Fans of Martin's sweeping epic scope and tragic storylines will find much to admire in Joe Abercrombie's complex, gritty fantasy world, where shadowy political conspiracies vie with ancient evils as threats to the nation. I do not mention Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire lightly. But while the novel takes its jabs at epic fantasy, it avoids falling into either overdone parody or bitter satire, instead opting to reconstruct many of the heroic tropes it initially questions. None of the main characters are heroic in a traditional sense: the one who comes closest, handsome swordsman Captain Jezel dan Luthar, is a shallow, self-absorbed snob whose hobbies include cheating his friends at cards and avoiding hard work. Instead, the novel follows the misadventures of people who seem to have wandered out of a film noir version of George R.R. Wise Magi, stern knights and full-bosomed ladies can be found in its pages, but they're hardly the stars of the show. The Blade Itself is an epic fantasy that wears its cynical, postmodern heart on its sleeve. Utter shit." She slapped the book off the table and it tumbled onto the carpet, pages flapping. Magic, violence and romance, in equal measure. Full of wise Magi, stern knights with mighty swords and ladies with mightier bosoms. "The Fall of the Master Maker, in three volumes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |