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Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780575077904
ISBN number: 0575077905
Label: Gollancz
Manufacturer: Gollancz
Page Count: 544
Printing Date: March 20, 2008
Publishing house: Gollancz
Sale Popularity Level: 424147
Studio: Gollancz
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
Striking, character-driven and cynical noir fantasy
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I found the final book to this series to be just as good as the rest and ties many of the threads up nicely, if not all predictable. For those that are tired of waiting on George Martin to finally finish another book,
this is a great way to fill in the years. Looking forward to Abercrombie's next.
Rated by buyers -
With war on two fronts, the Union is in jeopardy; from the south come the violent Gurkish horde while from the north the even more brutal Northmen continue their invasion. However, the real virus to survival resides inside the capital, Adua where sedition and betrayal are rampant and the king is apparently dying.
Loaded down with guilt and doubt berserker Logen Ninefingers knows he must go home to fight his dearest friend but now enemy King Bethod of the Northmen. Drained to the bone from the constant fighting and sending good people to their deaths Union officer Colonel West wants out but prepares for one last battle in the North where he gains allies from questionable sources. Jezal dan Luthar no longer yearns for glory and adventure as he has tasted how bitter that is, but may be too late to settle down with his beloved. Superior Glokta uses his greatest weapon that of torture and its threat to obtain acquiesence from the Union leaders. Finally amazon warrior Ferro seeks revenge and is not concerned about collateral damage to her so-called allies. In this mix, the mage Bayaz has returned to the Union, but as friend or foe iis hard to tell. Together they may be able to repel the enemies, but this team has always at best been dysfunctional when they are not fighting one another.
The aptly titled LAST ARGUMENTS OF KINGS may be the best final book to a fantasy trilogy I have read in years. The exhilarating story line hits on all notes as the major threads from THE BLADE ITSELF and WHEN THEY WERE HANGED are resolved in a reasonable manner with the key ensemble cast remaining true to their respective essences. Joe Abercrombie is at his brilliant best with this excellent powerful climax that entertains throughout yet has readers pondering the implications of how far do you go when the debate turns to using the taboo First law of magic.
Harriet Klausner
Rated by buyers -
The third book is clearly a continuation of the very first two and you would be cheating yourself if you do not read the earlier two books first. It is comparable to George R R Martin in richness of detail and plotting, but you don't have to wait years between installments. You can get all three books now.
All the threads from events and actions over the past thousand years are finally brought together. There are climactic battles involving tens of thousands, two men inside a ring of screaming shieldbearers, and murderous fights between small groups in dark cellar rooms.
As in the previous book, there are no conventional heroes. Sand Dan Glokta, for example, was once a golden boy, but is now horribly maimed, barely able to walk and incontinent. He works as a torturer for a corrupt government which just wants confessions signed and does not care who signs them. Each character has been some kind of monster in the past. The book is free of storybook endings. Some people live, some die, but it is more like real life than fairy tales. As one character says "No one gets what they deserve."
Rated by buyers -
It's not very often that you come across a character who is as instantly fascinating as Superior Glotka was in the very first book and who remains so throughout the series. He and the rest of the cast of characters just get better and more interesting as the story moves on and Abercrombie never lets plot machinations bog down the story of these people. This is the third and last in the series and it wraps up the tale in a believable, satisfying way. A great adventure.
Rated by buyers -
Alright, I'll confess: I loved this trilogy and I enjoyed the third installment every bit as much as the very first two. This is an unconvential fantasy epic that stands typical fantasy stereotypes on their heads and I had a blast reading it and would unhesitatingly recommend the entire series. This is fantasy with dirt under the fingernails and pus festering under ragged scabs though. Sure, you have your traditional cast of characters...barbarian warrior, old wizard, handsome young captain, and a fearless warrioress, etc. but Abercrombie takes these archetypal characters and gives them deep character flaws, dodgy pasts, and poor attitudes. They must face hard circumstances in a complicated and morally ambiguous world. His books are complex and extremely well-plotted, the characterization superb, the dialogue excellent, and the writing is involving and keeps you riveted to your seat. Even though this finale ran over 600 pages I managed to bang it out in a day, partially because it is so deliciously readable but equally because I simply couldn't put it down until I finished it.
The Last Argument of Kings is a grand finale too. Abercrombie satisfactorily ties up most all of the major plot points but there is enough ambiguity at the end that additional books would not necessarily be precluded. Personally, I would have preferred a tighter, less ambiguous ending but I wouldn't be surprised if elements of the ending weren't driven by the editor/publisher. I'll forgive Abercrombie for it and, I confess!, I still loved the book and think it is a wonderful five star read.
I'd hazard a guess though that there will be some readers who may not like how this series ended...because it isn't necessarily pretty and it certainly isn't a fairy tale ending. Unlike those tidier fantasy stories, Abercrombie doesn't forget that battlefield corpses don't just magically disappear and besieged cities aren't magically made whole at the end of the day. His is a dirty, gritty world every bit as nasty as medieval Europe and the story and the endings reflect this adherence to realism. As Logen Nine-Fingers often says, you have to be realistic. Abercrombie definitely is realistic and the story reflects it. Wounds come at the price of disfigurement and death, people will do awful things to accomplish their goals, and people aren't charitably motivated. The weak get squashed, soldiers get maimed, the powerful do horrendous evil to hang onto their power and the more things change, the more they stay the same. You have to be realistic about these things dear reader, and that realism is what sets this trilogy apart and makes it such a great read.
The very first two novels present enough character development that a reader could hope that the books would end on a high note in a Tolkienesque fashion, but they also provided plenty of clues that there could be a grim ending indeed. I won't give away any of the plot and ruin your enjoyment, but I will say that this book did not disappoint me, was just as compelling a read as the very first two, and the story gets the ending that fits it even if it may not be exactly what most readers expect. It is the ending the story deserves though.
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