Joe Abercrombie's "The Wisdom of Crowds" is a book that can easily be classified as a dark fantasy, but it's much more than that. The story is gritty, character-driven, and cleverly written with enough intrigue to keep you flipping the pages well into the night.

One of the biggest strengths of the book is Abercrombie's ability to create complex characters that are flawed, relatable, and multi-dimensional. Each character has their own motivations, secrets, and personal demons that they are grappling with, and this makes them feel like real people.

The plot is also engaging and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. Abercrombie does an excellent job of playing with reader expectations and subverting genre tropes, and the result is a story that feels both familiar and fresh at the same time.

The world-building is also impressive, with a setting that is richly detailed and evocative. Abercrombie's writing is descriptive and vivid, and he creates a sense of atmosphere and mood that is perfect for the story he's telling.

Overall, "The Wisdom of Crowds" is a fantastic read that will satisfy fans of dark fantasy, but also anyone looking for a well-written, character-driven story with plenty of twists and turns. Highly recommended!

Looking forward to seeing what Abercrombie likes next. Where this was far from his best, he still has a unique voice.

The Wisdom of Crowds is a fantastic and satisfying conclusion to Abercrombie’s Age of Madness trilogy. It provides a fun yet eye opening commentary on society, And having finished it, I can't help but feel a sense of emptiness. When next will we get to visit the smoke-plumed streets of Adua or the vast wilderness of the North? When will we get to spend time with some of fantasy’s cruellest, most cunning and downright loveable characters again? Not only does it tie together and resolve the many plot threads woven throughout the series, it also sets up a potential future series or standalone, so I am hopeful. Perhaps, the Age of Madness might even lead to a revolution of new ideas and trends in the fantasy genre, a great change you might say.

An incredible end to an incredible trilogy that has me all fired up for whatever story Joe brings us next. As always, the characters and plot are on point and the world of Adua under the throes of revolution are expertly written.

Please note, The Wisdom of Crowds is a direct sequel to The Trouble With Peace and the final book in The Ages of Madness trilogy. I would strongly recommend reading books one and two in this series before proceeding any further. There are minor spoilers ahead and I’d hate to ruin the experience for anyone. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Chaos. Fury. Destruction.

The Great Change is upon us…

Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.

With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies… while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.

The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver’s ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together…

Another classic Jo Abercombie trilogy draws to a close, and as we’ve come to expect, the final pages in this chapter of the First Law universe end in a truly epic fashion. Revolution has finally made its way to the streets of Adua. Prepare yourselves citizens, the barricades have been raised, the downtrodden underclasses will make themselves known. In the words of a particularly appropriate musical, do you hear the people sing?*

Abercrombie always peppers his novels with a host of fascinating characters. Over the course of this trilogy, I have been particularly engrossed with Gunnar Broad. His evolution from traumatised war veteran to conflicted muscle for the Burners is a study of a man falling apart. There is so much going on here, but it is all done very subtly. Pained expressions, monosyllabic responses and staring off into the middle-distance longingly become the norm in Broad’s tortured existence. I do feel for the poor chump, and this may sound horrible, but it is genuinely fascinating watching him break apart. Broad is losing his sense of self in tiny increments. Crawling inside a bottle seeking comfort, but only ever finding more pain is no way to live.

Meanwhile, in the North Rikke, Caul Shivers and Isern-i-Phail face off against Black Calder. There is something wonderfully reassuring that the war chiefs are always at one another’s throats. All the players in The Union might faff around with plots within plots. Playing politics as a game. Not so in the North. Everything is kept simple, a short preamble, lots of swearing and then the blood begins to flow. Rikke’s baptism of fire when it comes to leadership is a sight to behold.

Don’t worry Orso, Savine, Vick and Leo also get the opportunity to shine. Abercrombie tugs at the old heartstrings so effortlessly even I felt sorry for some of them. Impressive when they are such a shower of self-absorbed misanthropes.

As an aside, I was suitably impressed by the author’s thoughtful consideration regarding the appropriate width of sliced cheese. It’s important little details like this that really raises The Wisdom of Crowds to the next level.

I’m not particularly interested in the technicalities of writing, but I have noticed this neat little thing that Joe Abercrombie does in his novels. There tends to be a chapter, usually right in the middle of all the action, where perspective shifts from one character to another almost constantly. It’s like the written equivalent of a continuous single shot in a movie**. The characters often tend to be entirely irrelevant to the main narrative, but we get flashes of their view of events. It perfectly captures the frenetic pace of the story.

I’ve always felt there has been a rich vein of dark humour that runs through the core of these novels. Individually people can be quite clever, intelligent even, but collectively we’re idiots. Humanity looks towards their leaders for guidance, working on the assumption that they will do the right thing. Often when the dust settles, the right thing turns out to be the opposite. The insightful writing in this series deftly shines a light on our failings, on precisely how egotistical and self-righteous we all tend to be. Patriotism seems at first glance to be terribly noble, but it amounts to nationalistic chest-beating at the end of the day. It’s just an excuse to take down someone who might be a little be different from you. Once an idea like that takes hold and gather momentum terrible things will be done in the name of good. Hmm, the wisdom of crowds indeed. It’s really the ultimate joke, isn’t it?

You’ll not be surprised when I tell you I’ve loved every word of this book. If I’m 100% honest, high fantasy has always felt a little too sanitised for my taste. I want to revel in the mud. Blood and death have a brutal honesty that is difficult to ignore. I know grimdark isn’t for everyone, but if you are a fan then Joe Abercrombie is always going to be your go-to guy for stories where terrible people do terrible things to one another. It probably shouldn’t, but reading one of his novels always makes me feel a little better about myself. Turns out I might not be such a bad human being after all. In the world of the First Law, there is always someone far worse than I could ever be.

The Wisdom of Crowds is published by Gollancz and is available from 14th September. Highly recommended.

My musical recommendation to accompany The Wisdom of Crowds is the soundtrack to Ripper Street by Dominik Scherrer. There is something about it that evokes the city streets of Adua perfectly.

*I’ve written reviews for each book in The Age of Madness trilogy did you really think I was going to stop putting references to Les Miserables now for goodness sake? It’s the best frame of reference for a revolution I’ve got.

**The exception being The Heroes. That entire novel almost reads like one continuous shot.

Industrial revolution has tipped over into plain old revolution, and a setting which Abercrombie has always used to excoriate the general awfulness of kings proves just as handy for anatomising the failings of those who overthrow them. First the idealists, the punctilious, the short-sighted fools arguing over whether to call their new representative body a Colloquium or Assembly while the people still starve; then, once impatience reaches critical mass, the ones with no time for those niceties, or indeed any niceties; Abercrombie chose particularly well when he named his world's iteration the Burners. I'm sure the sort of self-described revolutionaries and radicals who seem incapable of accepting that >90% of our world's revolutions go this way will be happy to slag Abercrombie off as a centrist melt for this, or whatever the current insult du jour is, but even aside from the degree to which he's already built that in to the set-up, the beauty of it is that it goes for any form of populism. After all, we have our own soaring fuel and food prices now, and what is Brexit if not another Great Change?
"Trouble was, soon as you tried to actually deliver the bastard, to mould it into policies, with costs as well as benefits, and losers as well as winners, well, nine-tenths of folk found the Great Change wasn't the change they'd wanted after all and wouldn't fucking have it."
Of course, in the UK as in the US, this is markedly over-optimistic about the common sense of folk, at least four-tenths of whom keep lapping it up – a facet to which we'll come later. Though do bear in mind that this is said from a character POV rather than with authorial objectivity, and elsewhere the mood of the moment is caught rather more closely:
"Whatever the question, the Great Change was the answer. That was a fact none dared challenge. So the scarcity, the failures, the defeats, must be caused by profiteering, betrayal and conspiracy. If you could only purge all the disloyal, all the unfaithful, all the foreign agents, then there would be victory. Then there would be plenty. That the prescription was killing the patient could only mean that not enough had been administered. It was not a rational argument. Facts were useless against it. It was an argument based on faith. It belonged in a temple, not a court. The irony, of course, was that the Burners had burned the temples."
Soon any trace of doubt or compromise is synonymous with betrayal, while the ruling zealots peddle conspiracy theories "that required the enemies of the Great Change to be inscrutable puppet masters and utter idiots simultaneously". Which sounds like the past few years of Express and Mail front pages. Still, there are probably closer parallels with bloodier uprisings in things like the way the secret police become Inspectors rather than Inquisitors, albeit without much change of personnel:
"Who better'n the folk who used to do it, I guess?"
"You can't say we don't have the relevant experience."
"So...the same people, doing the same job, but called something else?"
"You may have hit closer to the essence of the Great Change than Chairman Risinau has in a hundred hours of speeches."

Of course, the thing about grimdark, at least as Abercrombie does it, is that for all the insistence on taking the shine off fantasy with blood and treachery and filth (all of which, don't get me wrong, he does very well), structurally there remains a much greater kinship with high fantasy than with our own far grimmer and darker world. Wise old warriors may have much hard-won and mordantly expressed wisdom about how it's better never to draw your sword, but when they eventually do, they'll be bloody impressive with it. A character wavering between good and evil will more than likely come good in the end. Sympathetic characters tend to get rescued at the last minute, and the worst of the worst will meet spectacular ends, instead of remaining in power to inexplicably high ongoing popularity, or at most being sent back to their extensive estates to (not) think about what they've done. Not all of the time, granted, just significantly more often than here. But fuck it, I'll take that bait and switch given how well he builds characters you can invest in, scenes that move like brutal ballet, and his knife-fighter's way with a phrase.

Sometimes, to change the world, we must first burn it down....

This is an excellent conclusion to the Age of Madness. As with the other books, it's fast paced and full of bloody chaos and destruction. Rikke's vision at the end left me hoping that we'll see more of the First Law world.
Fabulous!
Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC

A satisfying conclusion to both the book & the series. In typical fashion, there is a a strong dose of betrayal, death & intrigue as the story is nicely concluded. I love that there was still some surprises & some unhappy endings, none of which I saw coming.
This author is very skilled & accomplished & I'm intrigued what the next development will be, as I'd love him to step out of the universe, burn everything down & start again. That said, I think the author's real strengths are his characters, as they come to life & you either love or hate them, but all of them are visceral & real enough to touch.
Certainly real enough to miss them. Some of them.

This one closes out the Age Of Madness trilogy. Not the best jumping on place for new readers, but those who have been on the ride so far will be familiar with Abercrombie’s oh so readable cocktail of brutal violence, political intrigue and dark humour, allied here to some of his best character work. But….

It’s more than a bit annoying that one lovely dangling plot line that I’d been expecting to come into play at the climax is parcelled off to the epilogue and used as bait for what I presume is the next trilogy in the world of the First Law. I’ve invested 1000+ pages in reading this(and don’t get me wrong I had fun along the way) and then for the climax of the trilogy to be “here’s some stuff that’s going to happen in some books I haven’t written yet” feels a bit off to me. I suppose that means more books so I won’t grumble too hard, but yeah felt a bit cheated when I got to the last page.

The Wisdom of Crowds is a thrilling end to a wonderful, yet tragic series of fantasy novels that I have enjoyed from the very start. With a great encompassing cast of characters, political turmoil and intrigue, and great action sequences, this novel clearly delivered in this department. Yet, there were some nit-picks that I had, and I had a strong emotional response to Orso, who I felt was really the main character of this entire book. A good man like him that’s swallowed up by the world and by people being evil. I understand that Joe’s world doesn’t differentiate between good and bad, but sometimes I wish people like Orso would just have a break. It wasn’t Broad, it wasn’t Rikke, it wasn’t even Savine or Brock. None of them appealed to me. The actions and choices that they made, sometimes made me think they always went for the harder option than anything else. This novel is very exciting from the get-go, and there’s a ton of good historical references you’ll find within this novel.

And you should never trust the public at all when it comes to revolution. The so-called Great Change was a public campaign disguised as an agenda to take power from King Orso, and after that, the political house of cards that kept the Union together stumbles downwards on an endless spiral. People from all walks of life being accused of things they never did, only to be thrown at the top of a tall tower. And I seriously wondered, for what? For what has revolution ever achieved? Bloodshed? Chaos? Love? Turmoil? For a short period of time, people are purged during these brief moments and they’ll be loyal supporters of that rebellion too. It’s a waste of time, a waste of everything to be honest. Yet new leaders emerge and Napoleon was a prime example of this. It’s no wonder he became the Emperor of Europe and kept Europe under his control. Do you see what I mean when this novel is chock to the brim with historical references? There’s a lot and I love it. This book is a realistic depiction of what happens when you lead the public, seeing as they are dim-witted fools, to help you overthrow a legitimate ruler.

I don’t wish to spoil much of the story, but in a nutshell here’s a quick summary. Orso has to deal with so many ups and downs, so much humiliation and slander, that the man has more loyal servants than Savine or Brock could ever have. The thing I liked about Orso, was that he was funny, heck he even took the revolution with more humour than other monarchs would. I feel an emptiness inside of me when I write this. I think Orso needed something. Something that would cement his legacy and his mark. And I despise Lady Savine for exactly that reason. Bear in mind, Orso saved Savine many times. Keep that as a hint. And I hated Rikke as well, since betrayal is so common to her mindset, she’ll end up one day being betrayed by the very people she will come to love. Judge is an insane character and the worst of them. Rikke basically just consolidates her power in the North and is wary of Black Calder. That’s the summary out of the way. But you know what I liked the most? Brock learning to evolve out of his stupidity. Brock becoming so clever, so intelligent, that he learnt it from his wife, Savine. And Lady Savine, realising that being a mother and clever at the same time is dangerous in politics. She’s becoming more human as she begins to realise: most of the political slandering and torture that she brought upon workers, upon others is pointless. Now that she’s a mother, she must defend her children. And the worst part being that Orso is her brother, now no longer her lover.

Never have I had such a seething, loathed, hatred for what Lady Savine and Lord Brock did to Orso, and what they did to ignore his pleas. I do hope, that one day, a descendent of Orso’s line, perhaps from the North, or someone that understood the King, will come back and exact revenge. I’ve never felt this strongly to a character who I liked and that was Orso. A right man, born in a very very bad time. In my opinion, Lord Brock should be disposed of, since he has no shame in removing people, burning them or torturing them. And Savine should regret for the rest of her life when it comes to Orso. Even if she must bury it deep within her heart. There were also great characters within this novel, great little humorous scenes, and there’s too much political intrigue to count. But I have to say this, Orso was the funniest character I’ve ever read in this novel.

I do hope to see a future trilogy focusing on this world again as we return to Lady Savine’s son, King Harod ruling the Union one day. And I do hope they’ll suffer for the paint they did to a good man. If there are historical monarchs that I can compare to King Orso, I think it would be Emperor Maximilian the I of Mexico and King Pedro II of Brazil. I think you’ll find many apt comparisons with these two monarchs when contrasting them with Orso. Karma is, as they say, karma. That is my most desired wish. And this is the quality of Joe’s writing at the end of the day. He’s produced three stunning fantastic novels, and The Wisdom of Crowds doesn’t disappoint in the character department. I loved every second of it, and I’m still sad when writing this. But I want to return to this world again in the future, and damn, this is absolutely worth it.

I have posted my reviews to Amazon and Waterstones!

The Wisdom of Crowds is the finale of Joe Abercrombie’s Age of Madness series, set in his First Law universe. It’s probably worth mentioning a bit of history -this series works as a standalone, but its context is strongly informed by the other books in the existing universe.

Which is to say, this is a bloody good book, but a better one if you know some of the history. I wouldn’t start this book without at least reading the first two in the Age of Madness sequence, but I will say that those two are also bloody fantastic books.


Anyway! This is a story about what happens when The People, and I capitalise intentionally, are put in charge. It’s a story full of murder, mayhem, and living in the whirlwind of a sociopolitical disaster. It’s a story about the shifting centres of power, personal and institutional, and about how society is a dream we share and agree on - until we don’t. And then it all ends in fire and blood. In a seismic change, which may or may not actually be a change.


This is, not to give anything away, a clever book. It approaches big issues, like the idea of governance by consent, or concentration and dispersion of socio-political power, and explores them through the lens of characters operating at all levels of society. And those people, those people mean this is a book that isn’t a treatise, but at once a searing indictment of populism and more hierarchical systems of oppression and also a damn good story.


This is the part of the story where the wheels come off the wagon, which was already hurtling downhill at the metaphorical speed of sound. All the characters you know from the last two books are here: Rikke, now leader of a mostly unified North. King Orso of the Union, rapidly finding that winning a battle doesn’t mean you get to rule entirely untroubled. Bayaz, that old trickster, more butcher than wizard indeed. Savine dan Glokta, wife of a rebel, now coming to terms with not being quitte as elegantly untouchable as she thought. Perhaps re-evaluating herself as well. And Vick, survivor of a camp for political prisoners, then a political enforcer, now trying to figure out whether she’s on the right side, along with Gunnar Broad, a man who keeps finding himself wading into violence, or perhaps just refraining from it despite himself. They’re a crew of hard cases, but for all that, they’re sometimes vulnerable and hurt and human., and here they find their old certainties swept away. If the previous book was one filled with quiet words in smoke filled rooms, this is what happens when the people in those rooms find out the smoke is there because the building is on fire. We’ve seen atrocities disguised as justice, and seen it be the only justice we’re going to get.


It is very hard to talk about this without spoilers, but I’ll say this: the word building, or rather, the slow motion collapse of a lot of things about the world we thought we knew, is top notch. It works. It gives us scared, angry, frightened people, with tools in their hands, and demonstrates what happens next. But it also asks how they got there, and isn’t afraid of the answers. From the dark, silent forests of the North, to the bloody, broken streets of the Union, there’s a vitality, a humanity, an energy that makes them feel alive. Not good, but alive.


And we’ve lived with the characters, eaten with them, seen people who say they’re good do terrible things. Seen terrible people do what they think are good things. They’re living and building and changing here, still. You may find sympathies shifting and loyalties changing in yourself as much as in the people you’re reading about. Everyone here is a hero in their own story, and I suspect that sometimes they’re their own villain, too. These are people - brilliant, confusing, broken, building, loving, laughing, hating and all the other things that people are. Nobody is all one thing, and from that, they come away feeling wonderfully real.


Go get this. It’s Abercrombie at his best: incisive, bloody, darkly passionate, narratively explosive, beautifully human, and, well, bloody good fun.

Reading The Age of Madness trilogy has been an eye-opening experience for me. While I enjoyed The First Law Trilogy and Best Served Cold, those books didn't blow me away. I was hoping that Age of Madness would finally make me fall in love with Abercrombie's writing! I am pleased to say that this trilogy is the best series I have read in 2021 and will become one of my all-time favourite series ever!

Reading The Wisdom of Crowds was an exhilarating experience! Each chapter was intense, humourous and chaotic! The plot derails into absolute madness from the first chapter! There is so much scheming, chaos and destruction going on in this book. The plot is so unpredictable! It is remarkable how well Abercrombie is at creating these complex stories while simultaneously making it easy to follow what is going on.

Moreover, The Age of Madness Trilogy captures a wide range of themes, such as leadership, betrayal, progress, corruption and human nature. This trilogy has made me think deeply about human nature and the complexity of decision-making. Abercrombie's displays his best writing to date in The Wisdom of Crowds – bravo!

The characters in this trilogy have become some of my favourite fantasy characters ever! Savine, Leo, Rikke and Vick (just to mention a few) are cunning, relatable, flawed and fascinating characters! These are some of the best-written characters that I have ever come across! Abercrombie masterfully displays how flawed human beings are and how difficult it is for people to change their ways. I can't emphasise how real these characters feel to me!

The final act of Wisdom of Crowds is fantastic! It is shocking, heartbreaking and mad! Moreover, Abercrombie takes his time analysing the effects of the climax in this book! The reader gets insight into what happened after the climax is resolved!

The Wisdom of Crowds is some of Abercrombie's best work to date! The First Law universe should be seen as one of the greatest fantasy worlds to be created, and Abercrombie should be acknowledged as one of the best fantasy authors. The characterisation, the themes and the stories set in this world are next-level! It makes me a bit sad to hear that Abercrombie will start a new project now. I am confident that his next project will be just as good, or better, than The First Law universe. Hopefully, Abercrombie returns to this universe someday!

5 / 5

"Sometimes, to change the world, we must first burn it down."

Well... what do I do now? The First Law world has been one I've had so much fun exploring since the beginning of this year, and I am so glad I picked it up. As someone who had previously never ventured into the "grimdark" genre before this series, I wasn't entirely sure of what to expect, but I am glad to say I've gained a new favourite author, and one I will absolutely purchase books from for many, many years to come.

The Wisdom of Crowds is a truly epic conclusion to the Age of Madness series, just as chaotic and painful as anticipated. Following immediately on from the conflict at the end of The Trouble With Peace, TWOC really gives you no room to breathe from the very beginning. It throws the reader straight into the action of the ongoing Burner rebellion, and things are flipped onto their head from the get go. I've always been a huge fan of Abercrombie's action sequences, and TWOC is no exception. He has a way of throwing the reader into the very midst of the action, oftentimes following small characters that are simply caught in the crossfire of the bigger games at play. This is a very unique thing to Abercrombie's writing, and is something I absolutely adore. The POV switches are fast paced and intense, and the stakes feel incredibly high at all times. There are many action sequences that have this feel throughout the book, and I genuinely think my blood pressure has been permanently affected just by reading it.

Character work is always going to be the primary strength of this series, and once again TWOC is no exception to that rule. No character in the series is ever categorically a "good person", in fact more often than not they're pretty objectively terrible. However, you still find yourself rooting for so many of them and I have such strong attachments to so many of these characters that it's genuinely difficult to be leaving them behind for the time being. It's especially refreshing and exciting reading the Age of Madness series as Abercrombie spends a lot more time fleshing out his female characters in comparison to the first trilogy, and the women in the series are exceptional. Rikke and Savine are two of my favourite characters, and I would happily lay down my life for either of them. They're complex and layered characters, with so much more dimension than a lot of male authors give their female characters, and it's a marked improvement on the original trilogy that I'm ecstatic to see. My favourite character however, has to be Orso. Orso is such a loveable rogue of a character, with so much more depth than he allows others to see. He's one of the few genuinely well intentioned people in the world, and he just... gives me a lot of feelings, especially in this book. Then we come onto Leo... where does one begin to talk about Leo? It's very easy to dismiss Leo's character as wholly unlikeable and dreadful, and honestly whilst reading the series I have been guilty of it. However, he is such a well crafted villain character that I have to give Abercrombie credit. Once again, Leo is wonderfully layered in his motivations and decisions, with a genuinely tragic childhood and past that make the reader feel genuine sympathy for him, despite being so angry and frustrated at his choices. He's the best kind of villain, giving the reader such mixed emotions that you're never quite sure how to feel about him from one page to the next. Abercrombie is a master at crafting characters, and his villains are some of his best work.

In terms of plot, this was honestly a lot more fast paced than I was anticipating going off of the previous First Law books. There were some definite repetitive-feeling moments, but I was never once bored and had no troubles reading the book in pretty much two sittings. There are betrayals and reveals that genuinely had me shocked and on edge, and the ending leaves the series open to continue on in the future with some truly incredible hints and prophecies.

All in all, this was almost all I could have wanted from the conclusion to a solid new favourite on my shelves. It gave me pain, heartache, shock, betrayal and action, and I really just cannot wait to hopefully explore the world even more in the future.

ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

Joe Abercrombie is a genius storyteller. The Wisdom of Crowds is one of the best books of the year, a masterfully crafted conclusion to The Age of Madness trilogy.

“What is the point of gathering knowledge if one does not pass it on? What is the point of growing old if one does not try to shape the future?”

For years I’ve mentioned the Last Argument of Kings as Joe Abercrombie’s best book; it is a masterwork in grimdark fantasy, in my opinion. For years I’ve said Abercrombie probably won’t be able to come up with a novel that matched—or topped—the Last Argument of Kings. Today, that unbending situation changed; I’m gratified to say that Abercrombie has done it. The Wisdom of Crowds, the last book in The Age of Madness trilogy, is up there with the Last Argument of Kings as the best book in The First Law World and his career. And I dare say it’s indeed his most well-written book so far. Last week, I did an interview with Joe Abercrombie on my YouTube channel, and it is one of my most treasured experiences as a book reviewer. I hope to have the chance to do that again in the future because The Wisdom of Crowds is one of the best books I’ve read, and I have some burning questions regarding the revelations unveiled in this novel. Anyway, that’s for the future, now let’s begin with the review.

“Sometimes, the only way to improve something is to destroy it, so it can be rebuilt better… Sometimes, to change the world, we must first burn it down.”

Chaos, fury, and destruction; this is how The Wisdom of Crowds starts, and it’s also how the narrative progresses. The Great Change is here, and our beloved main characters—voluntarily or not—are all caught in its sweeping madness. Abercrombie didn’t waste time shifting the story and characters into their crimson path. Right from their respective first chapter, everyone’s plunged into this uncontrollable vicious frenzy. If you’ve read A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace, then you’ll know what the chapter “Little People” signifies. Unlike the previous books, the first out of two “Little People” in The Wisdom of Crowds happened in chapter 3; it is that soon.

“How could one man keep his oath when everyone else was breaking theirs, after all? An army very much relied on unity of purpose.”

From the beginning to the end, not a single page in this novel ever felt dull to me. I know that every author writes differently, but I do wish more authors write and structure their series the way Abercrombie or Michael Sullivan did with their trilogy. For those of you who don’t know, Abercrombie finished writing the entire The First Law trilogy first before he focused on polishing one book at a time. This method was reimplemented for The Age of Madness trilogy, and same with the Last Argument of Kings, this kind of storytelling planning and structure allow Abercrombie to fill the pages of his concluding volume with an incredibly engaging—and believable—revelations and narrative. The Wisdom of Crowds proved that The Age of Madness trilogy has some of his most meticulous plotting so far; revelations are done in abundance, and they never felt out of place. This is a novel—or trilogy—that successfully captured a myriad of relatable themes and character’s actions such as freedom, betrayals, loyalties, conspiracies, leadership, responsibilities, survival, politics, war, ambitions, and the price of progress.

“Have you been outside lately? Wisdom is not at a premium, madness is the fashion, the balance sheets are all torn up and the friends that were assets have become liabilities… Threats for tomorrow don’t cut very deep when today is so damn threatening.”

I won’t lie; as a long-time and diehard fan of The First Law World, there’s always a part of me that feels gleeful when characters or backgrounds attained from reading the previous six novels plus one collection of short stories appeared. This isn’t to say that I didn’t love or care about the new main characters of this trilogy; if that were the case, I doubt I’ll be giving each book in this trilogy a 5 stars rating. However, prior to reading The Wisdom of Crowds, I never felt like the new main characters could compete with Abercrombie’s previous main characters. Again, I was gladly proven wrong. I’m being truthful when I say there are no characters in The First Law World that I love more than Logen Ninefingers or Sand dan Glokta; they’re too iconic and unforgettable for me. But I’ll be lying if I say that I didn’t immensely enjoy reading the journey of Rikke, Orso, Leo, Savine, Broad, Vick, and Clover. They’re not Logen Ninefingers, and they’re not Sand dan Glokta; they’re never meant to be, and that’s completely okay. By this concluding installment, I personally think these new main characters—especially Rikke, Orso, Leo, and Savine—have earned their spot as some of the most well-written characters in fantasy. I mean, Rikke and Savine have both became some of my favorite characters, too. Say one thing for Abercrombie, say that his level of characterizations is unmatched in grimdark fantasy.

“The past has never interested me. For better or worse it is done, and set, and littered with disappointments as a battlefield is littered with the dead. But the future is a ploughed field, full of potential. The future we can twist into wonderful shapes.”

I never thought I would end up caring for all the characters in this trilogy this much, but now that I finished it, I felt like there’s a gap inside of me that won’t be filled until Abercrombie write more characters for me to feel invested in. The main characters underwent tremendous character development in The Wisdom of Crowds. The lawless chaos and savage circumstances they’re in have pushed all of them towards becoming a better or cruel version of the person they were. Almost all the main characters realistically changed from their first appearance in A Little Hatred. Wishes buy nothing, and good luck is always in limited supply. Alliances constantly shifted, betrayals and tough decisions have to be unflinchingly executed in order to survive. I loved reading the character’s developments and the conclusion to their story; some made me surprisingly happy and satisfied, and some depressed me. This is an entry in The First Law World, after all, and you have to be realistic about these things.

“It’s a comfort, telling yourself there’s some big right thing out there. That you could seek some wise old bastard in the mountains who’s got the answer. Then there’d be no need for doubts and regrets… But far as I can tell it ain’t that simple. Right things, wrong things, well… it’s all a matter of where you stand. Every choice is good for some, bad for others. And once you’re chief, you can’t just do what’s good for you, or those you love. You have to find what’s best for most. Worst for fewest.”

The action sequences in The Wisdom of Crowds, once again—I know I sound like a broken record here—established Abercrombie as one of the two best close-quarter combat scenes writers; the other author being John Gwynne. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, The Wisdom of Crowds started with an explosive bang, but it felt relatively small compared to the third and final act of the novel. The end of the second act was pulse-pounding, and it seamlessly transitioned into the non-stop barrage of mayhem and devastations—emotionally and physically—of the final act. It was all so relentlessly brilliant and insane; the immersion I got from reading Abercrombie’s compelling dialogues and battle scenes are vivid and rare to find in other books. Having read so many fantasy books now, it’s getting harder for me to feel like I’m inside a battle scene with the characters experiencing the glory, terrors, and brutal bloodbath. And reading The Wisdom of Crowds has all these immersion effects on me.

“The sad truth is, men love to follow a man other man fear… Makes them feel fearsome, too. We tell the odd fond story of the good men. The straight edges. Your Rudd Threetrees, your Dogmen. But it’s the butchers men love to sing of. The burners and the blood-spillers. Your Cracknut Whirruns and your Black Dows. Your Bloody-Nines. Men don’t dream of doing the right thing, but of ripping what they want from the world with their strength and their will.”

The Wisdom of Crowds is, at the moment, the peak of quality in Abercrombie’s prose. It’s unbelievable, but it’s true; Abercrombie has written more than ten novels now, and he somehow keeps getting better and better with each book he wrote. It’s so astounding to me. “Better to do it than live with the fear of it” that’s penned in The Blade Itself remains as one of the important mottos I use to motivate me in my daily life. And in this novel, I highlighted 36 passages. No kidding; there were so many well-crafted sentences and passages I wish I could share with you all, but I’ll leave those for you to find out for yourself.

“History is not the story of battles between right and wrong, but between one man’s right and another’s. Evil is not the opposite of good. It is what we call another man’s notion of good when it differs from ours.”

Lastly, before I end this review, I’ve mentioned and praise the hell out of Abercrombie’s trademark skill in writing magnificent characterizations, dialogues, battle scenes, and all the grim and dark content. But there’s one more trademark of Abercrombie’s prose to mention: humor. The Wisdom of Crowds is the darkest novel in the trilogy, but this doesn’t mean it’s deficient in its humor. I can’t believe how many times I laughed out loud reading this book; I’m pretty sure most of them were during scenes I shouldn’t laugh about, too. Seriously, there was a chapter involving Clover and Downside that made me laugh out loud. And believe me when I say that I rarely laugh when I’m reading a novel. But that’s the thing; the superb characterizations and humor are what separated and elevated Abercrombie from other grimdark fantasy authors. Amidst the character’s bloody ambitions, ruthless violence, and horrific tragedy, Abercrombie’s cunning capability to insert dark humor at the right—or inappropriate—moment and time made the pacing in his books so captivating.

“Don’t matter how savage a face you show the world, few men dare look the Great Leveller in the eye once he comes calling.”

Following a comparable contrasting fashion Abercrombie employed in The First Law trilogy, Abercrombie started and concluded The Age of Madness similarly. The first chapter in The Blade Itself is called “The End,” and the last chapter in the Last Argument of Kings is called “The Beginning.” The first chapter in A Little Hatred is titled “Blessings and Curses”, while the last chapter of The Wisdom of Crowds is titled “Curses and Blessings.” And when it comes to reading Abercrombie’s books, this title couldn’t be more apt. It’s a blessing to have read every book in The First Law World, and it’s also a curse to have read them all.

Same with the Last Argument of Kings written by the same connoisseur, The Wisdom of Crowds has joined the same esteemed rank of fantasy masterpieces. This is the end of The Age of Madness trilogy, but I doubt this will mark the end of The First Law World. The ending showed glimpses of super exciting things to come in the future of this world. But if this somehow ended up being the end, I truly don’t mind. I’m an extremely happy and satisfied reader to have read all the available nine novels and one collection of short stories in The First Law World. The entirety of The First Law World—The First Law trilogy, the standalone trilogy, and The Age of Madness trilogy—is the greatest grimdark fantasy series that I’ve read. Bravo, Joe Abercrombie; the bar for grimdark fantasy has been raised again. And you, Lord Grimdark, remain absolute as one of the greatest fantasy authors of all time.

“Great folk are great ‘cause they plant new footsteps. Not ‘cause they blunder through the same mistakes some other bastards made.”

Series review:

A Little Hatred: 5/5 stars
The Trouble with Peace: 5/5 stars
The Wisdom of Crowds: 5/5 stars

The Age of Madness: 15/15 stars

You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Blackwells (Free International shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

By the dead this book is incredible.

50% of me is beaming "Joe, you are amazing" and the other 50% is screeching "Joe! how could you! I'll never forgive you for this!"

**Full review to come over the weekend, I'll update with full text and a link**

Abercrombie tituló a esta última entrega de The Age of Madness The Wisdom of Crowds porque The Betrayals of the Betrayers lo mismo daba demasiadas pistas sobre el desarrollo de la novela. No me cabe duda de que la edición española va a estar patrocinada por las cuchillerías de Albacete, las mejores navajas para clavarlas por la espalda.


La acción continúa donde lo dejamos con The Trouble with Peace, el resultado de la batalla ha sido claro y ahora solo queda que los vencedores recojan sus ganancias y hagan «justicia» con los vencidos, pero un nuevo cambio, inesperado por la alta sociedad pero largamente anhelado por la plebe dará al traste con todos los planes de los principales actores intervinientes.

Es a partir de este punto cuando la sinrazón y la violencia se apoderan de la narración y he de reconocer que en algunos momentos la lectura no ha sido tan ágil como lo es normalmente con este autor, porque se ha regodeado quizá demasiado en los aspectos más macabros y truculentos de la locura en que se ve inmersa la ciudad, pero tampoco cuesta imaginar que es hasta cierto punto realista si echamos un vistazo a los precedentes históricos que conocemos, como el Terror o las purgas stalinistas (por poner dos ejemplos).

Y sin embargo, los personajes a los que hemos ido acompañando durante tanto tiempo consiguen mantenerse a flote, bien por suerte, por convicción o por habilidad. De nuevo, Abercrombie divide la narración en muchos puntos de vista pero equilibra de tal forma las tramas que en ningún momento sufres por cambiar de una a otra, porque siguen siendo más que interesantes. Y los protagonistas van alcanzando una madurez al final del camino que recorren que no tiene nada que ver con cómo eran en un principio. Un recorrido tortuoso y lógico que a pocos autores se les da tan bien trazar como a Lord Grimdark.

Si bien es cierto que hacia la mitad de la novela podemos acabar un poco hastiados de ejecuciones y manchas de sangre, cuando el autor decide apretar el acelerador lo hace de una forma decidida y constante. Las piezas que lleva colocando no desde A Little Hatred si no desde La primera ley encajan a la perfección en el puzle que ha ido desplegando ante nosotros y a los fans como yo les alegrará saber que todavía no ha acabado. La novela termina de una forma redonda, pero Abercrombie ha vuelto a colocar sus figuras de ajedrez más desgastadas y sus brillantes nuevas adquisiciones en el tablero, para que nosotros seamos testigos de sus nuevas andanzas y escaramuzas. Yo, desde luego, estaré la primera en la fila para disfrutarlas.

DNF. I just couldn’t finish this book. I think book two put me in the wrong frame of mind to enjoy it because I know longer have any interest in reading these characters. I just don’t really care for any of them anymore and I don’t care what happens to any of them.

In order to prepare for reading this book I decided the best thing to do would be to do a reread of the entire trilogy so I cleared my schedule and got stuck in. I have to say I think this is the best course of action where this series is concerned - reading them together it's a much more cohesive story and I think if I had read this without the refresher it might have been a bit less impactful.
This series is called the Age of Madness and madness does indeed occur throughout these pages, this is evident in the ludicrous differences between where these characters and this world are at the beginning of book one versus the end of book three - MY WORD things change.
One thing that doesn't change is Abercrombie's impeccable way of crafting a narrative. These characters are, for the most part, not what we would deem traditional fantasy heroes, some of them are downright bad - and yet somehow I found myself rooting for all of them to succeed. That's extra impressive given half of the time they're in direct competition with each other.
I love the way that these books have so many different perspectives, yes it can make the story feel a tad chaotic and you have to keep your focus, but it means that you get a real sense of the consequences of character's actions, the impact that petty feuds can have on a larger scale. We see a plan made by one character come to fruition through the eyes of a totally different party. In a story that is so focussed on characters in a time of great change I couldn't imagine it working any other way.
As an end to a series this book may not satisfy everyone, Abercrombie leaves a fair few things open-ended, but again I think that fits with the overall sense of the books marking the events of a particular period of time as opposed to telling a neatly top and tailed story.
Having read both, I think this series overall is more accessible than The First Law for those new to Grimdark - but I do still think it is well worth reading both.
I'll be excited to discover what comes next from Joe Abercrombie - my hopes are indeed high.
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Wisdom of Crowds is now out! The ninth book in Abercrombie’s cynical-though-charismatic First Law world brings an end to the second trilogy.

I’ve praised the books in this series to no end. A Little Hatred may have been my favourite ever series opener, and I waxed lyrical about The Trouble with Peace. Whether this trilogy is better than the first will be a matter of personal opinion, but if you ask me? Absolutely.

Which isn’t to say that I don’t have my criticisms. The Wisdom of Crowds had a lot of aspects that I loved, but there were also a few that I wasn’t so keen on. Much like how I felt after the first First Law trilogy, I think my opinions on this one need some time to settle and ferment. For now, though…

Let me start off by saying that I was still utterly entranced by this cast of characters. The way that the old guard is used in conjunction with the new POV cast is something I continue to think is brilliant. The way that personal and cultural histories are leant on to give additional context and tension to certain scenes? I thought that was incredibly well done. Then there’s all the stuff that our characters have gone through over the course of the trilogy… They felt almost like children in the beginning, but by the end of the trilogy they are legends and villains in their own right. No heroes, though. Never that.

Even by the end, I struggle to pick out a favourite. Rikke, Savine, Leo, Orso… it’s incredible to consider how they have grown (or… declined… in some cases) as characters. The roles they fill when you would never have expected it from them. Leaders, Politicians, Kings, and faces of a Great Change. Then there are the likes of Broad, Clover, and Vick, who are more often than not forced to adapt to the moves made by others.

So, aye. You get it. I loved the characterisation in these books. Voice, depth, scope, variety, I loved it all. So where does the criticism come in? Well, there are a couple of things.

The main one is something that I feel is going to be incredibly subjective, but it did have an impact on my engagement. At the end of The Trouble with Peace, we get the big reveal, and are left with the idea that shit is about to hit the fan very soon. Well, it does. And as silly as it sounds, It felt to me like that almost happened too soon? I understand that the revolution had been built up over the course of the proceeding two books, but I expected to see a little bit more of a transitionary state in this one before the revolution reached its end game. Instead, it felt like it jumped straight from A to Z. “We are going to revolt… aaaaand we have revolted. Good effort, everyone. Does anyone know if Phil survived?”

My other nitpick has a few parts to it. One of the overarching themes of this trilogy, particularly evident in the second book, is that it is far easier to criticise leadership than it is to practice it. While I have enjoyed reading how Abercrombie has explored that idea, in the first 50% of the Wisdom of Crowds it started to feel like he was beating a dead horse. I’d long since passed the exam, but the lectures kept coming. Tied into this, I hadn’t really appreciated until the final book that we’d never had an “inside” perspective on the revolution — with Broad being the closest thing. This meant that when the revolution was set up as the main opposing force to some of our characters, it felt a little one-dimensional to me. Even though there was competing factions there with the burners and the breakers, there didn’t really feel like much of a difference there. Besides, I guess, the fact that one side had Judge.

Considering all of the above as a whole, I had a bit of a conflicted start to this novel. I found the characters as captivating as ever, so much so that I never really felt bogged down by those parts that didn’t land with me. But I did, for a moment, think that the book was spinning on its wheels just ever-so-slightly. The second half completely won me over, however, with some great scenes that felt tailor-made for these characters (some of them final). I don’t want to say too much, and I don’t want to give away the ending… But I don’t think the world of The First Law ends here.

There are some other aspects I want to briefly mention. One character in a past book has a few homophobic moments, which are framed in a way that suggest his own repressed attraction towards men. That subplot continues in this book. There is also a character who actively fosters a racist agenda, with dialogue along the lines of , “It was a bad message to send, having brown faces around the royal(…)”. These are subplots which don’t necessarily get resolved. The behaviour is always framed in a negative light, but it is nonetheless portrayed. I mention this so that any prospective readers may make their own informed decisions as to whether to pick these books up.

Taking it all in, am I satisfied with how the Age of Madness trilogy has ended? Yes. Am I happy? Absolutely not — Joe killed off some of my favourite characters! But in all seriousness, these small criticisms aside, I had a blast with this trilogy. I feel like anyone who enjoyed the first two books is going to be the same.

When is the next one?

And so to the third book in this Trilogy, what is being labelled as “The Final” Age of Madness novel. (And please note, as this is a review of the third book, there are spoilers below of the second book, The Trouble With Peace (reviewed HERE.) And as this is the third book in a trilogy, this is not the place to start. (Try A Little Hatred, reviewed HERE.)



We begin this book pretty much where Book Two finished. King Orso returns to Adua after defeating the now slightly-dismembered Leo de Brock. With the Young Lion and his pregnant wife Savine captured, Orso expects a return to past glories. However, instead of travelling home to a triumphant crowd, Orso finds himself arriving into the middle of a riot. The Great Change is happening, with the common people revolting. The old order – the Monarchy – is removed and replaced by the new order. The Breakers and Burners have continued their determination to break free of their oppressive work conditions and lifestyle and are now destroying the city and their mechanical places of work.

Suddenly the expected situations are reversed. Orso is arrested by the new regime, whilst the recently defeated Young Lion and his wife are regarded as heroes, of a sort. There is much to do. Brock, now Citizen Brock, despite his defeat by royalty, is determined to lead the people into a new age of prosperity and wisdom.

In Adua, the new order is instigated by a number of people we have met before – Risinau is the self-proclaimed intellectual leading judgement, whilst Spillion Sworbreck becomes the mouthpiece for the group in charge. To this Vick van Teufel and Tallow are added as part of the new order. Most significantly, Judge, a deranged character and designated leader of the Burners takes an important position in the kangaroo court hastily set up.

Meanwhile in the North, Rikke, now holding together a fragile Protectorate as Leader of Uffrith, is finding it difficult to preserve what she has got against Black Calder, who is preparing for vengeance after his previous defeat. Stour Nightfall is now a prisoner, but is he a valuable playing piece in the game she is playing against Calder?

And around all of this, Bayaz, with his creepy assistant Sulfur returns to show his true hand in this game of politics and power.

It’s clearly not going to end well for someone – or anyone.

Most of this book is actually not about “The Great Change”, for this has pretty much happened by the time this book starts, but what happens after. Instead, the book is really about what Adua did next. Responsibilities are gained and lost, so too fortunes and finances. In these post-Brexit or post-Trump times, we know that the wisdom of crowds is something that can be both beneficial and dangerous, something that Joe uses to great effect in this book. There’s a lot of regret about circumstances from all sides.

As ever, Joe’s combination of (VERY!) violent action and gallows humour create a dark, nasty and cynical world for his characters to be in. The characterisation remains as good as ever, their dialogue sprinkled throughout with appropriate epithets in this often unremittingly grim environment. Think Les Miserables crossed with Stalingrad in a Fantasy setting where nothing is as you’d expect.

The usual fight scenes are choreographed to the standard expected. I could see the descriptions in my head as I read, which shows the gift Joe has for action in dialogue. The brutality of the fight scenes is still wincingly graphic, and yet it all seems appropriate. Bawdy and graphic without becoming parody. Not easy to do!

And then there’s the ending. Joe has developed a reputation for plot twists towards the end of his novels, when things do not go as we expect. This one is no different (but obviously I’m not going to tell you here what happens.)

Suffice it to say that, once again, I spent much of the book anticipating what was going to happen, only to be broadsided by what really did. The clues are there throughout as old and new characters give this a freshness and a means to do things differently yet in a way that will not disappoint. It is cruel but rarely heartless.

Joe manages to finish this trilogy with a definite ending and one that is totally appropriate, if typically ambiguous. I am pleased to say that this new trilogy has been worth the read, and this one caps the series nicely. The Wisdom of Crowds is an unputdownable page turner that made me grin on reading one page and grimace on the next.

There’s a lot riding on whether Joe can finish the trilogy to the satisfaction of readers, and I am sure that many will worry whether that is the case. From me though it is an unreserved YES, to the point where I think that this is one of his best. The final book brings the events of the previous two to a definite finish.

Although it’s not something I do very often, I must also point out the lovely artwork that adorns this book as well as the others in this trilogy. Well done to Gollancz and Tomas Almeida, not only for the cover but for some stunning endpapers too. Easily one of the best sets of covers I’ve seen in years to celebrate the writing of one of our genre’s current best.


I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – no one does these stories like Abercrombie. For all of the copycat writers and the hysterical harbingers of rip-off writing that seem to tread a very similar path, Joe’s voice in telling these tales is special and unique. And this latest book in his latest series shows Joe at this best. It is as good as you can expect.

But where does he go next?

Thoroughly recommended – a definite book of the year.