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Red Country
(First Law World #6)
by
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 father Lamb for company. But ...more
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 father Lamb for company. But ...more
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Trade Paperback, First Edition, 451 pages
Published
October 18th 2012
by Gollancz
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Jul 25, 2017
Petrik
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Grimdark & Western fans
Say one thing for Abercrombie, say he knows how to make me love his book even when the setting of the book is Western.
I have to mention one thing about the setting of this book before I start my review, I truly despise Western stories. Doesn’t matter if it’s done in video games, movies, or TV series I just can’t stand them. Here's a few example for famous movies, 3:10 to Yuma? Sucks, Assassination of Jesse James? I got a fever because of how bad it was, Hateful Eight? Fell asleep, and much more ...more
I have to mention one thing about the setting of this book before I start my review, I truly despise Western stories. Doesn’t matter if it’s done in video games, movies, or TV series I just can’t stand them. Here's a few example for famous movies, 3:10 to Yuma? Sucks, Assassination of Jesse James? I got a fever because of how bad it was, Hateful Eight? Fell asleep, and much more ...more

Red Country (First Law World,#6)by Joe Abercrombie

Darkness, brutality, and tragedy. This book has full of violence, tension, and dark humor as expected by the author. But more than that, it's a good standalone book and much better than the previous standalone book(The Heroes) which I feel the weakest among the author's previous stand-alone books. Enjoyed the tale in this book.
Good story. ...more

Darkness, brutality, and tragedy. This book has full of violence, tension, and dark humor as expected by the author. But more than that, it's a good standalone book and much better than the previous standalone book(The Heroes) which I feel the weakest among the author's previous stand-alone books. Enjoyed the tale in this book.
Strange, how the best moments of our lives we scarcely notice except in looking back.
Good story. ...more

A somewhat Westernized setting for this fantasy set in Abercrombie's world. Very enjoyable to catch up with some character friends as well. And of whom or what they did, I shall say nothing! Read for yourself.
One of the many things that Joe Abercrombie excels at is the character cameo. A turn of the page and the reader enters the point of view of what might seem a minor character. But in a space of the few paragraphs, the character takes on dimension, flesh, ambitions, a past, and a life. One ca ...more
One of the many things that Joe Abercrombie excels at is the character cameo. A turn of the page and the reader enters the point of view of what might seem a minor character. But in a space of the few paragraphs, the character takes on dimension, flesh, ambitions, a past, and a life. One ca ...more

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

...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

Shy South a former highway robber with a golden heart gave up on her violent ways and took up farming. When she came back from a marketplace one of the days, she found her hired hand is killed and her young brother and sister is kidnapped. She went off hoping to catch the raiders, accompanied by her timid stepfather. The joined a band of mostly old geezers called Fellowship and the geezers did what geezers are best at: they babbled. Oops, I accidentally gave away around 75% of the book. Sorry.
T ...more
T ...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 Coun ...more
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

I love me some Abercrombie, his style is so snarky and detailed and dirty. I love how with a few sentences he can fill out a minor character so well that you actually feel sorry when they're killed in passing.
This is NOT really a fantasy book though guys, it's 100% Western. If you've read his other books you'll recognize several characters, but you don't REALLY need to read the others to get into this. If you don't like Westerns move along doggy, but this is worth reading for sure. ...more
This is NOT really a fantasy book though guys, it's 100% Western. If you've read his other books you'll recognize several characters, but you don't REALLY need to read the others to get into this. If you don't like Westerns move along doggy, but this is worth reading for sure. ...more

Feb 26, 2014
Sean Barrs
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
3-star-reads,
fantasy
Red Country is a spin-off from the fantastic First Law Trilogy, no doubt an intended bridge towards Abercrombie’s eventual reprisal of his best characters. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t quite come together as it should.
The setting is a little odd and out of place with what we have seen before. This series always felt somewhat Norse-like to me with a warrior culture under threat from a more technologically advanced Southern state with some dark fantasy elements and wizards thrown in. And now we ...more
The setting is a little odd and out of place with what we have seen before. This series always felt somewhat Norse-like to me with a warrior culture under threat from a more technologically advanced Southern state with some dark fantasy elements and wizards thrown in. And now we ...more

Aug 13, 2017
Scott Hitchcock
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
abercrombie,
grimdark
The best of the First Law Singles. Cosca stole the show and his hysterical swashbuckling humor had me cracking up time and again. The presence of "lamb" also helped a lot. I didn't mind that we knew who he was almost immediately. It was when others realized who he was that made it fun.
This was also the most consistent story of the three singles. Best Served Cold had a great first half and awful second while Heroes was the opposite. I liked this from start to finish. ...more
This was also the most consistent story of the three singles. Best Served Cold had a great first half and awful second while Heroes was the opposite. I liked this from start to finish. ...more

4.5 stars. Not as good as Heroes or original trilogy but still one hell of a read.
The trouble with running is wherever you run to, there you are.
Wisely said by the man who tends to be realistic about those things and indeed it's one of the main sentiments of both this book and original trilogy. No matter how far we run in the end we are what we are and history will repeat itself more often than not.
“Conscience and the cock-rot are hardly equivalent,’ snapped Lorsen.
‘Indeed,’ said Cosca, signific ...more
The trouble with running is wherever you run to, there you are.
Wisely said by the man who tends to be realistic about those things and indeed it's one of the main sentiments of both this book and original trilogy. No matter how far we run in the end we are what we are and history will repeat itself more often than not.
“Conscience and the cock-rot are hardly equivalent,’ snapped Lorsen.
‘Indeed,’ said Cosca, signific ...more

This is my first foray into the world of Joe Abercrombie and for those of you who are about to make the mistake of starting with Red Country like I did, my advice would be to go back and start with the First Law books. Red Country is marketed as a standalone novel and one can certainly enjoy it without having read Abercrombie’s other work, but the reason I’m giving it only 4 stars is because I always felt like I was missing out on something--that there was critical, need-to-know information from
...more

What a tedious read, it actually pains me to say that, this book is my sixth by Abercrombie and the last in this series and it sucks. Reading it was just so hard, everything was unnecessarily long and monotonous when it shouldn't be, the plot was actually a good one but the potrayal was terrible, if that isn't even an understatement.
‘Courage lies in bearing the costs. We all have our regrets, but not all of us can afford to be crippled by them. Sometimes it takes small crimes to prevent bigge ...more
‘Courage lies in bearing the costs. We all have our regrets, but not all of us can afford to be crippled by them. Sometimes it takes small crimes to prevent bigge ...more

Red Country (First Law World, #6), Joe Abercrombie
“Each land in the world produces its own men individually bad – and, in time, other bad men who kill them for the general good.” – Emerson Hough
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 onl ...more
“Each land in the world produces its own men individually bad – and, in time, other bad men who kill them for the general good.” – Emerson Hough
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 onl ...more

This book was good. In fact it was very,very good. I loved Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy so much and it was a delight to see the return of a few of his strongest characters from those books. Plus there were a few new characters who managed to steal the show. Joe Abercrombie is without doubt a very talented author. His characters are always so flawed and yet still so appealing, his stories are full of grossness and violence yet are still so very readable and his handling of the English lang
...more

Jan 10, 2018
Paul E. Morph
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-read-in-2018
If I'd known what the concept for this book was going in; a kind of genre mash-up of JRR Tolkien and Sergio Leone; I'd've been more than a little dubious.
As it turns out, however, Abercrombie pulls off this odd little tale with panache. Having now loved every minute of this book, I actually find myself wanting him to write a whole series of Fantasy/Westerns because one book just wasn't enough!
Encore, please, Mr. Author! Encore! ...more
As it turns out, however, Abercrombie pulls off this odd little tale with panache. Having now loved every minute of this book, I actually find myself wanting him to write a whole series of Fantasy/Westerns because one book just wasn't enough!
Encore, please, Mr. Author! Encore! ...more

Ok, I’m going to get this out of the way right at the beginning. YES!!! The Bloody Nine is Back! Nuf said. But you have to realistic about these things so for the sake of those who have no clue who The Bloody Nine is, I’ll continue.
As many a reviewer has pointed out before, including Abercrombie himself, this is a fantasy version of a Western. Red Country returns us to the First Law Universe – or at least to the Far Wild West of it and treats us to a smorgasbord of Western genre tropes and clich ...more
As many a reviewer has pointed out before, including Abercrombie himself, this is a fantasy version of a Western. Red Country returns us to the First Law Universe – or at least to the Far Wild West of it and treats us to a smorgasbord of Western genre tropes and clich ...more

I gotta say, Joe Abercrombie is one of my new favorite authors. I love his world building but his strengths are his characters and dialogue/storytelling. I can't get enough of Joe Abercrombie world. Keep them novels coming, Joe!
...more

Apr 09, 2012
Eric
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who thinks 'gritty fantasy western' sounds like a good mash-up
How could I not read the return of Logen "The Bloody Nine" Ninefingers, my favorite character from The First Law trilogy?
I wrote that last April when details from Red Country first started appearing on the Internet, and then it was released in the States last November, so why I am just getting around to writing this review now, eight months later? Because I had a tough time getting into this book, and an even tougher time finishing it, for a few reasons:
- The book kept alternating between the ch ...more
I wrote that last April when details from Red Country first started appearing on the Internet, and then it was released in the States last November, so why I am just getting around to writing this review now, eight months later? Because I had a tough time getting into this book, and an even tougher time finishing it, for a few reasons:
- The book kept alternating between the ch ...more

Dec 12, 2016
Algernon (Darth Anyan)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2016
I've been saving up this novel for years, hoping I will find myself back in the mood for what has become the 'grimdark' fantasy subgenre. I thought, if I ever go back to this style of ultra-violent, cynical, depressing fantasy, I might as well go to the best writer out there, even if I was slightly disappointed with "The Heroes" and "Best Served Cold". Whatever misgivings I have about the glorification of violence / killers and about gratuitous swearing ( I think of Mr. Abercrombie as the fantas ...more

"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
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

“‘I didn’t want no trouble,’ said Lamb. ‘It blew in anyway. Trouble got a habit that way.’ He pushed his wet hair out of his face, and his eyes were wide open and bright, bright, mouth open too, breathing fast... and he was smiling.”
What an adventure this book was! Seriously I know I praise Abercrombie with every review I do, but I’m just awed by how much his books draw me in, make me feel ALL the feelings, and most of all entertain me!
I have always favoured Abercrombie’s character’s over the pl ...more
What an adventure this book was! Seriously I know I praise Abercrombie with every review I do, but I’m just awed by how much his books draw me in, make me feel ALL the feelings, and most of all entertain me!
I have always favoured Abercrombie’s character’s over the pl ...more

Apr 17, 2014
Conor
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
abercrombie
4.5
Shy South, a tough frontierswoman is returning from a trip to get supplies with her stepfather Lamb, a battered old Northman whose size and strength bely his gentleness. Their friendly banter is interrupted by the discovery that their home has been burned, a friend murdered and Shy's young brother and sister kidnapped. Amidst this horror 'Lamb' is strangely calm. Looking down at his scarred, battered hands, hands with only 9 fingers, he reflects that sometimes 'you have to be realistic'...
TH ...more
Shy South, a tough frontierswoman is returning from a trip to get supplies with her stepfather Lamb, a battered old Northman whose size and strength bely his gentleness. Their friendly banter is interrupted by the discovery that their home has been burned, a friend murdered and Shy's young brother and sister kidnapped. Amidst this horror 'Lamb' is strangely calm. Looking down at his scarred, battered hands, hands with only 9 fingers, he reflects that sometimes 'you have to be realistic'...
TH ...more

I like western stories, and I like all 5 previous novels of First Law universe series. So it is naturally I read this book for the sake of having fun.
This is the first book of First Law that I gave 4 star (other books I gave 5 star). I like First Law books mainly because the protagonists in First Law are stereotypes that usually taking antagonist role in fiction stories (e.g.: Calden is a coward prince in The Heroes), but then the author can make them into sympathetic characters. In Red Country ...more
This is the first book of First Law that I gave 4 star (other books I gave 5 star). I like First Law books mainly because the protagonists in First Law are stereotypes that usually taking antagonist role in fiction stories (e.g.: Calden is a coward prince in The Heroes), but then the author can make them into sympathetic characters. In Red Country ...more

I HEREBY DECLARE JOE ABERCROMBIE AN HONORARY AMERICAN. He understands the themes, tropes, and cliches etc. of the western genre more than any limey has a right to, and deploys them effectively while telling a great story that stands up to any of the other First Law books I’ve read (all of them excepting Best Served Cold and that short story collection thingy that came out recently.) What we have here is a lovely mix of The Searchers and Unforgiven and maybe a bit of Deadwood, but only made bette
...more

Brilliant. To me this is probably the best book Joe Abercrombie's written so far, and I'm talking like I love it even more than the First Law trilogy, which is saying a lot. Until this book came along, I didn't think anything else he wrote would come close; after all, I thought Best Served Cold and The Heroes were meh and even more meh, respectively.
But Red Country simply just blew me away. Okay, so maybe it's because I have a thing for westerns. Though granted this isn't your traditional kind o ...more
But Red Country simply just blew me away. Okay, so maybe it's because I have a thing for westerns. Though granted this isn't your traditional kind o ...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 and some exceptional scenes, dialogue and story telling.
So, why only 3 stars?
Oh good grief this thing is slow. I mean al ...more
So, why only 3 stars?
Oh good grief this thing is slow. I mean al ...more

Dec 03, 2018
Laura
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
blood-and-gore,
read-in-2018
The best of the First Law World singles so far!
And that's mainly because of Lamb! :D Now isn't that an appropriate name for our MC?! :)
I admit I was a little dissapointed to not have Lamb's POV but in the end it turned out better this way. Because of the reaction at the time of the big reveal, a different POV was absolutely worth it!!
The only reason I'm cutting off one star is due to some characters who were brilliant in the first half of the story but developed a sort of clownish attitude towar ...more
And that's mainly because of Lamb! :D Now isn't that an appropriate name for our MC?! :)
I admit I was a little dissapointed to not have Lamb's POV but in the end it turned out better this way. Because of the reaction at the time of the big reveal, a different POV was absolutely worth it!!
The only reason I'm cutting off one star is due to some characters who were brilliant in the first half of the story but developed a sort of clownish attitude towar ...more

Jan 13, 2021
Bradley
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
2021-shelf
As long as no one is expecting the huge, triumphant return of Ninefingers, this is a very cool novel of grimdark fantasy very much in line with the entire series. Lots of revenge, desperate striving, stolen pleasures, gold, politics, and blood, blood, blood.
In other words, it's pretty damn fun.
But what about Ninefingers!?
Oh, he's here, but he's not the main character. Shy is. Shy is wonderful, complicated, and bruised by life. Her FRIENDSHIP with him is on full display.
But you know what I liked ...more
In other words, it's pretty damn fun.
But what about Ninefingers!?
Oh, he's here, but he's not the main character. Shy is. Shy is wonderful, complicated, and bruised by life. Her FRIENDSHIP with him is on full display.
But you know what I liked ...more

I absolutely loved this book! A fun engaging story with a big dose of dark and gritty, fantastic complex characters that you can't help but love or love to hate, twists and turns and never a dull moment, and all of it pulled together by some truly excellent writing.
I was a bit nervous about reading this one with our book club as some people commented that those who haven't read The First Law trilogy didn't seem to enjoy it as much as those who had based on reviews. I've only read the first book ...more
I was a bit nervous about reading this one with our book club as some people commented that those who haven't read The First Law trilogy didn't seem to enjoy it as much as those who had based on reviews. I've only read the first book ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Fantasy Buddy Reads: Red Country [Sep 5, 2019] | 11 | 38 | Oct 01, 2019 06:33AM | |
Fantasy Buddy Reads: Red Country [Aug 2017] | 50 | 52 | Aug 27, 2017 07:30AM | |
Madison Mega-Mara...: #111 Red Country by Joe Abercrombie | 1 | 1 | Jun 14, 2015 07:47AM | |
La Stamberga dei ...: Red Country di Joe Abercrombie | 1 | 10 | Feb 22, 2015 10:32AM | |
SciFi and Fantasy...: "Red Country" Discuss Away *Spoilers* | 21 | 89 | Jul 31, 2014 02:52PM | |
SciFi and Fantasy...: "Red Country" First Impressions *No Spoilers* | 44 | 252 | Jul 27, 2014 12:18AM |
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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“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.”
—
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“Strange, how the best moments of our lives we scarcely notice except in looking back.”
—
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