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Red Country (The First Law World)

4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 · rating details · 3,314 ratings · 459 reviews

A New York Times bestseller!
They burned her home.
They stole her brother and sister.
But vengeance is following.

Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step...more

ebook, 469 pages

Published October 23rd 2012 by Orbit (first published October 18th 2012)

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Apr 10, 2013 Dan Schwent rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, 2013

When Shy South and her cowardly stepfather Lamb return home to find their farmhand dead and Shy's two siblings missing, they venture into the Far Country to find them. They join a fellowship and head to the mining town of Crease. During their travels, Shy is forced to confront her own checkered past and finds that her stepfather has a past of his own...

On the heels of finishing A Dance with Dragons, my jones for dark fantasy with morally ambiguous characters was not sated so I turned to Red Coun...more When Shy South and her cowardly stepfather Lamb return home to find their farmhand dead and Shy's two siblings missing, they venture into the Far Country to find them. They join a fellowship and head to the mining town of Crease. During their travels, Shy is forced to confront her own checkered past and finds that her stepfather has a past of his own...

On the heels of finishing A Dance with Dragons, my jones for dark fantasy with morally ambiguous characters was not sated so I turned to Red Country. Red Country is my first Joe Abercrombie book and won't be the last.

Red Country promoted as being a fantasy western and I'd say that's fairly accurate. It's a story of revenge and redemption, two staples of the Western genre, and the trip across the Far Country to Crease has a very western feel to it. Crease has a setup not unlike the town from Fistful of Dollars (or Yojimbo, if you prefer). Lamb and Shy riding out into the unmapped country to find their missing loved ones is straight out of a lot of westerns. Without giving too much away, it also reminds me of Unforgiven quite a bit once Lamb mans up and shows his true colors. It's nice to see fantasy that strays from the rut of medieval pseudo-European quest stories.

The characters are an interesting bunch. Shy is a woman wondering why she managed to escape justice for her dark past. Lamb is a Northern barbarian trying to keep a promise he made to a dead woman. Temple is a lifelong screw up trying to turn things around. Cosca, one of the antagonists, is pretty lovable for a villain. They are far from the average fantasy cast and this is far from an average fantasy tale.

Joe Abercrombie's books are known for being dark and gritty. What people rarely mention is that they have a fair amount of dry humor and clever imagery in them as well. The quotable lines are surprisingly frequent. What I'm trying to say is that Abercrombie's writing was a lot more enjoyable to me than that of a lot of fantasy writers.

Also posted at Shelf Inflicted (less)

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Dec 14, 2012 Seak (Bryce L.) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-review, 2012, fantasy

Westerns. You couldn't pay me enough money to read one...

...and yet mix it with fantasy and I couldn't be more enthralled. Take King's The Dark Tower series and recently this one, Red Country, and obviously I'm a fan of westerns.

I even try to deny it with my movie choices, but again, some of my all-time favorites are westerns (Tombstone and 310 to Yuma). Why is that? Why do I think I hate them and secretly love them? I even lived in Wyoming for a time. I'm seriously asking this! I must be crazy...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Eric marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy, western

How could I not read the return of Logen "The Bloody Nine" Ninefingers, my favorite character from The First Law trilogy?

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Oct 23, 2012 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012_release_read, read_2012, review_fbc, genre-fantasy, top_25_2012_novels

"Severed heads,’ Cosca was explaining, ‘never go out of fashion. Used sparingly and with artistic sensibility, they can make a point a great deal more eloquently than those
still attached. Make a note of that. Why aren’t you writing?"

Joe A. at his best so far in Red Country which i have been greatly enjoying; while grim on occasion the book is really darkly funny and better than the limited Heroes in so many ways; still only about 100 pages in but tonight should read more and hopefully finish it...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Leora (Dances With Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just keep reading the book description over and over! I can't wait; I am so excited for this book to come out!!

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Apr 10, 2013 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Well crap. This book should have been an easy 4 and probably a 5. I was REALLY looking forward to this one. I saw the video ad on line thought it sounded great. The plot while obviously not completely original hasn't "really" been done before.. I mean it's a western set in a fantasy world...I mean an overt western. It's got a great lead in, a great set up some great characters (view spoiler)and some exceptional...more Well crap. This book should have been an easy 4 and probably a 5. I was REALLY looking forward to this one. I saw the video ad on line thought it sounded great. The plot while obviously not completely original hasn't "really" been done before.. I mean it's a western set in a fantasy world...I mean an overt western. It's got a great lead in, a great set up some great characters (view spoiler)and some exceptional scenes, dialogue and story telling.

So, why only 3 stars?

Oh good grief this thing is slow. I mean all that great story telling, wonderful dialogue, amazing action and detailed characterization is spread out between multiple thousands of superfluous words....thousands and thousands it seems. Dialogue that is apparently supposed to give us insight into the characters and be "interesting" is often simply pointless and time consuming. You could/can skip HUGE portions of this book and miss nothing...and even save a few hours of your life for other things.

You may have noticed...well some of you may have...that this has been on my "currently reading shelf" for a long time. That's because I kept laying it aside and not coming back to it.

Look this book did a great job of what it did but I truly wish Mr. Abercrombie had edited more or possibly turned the book over to a good editor and then listened...or something. This book should have exploded out the starting gate at breakneck speed and never slowed down. With plot points from many of the best examples of western books and movies and an ending scene (view spoiler) the book should have and could have been a thrill ride. It turned out to be a slow boat with intervals of fast satisfying action.

Well, I will live in hope. Joe Abercrombie has written better books. I find it sad that this is such an exceptional possibility that stumbled so badly. Worth reading and parts are exceptional. Try it for yourself. On the whole I think you'll enjoy it.

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Oct 23, 2012 Mihir rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Full Review originally at Fantasy Book Critic (Plus Analysis by Liviu)

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I was lucky to get a copy of Red Country from Gollancz and my thanks to Jon Weir for sending it all the way across the pond. To say this book was highly anticipated would be an understatement, once it was announced that this book would be featuring the return of Logen Ninefingers. A character that has been synonymous with the term “bad-ass” along with other famous ones such as Druss, Anomander Rake, Waylan...more
Full Review originally at Fantasy Book Critic (Plus Analysis by Liviu)

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I was lucky to get a copy of Red Country from Gollancz and my thanks to Jon Weir for sending it all the way across the pond. To say this book was highly anticipated would be an understatement, once it was announced that this book would be featuring the return of Logen Ninefingers. A character that has been synonymous with the term “bad-ass” along with other famous ones such as Druss, Anomander Rake, Waylander, Oberyn Martell etc.

After reading the ending to the First Law trilogy, many readers were left stymied a bit with it. Most characters had an ending that belied their start however for one particular character the journey was a full circle. People were left wondering what exactly happened to Ninefingers and this book answers the pivotal question of his survival without divulging any particular details as to how. The following review will have some minor spoilers for the previous five books and for this one so be warned for those who haven’t read all the previous titles.

The story begins in a bloody fashion of sorts wherein we are introduced to the main protagonists Shy South and Temple. Shy is a person who has had a rough adolescence and is now learning to live straight. She has her stepfather Lamb to help her out however with his timid behavior it often turns out that she has to step in to take care of situations as they arise. Temple is a jack-of-many-trades, who considers himself a coward of the highest order and is currently working as the legal counsel to Nicomo Cosca and his band of mercenaries.

Both characters have a journey ahead of them thanks to the actions of others and this is where this fantasy western story really explores the arc of each and every character. The story is focused on Shy & Lamb's search for Ro & Pit, the two missing children who have been abducted along with a host of others by an outlaw called Grega Cantliss. Their search however will cross roads with Nicomo Cosca and his band of mercenaries that include Temple and sergeant Friendly (seen previously in Best Served Cold). Cosca is going along with the inquisition to root out the rebels and is actively searching for a specific rebel leader.

For me this book was the best of Joe's standalone books and possibly one, that is great for all those wanting to see and read more about Ninefingers as he returns in a bloody manner as befitting his nature. The story follows a couple of plot threads that start divergently but soon merge in a surprising way that makes the book slightly more streamlined. Shy South and Temple can be said to be the main POV characters among the various ones featured in the book; however the sad part is that we don't get a POV from the character that we want to know about the most.

This part seriously was the biggest downer of the story for me as with everyone else I wanted to know about Logen and what he had been doing after his betrayal by Black Dow. We never get a clear cut idea about whether his so-called berserker state is super-natural or just a part of his mental persona. The author certainly loses points for this move as to not feature Ninefingers as a POV robs the story mightily of its sheen.

The pacing of the story however is spot on and we get a story that is a western as well as a redemption tale. The character arcs explored are very similar to a Stephen King story wherein flawed characters either make it or they don’t but their journey will be one that enthralls the readers and powers the story completely. Plus Logen Ninefingers finally transcends his journey into an iconic one by accepting who he is and what he is not, hopefully the author might provide further illumination by featuring him in more stories.

I was waiting to know all and be enchanted by Logen’s presence in the book but to paraphrase Logen himself “you have to be realistic about these things.” The ending of Red Country is perhaps much more optimistic than of the First Law trilogy and for that I’m glad however it is still as open ended as its predecessor and that might be a sticky point for some. I loved this book and the way the story ends readers will be hoping that we get to know more about what happens next for several characters.

Joe Abercrombie definitely knows how to write a story, he also knows to create memorable characters but his strongest suit is his dialogue and writing copious amounts of black humor. This book is no stranger to these facts and it manages to be the most uplifting of all his standalone books by virtue of twists and turns of this story.

The book is a complete winner for all fans waiting for the return of one of the most iconic barbarians ever, however for fans wanting to know Logen’s inner thoughts they might just have to wait a little longer. Dive in to read another fantastic effort by a veritable fantasy writer who is the first law when it comes to writing dark, bloody, action packed stories.(less)

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Dec 31, 2012 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: black-comedy, heart-of-darkness, literature-fantastique, noir

Red country has been labeled as Abercrombie’s take on the western. This partially true, as Abercrombie has managed to squeeze as much of the tropes and furniture of said genre into this book. Showdowns in bars, scouts, wagon trains, native attacks, cattle stampedes, frontier towns, a stagecoach chase, ravaged homesteads, kidnappings, last stands, and others are all gloriously skewered and given homage. There are references to many of the classics, The Unforgiven, Outlaw Josey Wales, Treasure of...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Hanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, wild-wild-west, shelf-a-ton-14, and-i-would-walk-500-miles

This is the murkiest Abercrombie yet.

"How are you going to write this up?" Temple was asking.
Sworbreck frowned down at his notebook, pencil hovering, then carefully closed it. "I may gloss over this episode"
Sufeen snorted. "I hope you brought a great deal of gloss"

Let me tell you, Abercrombie did not bring a lot of gloss to this book. If you're looking to escape in a magical happy-endings-type of fantasy world, move on, this book is not for you. But if you can handle a gritty, dark writing style and you enjoy books that have absolutely fabulous character-building and great plotlines, you will eat this up.

In this book Abercrombie does homage to the Western genre and the dedication at the start of the book immediately makes that clear: "For Teddy and Clint Eastwood but since Clint probably ain't that bothered mostly for Teddy."

The story takes place in an imaginary Wild West, at a time when it was still pretty ... wild. Few people around and those that are around are mostly gold seekers or people wanting to start all over again, but very likely failing doing so.

"It was a place of wild abandon, wild hope, wild despair, everything at extremes and nothing in moderation, dreams trodden into the muck and new ones sucked from bottles to be vomited up and trodden down in turn (...)

Buildings were botched together from split pine and high hopes, held up by the drunks slumped against both sides, women risking their lives to lean from wonky balconies and beckon in the business"

It’s impossible not to talk about character-building in an Abercrombie review. He’s just so brilliant at it!

There’s my favourite mercenary – though here slightly older and whinier than when we met him before: "People have often accused me of inconsistency but i feel i have always, at any given junction, done the same thing. Exactly what i pleased."

Jubair interpreting religion in a way that happens quite often when war and violence are around the corner.
"You killed him," said one of the mercenaries, with that talent for stating the obvious some men have.
"God killed him. I was but the instrument."

Temple was one of my favourite new characters introduced in this book. And the act of jumping out windows is very memorable.
Shy: “Might need someone to ride drag. Or jump out of a window. Or drive a wagon full of gold off a road.”
Temple puffed himself up. “As it happens, I am an expert in all three.”

And of course there are all the other old acquaintances that pass by, and that isn’t always good news.(view spoiler)

Overall a strong 4,5 stars.
The book starts a little slow perhaps. It took until part III ‘Crease’ for me to feel really engaged into the book. But the wait is worth it! Though officially it is a standalone, and it certainly can be read on its own, I still think the real brilliance of the book only shines through when you’ve read all the others too.
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Oct 26, 2012 Craig Slater rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The third stand-alone and sixth book in Joe’s world.

Fans of Joe (I think we know each-other well enough now for me to take the liberty of a first name only) will love both the new and familiar characters in this book and the progression of the world as it changes and evolves.

Newcomers could start here or indeed with any of the stand alone novels (Best Served Cold and The Heroes) but to get the full benefit and enjoyment of this particular book, I’d certainly recommend buying and reading them a...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Sweetie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, multi-reads, own, 2013

Wow, what a story. Loved it. So happy to see Logen Ninefingers again.
Will read this again. The characters are so rich, and sorry to say I don't have Joe Abercrombie's gift of words. Just thankful I found his books.

Quotes,
“One day you're something, so promising and full o' dares, so big the world's too small a place to hold you.
Then, 'fore you know it, you're old, and you realise all them things you had in mind you'll never get to. All them doors you felt too big to fit through have already sh...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Bane of Kings rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, notable-2012-releases, epic-fantasy, 25-best-2012-releases, 2012-releases-read

I think Joe Abercrombie might be one of my Top 5 favourite authors, along with George RR Martin, Iain M. Banks,Brandon Sanderson and JRR Tolkien. This was awesome,probably either my first or second favourite read of 2012. Utterly unputdownable.

“An epic, awesome standalone fantasy novel that I really enjoyed. One of gritty fantasy’s best Authors, Abercrombie is right up there with George RR Martin.” ~The Founding Fields

Red Country was the first book that I brought on my Kindle Fire that I got fo...more I think Joe Abercrombie might be one of my Top 5 favourite authors, along with George RR Martin, Iain M. Banks,Brandon Sanderson and JRR Tolkien. This was awesome,probably either my first or second favourite read of 2012. Utterly unputdownable.

“An epic, awesome standalone fantasy novel that I really enjoyed. One of gritty fantasy’s best Authors, Abercrombie is right up there with George RR Martin.” ~The Founding Fields

Red Country was the first book that I brought on my Kindle Fire that I got for Christmas, and I really enjoyed reading it. It’s my third Abercrombie novel that I’ve read, after The Blade Itself and The Heroes. And I really enjoyed it. I couldn’t put this novel down, and I was glad that I was reading this on a long journey allowing me to read this in pretty much two sittings – It’s just one of those books that I couldn’t put down. And whilst it may not be my favourite Abercrombie book (The Heroes holds that title), It’s still a very good one and better than most of the stuff that I read that was released in 2012 (all of it apart from Mark Lawrence’s King of Thorns, as it turns out).

  Shy South comes home to her farm to find a blackened shell, her brother and sister stolen, and knows she’ll have to go back to bad old ways if she’s ever to see them again. She sets off in pursuit with only her cowardly old step-father Lamb for company. But it turns out he’s hiding a bloody past of his own. None bloodier.

Their journey will take them across the lawless plains, to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feuds, duels, and massacres, high into unmapped mountains to a reckoning with ancient enemies, and force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, a man no one should ever have to trust . . .

There were a few things that prevented Red Country from being as awesome as The Heroes, which I’m going to talk about before I start saying how good this book was. There were a couple of pacing issues that I had with the book, for certain sections I felt dragged out for me. Other than that though, the novel was epic – and even though I don’t read/watch a lot of westerns (despite one of my favourite films being The Magnificent Seven and one of my favourite debut novels of 2012 being Lee Collins’ Western/vampire book from Angry Robot), Red Country was still really epic, as Abercrombie manages to include enough fantasy in this book to make it feel like a fantasy novel rather than a western. Sure, there’s the traditional western cliches thrown in there – bar fights, wide open spaces, wagon trains etc, but Abercrombie’s writing manages to save this book from being very poor indeed, after all – it was billed right from the get go as a Fantasy Western. And I’ll admit that the only reason that I picked this up was because it was Abercrombie.

Read the full review here: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/01/...(less)

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Oct 27, 2012 Paul Nelson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favourites, 2012-books-read

With Red Country, Joe Abercrombie continues in the style that has made him one of my favorite authors. The things that set this books above others are the grim settings, the violent tone and the dark, dry humour. There's a distinct lack of mage's, young protégé's developing into hero's and knights in shining armour, there's also very little that you would describe as classic fantasy or any other form of fantasy and for that I applaud.
There's a welcome return to many characters from previous boo...more With Red Country, Joe Abercrombie continues in the style that has made him one of my favorite authors. The things that set this books above others are the grim settings, the violent tone and the dark, dry humour. There's a distinct lack of mage's, young protégé's developing into hero's and knights in shining armour, there's also very little that you would describe as classic fantasy or any other form of fantasy and for that I applaud.
There's a welcome return to many characters from previous books from the tough as nails Northmen to the ethically challenged mercenaries led by Nicomo Cosca
Alot has been mentioned about the western influences after all we have a wagon train pursued by Indians (substitute Ghosts), a depraved town in the grip of a gold rush, full of gambling, drunks and whores. A Clint Eastwood style ending where one of our protaganists rides off into the sunset, the only thing missing was the cigar but you get the idea and all this lends depth and scope to the story.
Red Country is set more than ten years after the first law trilogy in the Far Country.
Shy South and her step father Lamb return home from town to find their farm burned to the ground and the children missing.
Shy always considered Lamb, a big Northman to be a coward but he is hiding a dark and violent past that will shock even her. They track three of the bandits to a tavern in a small town. As they go to confront the attackers Lamb has some words for Shy 'Stay out of my way. You got to promise me that' an odd thing for Lamb to say but when Lamb faltered she would pick up what needed doing. Things don't turn out as Shy expects and she starts to believe Lamb is not all he seems, as they leave Shy says to Lamb 'Your name hasn't always been Lamb, has it'?
'We all got a past he replies' as he scratches the stump of his missing middle finger.
And there we have the return of the Bloody Nine, the story is not told from his viewpoint but from the people around him and we don't get the intense description that tells of his descent into the red mist. This doesn't detract the story in anyway as Shy South is a wry character with a dry sense of humour, she is forthright and doesn't hold back, and more than grabs the attention of the reader.
This is Abercrombie at his best the dialogue stands out as clever, dark as ever and witty. Both the plot and the characters are excellent, there are elements of searching for redemption as Temple the mercenary lawyer who has run from everything in his life attempts to do something worthwhile, becoming central to the plot.
All in all a well written, well paced, bloody and brutal tale in a lawless land and I hope this is not the last we hear of the bloody nine.(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Patrick J. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Disclaimer: I recently won a competition where Gollancz sent me out an advanced reading copy of "Red Country". I was one of five people who received a copy. Needless to say, I was overcome with joy when it arrived on my doorstep.

Over the next few days, I undertook an extensive reading program, which included me sitting on a bean-bag eating chocolate, straining my eyes in the darkness (because I read in the dark, what of it?). In a nutshell, "Red Country" is good. In fact, it's brilliant. I am...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, british-authors-translators, fantasy-scifi, read-in-2013, favorites

Wow! Joe Abercrombie's Red Country is one of the first books that I've read in 2013, and I'll wager that it ends up being one of the best I've read this year. I found the dark gritty fiction of Abercrombie a few years ago when I read his First Law trilogy (2006-2008), and then followed it up with his brilliant, and my favorite, novel, The Heroes (2011). Red Country is right up there with The Heroes and is somehow an incredibly clever blend of cinematic gorefest ala Sam Peckinpah and the unrelent...more Wow! Joe Abercrombie's Red Country is one of the first books that I've read in 2013, and I'll wager that it ends up being one of the best I've read this year. I found the dark gritty fiction of Abercrombie a few years ago when I read his First Law trilogy (2006-2008), and then followed it up with his brilliant, and my favorite, novel, The Heroes (2011). Red Country is right up there with The Heroes and is somehow an incredibly clever blend of cinematic gorefest ala Sam Peckinpah and the unrelenting violence and pathos of the writing of Cormac McCarthy; and while Red Country is a dyed-in-the-wool fantasy novel of the first order, it still reads and feels like a western.

The plot is really quite simple. Farms in the hinterlands have been burned, people brutally killed, and a lot of children have been captured and kidnapped by a gang of desperadoes. The novel's primary protagonists are all a group of misfits and deeply flawed characters that have come together to trek across a brutal landscape, some in search of the missing children, others in pursuit of gold, and others just trying to find themselves and start new lives. 'Shy South' and 'Lamb', a father-figure to Shy and her younger siblings, are in pursuit of the kidnapped children. And if you've read any of Abercrombie's earlier novels you'll be delighted as you encounter a goodly number of rogues who reappear in Red Country. Additionally, there is a whole group of fascinating new characters that range from utterly monstrous and despicable to some that are honorable and good-hearted. Having said that though, it is amazing to me that at times it is still hard to sort out who is really good and who is really bad, and that is solely a function of the quality of Abercrombie's plotting and writing.

Abercrombie has a way with words and can truly turn a phrase. One thing I've come to expect when reading his fiction is the earthy and pithy philosophical one- or two-liners. They're really quite priceless, and I've taken to marking them as I encounter them whilst reading. Here's a sampler of Abercrombie witticisms--

'My old commander Sazine once told me you should laugh every moment you live, for you'll find it decidedly difficult afterward.'

'Severed heads,'Cosca was explaining, 'never go out of fashion. Used sparingly and with artistic sensibility, they can make a point a great deal more eloquently than those still attached.'

'There is no bad living, and no good death.'

'The bottle's a shifty banker--it might lend you courage but it's apt to call the debt in sudden.'

'Death loves me.' Lamb smiled, black-eyed, wet-eyed, and the smile was worse even than the snarl had been. 'All the work I done for him? The crowds I've sent his way? He knows he ain't got no better friends.'

'Why does everyone pout so over children?' Cosca called after him. 'They'll turn out just as old and disappointing as the rest of us.'

'Men are animals. Conscience is a burden we choose to bear. Morality is the lie we tell ourselves to make its bearing easier.'

Well, you get the picture. Abercrombie sure can write, and Red Country is a relentless torrent of words and writing that simply compels you to keep reading and turning pages, one after the other until you reach the immensely satisfying conclusion. This is a great book with awesome characters and that is sure to please any reader encountering Abercrombie for the first time. If you've had the pleasure of reading some of Abercrombie's other books, oh are you in for a hell of a delightful surprise. Finally, even if you're the type of reader who swears they don't like fantasy fiction, give Red Country a try, I'm gonna bet that you're gonna find Abercrombie's fiction is well worth it and in the 'wheel-house' of many, many readers. Red Country gets a solid five out of five stars from me.(less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: signed-books

My favorite Abercrombie book to date! I would recommend reading the First Law Trilogy before Red Country. I don't think Lamb's character could be fully understood or appreciated without that background. I don't know what else to say other than Great Book!!

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Mar 18, 2013 Leons rated it 3 of 5 stars

For a Joe Abercrombie revenge tragedy, the ending of Red Country is far too happy. One flawed protagonist pays a relatively small price for their tragic flaw, while another protagonist ends the story with a happy union. In Aristotelian terms, this makes Red Country both a tragedy and a comedy. The presence of elements of both muddles the tone.

Red Country is a swords and sorcery Western. There’s a frontier, a prairie, crypto-Natives, crypto-Colonists, and crypto-Conquistadors. The crypto-Natives...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Libby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: unforgettable

Gritty, grimy, muddy and bloody, full of berserk battles and cliff-hanger situations, this novel had me glued to the pages. It is set in the same universe and timeframe as several of his other novels, but in a different part of the world. Abercrombie takes his narrative characters and drops them into ambiguous and confusing situations where right and wrong are not clear. They blunder through their lives, scarred and dented by past mistakes, hoping for better but resignedly confronting the worst....more

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Feb 11, 2013 gord mackenzie rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Red Country" is a Western disguised as a Fantasy novel.

I am not sure why Abercrombie didn't just set "Red Country" in the American Old West (or even in an alternate Old West). I don't think there was really anything achieved by restricting the technology of the story to swords, axes and spears, other than to cram it rudely into the Fantasy genre. Although there are some modest hints of magic (or rough analog) existing in the world of Red Country, it has virtually no impact on the story, and at...more "Red Country" is a Western disguised as a Fantasy novel.

I am not sure why Abercrombie didn't just set "Red Country" in the American Old West (or even in an alternate Old West). I don't think there was really anything achieved by restricting the technology of the story to swords, axes and spears, other than to cram it rudely into the Fantasy genre. Although there are some modest hints of magic (or rough analog) existing in the world of Red Country, it has virtually no impact on the story, and at times it appears Abercrombie used a "search and replace" feature to remove the guns from the story. However, If you can get over the characters flipping back their long coats to reveal the hilts of their swords instead of the butt of their guns, and their fingers twitching on the trigger of their "flat bow" instead of their shotgun, you'll find a darn fine read.

Most classic Fantasy novels are about the struggle between good and evil. Red Country is no exception in this, except that it explores that struggle within the characters themselves, instead of personified without. There are no dark lords, no orcs, no demons... rather, there are humans who make choices, and then have to deal with the repercussions.

The story is jam-packed with brutal action, with blood and gore rivaling Tarantino's Django Unchained. It is also stuffed to overflowing with interesting characters that you will come to care about, even those that could be described as the "villains" of the piece. Most of these characters are new, but some may be familiar to readers of Abercrombie's other works.

I do have a few complaints, however. The book seems to go on a bit too long. Every time you seem to be getting close to an ending, the book throws more story at you. Since the story is usually interesting, this isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but the drive and pace of the early parts of the novel are lost towards the end, and the book seems to ramble like a old scout hunting for his way in the dark hills.

Another failing, to my mind, is what I call "small world syndrome". Since Abercrombie spends considerable time building up the minor characters, he seems unwilling to let them go. As a result, the same bit players keep cropping up time and again, as the protagonists just happen to bump into them as the story wends its way. This makes the world seem small and contrived and robs the story of some realism.

But these are minor quibbles in a book filled with compelling characters, furious action, and dark humor.

For more on my thoughts on "Red Country" you can check out La Vie Geek - Red Country Review (less)

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Feb 02, 2013 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fantasy, western

A bit of a step down from The Heroes, but still excellent. His characterization wasn't quite as sure and memorable in the handling of secondary characters. I sometimes felt it was necessary to have read all his earlier books, which I haven't yet. But the main characters were vivid and strong.

The middle section set in the gold-rush town of Crease reminded me too much of TV's Deadwood, honestly, but the rest of the novel breathes with a life of its own.

I was leaning towards 3 stars, but the power...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Joe Abercrombie’s books are not for the feint of heart. They contain some of the most violent writing and gruesome battle scenes I’ve ever read.

That said I haven’t come across one of his books I haven’t loved.

Besides being bloody, Abercrombie’s books are also filled with some of the most shocking twists I’ve ever read, ending in ways I never could have imagined. Further, his books demonstrate some of the best crafted characters seen today. Showing how difficult it is to change, and often ending...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Ian Cunningham rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books

Joe Abercrombie's fantasy novels have all taken place in the same world, but they've all been different genres. This is his western. From the superficial visual tropes to the deeper themes that keep people returning to the genre, he takes them all, dresses them up in the visual aesthetic of his early Age of Reason Eurasian low fantasy setting, and lets them run you down like a stampede.

Red Country feels like a goodbye. Beloved and well-hated favorites return and take their bows. Abercrombie's wo...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: f, mash

I liked Red Country more than Best Served Cold, but less than The Heroes and the First Law Trilogy. I think Red Country's plot felt less urgent than Abercrombie's other books--less incipient mayhem, less immediate peril (for example, the fencing match between Jezal and the guy with the girly voice in the First Law trilogy? Edge of my seat. It felt like there was so much at stake. The Northman brawl over (view spoiler)? Meh).

Sometimes I think I wish that h...more

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Jan 06, 2013 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Starting this book, I was a little apprehensive as the description of the book seemed to be out of place with the rest of the books Joe has written to day. I was glad to see that is not the case by a long shot, though this work does seem to take place well over a decade in time since the last work. That being said, old characters return and great new ones arrive. Story lines go in unexpected directions and the ride is wild. The book has been compared to westerns, and I would say that there is a...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-0-plus, fiction

In his three most recent novels, Joe Abercrombie seems to be ransacking the history of cinema for great plots/motifs/chronotopes to repurpose in fantasy stories. _Best Served Cold_ was a revenge saga (compare with everything from _Death Wish 2_ to _Kill Bill_), and _The Heroes_ focused on a single battle (from _Tora Tora Tora_ to _Letters from Iwo Jima_, an awesome way to organize a war film).

Films may or may not have been sources for those books, but they sure were for _Red Country_. It's essen...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Robin Carter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Review:
For me Red Country felt like deadwood meets The hobbit. A western journey that was fairly pointless but was often violent.
This is far from my fav book by Abercrombie, its not that its trying too hard, its just that its, well 150+ pages too long. Sometimes (and heroes was heading this way) Joe Abercrombie doesn't seem to know where to speed things up a bit, it was the plodding that got to me (i need more pace, but thats a personal choice). The characters were great, Lamb, Shy etc so rich i...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Darren rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book just completely blew me away. It was a gritty, dirty, incredibly well crafted novel and I loved just about every moment of it. As always, Abercrombie does an exceptional job of pacing and manages to write action scenes that are exciting and believable without celebrating the violence.

As many have mentioned, this is as much a western in the True Grit/Searchers model (or, to a lesser extent a modified Oregon Trail) but there is a lot of depth to the characters and situations, with every...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Michael Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure-action

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 09, 2012 A.E. Marling rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-fantasy

Joe Abercrombie recaptures the childhood joy of playing in filth.

If you love wordsmithing that builds mud into palaces of beauty as well as characters struggling through chaos and blood to find purpose, then you may love Red Country. This story follows ex-criminal Shy trying to recover her stolen siblings, trekking across the prairie along with the train of wanton hope of people journeying into recently settled wilds in search of gold. The gold-prospector town is heaven for Joe Abercrombie, bala...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Nutnics Yar rated it 5 of 5 stars

A story well told. In his 6th "Dark Fantasy" novel, Joe Abercrombie still delivers all the goods and then some. Red Country is an exciting, thoughtful, funny and worthwhile read from the start till the very end. In what has become my favorite series of novels starting with the First Law Trilogy and continuing into The Heroes and Best Served Cold, Red Country breathes new compelling life into to this First Law World.

This novel can be read as a stand alone piece of Sword and Sorcery (much less so...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Joe Abercrombie Fans: Red Country questions (contains spoilers!)	16	57	Jan 31, 2013 12:18pm
Joe Abercrombie Fans: Question about Curnsbick - spoilers	12	45	Jan 27, 2013 03:17pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Red Country Part V-Trouble	4	34	Jan 16, 2013 03:55pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Red Country Part III-Crease	12	32	Jan 07, 2013 08:15pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * Red Country Part IV-Dragons	4	63	Dec 29, 2012 05:12am
Fantasy Book Club...: * Red Country Part II-Fellowship	14	26	Dec 26, 2012 09:50am
Fantasy Book Club...: * Red Country Part I-Trouble	27	97	Dec 24, 2012 05:34am

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About Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Manchester University, where he studied psychology. He moved into television production before taking up a career as a freelance film editor. During a break between jobs he began writing The Blade Itself in 2002, completing it in 2004. It was published by Gollancz in 2006 and was followed by two other books in The First Law Trilogy...more

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Books by Joe Abercrombie

Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)

Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)

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Quotes from Red Country

“Evil turned out not to be a grand thing. Not sneering Emperors with their world-conquering designs. Not cackling demons plotting in the darkness beyond the world. It was small men with their small acts and their small reasons. It was selfishness and carelessness and waste. It was bad luck, incompetence, and stupidity. It was violence divorced from conscience or consequence. It was high ideals, even, and low methods.” — 13 people liked it

“Strange, how the best moments of our lives we scarcely notice except in looking back.” — 10 people liked it

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