The First Law: SPOILER TALK - Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

This episode of Mike's Book Reviews continues his journey into the world of Joe Abercrombie's "grimdark" fantasy tale The First Law. This is a full spoiler review for Sharp Ends, so use caution if you've not read the entire published (as of August 2019) First Law works yet.
You can purchase Sharp Ends here: amzn.to/2Q0wQS6
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[@bloodynine9017]

Logen is the most terrifying non supernatural character of all time

[@bradraulerson9577]

Made a Monster was gold, I've read and listened to the audio version of it many times. And while I enjoyed pretty much all the short stories I think you're placements for "best and worst" are spot on.

[@mikesbookreviews]

It was soooooo good.

[@anangryscorpion5838]

I too, would have loved a whole novel just on the adventures of Javre and Shev. I really didn't expect to care, but by the end, I found myself wanting more of those 2. Sad they didn't get the ending I wanted in sharp ends. Who knows, maybe they will show up in the sequel trilogy, I'm not hopeful though.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I feel like there is way too much setup for them to not appear or be mentioned in the sequel trilogy. Or perhaps Joe will continue his short story collections and they'll be the connective tissue for each.

[@coleton7048]

My favourite story from the book is Three's a Crowd. It's gold.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yeah, that one was a ton of fun.

[@calebmauer1751]

I'm pretty sure the last Shev and Javre story was actually written first, that's why it doesn't feel like the last story. It was written for some other anthology (I saw it in Rogues, might have been in another one too). So I think he decided to give them a full story in Sharp Ends, but they didn't necessarily have the backstory when he wrote the last one in Sharp Ends.

[@russtin1]

Whirring was great in this book. He kind of reminds me of Crummick-i-phail.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Definitely.

[@meris8486]

Yeah Crummick was a great character LAOK shame we didn't get more of him, I was hoping he'd turn up in Heroes. But then his play in LAOK was to make sure war kept going in the North so he could relax in the hills, so it makes sense he didn't get involved.

[@Auron200004]

I think Kahdia is too good of a person to survive in the First Law world. I was not surprised why or how he died, but I found his conviction (and its impression on Temple that factors in way later) to be really something that stuck with me. I think this story, along with the last story are probably my two favorites. Crazy how, with the majority of the series behind me, I really start to understand the tragedy of some of these characters' deaths (Bethod's especially -- he might be one of my favorite secondary characters now, and most of that development in my opinion has been post-death). Pretty excited for A Little Hatred, reading that next.

[@mikesbookreviews]

After the Bethod story in this, he is maybe the most tragic character in the whole First Law universe.

[@adammalone2909]

I never cared for audiobooks either, until i did it for wheel of time for like my 10th read through lol. I drive for work, so books I've already read, I'll do audio. It frees up mental space, and allows for a MUCH more visual experience.

[@mikesbookreviews]

It's just an ADD thing for me. I can't focus for too long while listening like I can while reading. But every First Law video gets comments telling me to listen to the audio books.

[@MrAmo123]

Bethods mistake was turning against Byaz. He was a good king and wanted peace but whatever he did to cross Byaz definitely lead to everyone turning against him

[@wederator2152]

Javre with just 6 chapters, manages to be one of the best characters in the series 😂 My favorite story was the last one. Understand the kind of monster logen was (more than we do in the fisrt trilogy) is just amazing.

[@custarddavidson8104]

Hello from Scotland! Just want to say you are doing a great job with the reviews and the videos in general, your videos have revamped my passion for reading! On book 4 on the WoT and because of this channel have got MASSIVELY into Stephen King! Thanks and keep up the great work!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thank you so much! Comments like this are what make me want to keep doing these videos. What King books are into so far?

[@custarddavidson8104]

Started with The Outsider, then Finders Keepers, Pet Semetary, The Dead Zone, Under the Dome, The Shining, 11.22.63, and currently working through ‘Salem’s Lot. Can’t thank you enough mate, I can’t quite word what your channel does differently from most pop culture or book tube channels but I think mostly it is just you aren’t putting on a front or promoting anything other than your personality! Again... great work man!

[@mikesbookreviews]

@@custarddavidson8104 Again, thank you so much. That means the world. I'm definitely not selling anything. I just want to share what I'm reading and encourage others to do so.

[@harmanpiano]

Great job with these videos, I'd really like to see a thoughts and theories video before A Little Hatred come out!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks! That was the plan, but it jest depends on how the schedule goes.

[@noraeld5020]

I read the Chev and Javre stories as being about the romance between karkolf and chev as much as the friendship between chev and javre (I read the audiobook so I'm not sure how their names were spelled) so I read the 4th Chev and Javre story as being an ending to that arc, and the fifth being a bonus epilogue piece, as well as showing karkolf in a different dimension. So that ended up working for me as the satisfying arc to the book when that got resolved

[@eroz84]

I liked the Hedge Knight which is 3 separate stories

[@ericdykstra4545]

Sharp Ends was the first First Law book I read ( because it was the only one on sale at the time) and after finishing that final chapter, I was like, "That's our main character?!" lol. Just started Age of Madness, been loving the whole series! :)

[@MrTofy1974]

I'm reading this series right now....Blade Itself.....I was recommended this so I'm hoping it's good.... after that on to Witcher.

[@mikesbookreviews]

TBI is a great debut and the trilogy only gets better. Read The Last Wish book from the Witcher saga and I loved it.

[@MrTofy1974]

@@mikesbookreviews you should read the Belgariad series by David Eddings....Joe Abercrombie mentions this title in his authors notes in Blade Itself....I enjoyed it

[@mikesbookreviews]

@@MrTofy1974 I have the Belgariad on paperback. Have for ages. It's in the plans someday.

[@llywyllngryffyn8053]

I have had serious issues with all SIX of the books in this world; the specific issues varied but there were no entries that didn't have me irate at some point or other. Strangely, this book was the most entertaining and least irritating book thus far. Clearly, i've read all of the books thus far, so my objections are not 'deal breakers' but this book was very satisfying. Perhaps, as an anthology of shorts I hd lower expectations for it? I know that the novella surprised me, in a good way. (I consider the 5 chapters about Shev and Javra as a Novella because, taken together, that is what it is.) I hope they come back in the Age of Madness. I have already started reading A Little Hatred and I have some issues with it too but I think this book was like a collection of deleted scenes that makes the overall story make more sense. BTW: I am 100% certain the Package that was being passed around in Things are Tough..." was the Key to the House of the Maker.

[@AlexAlexandrov]

Hey guys, little observation about the story with the cracknut. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember Whirrun introducing himself to Javra as something like "hey, they call me cracknut because I'm crazy". As far as I remember, he understood the reasoning behind his nickname not too long before he died, so what exactly is happening here?

[@slidenaway]

What happened was he was messing with everyone in The Heroes when he said he didn’t know the origin of his name… 😂😂

[@cynthiaholmes5124]

I cannot wait to read a little hatred 😉🙂🤗

[@connoriquada5429]

Man I always thought Logen was a pretty chill dude who just couldn’t control what he is. Like Bruce Banner or something. But naaah, after this book you know Logen is a complete degenerate of a human being. As much as it pains me to admit. Because everyone calls him a piece of shit in the trilogy but I never thought that was fair. I thought it was like calling Banner a piece of shit for the Hulk destroying a city. It’s not his fault because he can’t control it. Genuinely can’t control it. And while I’m not totally sure what the deal with the bloody nine is or how it works, it doesn’t even matter. LOGEN was a straight madman. Not even the bloody nine. Logen is a absolute fucking savage and a deplorable person . But I kinda like that tho. Makes his relationship with Jezal a lot more interesting to me. Because in the North he’s feared and hated but rightfully so, though Jezal only saw his better regretful side. The version of him that wanted redemption but knew he’d never achieve it. That made him seem super humble, even to me as the reader. Not just Jezal. But it was actually just the truth all along. He should feel regretful. It was his fault. And he is a piece of shit. I love Abercrombie 😂

[@pillarmusic1641]

Top five age of madness characters?

[@currangill430]

Short stories are whatever for me. I kept this in my backload cause I'm not really into them. They are either really good or meh

[@night_waves_usa9518]

I'm I the only one who really disliked the introduction of Javre into the First Law universe. After 6 books of getting to know the key players of the series I felt cheated that out of nowhere an infallible warrior appeared that totally disrupted the power hierarchy in the books. After only a couple of short stories of character building Javre suddenly became on par with heavy hitters like Whirrun (which would put her in to The Bloody Nine league). I mean I have no problem with a new character picking up the reins and becoming the First Law's newest greatest warrior, but Javre character felt completely out of tone from the other books in the series. To me she seemed more like a cartoonish super hero trope than the complex and realistic character you would expect from Abercrombie.

[@mikesbookreviews]

No, this makes sense. I assumed Whirrun wasn't trying to actually kill her because he wanted to bang her. But you make good points. Kind of how I called Shivers "Great Value Logen," she definitely felt like Joe trying to make the female Logen (without the rage blackouts).

[@redheadbandanna1973]

You summed up my problem with her character and the later version of Logan perfectly. The odds don't matter, they'll always win

[@SpydurPoet]

Do you read books for Audible? You should. I did enjoy my fucking visit.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I wish!

[@adammalone2909]

Last comment, have you read his YA books, the half a king shit?

[@mikesbookreviews]

I haven't. I usually avoid YA, but it's Joe. SO I have them and will probably fit them in sometime soon.

[@FactMan8]

I dont know what it is but I think the Shev stories are a chore to read.

[@bmoneybby]

F word= insta like