The wisdom of crowds

In the beginning of Abercrombie's pitch-black conclusion to his Age of Madness trilogy (after The Trouble with Peace, 2020), the People's Army has stormed Adua, the seat of King Orso's power, and freedom from tyranny is nigh. Or is it? Certainly Abercrombie offers no surety as the common people's revolution descends into the violence, greed, injustice, and hypocrisy that characterized its prior government. While Orso offers incisive, acerbic commentary from prison, those leading the Great Change legitimize mob justice, sham trials, barbaric executions, and erratic laws. Savine and Leo, from traitors to heroes again, strategize to avoid the noose and perhaps prosper in this volatile political environment, while in the North, Rikkie opposes Black Calder for final control. In the books' culminating scenes, a series of bitter, heartbreaking betrayals reveals the long-reaching machinations of the Weaver and, on a grander scale, the First of the Magi. Abercrombie's fans will be satisfied with this morally complex conclusion in which even the victorious few know that, in the end, "[e]very victory turns out to be just another defeat."

Abercrombie's conclusion to his bestselling grimdark Age of Madness trilogy (following The Trouble With Peace) will satisfy his many fans, especially those who don't need to rely on the five-page cast list at the back to feel sufficiently oriented. Disreputable crown prince turned reluctant king Orso the First has assumed the throne of the Union following an unexpected military triumph. Predictably, he wears the crown uneasily: his reign is challenged by a rebel group calling themselves the Breakers, who are amassing a People's Army to march on Orso's stronghold. The crown's response is harsh, and the book's strongest scenes depict the consequences of Orso's acquiescence to his advisers' decision to toss captured rebels off a tower to their deaths. ("The trial can be on the way down. The ground can give the verdict.") The bloodshed and political turmoil are reminiscent of the horrors of the French Reign of Terror, mixed with diverting humor that comes partially courtesy of Orso's narcissistic tendencies. Less successful are some of the other, more forced real-world allusions, including a draft constitution that begins, "We consider these facts to be self-evident." Nonetheless, with its thoughtful exploration of differing approaches to governance and rich, action-packed plot, this epic fantasy makes a fitting series close. Agent: Robert Kirby, United Agents. (Sept.)