Reviews for A new world of law?: A study of the creative imagination in international law

The average rating for A new world of law?: A study of the creative imagination in international law based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-10-12 00:00:00 Selly Garcia Before They Are Hanged succeeds over The Blade Itself wonderfully. “We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged.”—Heinrich Heine I’ve mentioned in my review of The Blade Itself that although I highly enjoyed it, Abercrombie’s debut felt like more like a setup book; a necessary installment for the remaining two books in the trilogy to shine. Before They Are Hanged is where Abercrombie starts progressing the storyline and the third book is where he wraps things up explosively. On this reread, I’ve come to realize that The First Law trilogy can be defined as one gigantic volume divided into three; the conclusion of the first two books in the trilogy continues immediately in their respective sequel as if it’s a simple chapter change and there were no definite conclusive storylines until the end of Last Argument of Kings. This storytelling style makes binge-reading the trilogy such a great experience, and I love this book more than The Blade Itself. Picture: Before They are Hanged by Alexander Preuss Before They Are Hanged starts from where The Blade Itself left off. The narrative was told from six POV characters and the majority of the plot takes place in three different areas in the Circle of the World: the west, the north, and the south. The slow setup in The Blade Itself pays off magnificently here. Abercrombie once again tells a character-driven story that never loses each character’s distinctive voice and personality. Every perspective was immensely enjoyable to read. Although I can easily vouch that both Logen and Glokta are included in my favorite grimdark fantasy characters list, choosing which perspective I loved reading the most in this installment is an entirely different matter; the pacing and the progression of every storyline were utterly engaging. Before They Are Hanged was full of unpredictable twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat repeatedly. Loyalty, greed, unlikely friendship, money, responsibilities, and war were embedded tremendously into the narrative; I loved reading every single scene and discussion in this book that involved these themes. “Those with the least always lose the most in war.” The characterizations were, once again, my favorite part of the book. Abercrombie successfully used the foundation he established in the first book and developed his characters accordingly; revealing their backgrounds and making them more empathizing. Seeing these characters—both old and new—try their best in the direst of circumstances were intense, at times hilarious, and delightful. Logen, for example, is an extraordinarily powerful warrior but he’s also tired from encountering war and death in his path. Before They Are Hanged showed Logen doing his best to be good and kind; witnessing this supposedly savage barbarian do his utmost best in building friendships with the new people in his mission made me smile. However, the happiest surprise in this book to me was realizing how much I grew to care about Jezal and the side characters of the series. Practically all characters in this trilogy suffered, a LOT. Abercrombie isn’t afraid to maim or put his characters through intense suffering. Rest assured that none of the character’s pain was put there just for the sake of gore. One of the best striking example in how Abercrombie displayed his skill on this particular subject is by showing the deadly capability of hard life and war in changing people; for better or worse. The immense difficulties that the characters faced in their respective mission brought spectacular character developments to each one of them with splendid precision. “Anyone can face ease and success with confidence. It is the way we face trouble and misfortune that defines us.” Say one thing for Abercrombie, say he knows how to repeat catchphrases at the right time to enhance memorable moments. Logen’s catchphrases like “Still Alive” and “You can’t have too many knives” or Glokta’s “Why do I do this?” may seem simple but they’re truly some of the most memorable phrases that made this series more unique and distinctive from other grimdark fantasy series. Plus, there’s Glokta. I immensely enjoyed reading Glokta’s perspective in Before They Are Hanged. He’s such a joy to read; the complexity of his character, the contrast between his spoken words and internal thoughts were hilarious, and I found myself always looking forward to his next chapter. The quantity and quality of the action scenes—both skirmishes and larger-scale battles—have also improved. Picture: The Road to Victory by Alexander Preuss The first book only showed glimpses of the world-building and lore of the series. This installment revealed some of the histories of the Circle of the World, mainly regarding The First Law, Juvens, Gulstrod, and Kanedias that explained and influenced Bayaz’s motivation in the series. The world-building was immersive and detailed but never went into world-building overkill level as some authors did. Jealousy, corruption, and revenge drove the histories of the world; despite the passage of time and the changes that come with it, it’s intriguing how things, somehow, haven’t changed at all. I believe that this is something that can be easily applied to our real-life history and current situation. “One should learn the lessons of history. The mistakes of the past need only be made once. Unless there are no other choices.” There’s no infamous middle-book syndrome here, Before They Are Hanged is an amazing sequel full of unpredictable plot progressions and incredibly well-realized character developments. I’m going to admit that some of the powerful pulse-pounding moments in the book during my first read was missing on my reread because I already know what will happen, but it doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book. Being back with these morally grey characters feels like a reunion with twisted friends, and I’m glad for it. Onwards to the next book, Last Argument of Kings, which, in my opinion, is the best book Abercrombie has ever written so far; it’s also one of my favorite grimdark novels at the moment. You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping) You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

Review # 2 was written on 2017-03-18 00:00:00 Rosanna Vigil "We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged" - Heinrich Heine Before They Are Hanged is Abercrombie's second entry into the twisted and grim world of The First Law. It follows on from the three story arcs that The Blade itself stylishly led towards. Bayaz, the first of the Magi is venturing to the end of the Earth with his bizarre collection of distinctive personnel for reasons unbeknown to all apart from the Mage himself. Superior Glokta has traveled South to infiltrate the politics of an allied nation, hoping to find out what happened to his ill-fated predecessor and preparing defences for the attacks soon to be initiated by an advancing and ultimately imminent rival army. The remaining narrative intertwines the stories of the rough-living, legendary warrior group of Threetrees and the Dogman with the troubles in the North where the Union is tackling the Northern King's great forces. Here we follow the action of "the worst-armed, worst-trained and worst-led army in the world" For one of the narratives arcs, three points of view presentations are followed, often within the same chapter switching between actions and opinions. The second has two viewpoints from very different characters summarising the happenings in the unwelcoming harshness of the cold real world with battles looming. The final is presented by Superior Glotka alone. A former dashing fencer who was tortured, crippled and now is an inquisitor/ torturer. Trust me, you would have to wake up pretty early in the morning to outsmart this gentleman! He is perhaps the finest creation in this series, for his tortuous past, achingly uncomfortable present and also his internal monolgues which are as highly gritty as they are humorous. I mentioned he is the only POV section in this arc, but his internal thoughts are often so comically different from his statements and actions that it is like two amazing viewpoints. His character is outstandingly well written. There is also a pretty distinctive juxtaposition in his presentation of events and environments. He still sees beauty in the world in his descriptions of things and then a second later could be commanding a subordinate to cut off a traitors body part. I very rarely read other reviews before writing my own, but I did catch one snippet from a status update that was very apt. It stated that Abercrombie's stories are full of "bastards that grow on you." I think that that is a perfect analogy. I honestly shouldn't care about most of the people written here. Why do I truly care about vain, flamboyant, selfish officer Jezal when something bad happens to him? Perhaps he deserves all he gets for his previous outlook and analysis of existence. Why do I care about Logan Ninefingers? He seems like an average warrior guy with scars encompassing his body, who people say was pretty handy with a sword and did some damning things in the past. I really cared about the majority of the main characters. Although a few fantasy character tropes are presented, spoilt King in waiting, mages, Devils etc... Nothing at all seems cliche and that cannot be said for a lot of modern fantasy works. My review of The Blade Itself raved about the characters and from my previous paragraph, you can see my opinions there haven't changed. If anything, my views have been reinforced and heightened about how much of a knack Abercrombie has for this aspect of his fantasy work. Although not really too negative and off-putting, I did comment on the lack of action throughout the first book. Action wise, Joe truly has raised the bar high here. Battles, sieges, and The Bloody Nine - all are expertly presented and adrenaline pumping. It doesn't all need to be full guts gory and bloody to have an emotional dark impact either, and there are a few moments here that are poignant in their effectiveness for that reason. I call this the (just made this up but it sounds cool) "pushing Bran from the Tower technique," very intricate actions that have long lasting effects even though the act in question was simple. In addition to the lack of action, my other grating issue with The Blade Itself was the world and the histories, although not hollow, did seem a bit unfulfilled. I was unsatisfied that there was still no map, but a lot of the above has been rectified here. Most of Bayaz et al's scenes are travel based (the end of the world isn't close) so we are presented cool stories by the characters to pass the time at campfires. Bayaz talking about the history of the world, his relationships with other important, almost legendary figures and his past failings are memorable. A scene that stood out to me was very simple, perhaps twelve pages where an ensemble discusses their scars. So not only have the already complex characters become deeper, the world and its past are filled in pretty well here. There is also a bit of a "love story" here to look forward to. I was highly satisfied with the majority of what I read here. Abercrombie is a genius is his moulding of characters and of all things "grim". Normally, the ending of a story can add a star to my rating. The finale to one of the arcs of this book had the opposite effect. I will not go into details but I will be interested in the comments to see if people agree and/or know the narrative I am discussing. I felt let down and almost like I had wasted my time waiting for that culmination. This is probably a 8.5/10 but "Last Argument of Kings" must give me a reason for the arc ending this way. If it does, I will re-evaluate what I have written in this little section. To conclude, this trilogy seems to be a character driven fantasy that is unequaled in the genre. Gripping, thrilling, gritty and pretty damn awesome. www.youandibooks.wordpress.com