What I Learned From. . .
The Wisdom of Crowds
I’ve been following the Age
of Madness trilogy for the last couple of years, and have to say; so far, I’ve
thoroughly enjoyed it. Joe Abercrombie writes heroically proportioned fantasy,
and to see this one end will leave a void, hard to fill.
So, let’s set the scene for
this concluding tale:
******
Chaos. Fury. Destruction.
The Great Change is upon us . . .
Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief
will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have
seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of
industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.
With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for
the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to
survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when
the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the
bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . .
. while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.
The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the
darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver's ruthless plan are
slowly being drawn together . . .
******
Now, THAT’s the way to
capture the imagination. And that phrase; “. . . all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.” It’s
perfect. Because as we all know –and as history so poignantly testifies – when
the mob runs riot, the last vestiges of humanity are often cast aside in favor
of a brand of ‘wisdom’ that is as foul as it is tyrannical, to say the least.
And – No
Spoilers – that’s exactly what you get in this story.
The trouble
with change is that the goalposts are always shifting. One man’s rise becomes
another man’s fall; someone’s gain, the other’s loss. And the actual extent of
the change itself? Well, you’re on unsettled ground from the outset, as what
some will view as going way too far, will never be enough for those conditioned
to rebel. Yes, rumbling of the Great Change echoes throughout the length and
breadth of the Union, and far into the north. War ravages the land. No one is
safe. What’s lawful & expected today, becomes villainous and repulsive the
next. Duplicity, disloyalty, deceit. All become the norm. Far from bringing
peace and harmony, the Change brings nothing but fear and reprisals; unrest and
discontent. And those who are supposed to set the example are far from
innocent.
Abercrombie encapsulates
this seismic instability from the outset. The intrigue is as nail biting as it
is callous; the betrayals as inevitable as they are a complete surprise; the
battles as vividly visceral as they are visionary in scope. A great deal
happens during this novel – to a lot of people – but not once do you lose the
threads of a story arc that is as brutally brilliant as it is barbaric and
bloodthirsty. Yet here’s the thing. We may be delving into a work of fantasy,
yet Abercrobie captures the fickle nature of man’s inhumanity to man – and
revels in it so well – that you can actually relate to how his characters think
and act, bringing it into the realms of reality.
My only
criticism is that, for such a maestro of plot construction and execution,
Abercrombie seemed to condense the conclusion of the story? It seemed rushed,
somehow, as if he was eager to get to the end. Don’t get me wrong, there are
all the usual final ‘plot twists’ and ‘reveals’ that always add a satisfying
heat to his spicy servings of mishap and mayhem. But I don’t know, I was left
wanting. . .
Until I trod
cautiously into the last chapter, that is.
Fans of
Abercrombie know that he will sprinkle a few seeds in all sorts of innocuous
places as the story develops. Then he’ll ‘forget’ about them . . . until it’s
time to dig them up, waggle them in your face, and stuff you down your throat.
(NO SPOILERS – but you get an example of this near the end of the book, in a
bittersweet moment when Black Rikke relates back to one of her earlier Long Eye
visions, and how it’s eventual fulfillment always baffled her. Until . . . ?)
Well, thank
the gods of death and destruction, if Rikke/Abercrombie does it again in the
very last chapter. As I say, no spoilers. But you’ll see what I mean when you
get there.
As such, I
suspect this might not be the last we see of Midderland?
Bring it on!
