Joe Abercrombie is interviewed by Andrew Brooks on SFRevu,
wherein he says many things about the just-released Last Argument of Kings, and the trilogy it completes, including:
I read a lot of history, and my observation has been that failures, mistakes, and idiocy are frequently much more important in the course of events than successes. I hadn’t seen that much failure and stupidity in fantasy so I was keen to redress the balance. I wanted my characters grimy, flawed, and difficult, as I have observed real people generally to be, so it made sense that my mismatched group of champions should mostly despise each other throughout. A couple learn grudging respect for one member of the team or another, but in the main they hate each other just as much at the end as they did to begin with.
John Berlyne also reviews the book for the site, and says, “The First Law is, I strongly believe, a seminal work of modern fantasy. It is a benchmark sequence that should be regarded as an example of all that is truly great in today’s genre fiction. It stands way above the vast majority of the marketplace, tainted as so many fantasy works are with the lofty and portentous myth cycles bequeathed to us by Tolkien. Instead, Abercombie’s work reflects today’s harsher world within its pages. This is fantasy come of age, a tale for a modern generation, a story for the selfish — for a harder, more self-aware audience, for people who live in today’s litigious, cynical, unforgiving society. You know who you are! Very highly recommended.”