Before they hang Joe Abercrombie
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Title: Before they are hanged
About "Before They Hang" by Joe Abercrombie
Dark times have come in the Middle Lands. The army of the Union suffers defeat after defeat from the host of the self-proclaimed King Bethod. Conspiracies and treason bring confusion into the minds of people. Strange murders and kidnappings of government officials terrify the aristocratic elite. To save the Union, the archmage Bayaz decides on a dangerous enterprise: he goes to the edge of the world, because there is stored a terrible magical weapon that can stop evil. And of course, the legendary warrior Logen the Nine-Fingers, nicknamed the Nine Deaths, helps him in this ...
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Quotes from "Before They Hang" by Joe Abercrombie
Death is a strange thing. While she is far away, you can laugh at her, but the closer she is, the more terrible she looks. Here she is - and no one laughs.
“You don't have to love the enemy, or even fear him, to crave peace. Enough to love yourself.
Self-pity ends in selfishness, and there is nothing more regrettable in a leader. Selfishness is for children and for fools. A great leader puts others before himself. You won't believe how much this helps.
But my courtesy today will not change anything here. They hate me for who I am, not for what I say. So I prefer to say what I want while I can.
People who would not move even a mile from their village were forcibly sent across the sea to an unknown country to fight an enemy with whom they did not quarrel.
If you hear a rebuke, it is your own guilt that pricks you, not my accusations. I don't take sides, you know that. And never accepted.
Years pass... The unimaginable becomes everyday, the disgusting becomes boring, the unbearable becomes routine. I push it all into the farthest corners of my consciousness, an unthinkable warehouse has accumulated there. It's amazing that you can even live with such baggage ...
- In a nutshell, the process of decline cannot be described. Success and glory are always accompanied by defeat and shame. And also quiet envy.
Genre:
Description of the book: Inquisitor Glokt is having a hard time, he is entrusted with an impossible task, and "impossible" is an understatement. He must replace his mentor in Dagosk. Everything would be fine, but this place is completely besieged by the Gurkas. At the same time, the territory of England was shrouded in a war, which was unleashed by the self-proclaimed king of the North, Bethod, and the troops of the Union oppose him. Doubts abounded among Union Army commanders. Even in spite of high chances victory, they are still afraid of their opponent, because they do not know what meanness and trumps lurk in their sleeve.
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Joe Abercrombie is a young British writer, the author of the acclaimed dark fantasy trilogy The First Law, the hope of the genre, which is not only predicted for a great future after a successful debut, but the debut itself is recognized as an extraordinary event. The rights to his works have been acquired in thirteen countries, and Abercrombie's books have already been translated into several languages, including German, Spanish, French, Czech, Swedish, Dutch and Russian.
The future shaker of the "common places" of the fantasy genre was born on the last day of 1974 in Lancaster. He was educated at the Lancaster Royal Grammar School, where he spent much of his time "playing computer games, throwing dice, and drawing maps of non-existent places." Then he entered the University of Manchester, where he studied psychology. After that, he first got on TV, and then became a freelance editor. His work has included various documentaries, award ceremonies and concerts, as well as videos of Barry White, Coldplay and The Killers (a list of series he has worked on can be viewed on Abercrombie's IMDb page).
In 2002, Joe returned to his lifelong dream of single-handedly rethinking established genre clichés, and began writing his first novel, The Blade Itself, about the misadventures of Logen Nine-Fingers, a barbarian with philosophical attitude to life. In 2004, he completed it, but it took another 2 years to find a publisher and release the book. Joe's acquaintance with Gillian Redfearn of Gollancz resulted in the signing of two consecutive contracts for the publication of a total of five novels by the Lancashire native.
In 2007-2008, Abercrombie completed the job with brilliance, releasing the novels Before They Are Hanged and The Last Argument of Kings" - the continuation and, accordingly, the completion of the trilogy "The First Law", in a certain sense, one big book(which, for example, is "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George Martin).
Among the non-genre sources of his inspiration, Abercrombie especially notes J. Ellroy's police thrillers, B. Cornwell's trilogy about Arthur, as well as popular in last years television series: The Sopranos, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, and Deadwood.
After the release of the books, reviewers were not stingy with praise: "A delightfully evil book" (Guardian), "Dark, deeply ironic, full of brilliant characters that will resonate with the cynical side of your nature ..." (sfrevu.com), "Great reading: hard, tempo and unpretentious” (SFX magazine), “We are right there in the heads of these guys, thanks to the author’s style… His understanding tone means that what is happening will often be presented in an ironic light, with secondary characters that teeter on the edge of Dickensian” (Dave Bradley, SFX magazine).
Writers did not lag behind critics, responding enthusiastically, and maybe even enviously:
“If you like bloodless, high-flown fantasy, with characters as fragile as newspaper pages and as boring as plaster figurines of saints, Joe Abercrombie will really ruin your day…” Scott Lynch.
“In the world he imagines, there are unsmoothed contradictions ... and an awareness of the inevitability of violence, which is very modern ... his reader is rewarded with much” Lisa Tuttle.
“The convoluted plot just brings with it barbarian warriors with genuine courage (and real wounds), corrupted aristocrats with redemptive potential, wizards with confusing agendas… plus the cutest shoulder crafter of all time. The First Law trilogy is an adventure in which the characters develop in tough, unpredictable, compelling ways, in a world that is just as tough and weird. In a world that is sometimes terrible and always amazing…” John Meaney.
"Abercrombie headed straight for superstar status" J. Vandermeer.
After such statements, it is somehow hard to believe in skeptical statements about stagnation in the genre...
Lived in North London. Currently lives in Bath, Somerset, with his wife Lou, two daughters and a son. He does not plan to change the established rhythm of life, and move from freelancers to the category of "professional writers". By the way, anticipating idle curiosity, we can add that neither the writer Lynn Abercrombie nor the jazz guitarist John Abercrombie are his relatives.
Nominated for the John W. Campbell Award two years in a row. Also, twice his novels were recognized as "books of the year" by visitors to the popular thematic resource SFF World.
Together with Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett and China Mieville, in early 2008, Joe participated in the BBC TV project World of Fantasy, where he spoke about ... the influence of Mervyn Peake on modern British fantasy.
Released in June 2009 A new book Abercrombie, "Best Served Cold". A standalone novel about mercenaries, painful deaths, and twisted paths, set in the world of The First Law, four years after the events of the debut trilogy. The author himself speaks of this book as "dark, tough, and very, very bloody ..." and characterizes it as a "fantasy thriller." It became his first work with an officially approved map. By the way, it was possible to get acquainted with some of the main characters of the novel in the second volume of the debut trilogy. "Best Served Cold" was voted best novel 2009 at SFFWorld, ranked 3rd in SF Site Reader's Choice, and was nominated for The August Derleth Fantasy Award.
At the end of June 2010, Abercrombie's short story ("The Fool Jobs") appeared in the anthology of heroic fantasy by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan, already called by the first reviews almost the best in it. Released in 2011 new novel writer, The Heroes, shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award a year later and nominated for The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy (DGLA). In 2012, the novel "A Red Country" was published, conventionally referred to by Joe as a "fantasy western".
Joe Abercrombie is under contract with Gollancz to write three more books about the world of the First Law, so he's busy getting ready to put his new trilogy on paper. However, the author now spends most of his time writing another cycle - a fantasy for a young audience, in which, on behalf of the main teenage characters, events are described that take place in a pseudo-medieval world that is not connected with the world of the Earth Circle. In addition, several of Abercrombie's short stories are being prepared for publication, and negotiations are underway to produce a collection of his short stories.
“You can keep the Aragorns and the Gandalfs. I'd much rather have a pint of beer with Boromir and Saruman. Although, if you think about it, Saruman is certainly one of those who prefer drinks made from pure malt ... "
“It's clear that you can't write a story that takes place in a fictional world without creating this world, and what you create must be convincing. It's just that I think that the detailed description of the world in epic fantasy often goes so far as to overwhelm everything else. People try to "re-professor the Professor"; endlessly compete with each other to be the author of the most detailed, complex and long book. So as if the whole idea was to draw a set geographical maps and - wow, yes, we solved all the problems! - it remains only to sketch a couple of touchingly clichéd characters. To have someone to roam between Zanwonz and Vibwab, along the way, through leisurely conversation, leaking information about how their magic system functions...
But for me, I'm only really interested in stories with characters and dialogue... Detailed descriptions great in places where they are really needed. But not at the expense of those things that actually make the story “what it needs”, right?”
“Ultimately, I guess I just tried to write books that I myself wanted to read. An epic mixture of love, war and everything else in the same vein. Some torture, some intrigue. A little mystery and a little magic. A small amount of sex scenes and a hell of a lot of violence that causes an adrenaline rush. A couple of grandiose scenes that give rise to awe and a couple of sickening surprises on the way to a breathtaking, shocking climax. Laughter, tears and a little nausea. The whole gamut of emotions.
And most importantly - a few energetic characters, with tough, but funny dialogue. Enough?
Do not take it as impudence, can I ask you for $10 for this?
From Abercrombie's interview to sfx.co.uk
