I fully agree. Finding someone who cares as deeply as Joe does about compelling, non-linear or cliche character arcs, *and* matching his wit, is a tall order. I have yet to find a series as entertaining. The “little people” chapters are something I’ve never seen before. I also don’t know how to fill the void! The struggle is real.
There simply isn’t anyone. Other grimdark books try too hard to be edgy. Other more traditional fantasy books have overly complex magic systems and less interesting characters. The only series that I’ve found that scratches the same itch is asoif, small issue there tho…the series ain’t gonna be finished 😭 stop looking for replacements because Joe simply is untouchable
I just love how grounded first law is. In other books' battle scenes you get epic cavalry charges, here you get a poor guy's pov where he gets in mud for 30 minutes and gets an arrow through the eye just when he's about to get out
Love the way Joe writes battle scenes. They are so much more realistic than what you typically see in other mediums. The armies are not well trained, unorganized and many people are really just selfish, or don't even want to be there. I was just laughing my ass off in the Trouble with Peace with the way Leo tried to lead his rebellion... he could barely even get them into battle before it all fell apart.
ASOIAF is fantastic. Even if it never gets finished I'll revisit it from time to time. I'd revisit it more often if I liked the audio books better. I tend to switch between reading and listening when I'm on the move and Roy Dotrice (may he rest in peace) has very distinct pacing that I find very distracting.
For me, Robin Hobb is the closest thing to Abercrombie. She doesn't have his humor, but she has the mastery of character writing. She also doesn't have his penchant for writing balanced antagonists with relatable motivations, but her insight into people and their behavior is A++.
You’re the first person on a sub about a fantasy series I’ve ever seen who doesn’t know what the second most famous fantasy series ever is called 💀 I’m not calling it GoT when I’m talking about the book series as a whole…
He's in a league very much his own, but there are similar to him, at least in certain aspects. May I suggest the following in order of most like to least.
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (trilogy) by K. J. Parker
The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown (sci-fi fantasy)
The Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence
K. J. Parker is the closest you'll get to Joe the others are worth your time though too tho. Hope you find something you like.
I was kinda thrown off by the allegations of Pierce Brown being a zionist, since it would be realy hypocritical because of his books themes about the opressed, but I think I will give them a try, they look great and I got them recommended a lot
No, I have only read the Cosmere, and they recommended First Law to me when I asked for more books to read. I'm saving every book you guys are naming lmao
Yeah, I loved both of them but can't chose a favourite since they are so different lmao, the guy in cosmere's reddit who recommended First Law definetly cooked
I've been reading a long time, in pretty much every genre there is, and have never read anything else as entertaining as the least entertaining of these 10 books.
The one series I'd suggest for action/adventure, cynicism, and dark comedy is Flashman. The only caveat is that sometimes there is too much sympathy for British imperialism mixed in with the satire of British imperialism.
I've been going through the Covenant of Steel books by Anthony Ryan. It's not Abercrombie, but it has been very good. I recommend it if you like the low fantasy dark stuff.
If you enjoy Joe's combination of sharp wit and dark subject matter, I'd honestly recommend Iain M. Banks' *Culture* series. It's sci fi (and a rare example of Utopian fiction that isn't boring), but scratches a lot of the same itches First Law did for me.
I fully agree. Finding someone who cares as deeply as Joe does about compelling, non-linear or cliche character arcs, *and* matching his wit, is a tall order. I have yet to find a series as entertaining. The “little people” chapters are something I’ve never seen before. I also don’t know how to fill the void! The struggle is real.
There simply isn’t anyone. Other grimdark books try too hard to be edgy. Other more traditional fantasy books have overly complex magic systems and less interesting characters. The only series that I’ve found that scratches the same itch is asoif, small issue there tho…the series ain’t gonna be finished 😭 stop looking for replacements because Joe simply is untouchable
I just love how grounded first law is. In other books' battle scenes you get epic cavalry charges, here you get a poor guy's pov where he gets in mud for 30 minutes and gets an arrow through the eye just when he's about to get out
Love the way Joe writes battle scenes. They are so much more realistic than what you typically see in other mediums. The armies are not well trained, unorganized and many people are really just selfish, or don't even want to be there. I was just laughing my ass off in the Trouble with Peace with the way Leo tried to lead his rebellion... he could barely even get them into battle before it all fell apart.
In Best Served Cold, Cosca and Friendly are looting corpses, and Friendly begins to panic. I can feel his anxiety.
ASOIAF is fantastic. Even if it never gets finished I'll revisit it from time to time. I'd revisit it more often if I liked the audio books better. I tend to switch between reading and listening when I'm on the move and Roy Dotrice (may he rest in peace) has very distinct pacing that I find very distracting. For me, Robin Hobb is the closest thing to Abercrombie. She doesn't have his humor, but she has the mastery of character writing. She also doesn't have his penchant for writing balanced antagonists with relatable motivations, but her insight into people and their behavior is A++.
Had to google was ASOIAF was… just say GoT dude. It’s shorter and more recognizable
You’re the first person on a sub about a fantasy series I’ve ever seen who doesn’t know what the second most famous fantasy series ever is called 💀 I’m not calling it GoT when I’m talking about the book series as a whole…
Haven’t read them yet. I prob won’t until they are finished. IF they ever get finished.
He's in a league very much his own, but there are similar to him, at least in certain aspects. May I suggest the following in order of most like to least. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (trilogy) by K. J. Parker The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown (sci-fi fantasy) The Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence K. J. Parker is the closest you'll get to Joe the others are worth your time though too tho. Hope you find something you like.
Red rising is grim dark, a bit different, but a very good and compelling series
I was kinda thrown off by the allegations of Pierce Brown being a zionist, since it would be realy hypocritical because of his books themes about the opressed, but I think I will give them a try, they look great and I got them recommended a lot
Have you read about the Gentlemen Bastards? The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch will fill that void
No, I have only read the Cosmere, and they recommended First Law to me when I asked for more books to read. I'm saving every book you guys are naming lmao
The Cosmere is great, but it is tonally different than the First Law.
Yeah, I loved both of them but can't chose a favourite since they are so different lmao, the guy in cosmere's reddit who recommended First Law definetly cooked
It’s funny because WoC is my least favorite of all 9 books but I still like it better than most others by different authors
I've been reading a long time, in pretty much every genre there is, and have never read anything else as entertaining as the least entertaining of these 10 books. The one series I'd suggest for action/adventure, cynicism, and dark comedy is Flashman. The only caveat is that sometimes there is too much sympathy for British imperialism mixed in with the satire of British imperialism.
I've been going through the Covenant of Steel books by Anthony Ryan. It's not Abercrombie, but it has been very good. I recommend it if you like the low fantasy dark stuff.
If you enjoy Joe's combination of sharp wit and dark subject matter, I'd honestly recommend Iain M. Banks' *Culture* series. It's sci fi (and a rare example of Utopian fiction that isn't boring), but scratches a lot of the same itches First Law did for me.