THE WISDOM OF CROWDS

awesome

The age of wizards had ended, and an age of reason had come. But that reason proved to be tinged with a touch of madness, and now, unfortunately for readers everywhere, that age too comes to a close. The Wisdom of Crowds proved to be a perfect capstone for Joe Abercrombie's latest trilogy. The cauldron that had been heating for two books now comes to a bubbling and messy boil, and we can barely look away as The Great Change sweeps over the Union. A long time coming, but no less terrifying having come. Joe is at his best here: expert character-work, tight, rewarding plotting, brilliant prose, and merciless handling of a cast of characters we've grown to love (or hate), new and old. It's the First Law, and it's one of my favorite series for a reason.The wisdom of crowds. The savagery of crowds. The carelessness of crowds. Something strikes horrifically true about the type of demeanor that rises up in a populace unhinged. Circles. Reflections. Cycles. Progress... There are patterns of behavior observable throughout the history of humankind. And observing these patterns leaves one unsurprised by things like deep unrest in a populace, civil war, open revolution, mass starvation and violence, seizure of power by an authoritarian force, exploitation of resources in the name of 'progress' and 'the future', and ultimately, that grating question that he so loves to pose... can things change? Joe Abercrombie is simply giving us a front row seat to the trackable patterns of human behavior when left to their own devices; when left to their own vices. It just so happens that it's quite an interesting seat to have.The ending of this book, and of this trilogy at large, delivered even harder than I expected it to, which is saying something, given the immensely high (and well deserved) expectations I hold him to. Things feel fresh, and subverted, while at they same time feeling so... inevitable. Joe's books have a way of circling back around to take a good look at themselves, and it's all the reader can do not to wince and look away. It's as if there was always only one way it was all going to go, you just couldn't see it until he showed it to you. A strange feeling, but excellent reading. He consistently impresses, Joe Abercrombie, even when you're expecting to be consistently impressed. He's simply one of the best doing it.If you've yet to read The First Law in any capacity, I suggest you go out, buy a copy of The Blade Itself, and strap in. You've got quite the ride ahead. When you've finished you can join the rest of us little people in clawing for more.

I’m not sure there is anything to be critical about in this book. If you’ve come this far in the series there isn’t any good reason to be unsatisfied with how it all turned out, except of course that you’ll have to wait for the next trilogy.

Bitterly wicked and brutal, as expected from Abercrombie, with numerous allusions to reality. A nice twist at the end wraps up the story perfectly.

Great characters, ripping plot and a realistic ending to an excellent series. Highly recommended read for lovers of the genre.

Ce commentaire est à la hauteur de ma déception.Comment l’un de mes auteurs favoris, créateur génial de la Première Loi, peut-il avoir écrit ce texte?Comment, après avoir dépeint avec brio la révolte de Valbeck et la bataille d’Osrung, est-il possible d’écrire un texte aussi morne et insipide? Mystère.Difficile d’en venir à bout. L’intrigue est fade et convenue, les personnages les plus intéressants (Orso, Tunny, Vick, Glotka, Pike, Bayaz,..) sont absents ou secondaires. En revanche, les sempiternelles tergiversations morbides de Gunnar Broad…Les quelques pages qui relatent la libération d’Adua, ou les passages qui retracent la conquête du Nord par Rikke, nous rappellent encore le talent de l’auteur.Mais le reste est à oublier, malheureusement : The age of madness restera pour moi une duologie. La fin du deuxième tome s’y prête d’ailleurs assez bien.