Red Country (First Law World)

This guy is amazing. He uses the same universe, characters and many of the same settings to tell completely different stories. I would say the only contiguous factor is that all his stories have some grit. I am now reading it for the second time, can't wait for his next book!

This is a good read. I liked the western feel to it. I also liked the closure with some of the characters that Abercrombie gives us. However, the story wasn't as tight as his others and seemed to grasping for a closing. Cosca is at his best, but other characters are lacking.

If you haven't read his First Law trilogy, you should start there. It's a masterpiece. This is just a really good book, probably the weakest Joe has written so far, but still worthy of 5 stars. Or maybe I'm letting that sweet, sweet ending sway my judgement too much.

I may be biased - I have read everything written by Joe - and I'm sure he wouldn't mind my saying so. Everything is here. It's a down and dirty hell of a story! Please take my word for it. Grab anything Mr. Abercrombie has penned a get down to the business of reading it. He doesn't break any genre trope. He is most certainly and more importantly improving it! Your welcome.

My favorite author. It's almost as well written as game of thrones, BUT Joe gives you what you want when you want it. I am sick and tired of waiting for those dragons to do something... So the story is far superior in that regard. Plus he bangs out the books like nobody's business....

5 stars in every way, characters, plot, writing, and setting. I am so impressed with Joe Abercrombie as being the best fantasy writer, best writer that has come along in a long time. I eagerly look forward to his books and just wish he could write faster.

As with all of his books, the plot is twisted just enough to keep you guessing, the characters are delightfully drawn with both light and darkness, and the battle scenes are exciting without doing graphic violence just for the sake of violence. Highly recommended.

I love Joe's work, I've read the First Law series, the heroes and a dish served cold and enjoyed it all. I painted pictures of his characters and settings, but this one lacks the charm and ferocity of Joe's other works. If I were a grade school teacher I'd give him a strong C+.

If you enjoyed the First Law trilogy then you'll enjoy this one. More gray characters (not all good or all bad but ... human) confronted with horrible problems who struggle through them.

And the return of a character I loved.

After reading some 5 star rated $5 novels on the Kindle store I have been more and more reluctant to pick up the more expensive novels. Thank goodness I did with this. Joe Ambercrombe is a wonderful writer. His dialogue, pacing and characters are a step about the dime novels in the online ebook stores now days. Joe is a seriously skilled writer and I will pick up anything he puts out again in the future.

Joe has never deluded my expectancies so far and therefore no waste of money in purchasing his books, as usual characters without expectancies and through a cinical world view perform high achievements and pay the real price, no pain no gain for Joe's heroes and sometimes just pain only. This ebook was another non stop reading, almost .... :)

Joe Abercrombie has definitely improved over the journey. Where the First Law books were great, they also lacked for variety in language and became a tad formulaic. This is a much more mature effort and one that introduces compelling new characters, both good and bad, and sees the continuing appearances of old favourites. Couldn't put it down

Joe Abercrombie made another masterpiece. The story is great. He brings back some old friends and you make some new ones. If you are interested in some good fantasy I strongly recommend "Red Country".

I am very pleased with this author and this series of books. I was always a fantasy reader, but only recently (2006) discovered the newer, grittier, pragmatic fantasy genre. It started with the Black Company but has really been done well by Mr Abercrombie. In a land where the heroes are flawed and struggle with realistic problems, the man with nine fingers is king! Such a compelling read!

Good story. Well written, great characters, and a great cameo (no spoiler alert). Keep up the great stories Joe, and I will keep buying them and hopefully keep you in a lifestyle you are fast becoming accustomed to. That of a great author.

I have become a big fan of Joe Abercrombie. His style is very good if your a lover of action fantasy of the old days. This book is just pure fun to read. I just wish Joe would get on the ball and get some more of his work out there.

The book starts off a little slow but once it gets rolling you'll find it impossible to put down. The return of old characters is done artfully and new ones add color and humor. I'm just sad it's ended. Please start at the beginning of the series to get the full impact of the main character.

We need to set aside enough money to keep Joe Abercrombie happy and writing for the rest of his life. In the tradition of Lieber, Vance, Cook, & Dunnett, he is surpassed only by the latter. Keep em coming, Joe.

The first time u have get can I have a day degrees sneeze keep eating djembe the first down the dat region do is do a few countries and kd every dj and a khalif in djinn to to be able to kd ft every well I don't cry djembe the same thing over and over again and it is not a bad good to me and I have love you so u use to the gym with my life I live on my mind and the rest is history is not an easy to play the piano is not an easy to play the game

What can I say I love this book and it delivers. I love the character of Logen Ninefingers and it is good to see that age hasnt mellowed him a bit. If it wasnt for his insanity he would be someone that is extremely loveable. The whole book reminds me of the saying " as bad as you are there is always someone worse". Shy, Logen, Bayaz, they all have someone that scares them.

Abercrombie managed to integrate the sense of a boundless Western frontier into an epic fantasy world without seeming jarring. There has always been a touch of western to Abercrombie's other work, IMO, and the classic revenge journey really works with these characters and this world.

All in all, great book. It's not the best book set in the world of the First Law, but it's a worthy entry in the series. Can't wait for the next one.

The return of Logan Nine Fingers: my favorite character from Mr Abercrombie's first book. I devoured his debut trilogy and has set high standards. This book is not in my top 3 but still a must read.

Joe Abercrombie does it again - I find myself absorbed by his writing style and characters over and over again. This ended up being a 2 day power read as I just could not put it down. Definately worth the cost - I will be rereading this again in the future.

The thing I love about Joe Abercrombie is that his characters:
A. Act like adults
B. Are not two-dimensional

I love George R.R. Martin and Iain M. Banks for the same reason, but I think Mr. Abercrombie is the best of the lot.

His most linguistically sophisticated novel yet. Lots of great action and moral quandaries solved messily. I've read all his other novels and would suggest starting there, since Red Country, although I would imagine solid as a stand along, has quite a few great payoffs that would only be apparent to someone who's read The First Law Trilogy, Best Served Cold and The Heroes. Easily the best new fantasy novel I've read in a long time.

Ambercrombie has become one of those authors that you read the minute his book comes out and get forced to wait impatiently for the next. This one was worth the wait. Nobody creates characters like you will find in his books and this is no exception.

Just what one would expect from Joe Abercombie, the book can stand alone but its best if you have read the blade is first trilogy and even the books dealing with Costa the mercenary and/or shivers first.

Abercrombie's fantasy world is expanded with yet another great book. Many familiar characters are met again, a few of them being my personal favorites from previous books. Abercrombie is the best modern low fantasy or really any fantasy I've read, so I recommend this.

Stunning...when you wipe away the dust and mud. Memorable new charachters and some returning favorites gracefully deliver Abercrombie's biting, sardonic, and witty prose. His best work since Blade Itself. Bravo.

Joe Abercrombie's books have everything I look for in a great fantasy book. The Characters have depth and go through unexpected turns. The dialogue reads natural while being extremly witty at the same time. I also like the growth of of characters through the different books.

Red Country is the last of three stand alone books written in the First Law Universe. It is Western inspired romp with some familiar, and new faces. Joe Abercrombie is an inspired and inspiring fantasy author who has brought new life to an often stale genre.

Logen Ninefingers, Nicomo Cosca and Caul Shivers meet Deadwood in the best Fantasy-Western crossover novel I ever read. If there had been one so far an Abercrombie did not by the way create another genre. Even better than expected. I just Love it!

Red Country is the last of three stand alone books written in the First Law Universe. It is Western inspired romp with some familiar, and new faces. Joe Abercrombie is an inspired and inspiring fantasy author who has brought new life to an often stale genre.

Logen Ninefingers, Nicomo Cosca and Caul Shivers meet Deadwood in the best Fantasy-Western crossover novel I ever read. If there had been one so far an Abercrombie did not by the way create another genre. Even better than expected. I just Love it!

Read all the books leading up to this one and loved them all. This one was written like a western and it worked perfectly. All the characters have memorable dialog and great quotes. Well worth the purchase and can't wait for joe's next book.

Abercrombie set this new First law setting novel in a western film fashion, an does it amazingly well.
If you enjoyed his previous works you will be pleasantly surprised with what changes and what doesn`t.

This is the way you bring back the Bloody-Nine?

Question -who is the best character in the Abercrombie universe? Easy. The Bloody-Nine. Does anyone disagree with that? Well, I suppose Glotka was ok too, but let's face it... The Bloody-Nine is the best.

So what the heck is up with this book? The Bloody-Nine is back as a guy named Lamb, but the reader is always stuck in the position of detachment from what he is doing. There is no connection with the B9, just observation from afar... like being a B9 voyeur or something.

In other words, the connection between the reader and the best character in the series is at a distance. We experience the B9, but always through the eyes of other characters.

Imagine if you watched Star Wars, but only saw what Luke Skywalker was doing for a more distant perspective. How would that work? It wouldn't. It would suck.

If you can endure the first boring half of the book, the second half of the book was better. On the other hand, I must confess that the "who is he" games with the B9 got a bit old. The whole book is like one drawn out hint at who Lamb really is. Every time is seems Lamb might open up, something pops up out of nowhere to end the conversation. The words "Bloody-Nine" are not in the book at all. What is the point of setting up a big reveal if there is never a big reveal? It's like all foreplay then getting up and walking out the door. Hey! Come back here! We spent the whole night teasing and there is no big reveal?

I also thought that the whole western feel was just a bit weird. Yeah, weird. The rest of Abercrombie's books aren't "western" in any way, so why this one? It just didn't fit. Imagine if Tolkien had written The Return of the King in a western style and the dwarfs and elves started saying "I reckon..." all the time. How would that be? Well... I reckon it would suck.

On a side note, the B9 reminds me of Bo Jackson. I spent a night locked in my garage (wearing an aluminum foil thong) thinking about it and that's what I came up with. Can anyone else do what the B9 does? No. Could anyone else do what Bo did? No. When was the last time someone ran up and across an outfield wall?

But then once you accept that the B9 is Bo Jackson, what does that make the Boz? Is the Boz Glam Golden? You know what, I think he is.

Wait a minute! If that is the case, then Red Country is really based on the 1987 Monday Night Football game between the Seahawks and the Raiders! Those are both west coast teams, so maybe that explains the western style of the book.

This repackaged western novel just didn't grab me. Perhaps it's the poor pacing or the author's now-to-be-expected morality gimmick, I just couldn't get past half way of this book before tossing it aside.

First off, I need to say I'd pretty much given up on contemporary fantasy until I chanced on Mr. Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, and later The Heroes.

While Red Country is a solid story and wraps up lots of loose ends - particularly Logan Nine-Fingers - the novel simply didn't do it for me. The writing didn't have the mad gleam those other books had, as if it were rushed or written out of obligation rather than inspiration. The characters came off as flat, the battles, bloody but predictable, the themes vaguely depressing.

Again, my hat's off to the author for re-invigorating the genre, but this isn't his best. Read the Trilogy, or if you prefer a stand-alone, try The Heroes.

before i start i want to make it clear that the last argument of kings is one of my favorite books. one of the greatest i have ever read. so i am a huge Abercrombie fan.

But...
i really feel i missed out by not seeing things through "lambs" eyes. he was a huge part of the pull of before they are hanged and i was disappointed by that.
i did get to understand him through the eyes of the others and he was a major part of the story but there was something very different and quite special about the way Abercrombie wrote his alter egos viewpoint, its missing in this book.
i always find it hard to connect with any female viewpoint so no surprise that i cared little for shy, temple i cannot identify with ether. there are minor characters and some other viewpoints but as these two where the main and i felt little for either i was disappointed there. i felt like i read the book mainly to see what would happen with "lamb" and to some degree savian/glama golden.
really i guess i like powerful, ruthless males with a fairly violent story. gloticka and logan from the last argument where my favorites and there ideally would have been more of a focus in that direction (for me anyway).
i'm sad to see the world looks like its moving into the steam age. this is isn't great mainly because guns are pretty boring to read about vs. swords and axes. its not there yet but it looks like the next book may feature some flintlocks or something, especially as Abercrombie keeps aging his characters/bringing in new ones and new tec so that the world seems to be moving forward.
the storyline is good but i feel that Abercrombie is a little carried away with depressing endings and people going back to being "bad" after an attempt at elevating themselves. its a recurring theme throughout all his books and is starting to become a little repetitive. especially without such interesting action scenes to keep me hooked. its not as strongly portrayed as in best served cold tho. which is a little depressing to be honest.
despite that the book is enjoyable and slots somewhere in between the heros (which was better), and best served cold (which wasn't). it doesn't rise to the level of the first law series..

overall id say its a good book. above average. below what i had hoped for.

I found the people dull and the story line is just a rehash of old plot lines.
The discription of the people doesn't fit their role. I found myself
reading 4 or 5 pages and then putting it down thinking why am i doing this,
am i that dored.

REVIEW SUMMARY: Gritty mash-up of Western themes and Fantasy setting as only Abercrombie could do it.

MY RATING: 4.5 Stars

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Shy South's home has been burned to the ground, her brother and sister stolen. To get them back Shy will have to brave the lawless frontier and all the savages that inhabit it.

PROS: Great prose, Western themes mesh perfectly, return of beloved characters.

CONS: Slightly drawn out, less interesting protagonists.

BOTTOM LINE: There are few things I look forward to more than the release of a new Abercrombie novel and Red Country does not disappoint.

"The losers are always the villains, Sworbreck. Only winners can be heroes."

The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is the very reason I got back into the fantasy genre after a five year hiatus of sticking strictly to science fiction. The First Law taught me that fantasy can be gritty and bloody and none too happily-ever-after. As a result I've spent that past several years sinking my teeth into any and all titles of the Sword & Sorcery sub-genre and I still have not found an author quite so engaging as Abercrombie. Red Country is a minor departure from the series, it still occupies the same overall setting but is layered with Western themes. I've never been huge into Westerns but I was eager to see how this would translate.

Reading Red Country the first thing that struck me was just how appropriate the influence of the Western genre was on this particular piece. I'm sure that there are other fantasy novels that draw similar inspiration but I doubt that any wear it with such pride. The archetypes are present - the conquest of nature, the conflict between "civilized" and savage, the greed and cowardice of man, and the reliance on private justice. Such issues were already prevalent in The First Law trilogy, not to mention Abercrombie's standalone novels Best Served Cold and The Heroes, but Red Country gives them a different flavor altogether. Not only does Abercrombie demonstrate his knowledge of the Western genre but it is also evident that he genuinely respects it.

Red Country primarily follows the perspectives of Shy South and Temple. There are also chapters where the perspective shifts to the supporting cast for a short time, broadening the scope of events and providing insights that might otherwise have been overlooked. I consider writing characters to be Abercrombie's strongest suit. I love all the vile, despicable, and ultimately human characters that inhabit his books. Abercrombie's characters are painted in shades of blood spattered gray. As in life, no one considers themselves a villain. Fans of the series will be pleased at the return of several beloved characters (one in particular but no spoilers here, thanks).

The cast of Red Country is weaker than previous books but don't mistake that for weak overall. Shy South and Temple may not be as interesting as Logen Ninefingers, Inquisitor Glokta, Jezal dan Luthar, Whirrun of Bligh, Bremer dan Gorst, or Prince Calder but they are still good characters. Shy is probably the most decent human to ever star in an Abercrombie novel. She has her own demons but carries on living her life the best she can, providing for her family. Shy is neither a pedestrian sex-object nor an the storeian whose sole motivation is revenge. She has strengths and displays moments of weakness and doubt. Temple is also a pretty decent fellow for a man who always takes the easy way out. Of all the characters he is by far the easiest to sympathize with as he struggles with cowardice and morality.

And if we're going to talk cowardice and morality it would be criminal not to mention Shy's step-father-of-sorts, Lamb. Lamb is a coward as Shy is none too slow to point out. You could spit in Lamb's face and he would likely thank you for the privilege... that is, until the kidnapping of Shy's siblings Pit and Ro. Say one thing for Lamb, say he's a coward, but braving the wild and rescuing Pit and Ro will require a different sort of man. As the story progresses it becomes painfully apparent that Lamb has a violent past of his own. As the blood begins to spill and the bodies pile up a reader may wonder what is the greater cowardice, avoiding conflict at the expense of one's own pride or displaying one's true bloody self. What can I say, a man has to be realistic about these things.

At times the plot does feel slightly drawn out. Red Country is a hefty novel that is concentrated around one plot thread. Our "heroes" embark on a looong journey and you can't help but feel the weight of it. Fortunately the story is always interesting, thanks in no small part to Abercrombie's wit and deft prose. Honestly, Abercrombie writes like no other. The language is contemporary (no thees or thous and plenty of eff this) but the grammar feels appropriately dated. The dialogue bears a distinctly Western swagger to it that I never tire of reading. Another aspect that really helps to round out the experience is the use of quotes before each new part of Red Country. I don't know how Abercrombie picks what quotes to include in his novels but they are always equal parts insightful and awesome, setting the tone for all the bloodshed and betrayal to come. Oh and what bloodshed there is! I would say that Red Country has the lowest body count of any Abercrombie novel to date but it's not the quantity that counts but the quality.

Red Country is not an epic quest like The First Law trilogy, a tale of revenge like Best Served Cold, or a war story like The Heroes. You have to admire an author that is willing to take a necessary risk - not just with new characters but with new subject matter as well. There is a quest though it is hardly epic. There is revenge, though it is a byproduct. There is combat, though it bears much more resemblance to massacre than war. Red Country is personal in the way that only the very best Sword & Sorcery fiction is. My favorite moment of the novel is a take on the iconic saloon scene. The weight of violence hangs overhead throughout the scene until the tension finally gives and explodes into visceral action. It is classic Western. Much of Red Country could be considered the same, a respectful homage to a genre that lacks the popularity it once enjoyed. Were you to replace the swords with six-shooters you would have a Clint Eastwood blockbuster.

Red Country may not be the novel that fans asked for (though I'm sure many will be pleased) but I get the feeling it was exactly the novel that Abercrombie wanted to write. I won't remember this as my favorite of his novels, but that's okay. This is still a fantastic read, and a unique one at that. This is the sort of book that makes you want to re-read the previous titles to see if there is anything you missed. The exploration of themes is Red Country's highest accomplishment. The characters are believable in their cowardice and their courage, and those recurring characters are bound to incite no small amount of excitement. The action is intense and grisly. The writing is finely constructed. The ending is surprisingly cheery. With The First Law trilogy Abercrombie showed me that not all fantasy has to be a Lord of the Rings knock off. With Red Law Abercrombie has showed me that there is still deeper to delve into with the Sword & Sorcery genre. Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he's a master craftsman.

Nick Sharps
SF Signal

That pretty much sums up an Abercrombie novel. This is how you end the life of one of the most

interesting characters in fantasy literature?His writing creates great visual imagery but I never like what I see.Ever see a

a beautiful spring day in any of his stories? Fat chance! To the discount rack with you!

Sure, this is a western, and yes it is a fantasy, but no it is not some genre mashup for kicks. This is Joe Abercrombie's best work, both in terms of writing, tone (personal preference), and content (also personal preference).

Did you like his other stuff? Chances are you'll love this, as it's got everything the others have but this is easily my favorite from him. It's got the trademark dark humor, it's got the brutal reality, etc. But on top of that it takes you to new places showing Joe's imagination for scene and character. It has some of my favorite action sequences in a fantasy novel, because he doesn't just write an action sequence about action: He writes an action sequence that's fun on an action level, is meaningful for the characters, pushes the story forward like a stagecoach down a mountain and lit on fire.

This is trademark Joe. It's also different. If i knew i'd be getting stuff like this, lighter in style, more empathetic, yet still brutal grimdark, i would preorder everything he's ever going to write, right now. Even without that guarantee i'm going to be in line waiting for the next one. And not the YA he's wrote following this, i didn't like that, but i'll still be in line.

What an incredible book. I first was introduced to Joe through his "First Law" series and they were an incredible series of books. Then I read three books of which the "Red Country" was the last in the series. This brings back "Nine Fingers" and boy does it as well as some other familiar characters as well as slew of new ones. Some are good, some are bad, some are really bad and none of them would you bring home to mother for dinner. I will not get into the plot but this book is not stop on the edge of your bed/chair reading stuff. Incredible twists and turns and as usual for Joe, no happy endings. Just, Life Sucks and Do Your Best With It.

Read the First Law Series then Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country. You will want more. That is why I bought the "Shattered Sea" series. I can hardly wait.

Joe Abercrombie is one of the best in the game when it comes to characterization. With just a few sentences, Abercrombie is able to sketch out the broad strokes of a compelling character – and it’s a good thing he has the skill, as Red Country boasts a cast of characters that rivals a Game of Thrones novel in its expanse. Despite a dozen different characters playing their roles in Red Country, none become lost in the wide expanse of the Near and Far Country setting in which the novel takes place.

The story is a long one, but paced well for the journey. It was with some dismay that I realized one night that I was several hours beyond an appropriate time to go to sleep, and the ending was still just out of reach. Remarkably, though, the novel never really dragged. Abercrombie’s well established First Law universe proves in Red Country to be astonishingly versatile, pivoting smoothly to a Wild West style frontier that feels as natural to the universe as any city in the Union.

The story itself is satisfying as well, though if I have one criticism for the book it is in the telegraphed nature of the most of its twists – most turns are far from shocking, though there is a decent one towards the end that helps take the sting out of a particular character’s death.

Overall, Red Country is a fine addition to my growing library of Abercrombie books and has renewed my enthusiasm for his work, which took a slight hit after I tried slogging through The Heroes and failing to click with that particular book. It’s also easily the best western style novel I’ve read in a long, long time.

I put off reading Red Country for two years, with the grand plan of re-reading all of the books up to that point. It had been quite a few years since I first started The Blade Itself after all. But my reading list seems to have a mind of its own and I never seem to be able to predict which books I’ll be reading next. The re-reads never happened. One day, several weeks back, I walk into the bookstore and there sits Red Country on the shelf, the first book I actually happen to see. It was a sign. Then I see the cover art, and focus on the hand wielding the sword on the cover. It has only nine-fingers... This changes everything. So I bought it.

Joe Abercrombie never disappoints. His characters are flawed, mostly terrible people and just ridiculous enough that you can still empathize with them. You won’t find an antagonist or protagonist who wanders aimlessly with no goal in mind. Each character is driven by a clear and specific set of values that makes them hard to hate, even when they do the most atrocious things. Which is very often. His books always maintain an air of intensity as you can’t easily predict what’s going to happen and though the character’s motivations are clear, predicting their actions isn’t always easy.

Red Country takes us some ten years after the end of the First Law series and we find the world not much changed since our last foray during The Heroes. The Union is still looking for excuses to fight something (this time it’s traitors out in the Far Country), The Empire still dominates in the south, mercenaries are still taking contracts and people still kill each other for money. This stand-alone offering takes place among the ruins of the Old Empire where Bayaz and company searched for the Seed, out in the western part of the Circle of the World. The fact that it’s in the west and the story feels almost more like a western than it does a fantasy is probably not a coincidence. Many Western tropes like small ramshackle towns, prospectors, gold diggers, savage natives and wagon trains are all found in abundance. Replace pistols with swords and bows and you’ve got yourself a fantasy-western, partner! Except this time there’s no gunslinger journeying toward an ambiguous tower filled with disappointment. Instead we have a former outlaw woman, Shy South and her stepfather (maybe? this relationship is never made 100% clear) looking for her two kid siblings, recently kidnapped by bandits and taken west into the Far Country for reasons unknown. Shy’s stepfather’s name is Lamb, or so he tells her. As far as she’s concerned, he is a coward and would never raise a finger to hurt anyone. She will soon learn that this was only to fulfill a promise to her deceased mother. He also made a promise to keep her children safe. He has to break the first promise to fulfill the second. Lamb is great at killing. In fact, he admits it was the only thing he was ever good at. Did I mention he only has nine fingers?

As with all of Abercrombie’s books, the pages of this one are also populated with a cast of fully-fleshed, three-dimensional supporting characters. We have Temple, the cowardly yet lovable jack-of-all-trades; Dab Sweet, the legendary frontiersman whose legend may be a bit overblown; and Cosca, the legendary (so he says) mercenary famous for his victories all across the world whose legend is definitely overblown. We also have an out of work actor, a disgruntled Osrung veteran, an uncertain teenager, a horrified biographer, an ex-convict/mathematician and a one-eyed northman looking to settle a grudge, to name a few.

To keep with First Law/Joe Abercrombie tradition, this offering has no shortage of violence. I always find myself mentally exhausted by the time I finish one of his books, this one included. It follows one bloody conflict to the next as our main characters search for what they’re missing. Also keeping with tradition is the endlessly entertaining dialogue. There are tons of quotable bits and truly memorable passages, especially between Cosca and his Company of the Gracious Hand mercenaries.

So why only four stars? This was a difficult decision, as I enjoyed the book immensely. Unfortunately while looking online into any details relating to the next First Law trilogy, I read a snippet of interview with Abercrombie where he said he needed to take a break from this world for a little while due to straining himself for ideas on how to complete Red Country. So while the story has a clear beginning goal, a clear end and ties things up quite neatly, I couldn’t help but notice that the plot meandered a lot in places. Would I have caught this if I didn’t read that interview? Maybe. His last two stand-alone books were very focused. Best Served Cold was about revenge and the lengths one will go to obtain it. The Heroes was about one particular battle and the horror of war. Red Country is about... getting back missing children? Discovering one’s self? Money corrupts everything? Maybe a little bit of all of this. I couldn’t help but feel that Abercrombie only wrote this book because he was contracted to. Perhaps he had two or three different ideas and decided to run with all of them, and also change it up and make it feel like a Western for something different.

This shortcoming doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable and proves that a good author can produce great work even when they’re not necessarily inspired. Despicably lovable characters, brutal action and the return of some very missed faces (well maybe just one face) make this another fun and recommended romp into The Circle of The World. I eagerly await his next trilogy.

As a fan of Joe Abercrombie’s other books, such as The Heroes, Red Country was a must-read for me. Even though I had no idea what Red Country was about, or how it might be related to his previous stories, it didn’t really matter because I was certain that Joe Abercrombie would entertain me.
Red Country feels almost like a Western in the way that the towns are laid out — there’s a quasi general store and a the local saloon, for example — and I was starting to wonder if Abercrombie was breaking away from his usual setting. But the conditions, as in all of Abercrombie’s other stories, are pretty rough, and so very realistic. Red Country has a good setting for the type of hard story that Abercrombie writes.
Shy South is a girl with a hard past. She’s been in trouble before in her life, the kind of trouble that has left her always looking over her shoulder and wondering if she is well and truly out of it. Her natural intelligence, slightly coarse manners and generally tough demeanor make her the perfect caregiver for her younger brother and sister. Life is not easy for Shy and her family, including Lamb and other hired hands that help them work their farm, but it’s not a life without a future and good prospects.
Shy’s somewhat tragic life gets wrapped up with the tumultuous gold rush heading from the Near Country to the Far County. It’s like the great Western migration as companies of people, some poor and looking for something better, and some not so poor and hoping to stay that way, are travelling to make their future. (The feeling of being in a Western is really kind of disconcerting because there are no six-shooters or stage coaches here.)
The recurring theme of Red Country is that the past doesn’t always stay in the past. For Shy and other characters in the story, choices they have made in the past keep coming back to haunt them. From the hired hand who was once a soldier, to a member of a migrant mercenary company who has run from one problem to another all his adult life, people are continually plagued by what they did long ago. The beauty is that Abercrombie allows some of them to grow. The moments when choosing to continue as you have been or choosing to stand for something, even if your motivation is just that you are sick of being who you were, are when real personal change can occur. It’s not always pleasant to read about and at times the story is downright gruesome.
Red Country left me thinking. The story was entertaining, the characters memorable and tragic, but what really impressed me was the way that Abercrombie made me think about how much someone’s past dictates their future. Are there things that we can’t run from, that so define us that trying to deny them is futile? Well, in the world that Abercrombie writes, you can decide for yourself. For me, Red Country makes a great book.

I feel fortunate to have stumbled on Joe Abercrombie a few years ago. Beyond Tolkien, I've read precious little fantasy--the first of George R.R. Martin, Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, and not much else.

On the other hand I've read a lot of Larry McMurtry's novels on the American West, and make no mistake: "Red Country" is a western. Many tropes of the genre are there: a cattle drive, a gold strike, a wild frontier town, fear of attack by "Ghosts" (Abercrombie's stand-in for American Indians, complete with necklaces of human ears), the theme of who are the "real savages", etc. There's a lot of Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" here along with "Deadwood". Of course, Abercrombie's work has always been slight on "high fantasy" elements but they're completely absent here; practically the only concession is the characters still carry swords. (That said, Abercrombie had already previously introduced gunpowder into his universe, and when you consider that in a recent interview he said his next trilogy would jump ahead about 25 years and include elements of industrialization, I'm certain pistols aren't far off for his characters.)

So it's not fantasy. Is it a good western? I'm pretty sure it is...but I have to admit my bias--I'm a fan of Abercrombie's prior work and this one stands on the shoulders of it to a great degree. There's long stretches where things move slowly, especially as the more charismatic of the two popular returning characters seems to disappear for a couple hundred pages. Of all Abercrombie's books I've found this to be the most pure as a page-turner, yet he stumbles for tense climatic moments. Antagonists come and go as the book rolls on, none proving to be as stout or menacing as first perceived, to say nothing of how poorly they measure up to Lamb, Abercrombie's barely-disguised most famous character who returns here. Ultimately I think it is Lamb that makes this hardest for me to review: the cast of characters is much weaker here than I've grown accustomed (new character Shy is one-dimensional) but Lamb is such a beloved force of nature I couldn't wait to see what happens next. (Although Abercrombie loyalists will spend the whole novel either anticipating or dreading Lamb's confrontation with Caul Shivers, either way, it seems a letdown.)

In the end, I read this book faster than any I have in a long while. I laughed out loud several times, including at a clever allusion to one of Obi-wan Kenobi's lines in the original Star Wars. Abercrombie writes violence exceptionally well. And yet, I just don't think it's as good as his other stuff. If Lamb hadn't been you-bloody-know-who I wonder if I would have been as engaged?

One more point: while Abercrombie cleanly nicks the Saruman-in-the-Shire bit from LOTR as part of his denouement, he also avoids in my opinion a problem he's had with deus ex machina. Readers of his prior works know that in "Best Served Cold" a completely overpowered character in the end nearly ruins the climax while the seemingly omnipotent wizard Bayaz walks the same line in not only the First Law trilogy but shows up with the mechanism that turns the tide in "The Heroes". Abercrombie avoids this tendency in "Red Country". Maybe that's because the enemies don't measure up, but I prefer to give Abercrombie the credit, especially since he sets up one such too-perfect-to-be-believed resolution...and then cleverly reveals that it wasn't so perfect after all.

Brilliant! This was such a treasure to listen to. Not only did Abercrombie do an amazing job creating a world of fantasy woven into a western-like setting but Pacey's narration truly brought it to life.

It it not necessary to have read the previous books set in the First Law World. Red Country is written as a stand alone but it did make me want to grab up those previous books in the First Law World and discover how some of the characters fared in earlier installments.

The world Shy South lives in is a harsh world filled with hard work, numerous responsibilities and little enjoyment. But Shy carries on with her life, if not truly happy, then perhaps nearly content. All of that is about to change when her siblings are kidnapped. We see how both Shy and Lamb shed their current roles as farmers and become hunters and killers. It is a violent world they journey into, as they reach back into their pasts to cope with the present.

The story is filled with a host of secondary characters who don't like being kept in the background. As the plot progresses, an ensemble cast quickly forms to join with Shy and Lamb on their journey. Abercrombie took the time to develop the secondary characters to give them not only backgrounds but make them standout in their own ways. From the most powerful to the youngest, the characters' emotions and actions show how some of them must change and grow along with the story in order to survive. While other characters remain the same to the last, staying true to how they have been portrayed.

The characters are not the only ones who are well developed. The places Shy, Lamb and the others travel to are brought to life in Abercrombie's vivid descriptions of not just the buildings and harsh environments but the smells and sounds. Those descriptions help the reader understand what the characters are feeling and thinking when they encounter these uncivilized settlements.

Red Country is a magnificent blend of action and adventure. The fight scenes are beautifully startling in their brutality. But it is the characters that are the driving force in this adventure. They pull you in and make you, if not like them, then at the very least earn your grudging respect.

Hat's off to Abercrombie for creating these fascinating characters and Pacey for giving them their voices!

Rating: A+

This book is unreadable. Period. Joe Abercrombie embarrassed himself writing this drivel. Not only does he demonstrate his ignorance about westerns in general, he seems to take a personal, and I mean personal, delight in including every darn cliche in the genre. Nothing original here and on top of that, he did not even write it with the style everyone enjoyed in his first four books.

From the dedication to Clint Eastwood to the cheesy accents, covered wagons, and Native American stand-ins, you can tell that Abercrombie wanted everyone to know this was a fantasy western with swords insread of guns. Abercrombie can be a great writer and has moments in the book that shine, but overall it seems like he’s trying too hard. Dialogue and word complexity and accents shift to accommodate the situation rather than stay consistent with the character. Not bad but easy to put down and you may need to force yourself to finish.

Where the hell is God? Probably a question you've pondered or perhaps you believe in him as much as Jubair did. Everyone's looking to God while looking to scrape a living out in a world of piss and s*** and a whole lot of blood. In Red Country, the grey area that becomes the muck of man's choices is on clear display. No one is truly good and no one is truly evil. They're just human and that ain't always a good thing.

Shy South is looking for her kidnapped brother and sister, with a father figure named Lamb she thought soft, who's got a past far bloodier than her own. Temple tries to figure out exactly who he is, while Nicomo Cosca leads a band of mercenaries down a path ultimately for his own glory, but mostly gold and a drink to drown his sorrows in. The Ghosts only want ears, the Dragon People want back the Old Time, and two countries teeter on the brink of war and peace -- which ever happens to come first. Hope is there in abundance but few people have the luxury of holding on to it for long in the Near and Far Country. Joe Abercrombie has a knack for sticking his characters in the muck and then stamping them deeper into it. This makes for bloody good fiction.

Joe writes as if he's talking to you and makes you feel like you're in the story. The characters talk straight at you, most holding no punches, because they known soon enough, s***'s gonna hit the fan. You can see the characters' objective quite clearly, but you wonder what blunders will meet them on the way and it keeps you turning the page. Death's waiting on everyone's doorstep and sometimes it ain't the bad guy that gets what's coming to him. And when the bad guy finally gets it, you realize that maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Just messed up like you and me and everyone else on God's blue rock -- if he's even watching.

In this book, I feel like Joe captures as he always has, the reality of life as it is for most people. Life just turns out this way -- and you can try to run, and try to hide, but you can't avoid yourself no matter where you are. You are who you are and you might as well be that and live true to yourself before Death comes knocking at your door. Everyone's looking for their way out of the rain, doing what they can, hoping for the best, unprepared for the worst, and doing anything at all when there seems to be no good choice to make. Those who don't like violence might steer clear of Joe's work, but I daresay it's not senseless violence. Every death seems appropriately placed, if you believe there should have been mercy for a particular character. Yet, life often has very little mercy for men and women regardless of how good they might be.

By the end of the book I was left satisfied. No end was left untied, as Lamb faces a man who's been looking to settle a debt of blood for a long time. A horrible man hoping to do it all over gets a deserving sword through the chest, and so much more is open for interpretation and more storytelling. So I implore Joe to continue delving into the human condition, and pitting men against themselves and other men hellbent on their own wants and needs. I hope he continues in politics, swordplay, and swindling in the dog eat dog First Law world. And now that I have finished Red Country I again impatiently wait another of Joe's creations, Half A King. In my thirst for all things written by Joe, I think I might not be disappointed. Only the turning of the pages shall tell.

In this alternate world violence rules. For the first few pages I was thinking this would be not such a good story, but then things took a turn, and the book was hard to put down.
Shy South has been working the farm with Lamb, her sister and brother, Pit and Ro, and the hired man, Gully since Shy's mother died. It was not easy or profitable, but it was keeping their bodies and souls together. But upon coming back from a trip to town to trade for provisions, they found the farm burned, Gully hanged and Pit and Ro stolen. The adventure to save and rescue Pit and Ro starts and does not end.
As it turns out Lamb is a misnomer, and at various times his history comes out. He has lived violently and now it will come in handy to help on this excursion. This is all a surprise to Shy, since he showed up to help on the farm, he has been the gentlest of humans, never raising a hand to help himself , even in embarrassment. The first time he kills, it is without any remorse, like it was his business and he just did what business called him to do. Later on you see he gets in a killing rage that leaves no room for thought.
There is a mercenary group, The Company of the Glorious Hand, that has been doing the Union's bidding, profitably, that now turns to routing out rebels in the Near Country, and this takes them to where Shy and Lamb are chasing after the kids. They join forces and rescue (?) the kids, as well as securing a horde of gold and jewels. There is sadness in that the kids are well treated and taught some new stuff with the Dragon People. It would have been nice if they could have talked about what was happening and how to resolve the problems, but that would not make for a good story, so a lot of good people died and the children are forced to endure the tragedy of those they love being killed again.

It's kind of hard to believe that _The Blade Itself,_ Abercrombie's first work of robust, "real world" fantasy, appeared less than six years ago. Now, with the sixth volume set in his uncomfortable, hardscrabble, magic-fueled but vey human world, he has become a highly-regarded fixture in the field with glowing reviews even from professional readers who don't ordinarily venture into this kind of thing. And it's such a large world that each story can be set in a part of it we've never seen before, with mostly new characters and problems to be solved. At the same time, many of the supporting cast will be people we've met and gotten to know before, and the axioms behind society and its interrelationships will remain the same -- which means that if you've read all of his books since the beginning, you won't have to have those things explained to you and Joe can get on with telling the story.

And this time the basic shape of things will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched western movies of the 1950s, especially "The Searchers," . . . although John Wayne is notably absent. Roughly a decade has passed since the events of _Best Served Cold._ Shy South, a hard-bitten young woman whose name doesn't fit her at all, is just trying to keep what had been the family farm going out in the Near Country, on the other side of Starikland, which is itself at the farthest western extent of the Union. She has the care of her much younger sister and brother and the help of her stepfather, Lamb, a huge, middle-aged Northman with a reputation for cowardice but whose scars make her wonder who he used to be. Shy has a checkered past herself, robbing travelers to make ends meet, but she's trying to get past that now. Then she and Lamb come back from town one day on their wagon to find the farm burned, their hired man hanged, and the two younger children gone, kidnapped by unknown raiders. And they are determined to get them back, each for her and his own reasons, and that quest establishes the spine of the story.

It's going to take them a long, hard time, though. They will have to cross the vast, empty plains on their way to the Far Country, led by Sweet, a legendary frontiersman who makes a living guiding wagon trains, and his business is booming now that gold has been discovered in the mountains on the edge of the Empire. Another old acquaintance -- you certainly can't call him a friend -- who features largely is Nicomo Cosca, captain-general of a band of mercenaries of the absolutely worst sort, and whose only saving grace is that he's not a hypocrite about what he wants. Cosca is aging badly and slipping into genuine evil as he declines, which is not good news for anyone. That leads Temple, a man of many careers who presently serves as Cosca's lawyer, drawing up the mercenary company's contracts, to finally abandon both caution and his employer, as a result of which he literally fetches up on the edge of the wagon train of which Shy is a part. His succeeding experiences will remake him as much as it does her. But the character who will change the most is old Lamb -- or, rather, he will return to being the person he once was. A battered, agonized killer with nine fingers.

Abercrombie's supporting players are never, ever cardboard. Even those who come and go in only a chapter or two are fully painted. (Who knows, those who survive may end up as protagonists in his next book.) The world in which they live and struggle -- and everyone in Joe's works is a struggler -- is so completely realized as to constitute a character in itself. There's plenty of blood and lots of scars, but that's the kind of world it is. I have a short list of "automatic" authors, those whose newest works I grab as soon as I know they're available without even reading the reviews, and Abercrombie is now on it. Amazing, deeply and relentlessly involving stuff.

Red Country is a standalone novel taking place on the same world as Joe Abercrombie's five other novels (the First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold, and the Heroes). Although the novel truly can standalone, there are a lot of references to the other novels and some of the plot twists will be less meaningful if you begin with Red Country rather than the others. So if you're interested in Red Country, you should start, instead, with the Blade Itself, the first book of the First Law trilogy. I should note that Red Country, like every Abercrombie novel, is bloody and contains a lot of foul language. There's also a little bit of sex. If these things offend you, you probably shouldn't read any of his books.

Red Country is a western fantasy. It tells the tale of Shy South, a farmer with a criminal past, as she pursues men who kidnapped her brother and sister. She is accompanied at first by her step-father, Lamb, an apparently cowardly Northerner, and later joins up with a group of travelers all heading in the same direction across the desert. The cast of characters grows to include Dab Sweet, a famed scout, and his Ghost partner (a "Ghost" is the analog of a Native American in this story), Savian, a Rebel in hiding, and Temple, fleeing a mercenary troop. Also involved is Nicomo Cosca, who played roles in several other Abercrombie books, as he is hired by the Inquisition to hunt down Rebels. The story also features a couple other characters from previous Abercrombie books.

Red Country is the sixth Abercrombie book that I have read and it is by far my favorite. Its predecessors were mostly solid four-star books (with the Heroes being a decent three-star effort). But Red Country highlights Abercrombie's strengths and cleans up his weaknesses. As in his previous novels, Red Country features an excellent, fascinating cast of characters who are developed brilliantly. Shy is one of the best characters that I've ever encountered. She's a wonderful example of how to develop a strong female character in a genre normally dominated by male authors and male protagonists. Lamb, although his background is apparent to anyone who has read the previous Abercrombie novels, is very well drawn and his dialogue with Shy is fantastic - realistic and often very funny. Although Temple's character arc was predictable as they come, he provided some of the best moments in the novel. The side characters, such as Sweet and Savian, the Mayor and Papa Ring, are also well-developed, have interesting motives, and play realistic, entertaining roles. Even someone like Nicomo Cosca, who I have not cared for in previous Abercrombie novels, is developed spectacularly.

Further, Abercrombie has mastered action scenes. Be it the fighting scenes - dirty, desperate, vicious battles - or chase scenes -breathless, exhilarating, or tense standoffs - the calm before the storm. Abercrombie has always done action well, but he's really taken it to a new level with Red Country. The dialogue is, as usual for Abercrombie, very good (although he strays towards over-the-top action film type dialogue). There's a lot of humor in Red Country, typically through sarcasm, but also through funny situations. Abercrombie also manages to blend in some truly poignant, moving moments. While previous Abercrombie novels were fun action pulp with minimal substance, Red Country has a lot more going on beneath the surface.
I outlined the story above, but I would just like to add that the story was gripping from the start. I enjoy the rare novel these days that doesn't involve enormous, cataclysmic, apocalyptic consequences. Instead, we have a story of a young woman who just wants to save her brother and sister. It's the biggest story in the world to her, but in the grand scheme of things it's just one small tale. One thing that always frustrated me about fantasy novels is the apparent need of the authors to make every book a battle for the world. There are a lot of fascinating things that happen to regular people that doesn't require an apocalypse-type event.

Red Country is by no means a perfect novel. There are a couple of inconsistencies (for instance, one of the characters is alternatively described as having three or four fingers on one hand, depending on which chapter you're reading). Further, the novel was, for the most part, pretty predictable. I've always found Abercrombie's books to be predictable, and at least I can say that Red Country was the first of his novels to provide any sort of surprise. But the big plot twists were all pretty easy to see coming.

Red Country deserves a 4.5 out of 5 but since the store doesn't permit half star reviews, it gets a well-deserved 5. I can't remember the last time I was so thoroughly entertained by a book. Although, as I mentioned, you should read Abercrombie's other books first (and they're all worth your time), Red Country is really special.

Review of Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

Abercrombie continues to challenge the genre, this time giving us an epic fantasy Western replete with pioneers, sword-slingers, grudges and showdowns. There's a nice thread of irony running throughout, which is particularly well served by having one of the characters be a writer with a distaste for rivals and critics.

The characters are memorable, one or two of them wolves in sheeps' clothing. There was a clever use of the diminished actor, Lestek, who reminded me throughout of Uncle Monty from Withnail and I.

Point of view is strong throughout, with Abercrombie demonstrating his flare for dialect. The characters' particular idiosyncrasies of speech and grammar find their way into the narrative portions of their scenes. Due to the relatively large number of points of view, this sometimes made finding a rhythm difficult for me; I frequently had to re-read lines to understand the meaning. The longer Abercrombie stuck with a particular character, the easier it was to grow used to that character's way of speaking.

Temple and Shy are the stars of the piece and both are keenly observed and multi-faceted. Readers of Abercrombie's other works will recognize Lamb of old, but he's used skillfully and racks up the drama considerably.

As usual there are some nice tie ins with the other books Abercrombie has written -- little references to other characters that raise a smile here and there. This serves to give the impression of a deep, convincing world inhabited by believable characters.

The basic plot was perhaps a bit restrictive, but not nearly as much as the revengers' theme of Best Served Cold. It does allow for some clever twists and good use of irony through multiple points of view, and in any case, it achieves what the author sets out to do.

Another pioneering work from one of the most interesting fantasy writers of the last decade.

I've read all of the books in the First Law world numerous times. And I'll be upfront, Abercrombie is my favorite author of all time. I've recommended all of his books countless times. So, I should probably click on five stars and just walk away, right? Maybe, but I'd like to defend my fandom a bit here. Often, I have wondered, why in the world do I love these books so much? To be completely honest, these book never have matched up with my typical favorite fictions. As far as fantasy goes, when Mr. Abercrombie is not involved, I am usually more of a Scott Lynch/Sanderson/Daniel Abraham sort of fellow rather than a George R. R. Martin sort of fellow. That's not to say I don't enjoy dark fantasy, I do, but typically I am more excited for the lighter side of fantasy. In my opinion, since "A Song of Ice and Fire" and "The First Law" trilogy the "lighter side of fantasy" means a lot less. Dark fiction seems to be everywhere. I recall when I first read Daniel Abraham's critique of dark fantasy. To the best of my knowledge he labelled Mr. Ambercrombie's brand of dark fantasy "grim dark." At the time, I sort of understood where Abraham was coming from. I'm to lazy to go find it, but I believe the view was something like "grim dark" is a reaction to standard fantasy, in which the reader realizes that the actors can only escape the violence and dark realities of the world through death. In short, there is never a moment where the hero vanquishes darkness that has fallen over the world. I say that the "light side" of fantasy is less meaningful these days because even people like Abraham with his criticism of "grim dark" has seemingly changed his style, as best I can tell, and his latest works are a little more "grim dark" than he'd probably like to admit. I bring this all up because I believe that Abraham's view is naive and misses the mark. Despite the fact that Mr. Abercrombie seems to take pride in the whole "grim dark" thing (his twitter handle is @LordGrimdark), I don't believe that any of the works in the "First Law Work" are "grim dark." In fact, I'd say they are for the most part, layered uplifting stories. Can I actually be serious? Yes, I am.

The Uplifting Works of Joe Abercrombie

That's right, I said it..these books are uplifting. Now, sure the world is dark. In some instances, the worlds are very dark. However, when I sit back and think about it, the world isn't that much different than reality. After all, a famous philosopher in describing the state of nature said, "the life of man, [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." The "First Law" world is dark )there are powerful forces at work, including demons, very old mages secretly controlling all sorts of aspects of human life, magic, economic inequality, constant wars, human eating religions with a hunger that requires them to enslave the entire world, there are sinister plots, etc.). In a great deal of ways, it really does suck to be a regular person. But, as it turns out, it sucks to be a "hero" in Abercrombie's world too (possibly even more than it does to be a regular person). Typically, the actors who would typically be seen as heroes in other fantasies typically find themselves tangled up in the plots of even more powerful actors, or they find themselves victims of circumstances. Often, some romantic idea causes them to put themselves in an all together bad spot. When you read Abercrombie, you get to see what happens when a person attempts to define themselves by their vanities, virtues, or vices. Often the characters' idealistic views of themselves have already be broken by the time we meet them (Logen, Glockta, even Bayaz to some degree). But there is always someone new who is just beginning the journey to go from a naive character toward a deeper more layered character. Now, if you focus on this part of the story, it is easy to see nothing but darkness. These once idealistic and naive characters are often forced by circumstances to be more practical, and as a result more ruthless. However, on closer inspection you can see the uplifting part of each of the characters.

The Shawshank Redemption of Fantasy

My view is that for the most part these characters are like the characters in Shawshank Redemption. If you remember the novel or movie, you will recall how terrible the day to day life of those characters were. I mean there are beatings, sexual abuse, torture, etc. It sucks. But the big idea, seems to be about taking the "long view of life." The protagonist in Shawshank seem to be saying by their actions, "no matter how bad it gets, if I can just make it today and the next, then there is hope for a better future" (a beach in their case). Similarly, in the "First Law," men and women who one would imagine have very little to live for, continue to live, they continue to survive despite their current conditions. Despite their bad acts, they continually attempt to start over and do better. I don't want to spoil the story, but there is one character who is in excruciating pain, his every movement, we learn, is an exercise in pushing through extreme pain. And yet, this character continues to push forward. Another character, has committed some of the most horrible atrocities possible and has earned a most horrible reputation. And yet, he spends a great deal of time trying to be a better person. Even the characters one would typical consider bad guys, like the first King of the North, when looked at closely, seems to be at least aiming for a utilitarian good. If you read these books, all of them, and you really try to get to take a look at the world through the eyes of the characters, I believe you will be surprised to find that most of the characters have a redeeming quality (from that scoundrel Nicomo Cosca to the self centered Jezal dan Luthar). Thus, this book can be helpful to normal people, I think. There are so few fictions that ask us to take the long view. Many people go through bad stretches in their marriage, for instance, and they just take the easy way out and get a divorce. Never giving thought to possibly getting to a better place by grinding out the tough patches. The same goes for bad jobs, bad bosses, bad health, and all sort of other circumstances. Now, I should qualify my view. In Shawshank, the protagonist do find that beach at the end. However, even when a character finds a beach in Abercrombie, the beach tends to be a little more complex (see Glockta and Monza Murcatto). Maybe my theory is way off the mark. After all, it's possible Mr. Abercrombie is just out to show how grim dark he really is. Pick up the books and tell me what you think of my theory. If you've already read the books, I'd love to hear your view.

Tips

If you are planning on reading Abercrombie, I want to warn you of a few things. The first trilogy needs to be read as though it were one book. I've heard people complain about how little action takes place in the first book. It seems at this point, many have an expectation to see a great deal of action from Abercombie. While there is action in the first book, great action scenes actually, the first book is truly an introduction. I find it amazing how much of the book takes place in the mind of his characters. There are very few writers who can get me to care about multiple characters, but Abercrombie does this very well. Trust me, keep reading, and let yourself really get to know the characters and their motivations. The action will come. Another piece of advice, I truly believe you need to read all the books from The Blade Itself to Red Country in order. I've always thought that Abraham's talk of grim dark only makes since if you just randomly pick up The Heroes and read it out of context. After all, I really think of all the books that one has a good ending (because the North at least looks like its headed for some peace), but that would be evident if you fail to read the previous books.

Finally, there are a lot of elements that I haven't touched. There is a lot more going on in these books that what I've described here. But do yourself a favor and pick up all of these books and read them one after another. You will fill in the blanks.

I'm in mourning because I've finished this wonderful series by Joe Abercrombie. Red Country has all the tropes of a classic American Western, which is pretty cool since Joe is a Brit living in Bath. His characters, however, are much more complex and interesting than the card board characterizations of many Western classics. And Logen would kick Shane's ass. The adventures of Shy South, Logen, and "the Fellowship" to seek revenge, recover kidnapped children, find gold and riches, or at least love, take the reader on a trek across the Wild West, only its in another wold long ago and far away.

You're on the edge of your seat (sort of) as the crew of characters you come to care about face dangers from man, beast, and nature. Lurking just behind them as they cross the "Far Country" is the brooding killer, Shivers, sworn to avenge the murder of his family on Logen.

I listened to Red Country on audio. The narration is excellent.

In some ways, Joe Abercrombie reminds me of a literary Quentin Tarantino. While obviously a talented artist on his own, his real talent lies in how he can twist and contort and pay homage to specific genres within his craft. With The First Law trilogy, Abercrombie created a knowing fantasy saga that was true to the core concepts but also flipped them and the expectations of readers as well. With Best Served Cold, he tackled the revenge tale, and with The Heroes he took on nothing less than the epic fantasy battle. Throughout this he has had major and minor characters come and go, and this specific interweaving of characters that lends his books their solid foundation. Major characters move to the background, minor ones step up, and some just pop up occasionally to remind you that they exist. Seeing old faces while being introduced to new ones has worked well for him in the past, and it's as welcome as ever here.

With Red Country, Abercrombie has gone after Westerns, and while the marriage isn't perfect, it works in the end. His characters have often felt like they were just a costume change away from the saloon, and the language and violence is strong enough to feel right at home. Abercrombie also works in several scenes that echo famous Western staples, and it's fun to see where they go from there.

The plot of Red Country starts out simple enough, with the kidnapping of protagonist Shy South's siblings, and while the target generally stays the same, the methods of how the plot gets there change over time, evolving with the circumstances. While the book doesn't touch 500 pages, it still packs quite a bit of content, and Abercrombie's dedication to tying up every loose end he can is admirable. There was a part about a third of the way through when I began to have some trouble, but the book picked up from there and just plowed on through to the end, and the conclusion was a surprisingly poignant end, not only to the book itself but also to storylines that were picked up years and years ago. Red Country practically drowns in blood and muck and worse at tiems, but in the end it's all worth it, and Joe Abercrombie has added another fine tale to an impressive collection of them.

When a book's dedication includes a shout-out to Clint Eastwood, you are probably thinking something different than a fantasy novel by one of the best writers in the genre, but from the first page on Abercrombie makes this fantasy/western mash-up work on it's own merits as well as a homage to the western genre. I kept thinking what a ball Abercrombie must have had writing this one, as he had to stock up on a big pile of classic western flicks to get inspiration...I saw references to The Searchers, Unforgiven, Wagon Train, Eastwood's "Man With No Name" series, Deadwood, Stagecoach, Ride the High Country, and Shane in the story, but imagine those classics directed by Quentin Tarrantino and John Woo and you have it a little closer to what Abercrombie does. All in all, the western and fantasy genres play off each other very well, and this novel set in Abercrombie's "Circle of the World" series is great as either a continuation or stand-alone...you don't have to have read the earlier books, but it does help as many characters (older and certainly not wiser, in some cases) make their return.

I think at this point it's not really a spoiler to mention that this novel also features the highly anticipated return of Logen Ninefingers, star of the Third Law trilogy and perhaps Abercrombie's most intriguing character. Interestingly he is never named as such during the novel (much as Eastwood's characters in Pale Rider and others never seems to get around to having a proper name), being known as "Lamb" to his fellow villagers and his family, his step-children (including the interestingly named Shy South, who tells one character "It's my name, not a description"), and anyone who asks. It's better Logen remain dead, but the kidnapping of his two small kids send he and Shy on a quest across the Far Country, to the city of Crease, and eventually high into the mountains to a classic confrontation, where Lamb's old berserker past comes more and more to the fore. The story is never told from Lamb's point of view, which I found very appropriate considering the genre Abercrombie is trying to emulate, but the return is very enjoyable indeed as we see how the intervening years have (and haven't) changed the old warrior.

After the children are stolen, "Lamb" and Shy South (who it turns out has quite a bloody past herself as an outlaw) must travel an extraordinary length to find them, coming across evidence more children have been stolen and driven to a place high in the mountains. Along the way they run into many new characters and some old favorites (Including Nicolo Cosco, Sgt Friendly and their band of mercenaries), and some interesting new ones (including Temple, the cowardly lawyer of Nicolo's band, who soon joins the two and becomes one of their band). They join up with a group of settlers heading west with gold rush fever, battle "Indians" (Ghost barbarians), experience a decadent and depraved frontier town, and head into the mountains pursued by Cosca's band to enter into a remake of The Searchers as Shy South's brother and sister may not want to leave the paradise they have found within the mountains...all the while Logen's old enemy Caul Shivers follows and waits for his chance at revenge.

While the western motif is strong, this book is not just a sum of western cliches thrown together. Shy South is an interesting character and possibly the "nicest" character ever to be a protagonist of a Abercrombie book. Although she has had a bloody past, she has rejected it to work on her late-mother's farm and take care of her siblings, and throughout the book is motivated only to rescue them or die trying. She is also as total bad ass, and while not enjoying the violence she must engage in, she knows how to get the job done. Temple is another intriguing character. An abject coward, he follows the mercenary Cosca (who sees himself as a benevolent father figure and mentor to Temple) until the violence finally gets to him and he runs away, only to be found and rescued by South's little band. An attraction arises between South and Temple, but if you know Abercrombie, he's not above subverting a traditional western love story and making it quite a bit rough around the edges. Despite his general uselessness, Temple makes himself a part of the band and once Crease is reached his many other hidden talents come into play, including reluctant hero. Is there anyway Abercrombie can bring this two together for a happy ending (which as you know Abercrombie NEVER does), or will it follow a more unusual path? It's worth it to stick around and see, but I found Temple and South two protagonists I actually rooted for (which is pretty dang unusual) as their character flaws are minimal compare to those in past books. Other interesting characters include many members of the wagon train (including failed actor Lestek, the barbarian Savian, the corrupt guide Sweet and his woman Crying Rock, and the "villain" Waerdinur who has been stealing children for what he believes is a higher purpose. One of Abercrombie's strengths through the years have been his interesting and enjoyable characters, and he does not disappoint here.

There are several plots swirling here (the kidnapping of the children, the hunting of the rebel leader Conthus, the traveling across the plains, Shivers revenge on Logen, Logen's revert to his brutal past, the corrupt town of Crease, Cosca's search for treasure)and they are all resolved in one way or another. Many western tropes (the corrupt town, the killer who put his violent past behind only to resurrect it again, the wagon train across dangerous territory) work well in this context and are explored by Abercrombie to good effect (entering the town of Crease gives Abercrombie's descriptive powers a workout as he describes it as hell on earth, no skimping the disgusting details). And what can you say about a book that ends with a showdown on main street, and one of the protagonists riding off into the sunset like Shane? But the book has to work as a story on it's own without the western OR fantasy cliches, and this one does admirably. It is a tale of the end of old ways and the beginning of (bad) new ways, of love (between man and woman, sister and siblings, father and daughter), of keeping your word and showing bravery under the worst of conditions, of the civilized world vs the primitive world, of bloody vengeance, of greed and cowardice, and of justice (well meaning or not). It succeeds on these merits and by the end had become my favorite Abercrombie novel after Last Argument of Kings.

While this book had my highest rating, there are a few negatives to bring up. If you are put off by bad language, graphic violence, and mature themes, you won't enjoy this book. Abercrombie's books have few heroes (most inhabit a world of grey at best) and happy endings are not guaranteed. It can be read as a stand alone, but personally most of the enjoyment for me was as a continuation of the earlier books in the series, as several of the allusions and characters make more sense once you know their pasts. While many would say this is not his best book, I think by far this is his best WRITTEN book, Abercrombie is clearly getting better and better as a write (not just a fantasy writer). Still some loyal readers might be disappointed by what they see is a "softening" of Abercrombie, but I think this is just his maturity of a writer growing (aka, you don't have to kill or corrupt everyone at the end to have a good story).

If it still needs to be said, buy this book if you are a fan of Abercrombie's previous novels, or either fantasy or westerns, you won't regret it.

Red Country is Joe Abercrombie's latest. A fusion of his grim, gritty and cynical fantasy writing and a lifetime of watching afternoon matinee westerns.

Some might struggle with the concept, perhaps short swords and stetsons sounds a bit off key. But, hey, it is possible to fuse disparate genres - Whedon did it with Firefly and I'm inclined to think that Abercrombie has done the same in Red Country.

There's a noticeable absence of firearms in the book and I'm pretty sure there aren't any stetsons, but the story is packed full of tropes even the casual viewer or reader of the western genre will pick up on.

From evil marauding outlaws, to long, wagon laden convoys across vast plains. There's people searching for gold, a new life or both in the Far Country free from the trials and tribulations of living in the Union - free to build a better version of themselves or to hide the old one.

Regular readers of Abercrombie will know that the man has a preference for more modern dialogue. There's a quite noticeable absence of archaic patterns of speech one might expect in Tolkien and a hell of a lot more cussin'. Red Country is presented in the same vein, with perhaps a slightly altered register and exposition that's in keeping with the western mode.

"Folk had swarmed to the bridge like flies to a midden, sucked in from across the wild and windy country to trade and drink, fight and f***, laugh and cry and do whatever else folk did when they found themselves with company after weeks or months or even years without."

Again regular readers will know that aside from the fast, "in your face" violence, Abercrombie is known for his dark, dry wit and Red Country doesn't disappoint. There's a number of exchanges between characters that had me in mind of some of the finer episodes of Deadwood. Not that I am saying that Abercrombie mimics the syntax and English usage in Deadwood but that the two share a similarity of rhythm in the verbal repartee between characters.

Oh and the swearing as well.

The other feature that struck me with Red Country is that Abercrombie's world changes. There's progress from the time of The Blade Itself to this point. There's change wrought by the demographic displacement of the gold rush and by the gradual development of industry. By the end of Red Country we see the arrival of steam for instance.

In that sense Abercrombie's work, and Red Country continues this, is progressive and realistic, there's little pining for the loss of the status quo. I thoroughly enjoyed the work, felt it straddled both genres well, it was Joe Abercrombie's western infused fantasy not Joe Abercrombie trying to write a western.

You needn't have read Abercrombie's other works, this works very well on its own.

This book was provided by the publisher at no cost to my good person.

After exploding on the fantasy scene with his excellent First Law trilogy, Abercrombie has gone on to do something rather unusual in the fantasy scene, release complete stories with unique themes and styles(yes, I'm looking at you George R.R. Martin).

In Red Country, Abercrombie combines fantasy and western, in much the same way that the usually great Sanderson did in his disappointing "The Alloy of Law." Unlike Sanderson's less than stellar effort, Abercrombie does not simply add guns, trains, and cowboy hats to his magical world, but rather, explores the themes (a rush for gold, western expansion, the effect of settlers upon native inhabitants, the splendor and danger of vast open country, feuds for land and power, etc.) using the same technology as has been present throughout the series. This fusion of styles works quite well and I applaud Abercrombie for trying to capture the spirit and feel of a western rather than the merely appearance of a western. As a fantasy, it is similar to his latest works; a world with little magic or heroism, but plenty of violence

The story itself seems simple enough. A girl sets of to rescue her brother and sister from cut throat bandits with the help of her aging step father who may not be as timid and fearful as he would have people believe. This description does not do justice to just how epic this journey is, as it requires covering a vast amount of space, encountering numerous dangers and a large ensemble cast who are for the most part as despicable and deadly as you would expect to find in an Abercrombie novel.

Unfortunately it's not perfect. Although the characters are enjoyable, none could be ranked as Abercrombies best. With such a good journey, it is sad that the destination appears more exciting than in turns out to be. The conclusion is good enough, but simply a little anti-climactic, and a bit overlong. Lastly, the dirt and grime, both literal and metaphorical, may be Abercrombie's trademark style but at times can be a bit much and may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Red Country is everything you would expect in a abercrombie novel violent and gritty with a good dollop of pitch black humour thrown into the mix if your not already a fan then there is nothing here that will change your mind and if your new then i would recommend checking out the athors First Law trilogy while Ostenably a stand alone theres enough call backs to previous books to leave a new reader confused..

for those already familar with abercrombies work there is much to love appearances by old and familiar characters a look at new lands and of course some kick ass fight scenes there are however some missteps with the stories there is often a theme or homage to a abercrombie novel The First Law had more then a passing nod to Tolkien, Best Served Cold the dirty dozen,The Heroes military Films, and red country westerns however where in previous books the themes informed the stories orgainically as the foundation on which the authour built his story in his own imitable style in Red Country the western themes dictates and sometimes overpowers to the point that Abercrombies distinctive style is lost at times, a notable example is two characters, one major one relatively minor are not referred to by there oirginal names basically fufilling the Western archtype of the man with no name, the problem is anyone familiar with the first law series will know who they are and find the fact that no one brings up there names both fruasting and very,very annoying and those who are new to these stories will wonder what the hell the mystery is, it adds nothing to the story indeed the problem is this story is carrying more fat then is normal for a abercrombie novel and almost all is the western conventions, the gold rush and the Savages the Indians of the story it comes across as just added baggage, not to mention another fan favourite Caul Shivers making a brief appearance in a cameo that bears all the hallmarks of another Classic western trope, problem is it no way rings true with the character we have come to know

the simple fact is Best served Cold already used many of the classic western tropes a anti-heroe left for dead a posse assembled to seek revenge in a much more satisfying manner all in all red country smacks of just trying to hard to make the western elements fit.

i realise that this sounds like i didnt like this novel hell no, this is still a great read perhaps if i could give a half star i would rate it a 3.5 instead of a 4, but that is mainly because of the ridicously high standard that abercrombie has set in previous books, the authour has to be applauded for trying different things and if this one hasnt quite been a home run i am sure the next one will be..

I am a long-time Joe Abercrombie fan and loved this book. It is Joe at his best: a return to the "First Law" world (and my favorite character), realistic and bloody battles, believably flawed characters, and an honest outcome (meaning not "Disney"). So why did I only give it four stars? Mainly because I feel it is not believable that Shy, with her background, couldn't figure out who "Lamb" was.

SPOILER: To continue: anyone who lived the life Shy did would have heard of the Bloody Nine (aka Logan Ninefingers). Her inability to figure out Lamb's true identity is the equivalent of Superman putting on glasses as Clark Kent and no one recognizing him. Even though I loved seeing this amazingly intriguing character again (and others from the "First Law" world), the book would have been much stronger if Shy had had a revelation that resulted in Logan and her working through it.

"Where I come from we got a different way of doing things."

- Lamb

I think what separates Joe Abercrombie's characters from so many others we see in fantasy fiction (and real life, for that matter) is the incredible self awareness each character possesses, from the primary protagonists all the way down to the lowliest henchman. Abercrombie's greatest strength is creating these world-weary characters who just don't have the energy to sugarcoat things any more, and this unflinching honesty not only extends to the world and the people that surround them, but to their own faults and inadequacies.

In RED COUNTRY, Abercrombie actually introduces two characters that, with the possible exception of the Dogman from previous novels, seem the least likely to engage in sociopathic tendencies. Shy South, a woman whose younger brother and sister have been kidnapped, has a past that includes theft and murder, but those days seem to be in her past. As we get to know her during the events covered in the novel, she's capable, but she's often shocked by the violence of her compatriots and the wasteful deaths that plague her rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, Temple, a self-professed coward who admits to taking the easy way out whenever it's available, actually isn't that bad a person. He's cowardly, but his heart's generally in the right place. That makes him a tremendous deviation from many of the other characters Abercrombie has introduced us to over the years, especially the apparent good guys that often prove just as bad as their adversaries.

Unfortunately, I didn't find Shy and Temple to be as interesting as some of the other, less sane characters from previous Abercrombie novels. Fortunately, many of my favorite sociopaths return, including Caul Shivers, Friendly (possibly my favorite character in the Abercrombie-verse), Nicomo Cosca and Lamb, a nine-fingered Northman who's new name certainly won't fool readers who have read Abercrombie's previous works -- though interestingly enough, the character's real name is never actually mentioned.

The fantasy western conceit works well with Abercrombie's strengths of playing with common tropes and utilizing the aforementioned world-weary characters. (Perhaps I like my characters slightly insane.) The plot moves a bit slowly and I didn't find these characters as gripping as I have in Abercrombie's previous books, but the POV characters' voices still provide the story with a sturdy backbone that makes it better than most everything else out there.

The stand-alone novel "Red Country" returns to the world the author created for the "First Law" trilogy after "The Heroes". Similar to prior books, new characters interact with pre-existing characters in a style not unlike a western theme. Essentially a straightforward action-laced plot involving flawed individuals struggling with their troubles with no political maneuvering or large scale battles.

A burned down farm and stolen children force Shy South and her "father" Lamb to pursue the villains across the country while Nicomo Cosca mercenaries his way following his greedy ways after hearing rumor of a vast treasure. Meanwhile Temple, the lawyer for the Company of the Gracious Hand, bounces back and forth between the two separate groups. The majority of the storyline follows Shy and Temple, two interesting characters of varied background. Lamb, well, if any reader has enjoyed some of the classic Abercrombie characters then it will be a great treat after the last couple books with Caul Shivers, who still briefly appears.

A comprehensive appendix would have been useful.

I recommend the novel to any fan either of the author or the fantasy genre.

Thank you.

This book is set in the same world as Abercrombie's debut First Law Trilogy, but like all of his books since then it can be read in a fully satisfying manner as a standalone novel, though those who've been following all the books will also find plenty of through-lines and recurring characters to reward their loyalty - including very prominently a very major one long thought gone (as much as I can say without spoilers, though for long-time readers it will become apparent very soon who I mean). And like Abercrombie's previous work, it is shot all through with savage violence and leavened, if that's the term, with pitch-black humor that punctures human pretensions with an unsparing incisiveness. If you're not familiar with Abercrombie's work, you should know that much as George R.R. Martin has done with epic fantasy, Abercrombie has done with heroic fantasy - drag it down into the muck and the mire of a cold and nasty world where who sets the rules (to the extent there are any) is determined by who has the strength and the will to violence to make it so, not by who has the "right" to and still less by who has the nobility to set wrong to right. Though I termed this a take on heroic fantasy, don't go expecting many heroes here - if you can find anyone who might not about as readily be termed a villain, they're ahead of the curve. This book also constitutes a bit of a fantasy take on the Western - it's co-dedicated to Clint Eastwood, and if you can't see strains of Unforgiven (and rather a number of other Westerns, besides), you either aren't looking or haven't enough familiarity with the genre to spot any parallels or homages. Not to worry in that case though - the book is plenty enjoyable regardless provided you can go along with the blood, gore, and pervasive cynicism only occasionally lightened. A good test is if you've already read the aforementioned George R.R. Martin and enjoyed it, and I can certainly attest it was more than good enough for me.

I think this is the sixth of his books that I have read, and this I really enjoyed it. It takes place in the same "world" as "The Blade Itself" and subsequent novels, and you might even recognize a few characters if you have read those (though that is by no means necessary). Joe writes with a mixture of violence and humor that sounds incongruous but he makes it work. Highly recommended.

Although I'm not much into westerns, if all of them were written like "Red Country", I'd be converted. As with all of Abercrombie's novels, there is so much to love about this book. It's extremely well-written and well thought out to the very last detail, the characters easy to relate to whether you love or hate them, the clever prose and dark humor keep the reading fun rather than gloomy and depressing, and as we all know, no one writes fight and action scenes as bloody good as Abercrombie. Yes, sad to say, one of my all-time favorite characters finally bites the dust in this book, yet I trust that the author has plenty more fascinating characters up his sleeve yet to create for our future enjoyment.

When I pick up another novel of Abercrombie's, I know that I'm in for a great time regardless of what the story is about. I have read all of his novels and I have yet to be disappointed, and "Red Country" is no exception. So anxious for the next adventure to begin!

One thing that Abercrombie does that I appreciate is that he mixes things up. The original First Law trilogy told a complete story but the subsequent novels all tell independent stories set in the same land and introduces new characters while maintaining continuity with previously loved characters. This gives his novels a continued freshness and makes the world seem larger and gives the effect of forward momentum and life changing.
In Red Country (or the fantasy equivalent of The Searchers meets Unforgiven) he once again shakes things up but this time with a Western flavor. This was by far my favorite of the stand alone novels and probably of the series so far

~2.5 stars~

This one just didn't work for me, but to be fair, its rare I like "western" type reads. The high reviews convinced me to give this one a try. While I did find it had potential, I found the story and plot to be really slow. It just seemed as if there was so much unnecessary dialogue and long spells where little to nothing occurred. Also, I think one of the main reasons I didn’t connect to this story is because the characters never really felt realistic to me. I also think this one if overpriced at its current listing price of $9.99. Overall, I will still check out more of Abercrombie's work because I like the originality, but this one just wasn’t for me.

I have to say, "Yes to all that" contained in the many reader reviews. Red Country has a distinctly Western epic flavor, part The Searchers, The Way West, etc. placed in a Far Country of another time perhaps.
The other reviews tell of the plot lines, so all I will say it that at the end of the book, I knew I had read a good story, beautifully told. Like one of the classic Westerns, The Searchers, the hero here, Lamb reminded me of Ethan a man with a past, searching for lost family. Like Ethan, at the end, Lamb is alone in the sunset of his success, his past and his love. Perhaps a bit slow at times, but when violence comes, it comes howling with bloodlust.
Well written characters are the mercenary chief, Cosca, a dangerous buffoon, Temple, a cowardly lion who finds his heart and Shy, who loses, gains and regains.
I closed the book and said, "Wow, that was good."

I liked this book quite a bit, in no small part because the majority of characters were actually people that had flaws but could also be related to. Having reading some of the author's other works, what stood out to me about this book is that I actually liked the characters and how they developed and what there issues and challenges were. If you like fantasy books, this is a good one to read and while it does have links to other books the author has written, you can also read it on its own and still get a lot from it.

Abercrombie is writing fantasy like almost no one else today, deservedly rubbing shoulders with the likes of GRRM. In fact, given how Joe has honed his craft with each installment (not to mention his speed of publication), this may soon supplant ASOIAF as my favorite fantasy (quasi) series.

The story is engaging, but it's almost beside the point. Abercrombie does a wonderful job writing vibrant, colorful, and unique characters, and after 500 pages, I still didn't want to leave their sides. He's also the best dialogue writer in the biz (an area where fantasy works traditionally struggle), and I'd highly recommend the audio editions of any of his books for this reason alone.

What's not to like? There's blood, there's grit, there's heroism, there's cowardice, there's double-crossing, there's lots of foul language, all set against a backdrop that Abercrombie set up in his previous novels, making the world feel deep, complex, and real.

Loved it. Can't wait for the next one.

*Originally posted at BadassBookReviews.com!*

This was my first Joe Abercrombie novel and I really enjoyed it. It was gritty, bloody, and violent. Suprisingly, it had a lot of heart underneath all the grime. I'm sure I would have appreciated some of the characters more if I had read the previous First Law World novels, but I never felt lost or like I was missing anything vital. I do know that I enjoyed this one so much that I will be picking up the other novel in Abercrombie's 'verse.

I absolutely loved the character of Shy South. She was strong and hard-working, she didn't give up no matter the odds, and she didn't let anyone dictate her actions. Lamb, who I have come to understand was the focus of the original trilogy, was an interesting character. He was trying to find redemption but continued to find his past hard to escape. I really enjoyed the interaction between Shy and Lamb; they were probably some of my favorite scenes in the entire novel. Temple was also an intriguing character who played well off Shy. Their back and forths were very humorous. I was happy to see Temple was able to find a kind of salvation and become a better man in the end.

The plot was a little meandering at first, but when Shy and Lamb joined up with the Fellowship and Temple washed up downriver, everything started moving very quickly. The story felt like Oregon Trail crossed with the Lord of the Rings and I totally dug it. I loved learning about all the side characters in the Fellowship and their motivations and aspirations. The only reason I gave this 4 stars was because of the beginning being a little slow and the ending being a little drawn out. Though I liked the way the story ended, it had several different points that felt like they could have been endings. Don't let that detract you though, this story is pure balls to the wall fun.

This book is full of violence and gore but is mixed with a dry humor and unrepentent determination. If you like movies like True Grit or The Searchers, you would probably love this book. Even though I wouldn't call it a fanatasy novel per se, I would recommend it to all fantasy readers because of the epic feel. If you like an action-packed story with characters you can really get behind, give this novel a try!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing an ARC copy of this book!

I love reading Joe Abercrombie's books. The man weaves tales that pick up the rocks that we hide under and makes good people bad and bad people good. There are so many places in our world where strife and conflict exist, where people make the bet of the choices available to them, and Abercrombie writes novels that explore those people, those choices, and that world with such compassion that you're rarely able to point at a character and say "good guy" or "white hat."
There is grit and conflict in the story and the characters. You can sink your teeth into the book, unless you get it as an audiobook or an eBook, and chew.
It's a great read. It twists and turns and keeps you company all through the night!

After Heroes, that sublime masterpice ( who corrected, imho, the wrongs of Best Served Cold ).

Joe Abercrombie is an accomplished writer, as a matter of fact ( his first trilogy is an anthology masterpiece ) knowing how to spin a tale and he weaves a perfect prose.

I was tottally mistaken, when buying this book, thinking Abercrombie had gone "western "on us; he did, but in his world, and that i find an awesome twist and a worthy continuation of work done in the Union world.

But the story lacks pace, lacks rythm, in my opinion; things start way too slow, to then get better.

read it, enjoy it, being, after all, a book by the author that gave his top notch starter trilogy and Heroes.

But it is neither one, nor the other.

EDIT: After a certain amount of time digesting ( a couple of weeks ) this book's reading, I feel that the 3 star rating I gave it was due, solely, out of respect for Abrecrombie's work. This book does not deserve said 3 stars, as a matter of fact.

I take one star out

The book was a bit slow at first but picked up quickly. I loved the main villain who had aged but still had style and I loved to bits and pieces about the Old Empire. I really like Joe Abercrombie's writing and he certainly is a lot more responsible, reliable and dependable than J.R.R. Martin.

If you're a Nine-Fingers fan like me, you better have around $20 for this book. He makes one hell of an appearance, and the wild wild West setting, especially in a fantasy genre, was refreshing. The oddness of some of the book reminded me a little of China Meiville's Bas Lag universe.

Most of the characters from the First Law trilogy are completely abandoned however, and you get a slew of new faces. While not being as strong as the former ones, they were still enjoyable to read about. Although the fact that Logan is in the story carried it quite a lot.

Great humor, i laughed quite a bit. Im not giving it 5 stars however because a lot of cliche and recurring, sort of 'character is about to die/ something bad is about to happen, and some other character arrives at the last minute to save the day!' While this cliche is fine if it happens once or twice in a book, it happened in this one about 6 goddamn times. The number is actually probably higher, i just don't recall every occasion. But it was enough to really irritate me and make the writing seem somewhat weak in this regard.

Otherwise a good read.

Western themed tied into Epic fantasy - I honestly thought it couldn't be done well. I was wrong. This was amazing. Having read most of Joe Abercrombie's works, I knew he was a great author. This book just reinforced that.

It was gritty, painfully bloody and intense. I felt an itch between my shoulder blades through out the entire thing.

This was solid, stark and great for one you're in one of those moods to just punch someone in the face. Not to mention, it dealt with moral issues, decisions that are not easy and basic determination to get back what's yours and right.

I LOVE Joe Abercrombie's books... usually. The First Law series was good. Best Served Cold and the Heroes were Awesome! I awaited with eager anticipation, even Pre-Ordered "Red Country", which I rarely do... when it arrived I tore into it.
Eh.
I was disappointed with the 'scale' of the book more than anything else. All of his other novels involved massive armies, national level politics and huge, Epic-scale events. Red Country, on the other hand, is set in a backwater, irrelevant section of who-gives-a-damn. It is an Anti-Epic. Even the surprise of a certain character, whom I won't name, was lackluster and much more poorly written than I have come to expect from Mr. Abercrombie. The plot seemed to meander and although you end with the same sense of futility that seems to permeate all of his books, it seems... less important, this time. I found myself, after the 'surprise' twists at the end, saying "so what, who cares?" which is a real shame.

Hopefully this mediocre showing was merely a symptom of Abercrombie's recent success, which means his work is in demand and he had less time to properly conceive and proof this novel. Hopefully this is NOT the same problem as George RR Martin, who slipped from being an Amazing writer to a Terrible one in the span of one or two novels...
C'mon Joe! I eagerly await the next (better) novel!

Abercrombie's take on the wild west has all of his usual variety and excitement, great characters with flaws galore, and really good, clever dialogue. The storyline sort of ricochets from one hair-raising event to the next, with constant good humor, gruesome violence, and the shadows of past misdeeds riding along as accompaniment for our band of protaganists. Such a mix, and all set in the vastness of the previous world's western expanse. Completely different, yet reminiscent of former books in that the baggage of a bad past follows Logan and others into this new province where the lawless make the rules.
A good and satisfying read, if ever there was one.

I've read all of Abercrombie's previous books. If I hadn't, I would have enjoyed this book more. Don't get me wrong--it's well-written as all Abercrombie's stuff is. He's really good at juggling characters through all his books. It was nice to see some old characters resurrected (even though we don't hear much from their point of view; mostly from other characters observing them), and learn more about others (Zacharus.) My problem was with the Wild West backdrop. It doesn't seem to fit in the world Abercrombie created in his other books. There was too much of some plots (Temple), too little of others (the Dragon People), and the whole thing went on too long. Still a good book and worth a read, but not the best of Abercrombie.

I "read" the audiobook from Audible. It blew me away. I like all of Abercrombie's books, yet I'm tempted to say this is the best one yet (maybe tied with The Heroes). There is no single wasted word. The characters are vivid, the story riveting from beginning to end. The character's fates are masterfully intertwined in remarkable ways. The story is set in the same world as Abercrombie's previous books, and some old characters return. There is tragedy, comedy, and farce. While knowing Abercrombie's earlier books is not strictly necessary for enjoying this one, it seems recommendable to read them first.

The speaker Steven Pacey does an incredible job lending a unique and memorable voice to every main character, of which there are many.

I'm fairly sure this is one of the few books I will read a second time.

Abercrombie has a take on the wild west, and for the most part succeeds in creating a western movie atmpsphere. I liked that he provides closure for some of the characters, some of which I love, others irritated me without end through his whole series. What is different this time: Mostly, Abercrombie takes his characters on a redemption journey, only to let them find out at the end, that changing one's nature is nigh impossible. Most of them end up not far better off than at the start, only crippled/traumatised in some fashion in a world, where everyone has a given place, a world order once established is impossible to turn around. E.g. Byaz or Glokta come along, give everybode the proverbial "know-your-place - slap on the hand", and then business as usual. Depressing, cynical and wonderfully close to the truth. This time maybe some of them get better of ( no Jezal or Gorst )...except the ones who are dead :)

Mr. Abercrombie does it again.

What an awesome, awesome novel. I would have liked to see more of the First of the Magi and his schemes.

I love this mans books, the only sad thing about this is that I have to wait a year or more for another publication from this author. Ah well... I'll just go re-read all of his novels again and maybe both of Mark Lawrence's.

Doom seems to be a bound you cannot escape from.
Or Is just that what we are is what we are no matter how hard we try to change ourselves?
Why cannot a man rest peacefully, after a life of mistakes?
Btw is not like that for everyone. Someone manage to escape from its past and give it a new and promising beginning.
Besides, people even thought behaving against every moral, seems to be aware that an ethic exists; probably this is the hopeful face of Abercrombie's humanity. All of them ( quite ) seem to share some value. Some manage to live according to these; others, the doomed ones, regretfully, don't.
Great book great idea this "western" like background into a fantasy background... Even though the fantasy side seems to fade, inexorably and a new era, tragically similar to our, taking shape.

Blending fantasy and a western has been done before, but with Joe Abercrombie's talented approach, this is a triumph.

Returning home to her farm Shy and Lamb, her friendly and cowardly giant of a labourer, find it has been attacked and her small brother and sister taken. She and Lamb head off after the attackers, but what can a determined girl and a docile giant do? Well both of them have a past that might help....

So the pair of them track the attackers, joining an expedition out to the far West (where gold has been discovered), where duplicitous companions and native attacks stand in their way before they arrive at "Crease" (think Deadwood from the TV series), a town at war with itself, before a final confrontation in the mountains with those who have the children. And everything you expect, doesn't happen.

I am trying to avoid spoilers, but this is Abercrombie at his very best, clever and witty dialogue, brilliant plotting and complex and evolving characters occupying a world of dark violence. There is an element of potential redemption in this one, the authors characters are usually different shades of grey, with dark and violent pasts but one or two here try hard to change and a cornerstone of the plot is whether they will or not. And more than a few faces from previous books appear, but you don't need to have read the previous works (although you will have missed out big time if you haven't)

This is the sixth book from the author and he has hit new heights.

Highly recommended.
(Review from UK hardback)

I read all of Joe Abercrombie's books. I started with Heroes and then read The First Law trilogy. First Law was better, but all were great reads. The characters fit the "universe" and had complexity and qualities that made it possible to be concerned about them. It's altogether different for Red Country except maybe for Shy and Temple. However the story lagged and was just too much brutality for its own sake. The plot was thin and I didn't like the ending either. Another one like this and I'll stop reading Abercrombie.

The Good - the story works, it flows well, and the sparse writing style continues to hit home hard. It is also a great setting with the a lot of secondary characters that really fill things in. I could see the Sergio Leone backdrop - dusty, dry and hot - while I was reading it. And I read it in less than a week. The sense of the older world in the background continues to be interesting.

The Bad - I was unsatisfied with the character of Logen - who popped and sizzled in the First Law series. In a lot of ways he and Glotka carried the whole story. That character had more depth than this one who felt like he was shoe horned into a role for the sake of the western style of this piece.

The Ugly - This felt like it would have been a brilliant novella. But I think the story wasn't big enough to fill all those words. And I think it showed a bit after a while.

It was good. Typical First Law Abercrombie. Nothing really new, just more of the same. Certainly not a bad thing. If you enjoy the First Law world and his other stand alones and were craving more this one will give you your fix.

For Joe Abercrombie fans:
I happen to be in London when Red Country was released in the UK approximately two weeks earlier than in the US. Thus I have with me both the UK hardcover and the US kindle version. And this book is so well written that right after I finished Red Country, I ended up buying the kindle version of the First Law Trilogy that I already read a few years ago just so I can rediscover Mr. Abercrombie's magic. Starting book one again now. But I digress. Quick summary for you fellow fans: Red Country is much more well written than the Heroes, but the action is less exciting and less "cool" than Best Served Cold, and the story nowhere as epic as the Trilogy. Iif you're already a Joe Aberdrombie fan, then you know what i'm talking about, just get the bloody book.

For non fans: this is a stand alone book that can be read as a starting point to Mr. Abercrombie's fantastic world, but I highly discourage that you start here. So many fine details, references, and irony will go unnoticed and great characters will lose their weight if you are not familiar with the back stories. Go and start with the First Law Trilogy (the Blade Itself is the first book) and you will discover one of the very best read of your life (although the first one third of the first book can be a bit boring due to the character and world building).

Yes, the First Law Trilogy is as satisfying as GRRM's first three Game of Thrones books and somewhat better than Patrick Rothfus's also excellent Name of the Wind books. Just read all Mr. Abercrombie's previous books first, then quickly get this one. You will be glad that you did.

If your previous experience in fantasy is any of the following: Brent Weeks (Night Angel Trilogy), Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns trilogy), David Anthony Durham (Acacia Trilogy), David Gemmel, Glen Cook, R Scott Bakker, and the much overrated Brandon Sanderson, then the First Law Trilogy and its subsequent stand alone books (especially Best Served Cold and this Red Country) will open your eyes to what proper story telling is all about.

The western seems to be a long neglected theme for popular novels these days, but I'm glad it's come back with this writer -although with a twist. Joe is exceptional at creating gritty, exciting epics, and his a very visual style that uses exacting vocabulary seems to bring everything to life. You can easily imagine the dirt under the fingernails of some of these characters. He is of course from the fantasy stable of authors, so I'd view this is a successful side step for him, but if you also like gritty fantasy then you should try his other books as well as Perdido Street Station By China Miéville or Into The Trees By the little known J. Alastair Nash. Both are gems!

Typical Joe Abercrombie...great action, great characters....he doesn't write heroes...everybody truly is a bad guy, but you root for (some of) them anyway. Haven't found a book of his I haven't loved yet.

If you've read any of Abercrombie's books you'll know what to expect: dark humour, violence and action. As with his recent stand-alone novels, you don't need to have read his previous books to enjoy this one, but doing so will add some context and make the story richer.

4/5 stars.

Joe Abercrombie easily ranks in my top five fantasy authors and this book is a prime example of why. Well-fleshed out characters, a brisk plot, and some of the wittiest exchanges I've run across in the medium, all in a setting nigh on devoid of magic. This is a book that is hard to set down once you pick it up. Heartily recommended.

ANALYSIS: To say this book was highly anticipated would be an understatement, once it was announced that this book would be featuring the return of Logen Ninefingers. A character that has been synonymous with the term "bad-ass" along with other famous ones such as Druss, Anomander Rake, Waylander, Oberyn Martell etc.

After reading the ending to the First Law trilogy, many readers were left stymied a bit with it. Most characters had an ending that belied their start however for one particular character the journey was a full circle. People were left wondering what exactly happened to Ninefingers and this book answers the pivotal question of his survival without divulging any particular details as to how. The following review will have some minor spoilers for the previous five books and for this one so be warned for those who haven't read all the previous titles.

The story begins in a bloody fashion of sorts wherein we are introduced to the main protagonists Shy South and Temple. Shy is a person who has had a rough adolescence and is now learning to live straight. She has her stepfather Lamb to help her out however with his timid behavior it often turns out that she has to step in to take care of situations as they arise. Temple is a jack-of-many-trades, who considers himself a coward of the highest order and is currently working as the legal counsel to Nicomo Cosca and his band of mercenaries.

Both characters have a journey ahead of them thanks to the actions of others and this is where this fantasy western story really explores the arc of each and every character. The story is focused on Shy & Lamb's search for Ro & Pit, the two missing children who have been abducted along with a host of others by an outlaw called Grega Cantliss. Their search however will cross roads with Nicomo Cosca and his band of mercenaries that include Temple and sergeant Friendly (seen previously in Best Served Cold). Cosca is going along with the inquisition to root out the rebels and is actively searching for a specific rebel leader.

For me this book was the best of Joe's standalone books and possibly one, that is great for all those wanting to see and read more about Ninefingers as he returns in a bloody manner as befitting his nature. The story follows a couple of plot threads that start divergently but soon merge in a surprising way that makes the book slightly more streamlined. Shy South and Temple can be said to be the main POV characters among the various ones featured in the book; however the sad part is that we don't get a POV from the character that we want to know about the most.

This part seriously was the biggest downer of the story for me as with everyone else I wanted to know about Logen and what he had been doing after his betrayal by Black Dow. We never get a clear cut idea about whether his so-called berserker state is super-natural or just a part of his mental persona. The author certainly loses points for this move as to not feature Ninefingers as a POV robs the story mightily of its sheen.

The pacing of the story however is spot on and we get a story that is a western as well as a redemption tale. The character arcs explored are very similar to a Stephen King story wherein flawed characters either make it or they don't but their journey will be one that enthralls the readers and powers the story completely. Plus Logen Ninefingers finally transcends his journey into an iconic one by accepting who he is and what he is not, hopefully the author might provide further illumination by featuring him in more stories.

I was waiting to know all and be enchanted by Logen's presence in the book but to paraphrase Logen himself "you have to be realistic about these things." The ending of Red Country is perhaps much more optimistic than of the First Law trilogy and for that I'm glad however it is still as open ended as its predecessor and that might be a sticky point for some. I loved this book and the way the story ends readers will be hoping that we get to know more about what happens next for several characters.

Joe Abercrombie definitely knows how to write a story, he also knows to create memorable characters but his strongest suit is his dialogue and writing copious amounts of black humor. This book is no stranger to these facts and it manages to be the most uplifting of all his standalone books by virtue of twists and turns of this story. The book is a complete winner for all fans waiting for the return of one of the most iconic barbarians ever, however for fans wanting to know Logen's inner thoughts they might just have to wait a little longer. Dive in to read another fantastic effort by a veritable fantasy writer who is the first law when it comes to writing dark, bloody, action packed stories.

I have enjoyed all of the books set in this universe. However, Abercrombie seems to be running out of steam. This latest novel lacks the scope and intrigue of his prior books. He also was trying to be cute with hiding a major character's past and tries too hard to bring other characters from his past books into play. It may be time for Abercrombie to start a new series.

Yet another gripping tale set in the universe of the First Law Trilogy. One of my favorite things about J.A. Is that his stories have a gritty reality. The heroes are usually villains as well or near enough as makes no difference. It's all about perspective. "you have to be realistic..."

Shy is a hard woman with a dark past. Lamb is a giant of a man and a bloody coward. But he's the closest thing to a father Shy and her two young siblings is ever going to have. When Shy finds her farm burnt to the ground and her young brother and sister taken, Shy and Lamb take off cross country to find them. It is a journey that will cost them everything they are.

"What do we do if we catch them?" she muttered, keeping her voice down. "Chances are they're going to be armed and willing. Better armed than us, that's sure."

"Recon we'll have to be more willing then."

There are many detailed characters in Red Country but none is as riveting as Lamb, a quiet man who kept his head bowed for years, farming, raising children that weren't his own. Perhaps the story of Lamb draws from too many familiar tropes (the lone warrior, ronin, etc.) but Lamb's journey, dialogue, and challenges haunted me weeks after finishing the book.

I didn't want no trouble," said Lamb. "It blew in anyway. Trouble's got a habit that way." He pushed his wet hair out of his face, and his eyes were wide open, bright, bright, mouth open too, breathing fast, and he was smiling. Not like a man working his way up to a hard task. Like a man enjoying getting to a pleasant one, taking his time about it like you might over a fine meal, and of a sudden Shy saw all those scars anew, and felt this coldness creeping up her arms and down her back and every hair on her standing.

Elsewhere Captain General Nicomo Cosca leads The Company of the Gracious Hand, a fierce bunch of mercenary murderers and thieves, accompanied by a feckless lawyer named Temple. The Company of the Gracious Hand has been hired by the inquisition to route hidden pockets of rebels, which they mean to do by burning and pillaging their way across the country. It's a red country indeed.

This is a fantastic book that spans many characters, miles of travel, and battles. No one ends the journey unscathed, definitely not Lamb who turns out to have a much richer and darker past than Shy ever suspected. Abercrombie's First Law trilogy is also fantastic but the characters are so dark that you almost stop caring about them. In Red Country, Shy, Temple, and definitely Lamb are dark, broken characters and yet you never stop rooting for them to succeed. They are forced into many hard choices, each with a hefty price to pay, and each conflict brings an uneasy resolution. Yet the dialogue has so much sly wit and humor that the book never seems TOO dark or bleak. There is a spark of hope and warmth that keeps the balance.

Joe Abercrombie is a modern master of the anti-hero and Red Country is his best work to date. I highly recommend.

Well written with engaging characters and a brisk pace to the plot, but what really makes this story stand out is the effort to take an honest and uncompromising look at the true cost of violence. For those who have grown up with epic fantasy (like me), it provides a more mature perspective on the central ideals that drive these enduring stories. The characters are no less heroic for the nuanced and compromised choices they make.

Imagine The Searchers, Unforgiven, Once Upon A Time In the West, Wagon Train, and I'm sure some other westerns I haven't seen. This is a great book for those who have never read any books from the The Circle of World as well as rewarding for those who have been devoted fans.

I have been going back and forth on whether or not I find Red Country to be "original".
In a way it is original in the way he did things. On the other hand, he basically took 4 or 5 Clint Eastwood movies, slammed them into a montage and changed Clint Eastwood to "Lamb".
For those who arent Clint Eastwood western movie fans, you probably wont even notice. I am a Clint Eastwood western movie fan so it was very, very easy to pick out.
My first disappointment was the size of the book. It is the smallest hardback I have bought since New Spring.
I enjoyed reading the book. There were some great scenes and great quotes. I am not sure how much I like the ending. I dont want to give any spoilers so..
*SPOILER* (why did our old friend pop in like that?).*END SPOILER* I get what Eastwood movie it referenced, and while it made a lot of sense in that movie, it made very little in this.

I was also disappointed there was no Lamb POV. He didnt come off as near the badass that he did in the trilogy.

So far I consider the Heroes to be Abercrombie's best work. It was very crafty and very entertaining. Followed by the trilogy that was a mixed bag, some parts were OUTSTANDING, some needing a little work, over all really good. I would put this above Best Served Cold which I wasnt blown away with.

The first time I thought of this book being deadwood with swords I meant it sarcasticly then I remembered that I bloody loved deadwood and I thought why not, it works. I read this in a day having to stop only to go work, then picking it up again until I finished it.
It stands on its own but is even better if you are an abercrombie fan, great stuff.

Abercrombie has bred life back into this genre with truly rounded characters and plot that leaves you not only wanting more, but opening up new worlds and tales throughout his work. I would recommend this author for anyone looking to step out of the mundane and into a world of amazing characters and adventure, without the predictable moral ending.

I confess, this book probably deserves 2 stars, but I just couldn't pass up on being the first 1 star review. Its difficult to judge the actual quality of this book, because really I'm just comparing it to all his others, which set the bar pretty high for me. I'm a huge Joe Abercrombie fan. I won't say this is a bad book necessarily, I will say it was a HUGE let down. Joe is way better than this. If this had been the first novel of his I had read, I wouldn't have read another.

First of all, the western thing just doesn't work, and bothered me from start to finish. Joe just kind of dismisses the 500 year time differential between medieval and western periods, which would have been fine, had he not awkwardly placed characters from the other books into this one. Characters that we know and love, who lived in a medieval setting, suddenly find themselves wearing trench coats and cowboy hats, driving wagons across the plains, and having duels in the muddy streets of saloon towns. Picture Aragorn and Legolas carrying six shooters, and wearing spurs, and you'll feel what I felt while reading this book.

Second, Joe adheres to the Western genre discipline of shallow character development, at the cost of losing some of the best original qualities of his writing that REALLY set his books apart from most others. (If you don't want to know what characters have returned, skip this paragraph). For instance, instead of characters being complicated, human, and unpredictable, they are know iconic versions of their former selves. Logen is Clint Eastwood now. He stares death in the face and takes on armies at a time, with a grin on his face. He holds grown men off the ground with one arm, goes into Hulk mode on command, and stares into a lot of sunsets. Shivers is about his equal, holding men hostage with one hand, while eating scrambled eggs with the other, all while delivering quick witted one liners. I miss the days when Shivers and Logan knew that even a weak looking beggar in an alley could be a force to be reckoned with in disguise, because looks could be deceiving, etc. I miss the caution, and the fear, and the human emotions of these characters. I miss them NOT thinking that they are invincible. It really just made for a lot of eye rolling on my part. And sadly, or maybe for the better in this book, we don't get the first person view from Shivers or Logen. They both take a back seat as supporting characters.

Third, the book is just plain boring. I mean really boring. The characters spend the first half of the book traveling with a wagon caravan across the plains (headed west to find gold no less), trying to avoid Indian attacks. Yes, you heard me right, whooping, arrow shooting, face painting, plains Indians. Except for some reason they are Ginger? Short of a single Indian raid, which yields a few stray arrows and a death or two, and a high noon brawl, I don't recall any real action until the stack of pages in my right hand was getting pretty thin. And when it finally came, it was less than suspenseful. Also, Joe seems to commit most of his energy to describing how dirty everything is, almost like he's trying to convince us that we really are now in the American West! The towns are muddy. The wooden buildings are covered in dirt. Dirt caked on faces. Dirt under fingernails. Dirt clouds hovering in the air. Dirt, dirt, dirt. I get it! You're in Arizona! Less dirt, more blood please!

Lastly, the book is painfully predictable. Everything that happens you see coming. Every line that's spoken is witty, cutting, and defiant. Every character is a John Wayne version of their former selves. Good guys win, bad guys lose, blah blah blah. This is true western, in all the worst ways.

I caught myself sighing often, either from disappointment or sheer boredom. I even caught myself skimming at some points. I NEVER skim Abercrombie. I knocked out his other books in as little as 5 days, this book took me almost 3 months. I couldn't subject myself to more than one or two boring chapters at a time. I pressed on, because I was hoping Joe would pull through, or maybe I just felt I owed it to him for writing such incredible stuff in the past. Either way, this book was work. After finally finishing, I immediately picked up The Heroes, to flush my head of this experience, and remind myself why I love this author. I almost forgot..

This is just perfect - new setting, new area, new history and some old favourites that come back to show their faces.

It's fun to read and follow the action. I don't wont to spoil any fun and surprises but the ending gave me a slither of hope that I will read about my favourite character once again.

I have enjoyed all of the books set in this universe. However, Abercrombie seems to be running out of steam. This latest novel lacks the scope and intrigue of his prior books. He also was trying to be cute with hiding a major character's past and tries too hard to bring other characters from his past books into play. It may be time for Abercrombie to start a new series.

Yet another gripping tale set in the universe of the First Law Trilogy. One of my favorite things about J.A. Is that his stories have a gritty reality. The heroes are usually villains as well or near enough as makes no difference. It's all about perspective. "you have to be realistic..."

Well written with engaging characters and a brisk pace to the plot, but what really makes this story stand out is the effort to take an honest and uncompromising look at the true cost of violence. For those who have grown up with epic fantasy (like me), it provides a more mature perspective on the central ideals that drive these enduring stories. The characters are no less heroic for the nuanced and compromised choices they make.

Imagine The Searchers, Unforgiven, Once Upon A Time In the West, Wagon Train, and I'm sure some other westerns I haven't seen. This is a great book for those who have never read any books from the The Circle of World as well as rewarding for those who have been devoted fans.

I have been going back and forth on whether or not I find Red Country to be "original".
In a way it is original in the way he did things. On the other hand, he basically took 4 or 5 Clint Eastwood movies, slammed them into a montage and changed Clint Eastwood to "Lamb".
For those who arent Clint Eastwood western movie fans, you probably wont even notice. I am a Clint Eastwood western movie fan so it was very, very easy to pick out.
My first disappointment was the size of the book. It is the smallest hardback I have bought since New Spring.
I enjoyed reading the book. There were some great scenes and great quotes. I am not sure how much I like the ending. I dont want to give any spoilers so..
*SPOILER* (why did our old friend pop in like that?).*END SPOILER* I get what Eastwood movie it referenced, and while it made a lot of sense in that movie, it made very little in this.

I was also disappointed there was no Lamb POV. He didnt come off as near the badass that he did in the trilogy.

So far I consider the Heroes to be Abercrombie's best work. It was very crafty and very entertaining. Followed by the trilogy that was a mixed bag, some parts were OUTSTANDING, some needing a little work, over all really good. I would put this above Best Served Cold which I wasnt blown away with.

The first time I thought of this book being deadwood with swords I meant it sarcasticly then I remembered that I bloody loved deadwood and I thought why not, it works. I read this in a day having to stop only to go work, then picking it up again until I finished it.
It stands on its own but is even better if you are an abercrombie fan, great stuff.

I confess, this book probably deserves 2 stars, but I just couldn't pass up on being the first 1 star review. Its difficult to judge the actual quality of this book, because really I'm just comparing it to all his others, which set the bar pretty high for me. I'm a huge Joe Abercrombie fan. I won't say this is a bad book necessarily, I will say it was a HUGE let down. Joe is way better than this. If this had been the first novel of his I had read, I wouldn't have read another.

First of all, the western thing just doesn't work, and bothered me from start to finish. Joe just kind of dismisses the 500 year time differential between medieval and western periods, which would have been fine, had he not awkwardly placed characters from the other books into this one. Characters that we know and love, who lived in a medieval setting, suddenly find themselves wearing trench coats and cowboy hats, driving wagons across the plains, and having duels in the muddy streets of saloon towns. Picture Aragorn and Legolas carrying six shooters, and wearing spurs, and you'll feel what I felt while reading this book.

Second, Joe adheres to the Western genre discipline of shallow character development, at the cost of losing some of the best original qualities of his writing that REALLY set his books apart from most others. (If you don't want to know what characters have returned, skip this paragraph). For instance, instead of characters being complicated, human, and unpredictable, they are know iconic versions of their former selves. Logen is Clint Eastwood now. He stares death in the face and takes on armies at a time, with a grin on his face. He holds grown men off the ground with one arm, goes into Hulk mode on command, and stares into a lot of sunsets. Shivers is about his equal, holding men hostage with one hand, while eating scrambled eggs with the other, all while delivering quick witted one liners. I miss the days when Shivers and Logan knew that even a weak looking beggar in an alley could be a force to be reckoned with in disguise, because looks could be deceiving, etc. I miss the caution, and the fear, and the human emotions of these characters. I miss them NOT thinking that they are invincible. It really just made for a lot of eye rolling on my part. And sadly, or maybe for the better in this book, we don't get the first person view from Shivers or Logen. They both take a back seat as supporting characters.

Third, the book is just plain boring. I mean really boring. The characters spend the first half of the book traveling with a wagon caravan across the plains (headed west to find gold no less), trying to avoid Indian attacks. Yes, you heard me right, whooping, arrow shooting, face painting, plains Indians. Except for some reason they are Ginger? Short of a single Indian raid, which yields a few stray arrows and a death or two, and a high noon brawl, I don't recall any real action until the stack of pages in my right hand was getting pretty thin. And when it finally came, it was less than suspenseful. Also, Joe seems to commit most of his energy to describing how dirty everything is, almost like he's trying to convince us that we really are now in the American West! The towns are muddy. The wooden buildings are covered in dirt. Dirt caked on faces. Dirt under fingernails. Dirt clouds hovering in the air. Dirt, dirt, dirt. I get it! You're in Arizona! Less dirt, more blood please!

Lastly, the book is painfully predictable. Everything that happens you see coming. Every line that's spoken is witty, cutting, and defiant. Every character is a John Wayne version of their former selves. Good guys win, bad guys lose, blah blah blah. This is true western, in all the worst ways.

I caught myself sighing often, either from disappointment or sheer boredom. I even caught myself skimming at some points. I NEVER skim Abercrombie. I knocked out his other books in as little as 5 days, this book took me almost 3 months. I couldn't subject myself to more than one or two boring chapters at a time. I pressed on, because I was hoping Joe would pull through, or maybe I just felt I owed it to him for writing such incredible stuff in the past. Either way, this book was work. After finally finishing, I immediately picked up The Heroes, to flush my head of this experience, and remind myself why I love this author. I almost forgot..

Another thud and blunder piece by Abercrombie. This reads more like an attempt at a Western than anything else. What puzzles me about Abercrombie is that he claims to write fantasy but most of the world that he describes is just a transposed historical world, there is virtually no fantasy in the writing. As for character, not much just episode after episode of clownish violence,

after reading all of abercrombie's other books i couldn't wait to get started reading this one. what a waste of time. He somehow even managed to ruin Logan's character . I am about 3/4 done with the book but could walk away from it anytime, keep waiting for something to happen but it just keep dragging on.