Spoilers for The First Law Trilogy and The Devils.
So, I like Joe Abercrombie like 95% of the time. His writing consistently top tier, his characters are compelling, and I like watching them interact with the world.
But I have one thing that puts me off his stories, and that’s that of the two stories of his I have read, BOTH end unsatisfyingly. More specifically, they end with all the main characters either worse off or just dead, the world not having moved forward in the slightest, and the greatest antagonists responsible for the worst things having gotten away scot free.
After reading the First Law trilogy it put me off his books for years. I picked up The Devils having finally decided to give him another chance, and it’s the same situation! I’m not demanding a “happy” ending, but at least some closure would be nice!
Do all his books end like this? If not, let me know where to look because I really like his writing! But if so…I guess I will just keep looking for someone else.
Edit: Thanks to everyone for the insights. It seems that yes, Abercrombie tends towards the same kind of “grimdark” ending each time. Which is fine! Not everyone has to do the same thing, and for what he does Abercrombie is really good! But since it’s not for me I suppose I will have to look elsewhere.
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