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Book Review: “The Wisdom of Crowds” by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: “The Wisdom of Crowds”

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie cover

Here it is, the final book in the Age of Madness trilogy and the last of the entire series set in the world of the First Law, the dark medieval world that has obsessed me for the past two years.

I hate all the series finales that I love. And I hated this one the most because it was the most suspenseful of them all. Not that I was worried about it being any different.

The characters pick up what’s left of their previous books (fights) – one torn up inside, one by one, and who has two good limbs, one eye, sighted or not, another pregnancy. The places of the inmates in the filthy cells change at such a pace that I no longer know whose turn it is. But whoever survived will wish they hadn’t, because now it’s time for the government to stand up to the people’s “love”.

The fury of the crowds was definitely the bloodiest of all the other battles we have witnessed. The ferocity surpassed even that of the savage northerners. How could it come to this? If you have read the first trilogy, you will know how long the poison of social injustices and political malpractices of the Union government has been building up. You will also, like me, have seen many wars of all kinds, but this one has definitely reached a new level of brutality. And how many times have I switched sides.

My favorite in “The Wisdom of Crowds”

I still managed to pick my favorite among the new characters and that was definitely Orso. Who would have thought his balls would be the most ironclad.

Relentless and wise at the same time, the author reveals all the ugliness behind the leadership, the consequences of anarchy and the stark images of the little man fighting for his life at the cost of everything. The horrifying revelations and magnificent twists that tie together the plot threads of not only this trilogy, but the entire series in this world, were simply brilliant.

“Some say that to change the world, you have to burn it first.” Now we’re going to find out if that’s true. People rarely change, even when you put a noose around their neck. Then they just talk more nonsense. And they never learn from the past. But when everything is burnt, something new has to grow. You’ll have to find out for yourself whether it will be different, but there’s one thing you mustn’t forget: He is still the prince of grimdark fantasy. And he is the unsurpassed strategist and manipulator here.

“The voice of the people… is just noise.

It is the babble of the madmen in the madhouse. It is the squealing of pigs in the slaughterhouse. It’s a chorus of idiots. Most of them don’t even know what they want, let alone how to get it. They need someone to tell them what to do.”

If you haven’t started reading Abercrombie yet – start! Start with The Blade Itself and don’t stop until you’ve read this book! Otherwise, you’ll never know what a well-constructed character, plot, or twist means.

P.S.: In case you don’t know what order to read in:

The First Law:

  1. The Blade Itself
  2. Before They Are Hanged
  3. Last Argument of Kings

Stand-alone novels:

Best Served Cold

The Heroes

Red Country

Sharp Ends

The Age of Madness

  1. A Little Hatred
  2. The Trouble with Peace
  3. The wisdom of crowds

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…

Dora

Hello, my name is Todora, but now also known as Dochka or Docheto. I have two wonderful dragons at home (boys ages 5 and 7) that I am trying to raise in the love of books. I was quite a chatterbox as a kid when I had required reading in school, and now I am trying to make up for it. I love reading fantasy, sweet endings are not my "thing". I love it when there are struggles, intrigue, and surprises in a book that shake you to your core. If I fell into paranoia that all the characters were traitors, my rating would be 5 stars. In short, I love to read and if one day I find a way to make this my sole occupation and get paid for it :D, I will have stumbled into heaven.

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