Review: Last Argument of Kings (The First Law: Book Three)
Joe Abercrombie’s refreshing and exciting The First Law trilogy is finally drawing to a close, and it leads off with Paul Gauguin’s: “Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.” Last Argument of Kings may be about many things, but revenge is an anchoring theme, revisited over and over. Each of the antagonists is forced to deal with revenge and its consequences in one form or another, whether it is the ancient mage, Bayaz, still trying to control the fallout from decisions made millenia ago, or the unending quest for vengeance that consumes the bloodthirsty ex-slave, Ferro. The lines of their lives, and the lives of those around them, have been twisted by the weight of their choices; vengeance always carries a heavy price. With this firmly in mind, Last Argument of Kings picks up where the very enjoyable Before They are Hanged left off and it wastes no time plunging the reader back into the action.
I won’t reveal too much of the story: this is the conclusion of a fairly complex trilogy and some of the surprises awaiting the reader are too much fun to spoil. The myriad assortment of journeys that the main characters have embarked continue, some concluding with results that can only be described as shocking. Logen Ninefingers has finally returned to his homeland to deal with the chaos he left behind; he is aware more than any that the entire countryside is soaked with the blood of those fallen under his blade. Sand dan Glokta has surivived the siege in Gurkha and made his way to the capital of the Union, once again forced to swim in the thick soup of intrigue, threats, and betrayal that is the life of a Superior in the King’s Inquisition. Jezal dan Luthar, champion swordsman and newly promoted Captain, finds himself elevated to positions highly unexpected, and the high price of his new responsibilities may be more of a burden than he can bear. But don’t worry: the story is not all political intrigue and manueverings; there is plenty of blood to be spilled in this final book of the trilogy, and Abercrombie’s writing of action sequences is up there with the best of them.
Joe Abercrombie does a perfectly good job tidying up the many threads he has established in the earlier books of the First Law, but the real joy in reading his writing is the superb characterization. Every character is beautifully written, and Abercrombie is careful to nurture each character’s transformation from an expected fantasy trope to a fully realized, real-life human, complete with their own unique mixture of dreams, fears, successes, and failures. This treatment extends to even the smallest of characters (personal favorites include Ardee West, Crummock-i-Phail, and Vitari). As usual, Sand dan Glokta continues to be my most favorite among anti-heroes, and his usage of all the deadly tools at his disposal is as terrifying as it is thrilling; Sand dan Glokta’s calculating wit, merciless cruelty, and vicious sense of humor serve him well as the dangers of the first two books are exponentially revisited upon the citizens of the Union. Though lacking the sort of cast that requires a glossary to keep track, there are a lot of characters interacting throughout Last Argument of Kings: Bayaz, Jezal, Dogman, Tul, Grim, Black Dow, Ferro, Colonel West, Ardee West, Yoru Sulfur, Cosca, Sult, Marovia, Hoff, Duke Orso, Bethod, and many more besides. But at no point does it feel that this assortment are only present to fill roles for the plot; each person is real, and it’s easy to remember their motivations as the story weaves them amongst each other.
Perhaps where Abercrombie’s storytelling is most surprising and most refreshing is in how it reinterprets the genre of fantasy, a genre filled with clones, knock-offs, and time-honored traditions that are definitely beginning to show their age. This book doesn’t end with everyone recognizing that the farm boy, now Dragonslayer, was really a descendant of royal blood the whole time. Not every character here rides into the sunset, and for the life of me, I can’t find a single clear “happily ever after” in the entirety of the book’s denoument. By the conclusion, characters have been murdered, others are dying, others literally driven insane. Some of those most beloved of characters that you thought were heroes have been revealed as cowards, and those you thought were cowards, well… Even better, having read this novel, it will force you to re-examine all of the other fantasy books you’ve read, thinking about the true motivations, the hidden machinations you never got to see, humankind’s true ugliness laid bare. After finishing this novel, I couldn’t help but think that the author had taken everything I’d expected from fantasy and twisted it into something new and unexpected, much darker, but much more true; everything might not end on the joyous note I expected, but it was a joy to read nonetheless. With Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie has surpassed the first two books of his trilogy, delivering a triumphant conclusion that will have you reconsidering the limitations of fantasy and eagerly awaiting his next novel.
Plot: 9.5
Characters: 10
Action: 9
Writing: 10
Overall (not an average): 10/10