Comparing First Law Trilogy with Song of Ice & Fire

Recently I discovered First Law trilogy written by Joe Abercrombie. I was happy to have discovered a brilliant new series and one that did not make me wait to find out how the series concluded. The conclusion was in line with the how the series was, which is to say it was not a story book ending.  

What I liked most was that there were no obvious good or bad guys in the books. In fact, all the characters were flawed. If I have to identify two of the favorite characters in the books that I liked, these would be a torturer who shits in his bed & a mad berserker who can kill even a child when he is in rage. I wouldn’t consider these guys to be heroes in any way.  

And after reading the book, I was reminded of the Song of Fire & Ice series by George R R Martin. It is currently all the rage with a big HBO TV series, Game of Thrones, making the work mainstream. What makes GRRM’s books notable is that almost all the characters are with gray shades though the Stark’s are mainly on the lighter side of grey. GRRM is the standard bearer for the more realistic fantasy which is in contract to Tolkienesque world composed of good & bad.

Scope of the GRRM universe is much wider as compared to First Law universe. Also GRRM has larger set of strong characters. I found the writing style of Joe Abercrombie to be funnier, especially the insight into the torturers mind were constant delight. I found myself laughing at most horrible situations.

All in all, GRRM books have larger canvas and bigger promise. On other side, First law trilogy is complete & ready for consumption. So while waiting for next installment of Fire and Ice, fantasy fans can enjoy the First Law trilogy.