelations that follow." -- Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

About the Author
Joe Abercrombie was born in Lancaster, England on the last day of 1974. He studied psychology at Manchester University, and for the last ten years he has worked in London as a freelance film editor, cutting documentaries and concerts for bands from Coldplay to Iron Maiden. He lives with his wife, Lou, and his daughter, Grace. In his spare time he writes edgy fantasy novels. He is the author of The Blade Itself--The First Law: Book One and Before They Are Hanged-The First Law: Book Two.

Customer Reviews

Powerful
In the end, there are few books that are as powerful as The Last Argument of Kings.

Deep, complex characters, far and beyond the black and white tropes one sees in the genre today are in these pages. A poignant sense of realism clashing with an uplifting sense of idealism and fantasy defines the conflict of each character. Deep questions, "such as can we change who are?", are posed, the answers left to the readers.

Follow a complex plot, full of twists and reversals of perceptions, with the most intricate characters and evocative imagery, and arrive at a powerful conclusion -- that is The Last Argument of Kings.

Good Read, "Real" characters
I think the thing I enjoyed most about this book (and the series in general) is that there really aren't any characters that you would classify as "good" or "bad". Like in real life, everyone is a mix of both.

On the whole, this is a rather Machiavellian tale that I really enjoyed. The dialogue was very good and the problems the characters faced were believable as were their solutions.

Last Argument of Kings - by Joe Abercrombie
Book three of the trilogy continues the fast pace of this gripping (if somewhat violent) story. The characters are developed and matured: certainly by Book 3 their natures are well understood, but the unpredictability of key characters remains to keep the reader on his/her toes. There are twists and turns enough to keep anyone enthralled. A ripping yarn!