Scan barcode
A review by dark_reader
Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie
5.0
Did you enjoy the hell out of the First Law Trilogy? Eat up the semi-standalone books that followed? Then did you wait four years for another taste while he put out his YA-skewed Half-A/Shattered Sea trilogy? I can just imagine the sighs of relief from countless then-current readers when this collection came out, because it is golden.
I came to First Law slightly late; I read the initial trilogy about 10 years after it started, then trickled my way to the subsequent books over the next two years. I adore his books and could eat them up for breakfast, but I also think the experience should be spaced out. Read too much of them too quickly, and there is risk of feeling "that grimdark schtick" too keenly, despite that the quality of Abercrombie's writing does not fade in the least.
With that said, reading this collection of stories is like seeing old friends after a long separation. Past events come back to mind with great fondness. The overall effect is like a warm, bloody hug.
Many of the stories are not strictly necessary, in terms of appreciating the characters and the world they inhabit. For example, [b:Red Country|13521459|Red Country (First Law World, #6)|Joe Abercrombie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333663008l/13521459._SY75_.jpg|19082135] did a fantastic job of developing Temple and Shy's personal histories. In a pair of stories Sharp Ends we go back to each of their pasts to see these events unfold in real-time. The stories are good and they are true to the characters and prior accounts and are not disappointing in the least, but they also did not change my understanding or sense of these characters at all. This is true for most of the "callback" tales in the book, with the exception of a story that shows a different side of fan-favorite Logen Ninefingers. Still, if your reading tastes permit you to be nostalgic about these particular violent and hopeless characters, settings, and events from only the past decade or so, then the stories provide all of the best nostalgic feels. The in-world chonological ordering was a nice touch too, and helped tie together all of the books to date.
But that's not why this collection exists. Those stories are just a bonus. See, Abercrombie, I'm onto you. The real reason you put out this collection (other than to sate the legions who, several years after Red Country were clamoring for MOAR, GIVE US MOAR) was to share the newest loves of your life. The real gem is the series of stories featuring Shev and Javre, a gritty mismatched fantasy duo in the traditions of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouse, but so much better. They first appear in the second story, and I was immediately left wanting MOAR JAVRE. I was happily not disappointed, as the two are featured in several stories peppered throughout the book. You can clearly feel Abrecrombie's love for this instantly iconic pair. Journeying with them is the real reason to read this book. They could easily support a full-length novel (or more), but this series of vignettes was the perfect way to enjoy them.
I think that the Shev and Javre stories could make a good new-reader starting point, if someone were reluctant to enter Abercrombie's world with the full-length novels. You would just have to skip the rest of the stories in this collection that would be meaningless unless you have read all of the prior First Law World books. The Shev and Javre stories in this collection are:
-Small Kindnesses
-Skipping Town
-Two's Company
-Three's a Crowd
-Tough Times All Over
I am in many ways grateful now for the imposed delay before I can get to Abercrombie's newest, [b:A Little Hatred|35606041|A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558367199l/35606041._SY75_.jpg|57338685], while my library is closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, because I get to sit for a length with the memory of Shev and Javre in particular before returning to this always exciting (and always delightfully terrifying) world that Good Ol' Joe (that's what we're calling him now, right?) continues to bring us.
I came to First Law slightly late; I read the initial trilogy about 10 years after it started, then trickled my way to the subsequent books over the next two years. I adore his books and could eat them up for breakfast, but I also think the experience should be spaced out. Read too much of them too quickly, and there is risk of feeling "that grimdark schtick" too keenly, despite that the quality of Abercrombie's writing does not fade in the least.
With that said, reading this collection of stories is like seeing old friends after a long separation. Past events come back to mind with great fondness. The overall effect is like a warm, bloody hug.
Many of the stories are not strictly necessary, in terms of appreciating the characters and the world they inhabit. For example, [b:Red Country|13521459|Red Country (First Law World, #6)|Joe Abercrombie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333663008l/13521459._SY75_.jpg|19082135] did a fantastic job of developing Temple and Shy's personal histories. In a pair of stories Sharp Ends we go back to each of their pasts to see these events unfold in real-time. The stories are good and they are true to the characters and prior accounts and are not disappointing in the least, but they also did not change my understanding or sense of these characters at all. This is true for most of the "callback" tales in the book, with the exception of a story that shows a different side of fan-favorite Logen Ninefingers. Still, if your reading tastes permit you to be nostalgic about these particular violent and hopeless characters, settings, and events from only the past decade or so, then the stories provide all of the best nostalgic feels. The in-world chonological ordering was a nice touch too, and helped tie together all of the books to date.
But that's not why this collection exists. Those stories are just a bonus. See, Abercrombie, I'm onto you. The real reason you put out this collection (other than to sate the legions who, several years after Red Country were clamoring for MOAR, GIVE US MOAR) was to share the newest loves of your life. The real gem is the series of stories featuring Shev and Javre, a gritty mismatched fantasy duo in the traditions of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouse, but so much better. They first appear in the second story, and I was immediately left wanting MOAR JAVRE. I was happily not disappointed, as the two are featured in several stories peppered throughout the book. You can clearly feel Abrecrombie's love for this instantly iconic pair. Journeying with them is the real reason to read this book. They could easily support a full-length novel (or more), but this series of vignettes was the perfect way to enjoy them.
I think that the Shev and Javre stories could make a good new-reader starting point, if someone were reluctant to enter Abercrombie's world with the full-length novels. You would just have to skip the rest of the stories in this collection that would be meaningless unless you have read all of the prior First Law World books. The Shev and Javre stories in this collection are:
-Small Kindnesses
-Skipping Town
-Two's Company
-Three's a Crowd
-Tough Times All Over
I am in many ways grateful now for the imposed delay before I can get to Abercrombie's newest, [b:A Little Hatred|35606041|A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558367199l/35606041._SY75_.jpg|57338685], while my library is closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, because I get to sit for a length with the memory of Shev and Javre in particular before returning to this always exciting (and always delightfully terrifying) world that Good Ol' Joe (that's what we're calling him now, right?) continues to bring us.