Jeez. You spend all week waiting for Joe Abercrombie to make another post, and then three come at once. But it’s good news, folks, it’s good, good news.
The US Edition of Before They are Hanged wasn’t due to be available until March 25th, but I’m delighted to announce that due to the heroic efforts of the folks at Pyr, it is shipping NOW from amazon.com. Not sure when it will appear in olde-fashioned bricks and mortar bookshops, but probably over the next couple of weeks. Deprived citizens of America, your wait is over!
In order to whet your appetites, I must just quote a bit of opinion on the books from a member over at the Westeros boards which quite tickled my funny bone:
“I actually don’t care for Abercrombie as a whole but I do think he writes very accessible work. It is snarky in a not so clever way and it has a great patina of being gritty without actually having characters do gritty things (bar one good slightly gritty but still moralistically heavyhanded moment in the second book). Abercrombie is solid easy to read fast food fantasy. It comes off as filling but ultimately I found it empty … Abercrombie is fastly turning into the Big Mac of the genre and you might as well take a bite along with everyone else.”
Abercrombie is fastly turning into the Big Mac of the genre?
I LOVE IT! I’m getting in touch with my editor now to see if it’s not too late to get it on as a cover blurb…
13 comments so far
“I actually don’t care for Abercrombie as a whole but I do think he writes very accessible work.”
Confusing – So, he doesn’t like you, but he does like your work?
Did you run over his dog or something?
I’m just wondering why he says you’re rapidly becoming the Big Mac, since, as far as I’m concerned, trilogy = 1 story. And 1 story does not tasty at the time sandwich you later regret eating make.
So I thought that whole “in stock” on Amazon was just a mistake and was praying to every minor god I could think of they wouldn’t catch it…discovering it’s legit and that I’ll get my book 2 in a couple days made my Valentine’s! (An occasion I normally loathe with probably more passion than I did when I was still single and miserable.) And now I’ll have ample time to re-read one and absorb this one befor book 3 gets imported next month. Thanks!
Prepare for the stampede! Don’t you just love Amazon! It’s the future, so it is!
I like the ‘other people who bought that – bought this’ and reviews (and reviewer grades) and wishlist and all that pre-emptive recommendations stuff. Yay.
Hrmm…if you’re going to be blurbing Westeros comments now, Joe, I guess I’ll walk with trepidation when I write my reviews of your trilogy in the coming months…
But that “Big Mac” bit will be hard to top. Maybe if I compared you to an AC/DC guitar riff? Would that work?
As I said, I’m getting it on a t-shirt, it’s that funny. Must be ten times funnier for you though.
So can we expect fries and a Coke with future releases?
Leave the onions and pickles out of mine please Joe, (I get terrible wind… umm.. too much information?)
jared,
no, no, he doesn’t like me or my work. But he’s forced to admit it’s accessible.
Elena,
No, it IS in stock, you lucky people!
Ady,
I do just love amazon, though my love for its sales rank information is so great it is in danger of becoming a stalker/restraining order type scenario. I may well blog on this subject in due course…
Larry,
I blurb whatever brings a smile to my stony face. Look forward to seeing your reviews, though.
I think…
Isis,
I love it so much I may get it tattooed across my face.
Bob,
ALWAYS too much information.
I think this is a great review despite being complete rubbish; the writer makes some good points whilst remaining utterly nonsensical. On the whole, I’d describe them as the ‘crispy chicken side-bucket’ of the reviewing world. With mayo.
I’m glad we got that sorted.
P.S. I’m definitely 100% behind the facial tattooing idea. It might prove an invaluable learning tool if all authors followed your bold lead on this.
Big Mac, pffft. The dude has it all wrong. “Roast dinner with extra large yorkshire pud”, I’d say.
Also, if he doesn’t like you “as a whole”, does that mean he likes you in pieces? That’s not a very nice thing to say.
jdp,
If only other authors would follow my bold lead on all kinds of things, I have no doubt we’d all be living in a better world.
susanne,
mmmmmm. Yorkshire pud.
I think if Joe had been liked in pieces, he would have been called a Chicken McNugget. Yum-yum?
*goes away pondering what exactly would be the epic fantasy equivalent of a steak dinner*
Hmm. I like Georr as much as the next man, but those folks over at Westeros have an annoying tendency to posture.