The New York Times wants you to check out Joe Abercrombie!

You know it, we know it, and thousands of fantasy fans know it: The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie is one epic piece of awesomeness.  But when the New York Times tries to appease George R. R. Martin fans by suggesting some winning series to hold them over until The Winds of Winter finally hits shelves and they feature our books first and foremost, we can't help but get a little giddy.  Ok, totally giddy because it's the NEW YORK TIMES people!  And no we're not lying, here's the article online.

The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and The Last Argument of the Kings are recommended right up front referring to them "gangster fantasy, leavened with plenty of black humor."  Yeah, that's a pretty good description!

So who else do they suggest alongside Abercrombie for fans of George R. R. Martin? Scott Lynch, Richard K. Morgan, and Brandon Sanderson.  This killer list will also be printed in this Sunday's edition of the New York Times.

World's Biggest Bookstore

Matthew Sturges (Midwinter), Joe Abercrombie (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings) and Tom Lloyd (The Stormcaller, The Twilight Herald) at the World's Biggest Bookstore:

The World's Biggest Bookstore is located in Toronto, Ontario, at 20 Edward St, just north of the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Joe Shoots His Mouth Off

A great interview with Joe Abercrombie over on SF UK Book News. Even though it deals with the conclusion of The First Law trilogy, there's no spoilers for us US folks. My favorite bit:

UKSFBN: Throughout The First Law you've taken great and deliberate delight in subtly subverting established fantasy conventions. Given that you freely confessed, last time you talked to us, to doing this on purpose, will you also admit to having increased the satire levels in the final volume, or has the trope-bashing been kept to a minimum this time around?

Joe Abercrombie: "The trope-bashing is certainly still going, more than ever in a way, since the trilogy is a single story and it perhaps diverges further and further from what the reader expects as we draw near to the end. Epic fantasy is a genre full of clichés, so you can't really write in it without reacting to them yourself in some way – whether you embrace them, consciously reject them, or try to twist them to your own evil purposes.

"But, you know, for all the attempts to do something surprising and rework the formula and all that, I hope that what I've delivered first and foremost is a cracking fantasy tale. I'm aiming more for Unforgiven than for Blazing Saddles, if you like. A re-examination of the classic form, perhaps, a self-aware comment on it, perhaps, but also a solid example of the form. I'm not taking myself too seriously (despite appearances), but I'm not taking the piss either.

"Not too much, anyway."

Abercrombie on Abercrombie

A wealth of Joe Abercrombie over on SFCrowsnest. First, they reprint his blog entry on the influence of George RR Martin on his work (The Blade Itself,Before They Are Hanged,and the forthcoming Last Argument of Kings), then Joe is interviewed by Aidan Moher in "The Joe Himself: Joe Abercrombie Interviewed." On his early influences:

As a kid I was very into the Lord of the Rings, and read it every year for a while. Wizard of Earthsea also had a strong effect on me. So did Michael Moorcock (particularly Corum and all the crazy names). I watched Conan the Barbarian many times more than is healthy for a teenage boy (there's boobs in it, and I'm not just talking about Schwarzenegger's). I started playing an awful lot of roleplaying games around this time, and with supplements from that, early fantasy-styled computer games such as Dungeon Master, Bloodwych, and Legend, cracking through a load of Dragonlance, and David Eddings first two series (or are they the same series with different covers?) I probably glutted myself on the cheesier end of the fantasy spectrum. Nothing wrong with cheese, you understand, as long as you get some fibre in your diet at the same time.

SFFWorld's Favorite Books of 2007

SFFWorld’s readers have voted for their favorite books of 2007, and we're thrilled that Before They Are Hangedtops the list (this refers to the UK edition, as the US edition was just released). What's more, Joe Abercrombie appears twice, with The Blade Itselftying with the wonderful Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora at # 5. Here's the full list:

1. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie (105 points)
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (96 points)
3. Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson (63 points)
4. Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb (54 points)
5. The Lies of Locke Lamora* by S. Lynch & The Blade Itself* by J. Abercrombie (41 points)
6. The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien (32 points)
7. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (31 points)
8. The Thousandfold Thought* by R. Scott Bakker (28 points)
9. The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne M. Valente

Also delighted to see that The Devil's Right Hand author Lilith Saintcrow praises The Blade Itself on her blog, Writer on the Dark Side: "This is fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, but without the complete lack of verite most fantasy is infected with... There’s wizards, mythology, kings, princes, a self-absorbed nobleman, ancient legends, fencing–all written so well I was grinding my teeth with envy whenever I HAD to put the book down. This is a fantastic start to a trilogy, and I can’t wait to get the next two books so I can see what happens next. There are some tropes, true, but they’re handled so deftly and characterised so beautifully they take on the status of old friends instead of worn-out archetypes. In short, I can’t say enough good things about this book, and I highly recommend it."

Thank you, Lilith. Wait till you get to book two!

Can You Handle Another Best of the Year List?

SFSite has posted their "Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2007: Readers' Choice" and I'm delighted to see Joe Abercrombie's Before They Are Hangedat number five (here for the UK edition, as our edition was just released this month and hasn't found its way into all venues yet), as well as, not surprisingly, Ian McDonald's Brasylat number three.

Of the latter, they say, "McDonald masterfully explores some key sfnal concepts and pivotal alternative science. Wrap your head around this book if you want to see what truly ingenious science fiction can look like."

Before They Are Hanged: The Wait is Over

Just alerted to the fact that Before They Are Hanged (The First Law: Book Two)is shipping from Amazon already, about a month ahead of it's scheduled release. Get 'em while they're hot.

Before They Are Hanged: Beating the Middle Book Syndrome with a Starred Review

Before They Are Hanged (The First Law: Book Two)

Joe Abercrombie

This grim and vivid sequel to 2007’s The Blade Itself transcends its middle volume status, keeping the reader engaged with complicated plotting and intriguing character development... Abercrombie leavens the bloody action with moments of dark humor, developing a story suffused with a rich understanding of human darkness and light. (Mar.)

--Publishers Weekly, starred review, January 21, 2008

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: 2007 Year-End Awards

Patrick of Pat's Fantasy Hotlist has posted his 2007 Year-End Awards. As with SFFWorld, Joe Abercrombie (The Blade Itself /Before They Are Hanged)and Ian McDonald (Brasyl) are in the list, as is Joel Shepherd (Killswitch). Joe gets special mention as the "Most Improved Author Award" for the way he ramps things up in book two of his First Law trilogy.

SFFWorld Review of the Year

The guys at SFFWorld have put up their annual Review of the Year in two parts. They run through their opinions on the best fantasy books, best SF books, best films and tv shows, best comics and games. Very glad to see both Joe Abercrombie (The Blade Itself /Before They Are Hanged)and Ian McDonald (Brasyl)getting heavy mentions, as well as Kay Kenyon (Bright of the Sky) and my own Fast Forward 1anthology. Thanks guys!