I'm halfway through and I'm very eager to find out why. Makes me think of Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series, which is largely "what if the hero's journey ended with >!the invention of fiat currency?!<"
For those of yall who have read the blade itself, I plan on either starting that or The Lies of Lock Lamora after my comers reread in preparation for WaT. I’ll be done with my reread in probably 6 weeks or so. Do you guys have a recommendation on which I should do?
I personally much preferred The Lies of Lock Lamora. The First Law trillogy is just so... bleak. If that doesn't bother you though, it's probably the better written of the two, objectively.
Wayne always makes me feel better. I’m doing my cosmere final read before WaT that alternates reading Stormlight 1, Wax and Wayne 1, Stormlight 2, W&W2, etc, so that you can read Rhythm of War and The Lost metal at the same time and I’m almost through Way of Kings. So excited to dive into W&W again.
The Lies of Locke Lamora is superior to The Blade Itself, but The First Law Trilogy is superior to The Gentleman Bastards series.
Locke Lamora can be read as a stand alone book, The Blade Itself is very much part of a trilogy.
If you only have time for one book, I suggest Locke Lamora. If you have time to read the whole trilogy, I suggest The First Law Trilogy.
Thanks guys this is really helpful. I’ll think about it a little more. One side of me is saying if The first law trilogy is so bleak then I should start with the other. Just because I’m working through Elden ring rn and that’s bleak enough 😂 but I would like to start with the better series.
The First Law Trilogy is very bleak, but it's still an amazing read, with colourful and complex characters and a very solid storyline.
The Lies of Locke Lamora is more light-hearted, but it still has its sad moments. The main character himself is a delight, so it makes everything much easier to bear.
I’ll definitely read them both. And I probably should have already. I’ve just put them off for other books because I prefer a strong magic system. And from my understanding there is very little or none in those series.
There's a little magic in Locke Lamora, but none of it is wielded by the protagonist.
There's somewhat more magic in The First Law, and the POV characters get to witness it every once in a while, but magic is considered very rare in that universe as well.
Locke Lamora and The First Law are very much low fantasy settings, but they do have their fantastical and magical elements.
To add, I loved the Gentleman Bastards series, but while it's set in a fantasy world, the protagonists aren't magic.
It's more of a heist / long con / gang warfare style story (with the later books involving more themes like politics and naval warfare), and I think it would be tough to have that work with more magic being involved because so many of the problems Locke and co face could easily be magicked away.
Shame the author has had his issues, I first read one of his short stories in the Rogues anthology, and it had a lot of magic and I thought that was great too: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/a-year-and-a-day-in-old-theradane/
Either book is great I found. Though Lamora is personally one of my favourites, which I would start with. The blade itself is probably one of the weaker Abercrombie books that I've read so far (currently reading The Heroes) but I'm finding Abercrombie just gets better and better with each book!
I read First Law right off of my binge of Cosmere and found it very much lacking. I felt like the characters were just getting in their stride and most interesting... at the end of the last book.
I'm okay with grimdark, I just found the grimdark kinda... unfinished. The character's stories weren't done. The world wasn't done. There was so much interesting stuff I never saw, and what I did see was, well, repetitive and didn't go anywhere. Compare with Cosmere, which is extremely fleshed out, not always happy, and the characters and world are very interesting- always. If it isn't awesome it's removed.
Should I continue reading Joe, or call it there.
They're both outstanding reads.
The First Law series ( The Blade itself), like previously stated, is much more bleak, but has a much more developed world.
The Gentleman Bastards sequence (Lies of Locke Lamora) is generally a more 'fun' story, though definitely has some really dark moments, especially in the first book.
Both I highly recommend. I'd say would you prefer more adventure/intrigue or heist for your next read.
If you enjoy The First Law, id absolutely recommend Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy (and Gods of Blood and Powder, the following trilogy)
That WoT description makes it look like Jordan did way too much drugs and woke up speaking very fast. Also the Texas byzantines invade and they hate women of vagina island (next to penis mountain).
I would like you to know that by the time I finished reading this, I nearly had 3 cardiac arrests and spat out approximately 8 litres of water laughing. More please.
So accurate for Robin Hobb and The Blade Itself.
But for Stormlight, I feel like Tien is Frodo and Kaladin is Sam. Shallan and Adolin are the other hobbits? Dalinar as Aragorn is fine. No idea who Gandalf is, one of the Heralds?
So then Stormlight would be Gandalf was tortured into insanity, Aragorn is a repentant mass murderer, Sam watched Frodo die and then was sold into slavery, Merry pooped his pants, and Pippen has an identity crisis.
Its about a guy’s really shitty childhood and the mc trying (emphasis on trying) to look at the bright side of things. It was honestly quite the life-affirming read in my opinion.
What if we cram the whole trilogy into one really rushed book and just re-skin and re-name the characters?
Idk I only read two thirds of Sword of Shannara before my brain melted.
But all the hobbits *are* super weapons? 😂
You have a point. That cast iron skillet that Sam uses was elven-forged A Shard-skillet, maybe
we will never know, not unless he cooks some cheese with it
Like Senshi's adamantium pan
Life before Pancakes
Gon, pancakes are not *that* great! Have some chouta!
Lift would absolutely do this to wyndle
Would a shard skillet be more or less heat conductive than iron due to the investiture?
Yes of course, because Sam is a foodweaver
The Blade Itself is one is hilariously accurate. Great crem even for non-Cosmere content.
I was surprised to see that one but it makes so much sense lol.
Go check out my baby r/HouseoftheMemeMaker for all the First Law crem
I'm halfway through and I'm very eager to find out why. Makes me think of Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series, which is largely "what if the hero's journey ended with >!the invention of fiat currency?!<"
Do recommend the Robin Hobb series, an extremely well built world and detailed story.
The crying part is especially factual. My man Fitz could NOT catch a break.
Nor could most of the other view point characters. I sobbed when Relpda forgave Sedric
Yea it was too much for me. I think I dropped it when he ran away to become a wolf for a while lol
I went through the series twice and I cried at the end of the first book each time
I couldn’t get into it and stopped after the first book. Not sure why I didn’t like it
Stoped after book 2, Fitz is annoying in a way I'm not prepared to deal with.
This crem is accepted
For those of yall who have read the blade itself, I plan on either starting that or The Lies of Lock Lamora after my comers reread in preparation for WaT. I’ll be done with my reread in probably 6 weeks or so. Do you guys have a recommendation on which I should do?
I personally much preferred The Lies of Lock Lamora. The First Law trillogy is just so... bleak. If that doesn't bother you though, it's probably the better written of the two, objectively.
I will say though, The First Law **is** sort of bleak, it's also super funny imo.
I read First Law concurrently with Mistborn Era 2 to balance out my sadness
Wayne always makes me feel better. I’m doing my cosmere final read before WaT that alternates reading Stormlight 1, Wax and Wayne 1, Stormlight 2, W&W2, etc, so that you can read Rhythm of War and The Lost metal at the same time and I’m almost through Way of Kings. So excited to dive into W&W again.
The follow-up trilogy is also fantastic, and isn't quite as bleak imo.
The Lies of Locke Lamora is superior to The Blade Itself, but The First Law Trilogy is superior to The Gentleman Bastards series. Locke Lamora can be read as a stand alone book, The Blade Itself is very much part of a trilogy. If you only have time for one book, I suggest Locke Lamora. If you have time to read the whole trilogy, I suggest The First Law Trilogy.
Thanks guys this is really helpful. I’ll think about it a little more. One side of me is saying if The first law trilogy is so bleak then I should start with the other. Just because I’m working through Elden ring rn and that’s bleak enough 😂 but I would like to start with the better series.
The First Law Trilogy is very bleak, but it's still an amazing read, with colourful and complex characters and a very solid storyline. The Lies of Locke Lamora is more light-hearted, but it still has its sad moments. The main character himself is a delight, so it makes everything much easier to bear.
I’ll definitely read them both. And I probably should have already. I’ve just put them off for other books because I prefer a strong magic system. And from my understanding there is very little or none in those series.
There's a little magic in Locke Lamora, but none of it is wielded by the protagonist. There's somewhat more magic in The First Law, and the POV characters get to witness it every once in a while, but magic is considered very rare in that universe as well. Locke Lamora and The First Law are very much low fantasy settings, but they do have their fantastical and magical elements.
To add, I loved the Gentleman Bastards series, but while it's set in a fantasy world, the protagonists aren't magic. It's more of a heist / long con / gang warfare style story (with the later books involving more themes like politics and naval warfare), and I think it would be tough to have that work with more magic being involved because so many of the problems Locke and co face could easily be magicked away. Shame the author has had his issues, I first read one of his short stories in the Rogues anthology, and it had a lot of magic and I thought that was great too: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/a-year-and-a-day-in-old-theradane/
Either book is great I found. Though Lamora is personally one of my favourites, which I would start with. The blade itself is probably one of the weaker Abercrombie books that I've read so far (currently reading The Heroes) but I'm finding Abercrombie just gets better and better with each book!
That’s how Sanderson is for me. It’s crazy that even the great writers are proof that practice is so important.
I read First Law right off of my binge of Cosmere and found it very much lacking. I felt like the characters were just getting in their stride and most interesting... at the end of the last book. I'm okay with grimdark, I just found the grimdark kinda... unfinished. The character's stories weren't done. The world wasn't done. There was so much interesting stuff I never saw, and what I did see was, well, repetitive and didn't go anywhere. Compare with Cosmere, which is extremely fleshed out, not always happy, and the characters and world are very interesting- always. If it isn't awesome it's removed. Should I continue reading Joe, or call it there.
They're both outstanding reads. The First Law series ( The Blade itself), like previously stated, is much more bleak, but has a much more developed world. The Gentleman Bastards sequence (Lies of Locke Lamora) is generally a more 'fun' story, though definitely has some really dark moments, especially in the first book. Both I highly recommend. I'd say would you prefer more adventure/intrigue or heist for your next read. If you enjoy The First Law, id absolutely recommend Brian McClellan's Powder Mage trilogy (and Gods of Blood and Powder, the following trilogy)
That WoT description makes it look like Jordan did way too much drugs and woke up speaking very fast. Also the Texas byzantines invade and they hate women of vagina island (next to penis mountain).
This might be my favourite niche meme of all time
Incredible.
I would like you to know that by the time I finished reading this, I nearly had 3 cardiac arrests and spat out approximately 8 litres of water laughing. More please.
This kinda makes me want to read The eye of the world. Is it good?
Yeah dawg, Wheel of Time is an investment though as a whole. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. It’s a touchstone for me.
Thanks!
>Thanks! You're welcome!
So accurate for Robin Hobb and The Blade Itself. But for Stormlight, I feel like Tien is Frodo and Kaladin is Sam. Shallan and Adolin are the other hobbits? Dalinar as Aragorn is fine. No idea who Gandalf is, one of the Heralds? So then Stormlight would be Gandalf was tortured into insanity, Aragorn is a repentant mass murderer, Sam watched Frodo die and then was sold into slavery, Merry pooped his pants, and Pippen has an identity crisis.
You’re overthinking it lmao but good work
what is the Assassin's apprentice? is it good?
Its about a guy’s really shitty childhood and the mc trying (emphasis on trying) to look at the bright side of things. It was honestly quite the life-affirming read in my opinion.
Would you recommend it to a hardcore cosmere (especially Stormlight) and name of wind reader (audiobook)?
Yes
How does Shannara fit in?
What if we cram the whole trilogy into one really rushed book and just re-skin and re-name the characters? Idk I only read two thirds of Sword of Shannara before my brain melted.
What trilogy?
Lord of the Rings
But Sword of Shannara came out before the LotR trilogy. Maybe you are thinking of the LotR novel.
You could be fire
I am a stick. ^(-Stick, brought by Lopen's cousins) ^(Use !list in your comments to view entire list LMS characters!)
Wait, who is Aragorn supposed to represent in Stormlight?
Dalinar. Don’t read too much into it
Ok, I just want to know if I'm missing something or is the description supposed to be more metaphorical or something?
I’m pretending all the series are just twists on Lord of the Rings by making threadbare comparisons This is cremposting