Joe Abercrombie’s best book is part of hisAge of Madnesstrilogy, the follow-up saga toThe First Law, and it proves a truth about fantasy sequel series. I’ve considered Joe Abercrombie’sThe First Lawas theperfect replacement forA Song of Ice & Fire. It was the first fantasy series I found amidst my wait forThe Winds of Winterthat took the morally ambiguous character elements I loved so much about George R.R. Martin’s world and honed in on them, arguably even improving upon that aspect. There’s a reason Joe Abercrombie is Lord Grimdark, after all.
While I consider the originalFirst Lawtrilogy, particularlyLast Argument of Kings, to be near the top ofJoe Abercrombie’s best books, I gave the number one position toThe Wisdom of Crowdsin my ranking. Though Goodreads ratings deserve to be treated with a grain of salt, there’s a reason nearly 30,000 readers have given this novel a 4.6/5. Mind you, that’s one of the top-rated books on the entire site. Aside from the novels' individual successes, however,The Age of Madnesstrilogy sets a precedent for fantasy sequel seriesin general.
Joe Abercrombie’s Best Book Proves Fantasy Sequel Series Can Work When Done Right
Not Many Fantasy Worlds Pull Off The Time Jump
Taking a beloved series and trying to replicate its success with a sequel series is a daunting task. It’s not the same measure of risk as writing a sequel book, which would involve the same characters and same plot, but rather taking the world of the original and expanding it into a new era. I’ve found that these series often succumb to the same pitfalls, in thateither they rely too heavily on the legwork of the original books and just end up being supplementary material or that I end up not liking the changes in aestheticor any of the new characters.
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To give an example in popular fantasy, I love Brandon Sanderson’sMistbornseries and his Cosmere universe in general, but theWax & Waynefollow-up books didn’t really do it for me, and I found myself reading through them mostly for references to the original trilogy. Of course, there are other popular examples of these successes, but none feels as notable as what Joe Abercrombie manages to do with hisFirst Lawworld.
Why The Age Of Madness Trilogy Is Such An Impressive Follow-Up To The First Law
Joe Abercrombie Demonstrates A Mastery Of His World & The Grimdark Subgenre
The Age of Madnessexecutes the time jump between the trilogies perfectly, resuming the story decades later. Importantly, 28 years is long enough for the world to have changed, but there are still plenty of familiar faces. I found the original characters exciting to see returning at first, but it wasn’t long before I found myself more interested in the new generation.It never felt like the newcomers were overshadowed by the weight of the original trilogybut rather elevated by Joe Abercrombie’s continuously developing mastery ofThe First Lawworld.
