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Joe Abercrombie never disappoints. I can’t wait to download the next book. The saga continues, thankfully. The gritty successor to GRRM.

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I really liked almost all the characters. they are real and relatable.And it's funnyOn to the next one

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I'll be honest and say that, despite the fact that I haven't yet not loved a Joe Abercrombie book, I was a little wary of A Little Hatred, the first book in the "Age of Madness" trilogy. Oh, I expected that it would be good...but something about the idea of returning to the world of the First Law series, but following a new generation - many of whom were literally the children of characters from the first series...well, look, how many "the next generation" series like that have been worth the time? But I should have trusted Abercrombie, who delivers a story that's every bit worthy of continuing the First Law series, justifying its use of children and descendants while also telling a story that exists wholly on its own terms. As with The Blade Itself, A Little Hatred is undeniably the first part of a trilogy, and as such, it's hard to entirely evaluate without knowing Abercrombie's endgame, but even here it's evident that his conception of a new generation isn't merely the literal idea of children dealing with the legacies and shadows of their parents (legacies that are complicated by our own knowledge of those figures), but also in terms of the changes in a world that is increasingly moving into something like the Industrial age - both in terms of technology and in terms of a ruling class that sees it as a chance to make a buck. Into this, Abercrombie throws in international tensions, power struggles, old soldiers who have tried to stay on the sidelines, cutthroat businesswomen...and beneath it all, a simmering tension that feels like we're on the verge of an explosion. Abercrombie delivers a book that feels satisfying on its own, ending with a couple of serious whammies, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was eager to see what came next and how this series earns the title "The Age of Madness."

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This is the first book in another trilogy by the author.  Some names and characters from his trilogy The First Law cross over into this book.Magic is waning and the world and its people are trying to adjust to a new world of machinery.  In the North battles are still decided by clans joining together against other clans, fighting in shield walls and swinging swords  and axes.This is a dark gritty fantasy that will keep you up late reading one more page.

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"... deserving got nothing to do with anything. Life just falls on you, like rain - A LITTLE HATRED (The Age of Madness bk. 1) - Joe AbercrombieI bought the entire Age of Madness trilogy in one go simply off of the strength of the First Law books and so far, I don't regret it. Joe Abercrombie continues to do masterful character work in this series where even if you don't like the characters per se you definitely get caught up in their story lines and just the world in general.The atmosphere was thick from the North to the teeming cities of Andua and Valbeck and I felt swept along in the narrative reading large chunks at a time (helped along by the short chapters) and I was never disappointed by a POV switch as I found them all interesting. There were really well drawn action sequences and I can think of one in particular that had so much tension I was almost afraid to turn the page. Loved that!This book follows a new set of characters but many are connected to characters from the first trilogy and so it's a treat to read these after finishing those. (I wouldn't recommend starting here, though you could I suppose). There was Savin, Leo, Rikke, Orso, Clover, Broad and Vic and each one brought something to the narrative. Crown Prince Orso and Rikke rose above as my favourites.The world here continues to be dark, grim and unrelenting so when a quip or statement made me laugh it was always a bit startling but appreciated. Overall, such a great addition to the First Law world and grimdark fantasy in general.

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Given the political climate in The United States, still, it’s a shame but the most popular review is a one star review because of a bias on assumed politics. If you get off on unrealistic of musclebound heroes raping and pillaging, yelling clichés and wreaking havoc, torture and mayhem without any consequences, then this is not the book for you. There is still plenty of blood, Mayham and torture, but the more politically hysterical among us can’t see that through the blinders and dismissals of political correctness. That’s a shame.This is not political correctness, it’s a courageous attempt to mirror some realities of what war really is and it’s consequence. The reality of what politicians are. The reality of gender, of hazy sexuality.  It’s unfortunately all of the things that Many in the right wing conservative movement in this country are afraid to look at, reality. Abercrombie has clearly taken the shifting winds of culture to heart and attempted to stay in the same violent world but with a more empathetic approach. It gives you a lot more to think about and consider. However, if you have a problem with strong female characters and find that intimidating or boring, this also might not be the book for you. It certainly doesn’t smack of making strong characters for the sake of. They are really interesting characters with many contradictions and flaws and aspirations. They are pathetic and strong , cunning and stupid. They kill and are killed, they brutalize and cower.I haven’t read the second book yet But the way he seems to be teeing  this up, there is certainly a nod to the foibles of nationalism and racial hatred. Yet for all that, and this is where his gift of writing comes in. It’s not overly preachy unless you’re looking for it. And even the characters that are the so-called “bad guys“ Also have a lot of contradictions and like ability...and depth. . In short, much like Terry Pratchett, who I have seen comparisons to with this book in particular, it is about human beings. Again, if you have a problem with fantastic reality and prefer to live in a fantasy world where violence has no consequence, the emotional blueprint is telegraphed and everything wrapped up with a nice tidy bow, this might not be the book for you.

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Ok, so I got a bit annoyed as I started reading A Little Hatred. Anyone with a pinch of historical interest simply has to balk when Abercrombie skips over four centuries of technological development in one generation. Even set me up against liking the book. Still, what is there not to like about this gorgeous sequel to The First Law? The characters are not just likeable. They are also interesting human portraits. The theme is not simply to entertain with witty dialogue (check), fast paced and unpredictable plot (check), and darn well written action scenes (check), but to convey a feeling for how politics move, up above as well as down in the gutter, and above all, in the hearts of the many players and victims of this game. A Little Hatred gripped me from start to finish. As a piece of riveting action, it is impeccable. But what impressed me the most, is that by clever build up and some great writing, Abercrombie genuinely made me feel with the characters. With the poor sods working the factories. With the rich sods stuck in meaningles ritual. With the violent f*****s stuck with themselves. For anyone wanting a deeply textured, thoughtful and also highly entertaining fantasy, this is the book for you. Just please read The First Law first, if you haven't already. It is equally good and this one only makes half the sense without its beginning.And now to my petty grievances. So I get it, Abercrombie started our by writing a knights vs Vikings kind of action, and only later realized he had rather set it in the renaissance. So he nudged it a bit. Then he realized he really wanted to write a western, so he wrote Red Country. Fine. And now he is all hot and damp for steampunk, so what to do other than trust that all the average reader knows about history is that it was all in the past (and yes, that it was GRITTY) but not that some kind of passage of time was also necessary for it to shuffle along to the next station. All excusable, given that Abercrombie proceeds to write books one cannot possibly put down for the sheer joy of reading them. But for someone with a genuine interest in history, IT HURTS! That said, I will survive. I'm already bracing myself for a great train robbery in the second book, with either Breakers or Northmen substituting for the outlaws. And I'm sure I will even enjoy reading it. But please, please Mr Abercrombie. Sir, if you feel any itch at all to introduce a difference engine for book three, please reconsider. At least shift it along to the next trilogy, and spare the steampunks from having to learn cyberpunk in their retirement. I beg you. And if you find it hard to  resist, just think what trouble you will be in for the 8th book, if you haven't paced yourself properly at the beginning. Or will you have Orso's daughter drive a main battle tank through a shield wall, and the Northmen responding by using The Force? End of peeve.

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In the world of the Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law, magic has ebbed out of the world and been replaced by grim people doing hard things to survive. The factory has arrived along with all its attendant woes, child labor, pollution, poverty and machines that maul careless workers. Savine dan Glokta, the canniest investor in the Union, sees nothing wrong with this new world so long as the profits keep rolling in and her power continues to increase. Prince Orso, the powerless embarrassment, sees nothing wrong so long as his pleasures continue uninterrupted.  Yes, both her power and his pleasures are interrupted.  Meanwhile, the North is in upheaval as Stour Nightfall and his cutthroats conquer and burn. It’s up to the dim but brave Leo dan Brock and Rikke of the long eye (she can sometimes see the future) to stop them.  There were seven books previously set in this world, but you don’t need to read any of them before reading this one. The main characters are all brand new, and while reading the previous books would familiarize yourself with the background characters, you won’t miss anything by starting here. However, you would rob yourself of the pleasure of some of the best writing and most vivid characters in fantasy today.  Joe Abercrombie is not your typical fantasy writer.  His books are dark places in which the worst enemy is other people and your best friend might turn on you for the silver in your pocket. But his work is deeply insightful into human nature, showing us ourselves doing our best when faced with the worst.  A Little Hatred is an excellent addition to his previous novels, providing logical extensions of what has come before and brand new viewpoint on the  world. His characters are wonderfully broken and so clearly rendered that they seem like friends. His setting is detailed but he’s avoided the trap of page long descriptions of throne rooms and people eating stew.  Steven Pacey, the narrator is wonderful, providing distinct voices for each character. He skillfully falls into the background allowing the story to dominate.  I deeply enjoyed this novel and look forward to the rest of the series.

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It's Joe. It's The First Law. It's The Age of Madness. And it's off to a bloody good start. We've all been waiting a while for this, and if there's one thing we could all have foreseen it's that the wait for the next one was going to be tough. Indeed, having just finished, it will be. Thankfully, we need only wait a year.So we're back. The world of the First Law welcomes us home like an old friend. If that friend was secretly angry to see you, and had a knife to your back that is. Joe has crafted here a story that can be appreciated by new and old readers alike. If you have never once read a word of any other First Law book, you can still jump in here. You can do that, no doubt, and enjoy this story and be eager for the next. But for us old heads, those who have devoured all the other First Law content that Joe has to offer, you will be in for some pleasant surprises. You will be in on the secret so to speak, and little pieces of the story, small little off-handed mentions and other tokens unworthy of notice, will be to you like a familiar embrace. You will know that ever-powerful and most sacred bit of knowledge; the backstory. Set around thirty years after the beginning of the first trilogy, there are many faces to recognize here, and the offspring of those faces. Glokta's daughter, Savine. Jezal's son, Orso. The Dogman's daughter, Rikke. A Brock. A Teufel. But for as many old faces you will be delighted (or less than delighted) to see, there are worthy characters new to the spotlight as well. Gunnar Broad. Jonas Clover. Joe has fleshed out his new story with an excellent new cast, and it is well on its way.Those familiar with the First Law will see a world changed by progress. By industry. By money. The natural progression which we have witnessed over the course of six books is finally coming to a head. Magic leaks out of the world... And madness leaks in. The downtrodden are more so than ever, forced into hard labor at the factories that pop up like flies, soiling the white city of Adua with smog and vapor. All is not well with the common man, and on up the ladder the grievances go until they can climb no higher than the puppet strings they cling to. Midderland is on the verge of open revolt. And the bloody North is no better, constantly at war (this time under the leadership of Black Calder's son, Stour Nightfall) and complicated as ever. But as one Yoru Sulfur would say, "...we must sometimes have a little chaos if a better order is to emerge." But who is to judge what 'better' may mean? Who indeed. Old heads can take a guess and probably hit the mark.I've praised Joe enough on this website for anyone to be sick of it, but I can't pretend all the things I love about his work aren't again on display in A Little Hatred. He simply is what he is. A master of POV. A master of character development. A master of real, fluid dialogue. A master in creating a gritty, complicated world in which things happen that matter. To characters that we care a shit about. Even if what happens isn't always what we want. Especially then, even.I've heard the opinion thrown around in other corners of the internet that this may be Joe's best work yet. I'm inclined not to be so hasty as to make that claim just yet. Maybe it's because I just reread the original trilogy, in all it's glory, but I see this book as the next in an already long sequence of greatness. And Joe was kind enough to, in the time between his last release, write all three books of this trilogy at once. what that means, lucky for us, is that the next one is coming just a year from now. And the third a year after that. For us fiends, well, that's great news. We need it."Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust; hatred alone is immortal."  - William Hazlitt

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I'll not do spoilers, I'll not do spoilers, I'll not do spoilers.....Some tips:1.  If you have not read his other books, read those first.  Yes, this one you could read without the others, but you're missing so much.  I do wish I would've re-read at least the Law trilogy before cracking this.2.  This is clearly just the intro to the rest upcoming.... which is okay, but I do wish I waiting until at least another was out.  It's not that I just can't wait to turn another page (or press that kindle next), which is partly it, but it is mostly that I fear I will lose out on some of the color in the next one because well, my brain can lose details and losing details in this, means losing out on all of the fun.  And you don't want to miss a thing.3.  If you are a fast reader like I am, I suggest forcing yourself to slow down.  Again, it is easy to miss all the fun, the wonderful, sarcastically funny, and surprisingly deep introspective on human beings.... things we all know, but nod our head yes when reading it written in such a creative way.  Abercrombie is someone who says it way better than most can.4.  Prepare to be wowed by how he bounces perspective around.  It is such an easy thing to do on movies or shows, but soo difficult to do it well in a book.  There is a section where he moves through a dozen different people going through the same "event."5.  For those of you that are Lord Grimdark/Abercrombie experts, you already know this part.  Don't be fooled by thinking you have any idea where the plot is going.  My prediction is that if you have guessed Rikke's visions are meaning x, y, and z are going to happen, you/we are probably wrong.  Oh, I think I know... but I also know he is a witty writer that likes to throw in a good surprise.6.  No worries.  He won't kill off all of our favorite characters.  He won't overdo the long lines of who and who like GRRM.  His talent is mixing complexity and simplicity and not just using complexity to confuse the sh&^ out of us for the fun of it.  We are going to oooh and ahhh by making the connections he puts in front of us.  We are going to wonder how many of our past favorite characters are coming back.  And dammit, we will be in awe over his ability to make female characters just as bad ass as the males.  We will be disgusted in humanity and also in love.  We will see ourselves, our politics, our decision making in every damn chapter.  Love it and hate it.7.  I almost spit my drink out when someone said putting Murcato and Leo's mum against each other would be a hell of a scene.... seriously.  You miss out on the fun if you don't start with reading his other books.8.  Pony up the $ for all his books.  Let's pay for the entertainment.  Don't steal it - give the man his royalties!  Because, "are you not entertained?"Who can blame him if he drags it out like GRRM did and then leaves the readers hanging to sell out to the shows..... he deserves the $$$$$ for all the gritty fun he has provided his readers.  Lord Grimdark, if you are reading your reviews, which I think you are, please please don't pull a Clover on "Won-----l" on us.