Last Argument of Kings by Joe AbercrombieMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Abercrombie doesn't pull any punches in this last book of the trilogy. It's gritty and violent -- a bit too violent for my taste. It is surprising but in that great way that is obvious once it happens but that you don't really see coming. The characterization and story telling are top-notch. The last third of the book or so is mostly mopping up, tying up ends and that can get a bit tedious at times. The specific ending, the circularity of it, was near perfect. It wouldn't not have made sense to have a fairy tale ending of any kind, and this is not. And it would have been too much for it be a complete wipe out. There is an edge to nihilism here, though, that bothers me: nothing really changes, no one matters, so just get as much power as you can and survive. There are some glimmers of hope and a few of the main characters try to better and do seem to genuinely care; but in the end this hope and caring mostly don't play enough of a role.
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