A is for Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie writes gritty fantasy. The first thing I picked up of his wasn’t the First Law trilogy, but rather the standalone Heroes, set in the same world. The first chapter told me exactly what I was in for: the viewpoint of men and women in battle, trying to carve out a part of the world for their superiors, complete with profanity, honest opinions, and respect for people on the other side. The people aren’t caricatures, and the world doesn’t have soft edges.

In Abercrombie’s words (taken from his site):

I want magic and adventure, sure, but I want it to hurt. I want blood, sweat, and tears, and plenty of them. I want to read about characters as selfish, as flawed, as complicated, and as unpredictable as real people. I want a fantasy that can shock and surprise, amuse and horrify, delight and excite me, all at once.

If that sounds like the kind of story you can get into, go check out Abercrombie’s work.


Today’s post is my first for this year’s Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. My theme is epic fantasy, and blog posts will cover authors, books, tropes, themes, or anything else I can think of to fill the alphabet. Come back regularly to see what else I’ve had to say — or check out some of the other bloggers participating.

Bookmark the permalink.

17 Comments

  1. Erin,
    Abercrombie sounds very interesting, and someone I might look up in the near future!
    I’ll look forward to more from you on epic fantasy. ๐Ÿ™‚
    -Chris

  2. Visiting from the A to Z Challenge – have fun!

  3. I’ve seen his books but never read any of them. Might be a little too much blood and guts for me though.

    • I understand; I’m not usually much of one for the gritty works. Hope you enjoy some of the others I recommend this month.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

  4. I haven’t heard of him. But then… I don’t read a lot of high fantasy, so your theme would be quite educational.

    • I’m glad you think it’ll be educational. ๐Ÿ™‚ If you like the HBO series based on George R. R. Martin’s book series, you might like Abercrombie.

      Thanks for commenting!

  5. Dropping in from A-Z – and liking the sound of Epic Fantasy posts! Best of luck with the challenge – and cheers!

  6. nice interpretation of A
    do check check my a-z too at GAC a-z

  7. Sounds like some interesting reading. I might have to check out his works soon!

  8. Thanks for the recommendation, definitely sounds like a writer I should check out!

    • More recommendations to come, too. I hope you find Abercrombie’s works enjoyable.

      Thanks for coming by and commenting.

  9. Pingback: Under the influence | Erin M. Hartshorn

Comments are closed