The Last War Trilogy by Mike Shackle Book Review & Reaction | Grimdark Perfection in Every Way!

[@PetrikLeo]

Criminally underrated series! Really really glad you finally gave it a try and loved it, Mike! The second book, A Fool's Hope, is my favorite of the three. But the entire trilogy is truly an unstoppable thrill!

[@JARHuygebaert]

I read the whole series because of you mike 🤗

[@mikesbookreviews]

A Fool's Hope is my favorite as well. Love it so much. Thanks again for the nudge!

[@thebrothersgwynne]

We are overjoyed that you love it as much as we do, Mike! Thank you for trusting us. Your reviews always manage to make me desperate to re-read these books. P.S. Dren is that guy Ed and Will

[@mikesbookreviews]

His name is Dren. And he's here to fuck you up.

[@TheNerdyNarrative]

This is absolutely going to be a priority series first part of 2024 for me!! Sounds like Shackle writes his characters like John Palladino does his, another grimdark great. Really looking forward to reading !

[@mikesbookreviews]

Oh yeah. I think you'll dig it.

[@Jeremy_Szal]

I'm so glad to see a wider audience enjoying this firecracker of a series!

[@mikesbookreviews]

It's so underrated!

[@kimgarcia6629]

I just finished the series! I heard Petrik talk about it and that got it on my radar, but then you started the series and talked about it on your channel, and that’s what made me pull the trigger and give it a go.

[@alynam82]

I got the first book on Kindle back when (I think) the Brothers Gwynne talked about it. Your review just kicked it into priority

[@safinan8008]

Happy reading to you!! 📖📚🎥

[@alberto7768]

Another Mike review, another series added to my TBR 😂🫠

[@dark_ones_taint5993]

Spent an hour looking for my next read yesterday and this sounds like exactly what I need. Another banger video

[@deadslugs]

Just started this now thanks to you and its been a ride! Loving it!

[@NajibullahMehrabi-mz5hk]

The pacing is masterful never got bored through the series

[@jellevanbreugel325]

Great read! Thanks again for the recommendation!

[@AmeiWasHere]

You are my go to for new books to buy, thanks Mike!

[@redleif79]

Halfway through the 3rd book and man I tell you it's THAT good. Haven't had this feeling reading a series since First Law years ago when you knew you were reading something special that nobody knew about yet!

[@tracejefferson3169]

Thank you, have bought book 1 after this review

[@Suhovs]

Joe Abercrombie is my favorite author and so I read "We are the dead". All I can say is that to compare "We are the dead" to works of Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence is like comparing Sharknado to Jaws.

[@tomjoyce7037]

I'm so glad you recommended this. I just finished a reread and got my beautiful Broken Binding hardback editions 🖤👹

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yeah they’re sexy

[@geauxreadbooks]

I finished book 2 last week. I’m waiting on book 3 to arrive. This is my first grimdark read and I’m loving it!

[@RekindledReader]

What a fantastic series review, that’s it, I’m getting to this ASAP.

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

You already sold me on this through your regular updates, and I have the first two ready to go!

[@kirstenholmes6]

I’m picking up book one today. I waited until I had all three in my hand before I started it. Anything you and Petrik both say is good, I will definitely read it!

[@musicgenius1948]

Was waiting for the video for quite a while and it did not diss appoint

[@ptannous27]

Can’t wait to pick this series up! You haven’t disappointed yet!

[@moonbot7613]

First 2 books were awesome and can’t wait to finish the series.

[@Johanna_reads]

Wow, sounds like I should stop sleeping on this trilogy! Awesome female character arc in a grimdark series? Yes, please! Great hearing your praise for this one, Mike!

[@maxwell2194]

Well you've sold me on it. I'll be picking up the first book this weekend.

[@blacknbluecollarreader]

I'm at the 90% mark on WATD and I have a feeling it will be crawling into my top ten series of all time. My favorite characters are typically the bad guys a story. Dras is great, don't get me wrong, but Dren, Tinstra, Yass and Jax are so well written. Can't wait to get further into this story and thanks again for recommending it.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Book 2 is somehow even better!

[@georgebest5412]

Just finished Fool's Hope & am totally loving this series

[@mikesbookreviews]

Awesome to hear!

[@markdoucette6828]

The Crimson Empire series by Alex Marshall, oh it’s good, it’s damn good!

[@bethconfer8099]

Read the whole series and really enjoyed it! So many interesting characters with different things going on. Thanks so much for the recommendation. I'm very new to this genre and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it.

[@joebo7777]

Read this earlier in the year and it was excellent. The comparison to Joe Abercrombie is funky justified; this series is grim and dark and full of twists and surprises right to the end. An unexpected gem.

[@paragon1782]

Just finished a fool hope. Every chapter felt crazy and that twist was awesome. Ending wasn’t a super crazy crescendo like Sanderson or John gwynne does but it was solid. Good 8.5/10

[@stevenstewart782]

I'm about 100 pages into empire of the vampire so your comment about Jay Kristoff's creative cussing Is very funny. I'm just Gabriel's training And his teachers do a lot of creative cursing in true Drill Sergeant style

[@mikesbookreviews]

He’s a pro at it.

[@binglamb2176]

I am looking forward to reading these. The three books were my last order from Book Depository before they shut down.

[@benja6902]

Petrick also recommended 'Illborn'. I highly suggest you read that as well.

[@noahmcclellan4372]

Sounds awesome, just downloaded the first book on audible.

[@dezperado618c8]

I watched a review from another book tuber and my first thought was "yeah, but what does Mike think of it?" Another great review mate.

[@Ulmo90]

Would be fun to pick up this series at some point, sounds great!

[@arjanvet]

Read all of the first law books and recently also finished the last war books, they are indeed up there with first law!

[@thepanmancoast]

We are the dead was the best book I read last year. I just finished the second book and I regret waiting as long as I did. My three favorite aspects of the series 2 books in are the character growth, short fast chapters, and the setting. Especially in modern movies and TV the women characters are just overly good at everything. I approached the first book cautiously afraid that the some of the characters were going to be like that. Mike wrote the best female character I have ever read. He character growth was earned, and my favorite part was how we were rewarded through the arc. I can not wait to the third book released physically in the States. It is going to be a long 2 month wait.

[@Michael_L_Morrison]

I enjoyed the first two books, and am looking forward to book 3 soon.

[@Shaad2321]

Greatvideo Mike! This series is definitely very underrated. The next series you should try is the grimdark peter McLean. It's also a great series!

[@tugce_sazed]

first book didn't hook me as much I hoped but i will give a chance to second book. But it is always great to discover new authors!

[@mikesbookreviews]

I totally agree!

[@sarahmcdonald9624]

Got the first book. It’s in the stack TBR. Hopefully it’s as good as you say!

[@levilogstrom8534]

Hahaha I think the term “taking a shit in your mouth” might be my favorite way to review the quality of a book’s twist moving forward. Thanks for that gold nugget Mike 😂

[@praetorxyn]

After Dark Age I think I've had my grimdark fix for a good long while.

[@WolfCop97]

I want to ask if you have any novel recommendations in regards to main characters that are brutish/barbarian ? Besides Conan, of course.

[@77thass]

Is book 1 out of print? Your Amazon link is to a used copy and B&N has it listed as out of stock.

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

These books weren't afraid to make the worst things imaginable happen to its characters and push them into making the most brutal choices possible. It's a non-stop thrill ride.

[@alexandruteodor3585]

Thank you, I've put this on my TBR. Speaking of characters with no redeem value, would you like to make a review for Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher?

[@Link-we8so]

Im not as warm on it through the first book. But we will see how the last two are! I get more Mark Lawrence's prince of thorns then The first law so far

[@SonOfSeth]

Yup, I don’t know what Mike is smoking, but it must be some good shit.

[@metalgearsenshi]

I've just started the video and I'm cackling at the intro. Y'know, killing babies is alright but woah now there's some profanity? My jimmies are rustled. 😂

[@RobynHoodeofSherwood]

Thanks for the heads up. When you say adult fantasy and grim dark I automatically assume there will be copious gore and language. You haven't steered me wrong yet with any of your recommendations.

[@andreamiller3578]

Sounds really interesting but i can be a bit squeamish on some stuff. If this is darker and more detailed than "that" scene (the Barghast) in Dust of Dreams, I might not be able to handle it. Can someone who has read both give some feedback? Thanks

[@darwinia8]

Of course, such things are subjective, but I don't share your view. It's not that these are bad, but the series, is to me, ultimately a serious letdown. Here are a few issues I see: Overall, I don't actually care much about most of the characters. For example, Tinnstra. She starts off implausibly cowardly to the point of silliness. She has been trained by the finest warriors in the realm, is superior in skill even to her fantastically gifted brothers, has had every advantage of birth and genetics to succeed on the battlefield, yet she's what, innately craven? Okay, let's assume that. If so, then why would a lie about her sword (a predictable and weak device) and an addiction to magic water, and (I suppose?) her love of Zorique remove her innate cowardice? It's weak writing, and this is his main character we're discussing! This is Salieri, not Mozart. This was a chance for Shaker to make us think deeply about the nature of courage and cowardice. Is it innate, or born of circumstance? How malleable is this? Joe Abercrombie wouldn't miss that opportunity. His characters would've sat around a fire after an awful day of carnage and suffering, and discussed this thoughtfully. Shaker? Not at all. Great writers, like great composers, take interesting ideas/themes/motifs and run them to places their ordinary peers never think to explore. See Penny Lane for an unparalleled modern example. When you miss these opportunities, what is the reader left with in Tinnstra? A character who isn't interesting, and not particularly likable. She becomes carelessly (but not courageously) aggressive, violent, and argumentative, and unpleasant. Knowing you've superpowers that make you able to destroy your enemies without danger and then doing so isn't a mark of courage. Even Zorique comments that she Tinn would not have lost an eye if she fought intelligently. And her "plan" in book three is more than just addiction-borne recklessness; it's absurd and silly and totally implausible. I found myself rooting for her to fail. I was thinking, "Man I hope Shaker kills her off." Maybe he will then develop Zorique into.... something. That's a bad sign. The whole trick to great Grimdark is about loving characters despite their flaws. A couple of other quick points: 1) Speaking of Z, do you care about the Uber-Zorique we see emerge from the past? Any depth to her character? None. She was more interesting as a child. She flies, kills at a genocidal rate, and gets captured stupidly. Ugh. 2) Unfortunately for the series, the one character who actually has both a deep and interesting story- doesn't make it out of book two. That's fine- if you have the chops to write other characters we do care about. We lost my fav character in GOT- but Jaime becomes complex and amazing. Yas comes closest, I suppose, but even with her, yes she moves from Mom jeans to Mrs. Murder, but her motivation from unbounded (unhinged?) loyalty to family wear's thin. 3) Was the plan of these "great" generals like Moiri simply to march straight into a heavily defended frontal position without the benefit of of surprise or defensive structures to protect their army? Are they Lee at Gettysburg- old, worn out, and overrated? No attempts made to flank? Draw the enemy out of their superior position? Anything clever going to happen at all? Nope. Ugh. Weak writing- again. If you're going to do that have them engage in a mindless frontal assault against a superior with an enormous positional advantage, why not, for example, feature soldiers discussing the stupidity of the plan, and then the issue of people rising to ranks without merit? Are they just stupid? Exhausted? No explanation is given for a plan that any grunt could see will eviscerate what's left of their army and guarantee the final destruction of their people. Another wonderful opportunity lost. Weak writing- again. Lastly, Grimdark and maybe all great writing, should have moments of dialogue that one wants to memorize. Ideas, political perspectives, the meaningless of life, whatever, are debated in thoughtful ways. My copies of Abercrombie's books are covered in highlights of interesting, thoughtful, and clever dialogue, some delivered by the heroes, others by the villains, but all make me not just pleased but proud to have given my time to that man's works. In over 1500 pages of this series, I have maybe five highlights, total. If we're looking for a metric to gauge great works, quantity matters. So does quality, like this: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” Now that is a highlight. Thanks for your work on this and your passion for reading.

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

I have not even watched the review yet but I'd like to recommend a short sci-fi book by a first time author and KZbinr it's called: The Gilded Well by Ziostorm (I don't know his real name just his channel name) I'd hope by recommending this to you Mike I can help contribute to his efforts.

[@tanvirahmad5893]

Grimdark for me is when characters do what needs to be done to achieve what they want to achieve without being shackled down by righteousness. But most "Grimdark" labelled books fail to define why the characters doing questionable things when those things do not have any relevance to their goal or when there is other alternative and less painful ways to achieve it. If he kicks the dog for the sake of kicking then it's not grimdark, it's just a story about an evil person.

[@leighmarsden623]

"We are the Dead" ..

[@sunshine_tidings6983]

whelp, guess im reading them. you've never led me astray before

[@leeburgers2444]

Are people seriously having a sook over bad language 😂😂😂😂😂 wtf

[@oberstul1941]

So if people listen, in their car, with their kids, to audiobooks you recommended, you're the bad guy? bwahahahahaha, what the actual efff? Also, dude, props to whoever can listen to audiobooks while driving. Kids or not. I mean, that's like washing dishes while tiptoeing on broken glass. Cheers!

[@SonOfSeth]

This was not it for me. Reads like well written fan fiction. Plot drives the story and most build ups are resolved by character stupidity, sometimes it’s protagonist stupidity, other times antagonist stupidity, as the plot requires it. That results in almost every resolution being very predictable, but not in a good way when you feel like you were paying attention and followed all the bread crums, but in a way that you expect a character to do something stupid and they never dissapoint. Power levels are even worse. When the plot requires it, a character or a group are either immortal unbeatable all powerfull entities or bumbling idiots straight from Austin Powers movies. Characters aren’t even characters, they act like completely different people at different parts of the story, but we are never really shown their transformation, we are just told this is how it is now, untill it isn’t again. All of this in the first two books, haven’t even gotten to the third book yet. BUT! I will finish this in spite of everything I said earlier because this is perfect guilty pleasure pulp. Something Sanderson would write if he wrote grimdark. Wildly uneven and selfendulgent, but fun in a popcorn munching mindless way. This is not even in the same dimension as Abercrombie, let alone the same universe. Are you ok Mike? This was uncharacteristicaly off the mark. P.S. I was listening to the audio books and the fact that narrator was butchering every sentence might have somewhat colored my experience, but that was far from my biggest gripes. I’ll read the third book and see if I feel differently.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Sorry it didn't work for you. Trying to remember the last book I talked about that you did like...was it Malazan? If I have you confused with someone else, I do apologize.

[@SonOfSeth]

@@mikesbookreviews Big three are the First Law, Red Rising and Faithfull and Fallen. Found you trough First Law, found Red Rising trough you and I was one of the people urging you to give Faithfull and Fallen a chance. Relax, you don't owe me or anyone anything, it's just one of those whiplash situations when you can't believe what you are hearing. It's not like I need to agree with you on everything, I despise Stephen King and I can still respect your opinion, it's just the comparison to Abercrombie that's a sticking point for me.

[@irishknight6893]

@@SonOfSethhello there,first law and red rising are also my top 2 favorite series of all time and found them from Mikes book reviews as well..but you said Faithful and the fallen by John Gwynee is your number 3,never read it but heard about it a lot,rest of stormlight and sun eater have you read those ? Also how can you get me to read faithful and fallen? Best video on here to convince me to read it ?

[@seanhalpin87]

Here to say two things I love this series And you need to read Manifest Delusions by Michael r Fletcher asap, mike.