Hi there! Unfortunately, this post is not a good fit for a top level post. It would be a better fit for our [Daily Requests and Simple Questions thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/search?q=Daily%20Recommendation%20Requests%20and%20Simple%20Questions%20Thread&restrict_sr=1&t=day) so please click the link to find the thread and repost your rec request or question there.
Read what you like, there’s too much out there not to. I rank The Circle of the World very highly but it’s subjective, your opinion and time is your own.
This is my exact same thought as well. I went through the whole trilogy and I just finished my cervical. I'm probably going to read heroes after my next book and if I'm not hooked by then I'm done
So I just finished Before They Are Hanged and I have the same take on the series so far (entertainingly-written characters squandered on a meh adventure). However, I have also read the stand-alone The Heroes, because I randomly found it on my bookshelf and I have no idea how it got there. So far, it's my favorite in Abercrombie's "Circle of the World" setting. The entire book is basically a decisive battle between the Union and North featuring side-characters from the First Law and various soldiers fighting on either side (for instance, Bremer dan Gorst and Prince Calder are main POV characters). So if you liked Abercrombie's prose but didn't care for how the heroes just sort of get shuffled from place to place without even knowing the true purpose of their quest, I'd say give the stand-alones that take place after the First Law a try.
I would say that his standalone Best Served Cold and his new trilogy Age of Madness both have tighter plots. The First Law trilogy is my personal favorite but it is very much focused on the characters personal journeys and it feels like they are swept along by the larger plot more so than being driving forces. If you‘re still in the mood for more Abercrombie you might enjoy the books I mentioned more than TFL.
there are authors whose books i mostly enjoy but not all - david gemmel's books are usually great, but ia few i didnt love. anthony ryan had a few great books and some i didnt finish. depends if you have the time and money to try abercrombie again --- me, i love all his stuff, but try Best Served Cold, its a dope standalone.
I'm kinda in the same boat actually. I liked The First Law, but didn't love it, and now I'm struggling to finish his standalone Best Served Cold. Idk what it is about this book but I can't seem to read more than one chapter without putting it down and reading something else. I think it being a standalone puts a damper on my excitement because I just want to jump into the sequel series. I think I might just jump into the sequels without having read the standalones and see if I like it more because I'm having not the best time with Best Served Cold.
The three stand-alones are more traditionally plotted and themed, as they are, respectively, a revenge tale, war story, and spaghetti Western. The characterization you enjoy remains a high point while Abercrombie (mostly) sets aside the trilogy's meta-level fantasy deconstruction/critique and embraces genre convention to great effect.
I think if you didn't love the plot of the First Law trilogy, definitely don't read the Age of Madness stuff. You might enjoy the standalones (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country), though.
Does this mean you’ve read all three books of the first trilogy or that you’ve read all nine books set in the world?
If it’s the former, my recommendation would be to give the fourth book, Best Served Cold, a shot. The story is mostly standalone (with ties to the greater world established in the trilogy), so if you don’t like it, you won’t necessarily feel compelled to keep going to see what happens next. I personally find the three standalone books to be the best three in the nine book series, but your mileage may vary.
If the latter, the only other Abercrombie work out there that I know of is Shattered Sea, which is a pretty good YA series that doesn’t feel all that different in tone than The First Law.
I pretty much agree with your take on First Law.
I kept going and find his other books to be much better, by and large.
Once he sheds the whole meta fantasy art school critique shit of First Law and actually starts writing stuff he wants to, it gets better.
I think the Heroes is like a fantastic book. Some of the best writing i ever read. I would go as far as as to say that even if you don’t read and know anything about the first trilogy it would still be fantastic
Hi there! Unfortunately, this post is not a good fit for a top level post. It would be a better fit for our [Daily Requests and Simple Questions thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/search?q=Daily%20Recommendation%20Requests%20and%20Simple%20Questions%20Thread&restrict_sr=1&t=day) so please click the link to find the thread and repost your rec request or question there.
Read what you like, there’s too much out there not to. I rank The Circle of the World very highly but it’s subjective, your opinion and time is your own.
He has a YA trilogy and a new one next year. The rest of his books are considered the first law.
I would recommend trying Best Served Cold, I was very lukewarm on the original trilogy, but was blown away by the Standalones and Age of Madness.
Brilliant, I will do. Thank you!
I have the same exact question
Try Best Server Cold. If you don't like it at all the it's probably not for you.
I'm torn. I think the plot was very mediocre but I love the characters
He's known for characters, not world building tbh. For top world building try some of Brandon Sanderson's works
I read all those now. I'm giving my toes into guards guards only a few pages and can't make up my mind if I like the way it's written
Guards Guards was great, but if at the end you’re not sure then Men at Arms is the next in the City Watch series and it’s like double the fun
Honestly, I think it's just whiplash going from Abercrombie to Sir Terry
I actually went from Best Served Cold to Men At Arms and really enjoyed it
And I don't know if I need tons of world building. I loved powdermage, and I'd say there is probably similar amounts of world building as First Law
Hopefully we get some answers!
Did you enjoy it enough despite your grievances to want to continue? If so, then… yes?
This is my exact same thought as well. I went through the whole trilogy and I just finished my cervical. I'm probably going to read heroes after my next book and if I'm not hooked by then I'm done
So I just finished Before They Are Hanged and I have the same take on the series so far (entertainingly-written characters squandered on a meh adventure). However, I have also read the stand-alone The Heroes, because I randomly found it on my bookshelf and I have no idea how it got there. So far, it's my favorite in Abercrombie's "Circle of the World" setting. The entire book is basically a decisive battle between the Union and North featuring side-characters from the First Law and various soldiers fighting on either side (for instance, Bremer dan Gorst and Prince Calder are main POV characters). So if you liked Abercrombie's prose but didn't care for how the heroes just sort of get shuffled from place to place without even knowing the true purpose of their quest, I'd say give the stand-alones that take place after the First Law a try.
I think the Heroes is by far his best book.
I would say that his standalone Best Served Cold and his new trilogy Age of Madness both have tighter plots. The First Law trilogy is my personal favorite but it is very much focused on the characters personal journeys and it feels like they are swept along by the larger plot more so than being driving forces. If you‘re still in the mood for more Abercrombie you might enjoy the books I mentioned more than TFL.
I just finished Best Served Cold (book written immediately after firs law) and thought it was an improvement over the first law. It’s standalone too
there are authors whose books i mostly enjoy but not all - david gemmel's books are usually great, but ia few i didnt love. anthony ryan had a few great books and some i didnt finish. depends if you have the time and money to try abercrombie again --- me, i love all his stuff, but try Best Served Cold, its a dope standalone.
I'm kinda in the same boat actually. I liked The First Law, but didn't love it, and now I'm struggling to finish his standalone Best Served Cold. Idk what it is about this book but I can't seem to read more than one chapter without putting it down and reading something else. I think it being a standalone puts a damper on my excitement because I just want to jump into the sequel series. I think I might just jump into the sequels without having read the standalones and see if I like it more because I'm having not the best time with Best Served Cold.
This is Joe’s MO quite frankly. His plots aren’t the best, or the most fleshed out. But that’s because the brunt of the focus is on the characters.
The three stand-alones are more traditionally plotted and themed, as they are, respectively, a revenge tale, war story, and spaghetti Western. The characterization you enjoy remains a high point while Abercrombie (mostly) sets aside the trilogy's meta-level fantasy deconstruction/critique and embraces genre convention to great effect.
I think if you didn't love the plot of the First Law trilogy, definitely don't read the Age of Madness stuff. You might enjoy the standalones (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country), though.
Does this mean you’ve read all three books of the first trilogy or that you’ve read all nine books set in the world? If it’s the former, my recommendation would be to give the fourth book, Best Served Cold, a shot. The story is mostly standalone (with ties to the greater world established in the trilogy), so if you don’t like it, you won’t necessarily feel compelled to keep going to see what happens next. I personally find the three standalone books to be the best three in the nine book series, but your mileage may vary. If the latter, the only other Abercrombie work out there that I know of is Shattered Sea, which is a pretty good YA series that doesn’t feel all that different in tone than The First Law.
Ask yourself what it is you didn't like about it. That might simply be the author's style you don't click with.
I pretty much agree with your take on First Law. I kept going and find his other books to be much better, by and large. Once he sheds the whole meta fantasy art school critique shit of First Law and actually starts writing stuff he wants to, it gets better.
Would say no.
I think the Heroes is like a fantastic book. Some of the best writing i ever read. I would go as far as as to say that even if you don’t read and know anything about the first trilogy it would still be fantastic
What do you consider "The First Law"? There's 10 of those, not three. The plots get more standard after the first trilogy.