Red Country

Red Country is the sixth chronological novel in Joe Abercrombie's First Law world.
I had read all the earlier ones previously, some years ago now, and I had read them pretty close together. Naturally, first I read the trilogy, which I thought was pretty passable,

Mainly I was annoyed with that ending, what? Bite me. I do not like literal cliffhangers, Especially after 1800 pages of what should be a closed story... Ask me again in ten years, And I will be able to concede that this shit was honestly pretty damn epic and had an ending that was poetically perfect... But not right now.

but then, like an idiot, I read The Heroes and only afterwards I read the novel I should've read earlier; the stunningly fun Best Served Cold.
The reason why Red Country didn't get read any sooner, was primarily because I wasn't keen on yet another unsatisfying romance, one ending with a whimper or a shrug.

Looking back on Best Served Cold I can easily see why I enjoyed that one so much: I tend to if not root for a novel's romance, then I'm definitely always riveted by it, and Abercrombie has a nasty habit of giving you something to root for, only to then deflate the living fuck out of it at the novel's ending. But with Best Served Cold, as I'd already read the novel after it, I already knew how Cold's romance would go and I just ended up enjoying the rest of the story... yes, and the style and the humour, because Abercrombie is actually really very good.

Red Country then was a long delayed read that I started on impulse after reading Gail Simone's Red Sonja, which for some reason made me feel like reading a western, of all things.
It turned out pretty well in its story department, even if at times it felt as if Abercrombie had taken a step down.

Shy has left her violent past behind her, and together with her adopted grandfather Lamb and her siblings, has settled down on a small farm to make a more honest living.

But when they return from a trip to town to discover the burnt-out remains of her second chance at life, and when she finds that her brother and sister are missing, she and Lamb are forced in pursuit.

Shy South is no stranger to violence, and though the tracks around the farm suggest a great group of men, she is sure that when they catch up with them she will think of something.

But she's worried about Lamb: The big hulking Northman, though horribly scarred, is some kind of coward, always backing away from a fight, never looking anyone in the eye. You'd think a man would stand up for himself, especially in lands such as these.

With only him to help her in the chase from the Near to the Far Country to find her family, what hope does she have?

And the land out there is wild and inhospitable, it is the last stop for those desperate to make their fortune, as it is for those who prey on them.

A land for those looking for gold or for blood.

And some times, men will want for both.

Nicomo Cosca, famous soldier of fortune, has taken on a commission to root out the seed of rebellion from the Country's disparate townships, and he and the company of the Gracious Hand trek west in pursuit of rumour, of rebels, and more importantly of course; in search of gold.

The second most important man in the company, Temple, has had his doubts about this particular commission, if he's honest. But he's always taken the easy way, and it's certainly easier to go along with the press of  common greed than to follow the jabs of his own conscience.

But this time, he's about to do what's right. And he'll regret it.
 Because  this place is a Red Country, without justice, without meaning.

and a conscience is the last thing that'll help a man.

So yeah. I quite enjoyed it... In retrospect.
At the time I was going through some stuff, and the book was good enough to let me forget about that for a few hours. Abercrombie has a knack for getting you on board and rooting for his characters.
But after a few of his books you know those characters are probably not going to end up anywhere nice, but his style and humour pull you along regardless.
But it's actually the reverse here: The style is quite a step down from the previous novels, and the story, its resolution, didn't make me feel bad or dissatisfied at all. Very odd, really.
So for the most part I was reading the novel with the idea, that everyone was going to end up fucked, or with everyone fucking each other over, which naturally put a bit of a damper on the whole thing.
And that didn't happen... well it did... but not as a central conceit, and without impacting my enjoyment of the whole thing. It felt right, like a punctuation, and, to a certain degree, quite pleasant. It was kind of a happy ending, as these things go.
It's a shame then that the quality wasn't quite as good as in previous iterations.
Abercrombie has an occasionally clipped style because, I presume, every other chapter follows along a different character, so that the subtle changes reflect the character of the moment. But, for me at least, these changes detract from the experience, rather than heighten it. They're just not up to snuff, really. They became a little irksome. There were some other things that bothered me, but I've already left it way too long and things have gotten very vague.

I'm of two minds here, then. Pretty great, but shoddy maybe.
Ah well, they can't all be fucking winners. A man's got the be realistic about these things.

-----

Pain demands vengeance.

Better to be a coward, than to be

awash in a river of blood.

But then again, the colours are

so pretty, and to give in is to

be in the moment. Unconstrained,

in power, and unstoppable.

The easy way, and the right way.

Easy every time, until you can't anymore.

Until friendship lies bleeding in the dust,

senseless and choking on its own

sad sense of making the world

a better place.

So take up the mantle, and discard

the previously trodden path.

Money and greed, a happy life

if you can learn not to care.

Narcissism, or a complete lack of

self-awareness, either will do

a man just fine.

Cosca, Lamb or Temple,

but it is Shy you'd want to be.

Nevertheless, a life of violence,

crime, and a conscience beaten

to within an inch of its life.

For all of these. Well...

Maybe not for Cosca.

Connection and comfort,

sundered by cowardice.

The easy way, giving in to

your weakest side.

Cowardice sundered by the

lust for old desires; the smell of

fresh blood leads to the breaking

of men, and an unholy glee.

The easy way, giving in to your

darkest side.

Welcome back, old friend.
It is good to see you again.

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Yeah, I'll probably start adding selected bits from the currently reading side-bar.
It started feeling a bit stupid to just keep deleting those outright.