Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Red Country: By Joe Abercrombie

RED COUNTRY

SUMMARY


They burned her home.
They stole her brother and sister.
But vengeance is following.

Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step father Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb's buried a bloody past of his own. And out in the lawless Far Country the past never stays buried.

Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust . . .


REVIEW


Joe Abercrombie’s books are not for the feint of heart. They contain some of the most violent writing and gruesome battle scenes I’ve ever read.

That said I haven’t come across one of his books I haven’t loved.

Besides being bloody, Abercrombie’s books are also filled with some of the most shocking twists I’ve ever read, ending in ways I never could have imagined. Further, his books demonstrate some of the best crafted characters seen today. Showing how difficult it is to change, and often ending with the characters getting what they wanted only to have their lives worse off for it. All in all, each of his books are amazing.

Of course, while I thoroughly endorse all his books everyone has favorites, and my favorite characters (and I don’t feel like I’m alone in this) is Logan Nine Fingers AKA the Bloody Nine. When readers last saw him, he was crashing into a violent river, readers left unsure whether he lived or died. Well, Red Country finally answers this question. Readers will rejoice with the re-emergence of everyone’s favorite mass murderer, Logan, AKA in this book as Lamb. Lamb has been living the last few decades as a quiet cowardly farmhand helping raise his stepchildren. He is quiet, kind, and unobtrusive. But when the farm is burnt and the children stolen, the façade is thrown aside as the real Bloody Nine comes out to play.

The one thing that I’ve heard grumblings about is that none of this story is told from Logan’s perspective. What I have to say is while that is missed it is still a fantastic story and is quite intriguing to see what the Bloody Nine looks like from the outside.

All in all this book was amazing. The characters were well developed, the story full of twists, turns, and battle scenes galore, and readers are finally given answers to the questions they’ve been yearning for. While it may not please everyone it certainly pleased me. In my opinion Red Country is a must read.

INFO

Publisher: Orbit 

Published: November 13, 2012

Price: $25.99

Link to Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Country-Joe-Abercrombie/dp/0316187216/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358891334&sr=1-3&keywords=joe+abercrombie

1 comment:

  1. Lots of familiar faces and some interesting new characters. I love the way Abercrombie writes new novels but with familiar characters moving in and out of the story. It gives it a feeling of a continuation of the old tales but in a new and unfamiliar setting. Hope there are a lot more novels to come. Anyone new to his books should start with the First Law trilogy. It makes all the others even more satisfying.
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