What can happen in a monumental fantasy series after the supreme mage deals with everyone as he pleases? (Raymond E. Feist could tell you about this in connection with the Riftwar Cycle books.) However, Lord Bayaz doesn’t really have any opponents left on the horizon. Joe Abercrombie decided to sideline Bayaz and continue the adventure in the First Law world with The Age of Madness trilogy, introducing many new and old characters, advancing the history of the Union in a tableau-like manner, now also welcoming the industrial revolution alongside magic, spewing smoke and fire.
The second part of the trilogy, “The Trouble with Peace”, seemingly follows the same recipe as the first. The characters engage in conflicts of local significance, and nothing earth-shattering really happens. A rebellion raises its head here and there, and the strong men of The North, as usual, make trouble, but they always do that. (Let’s add that without this tough and wild masculinity, Abercrombie’s series probably wouldn’t work so well, as mostly only the Union’s bureaucracy and petty political disputes would remain.)
And yet, you find that The Age of Madness is much better to read than all of Abercrombie’s previous books. Perhaps because now the characters from earlier stories, who were often of simple (solely fighting or sulking) nature, come to life. (Except, of course, Caul Shivers, the current most dangerous man in the North. But he’s doing just fine as he is.)
It is said that truly good writers can write about everyday events in a way that makes them seem much more than they are. Well, the viewpoint characters of “The Trouble with Peace” easily accomplish this task. If we consider just the three extremely strong female protagonists of the book (a spy loyal to the point of self-sacrifice, a clairvoyant who regularly poops his pants, and Adua’s ruthless and ambitious businesswoman, who is provided with a tailwind by the Inquisition itself), we see that at least two of them are very difficult to fit into the likable personalities category, yet you eagerly flip through the pages, following their fate with bated breath.
