The Great Change is upon us!
Wow! This was an emotional, exhausting read. From the first pages to the ending, this is a huge roller coaster of a book. I have loved Joe Abercrombie ever since picking up The Blade Itself off the library shelf years ago and he has grown so much as an author. This final part of the Age of Madness trilogy shows how intricately planned and worked out the series is. There are shocks and surprises and things that you could never have expected and yet all of them make perfect in this grim world that Abercrombie has created.
The main characters, Savine, Orso, Leo and Rikke to mention just a few, all have amazing and believable story lines and they are supported by a whole host of minor characters who are all brilliantly written. The Laundry woman at the gates of Adua is typical of a character who has just a tiny part to play but is so memorable. Savine and Orso are still my favourite characters. I love how Savine grows in this book and Orso remains a shining light in a very dark world
I loved this book even though at times it was almost painful to read. The ending leaves me certain that we haven’t finished with the world of First Law yet and I look forward to the next chapters in its history.
A huge thank you to Net Galley and Orbit Publishing group for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Oh god. Oh, bloody god. I'm repentant. Last year at eight books in I declared myself rather bored with The Trouble With Peace. Abercrombie had hit every mark that is to be expected from him. I regarded it as more of the same fanfare. Great writing but typical Abercrombie story. The Age of Madness trilogy comes to an end with The Wisdom of Crowds. This was so unlike everything else I'd read from him. It also elevated my feelings towards the previous book. I was worried this was going to be a repeat affair in Abercrombie's world. He proved me wrong. He made me feel like a fool. He broke my ******** heart.

The adolescent in me still has a fetish for all things French Revolution. I know way more about the American Revolution than the French but throwing tea into the harbor is never as interesting as chopping people's heads off, the Committee, or the Reign of Terror. The climax of The Trouble with Peace which carried us into the beginning of The Wisdom of Crowds did not prepare me for this...this madness. Abercrombie transports us to his version of the Reign of Terror. Did I ever think in a million years I would write a sentence like that? My expectations were blown away like they were paper at target practice. I can't believe he went there and kicked my ass every step of the way.

This has its own voice from everything that's come before it. Without the formula, I'd found myself appreciating the writing on a new level. There is a display of restraint as the story works on more psychological levels. Do not misunderstand me here. This would not be an Abercrombie book without the gritty realism and the violent, gore-filled showcases. Remember when 2666 by Roberto Bolano came out and everyone talked about the part with all the murders? Try reading a ******** Abercrombie book.

Over the displays of humanity's mad, animal instincts is an ultimately sad story. In a world where people's motivations and alliances change with the wind, I was not expecting a cyclone. I hoped time and time again that somebody, anybody, would get a happy ending. Not Bayaz though because **** him. But anybody else. Even though I'm settled with how things are resolved I'm still unsure of who has the shortest straw of those that remain. I say that as someone who looks to what comes next. This trilogy may have ended but we thought the same thing about The First Law. Could we have expected, after all, for King Jezal to kick the bucket as he did? Nobody is safe. Saved, momentarily. Never safe.

I thought this would take me a week to get through, reading in gaps during my break time. Not a chance. I flew through this. I had to. I found myself so emotionally vested in these characters that I was having heart issues sitting on my couch, trying to focus on other things. Did I spend time with my children this labor day weekend? No. Because I was about to die thinking of the turmoil these people were in. That's what I get. I said his second book in this trilogy bored me so he kills me with his third.

Speaking of death.

There is a revolving door of close calls. I suppose with my comparison to the French Revolution that I should have seen certain things coming but it was absolutely heartbreaking when my worst fears came to life. Among the books I've read recently which include an ode to Slashers and a Body Horror novel, this is the book I was most emotional over. To take a step back and think why I realized it's because I've been reading these books for so many years. Some of these characters we knew from the very beginning. Caul Shivers is in all nine books, for example. There's Gorst and Pike. Sulfur and Glokta and that asshole wizard. For the new generation has it really been three years? I feel like I've known Savine, Orso, Teufel, and Rikke forever. Leo and Stour. Not everyone can make it. I knew that going in. I expected it. But then I was given hope and that was stolen. Then more hope which was stolen again. Over and over until Abercrombie crossed names off the list of who should survive. Or even a list of who should end up alright.

I think what hurts the most is that the one person I felt really got the bad end of the deal and deserved better, didn't.

Surprisingly, it is what doesn't happen which I found the most shocking. I had three things in mind. They would have been major game-changing moments in the series. None happen. This again goes back to my statement on restraint. He knows he could have written some balls to the walls gut-punching scenes. He could give us pure fan service too. It makes the writing all the more powerful that he didn't take the expected routes. He, of course, was right.

I do not doubt that the next books Abercrombie will write, whether a new trilogy, one-offs, or something completely unrelated to this world of which he created will be equally engaging. The Wisdom of Crowds hits hard, fast, and uncompromising. It hits all the right bells. To steal a quote from Val Garland, "This gets a Ding Dong from me, baby! Ding Dong!"

<i>"Equality never quite comes in equal shares."</i>

The Wisdom of Crowds is the showstopping finale in Joe Abercrombie's Age of Madness trilogy - a masterpiece of a trilogy full of chaos, revolution, masterful character arcs, brutal battles and iconic humour. This series has quickly become one of my all time favourites and safe to say it definitely stuck it's landing.

The Wisdom of Crowds is heartbreaking, relentless and with some incredibly satisfying reveals and betrayals that make it clear the author knew exactly what he was doing with his vision for the trilogy and everything culminates in a perfect storm of destruction and upheaval. This installment has some of my favourite scenes of all time, Joe Abercrombie always manages to make his battle scenes feel fresh and exciting; the twists and heartstopping moments will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Since my favourite thing about this series has always been its characters, I thought I would start my review by breaking down my thoughts on each characters journey in this book:

<b>Savine</b>

I honestly think Savine is one of the greatest female characters of all time. Her complexity and nuance are unparalelled. She is ruthless, ambitious and cunning and I love her for all those qualities but in this book I really enjoyed getting to see her more vunerable side, especially in regards to motherhood. I was very satisfied with how her arc played out and where she ended up. I think Savine is an excellent character study in how we present ourselves to the world and how this influences our vision of ourselves and is relevant more than ever.

<b>Leo</b>

I could write an entire essay on Leo's character, he is another character that I think there is no-one quite like him in all of adult SFF. Having a messy queer character who is allowed to *seriously* fuck up is very refreshing. He has been through a LOT in this series, and probably changes the most throughout the course of this book - his arc is unexpected, tragic, poetic and at times very frustrating. I also think the paralells between Leo and Glokta are very interesting and wonder if this will be explored more in future first law books. Leo's relationship with Jurand is another one of my favourite things about the series, Leo's painful repression of his queerness is back in full force lol but I do think he is slowly getting there. <spoiler> While they did not end up exactly where I wanted them to, I think it's pretty much invetiable they will become lovers given how things end so I am happy (ish) - provided Leo does not go full villain. </spoiler>

<b>Orso</b>

Orso continues to be an absolute delight to follow and read about, he is charming, humourous and honestly way too good to be in the first law world. His relationship with Hildi and Tunny in this book was so precious and made me so emotional at times. His POV is often a much needed breath of fresh air it what can feel like a very oppressive book.

<b>Rikke</b>

Rikke is well and truly in her girlboss era in this book and her chapters (and the chapters in the North in general) were some of my favoruites in the whole series. I love her sense of humour and her dynamic with Isern and Shivers in particular. I also really like how through Rikke's story we explore the challenges women in positions of power can face (especially those historically occupied by men). She is constantly being underestimated and challenged at every turn but she twists it to her advantage. I also really liked the theme of trying to be better than the leaders of the past and not follow in their footsteps but forge her own path. Additionally the role of the Long Eye in this book was fascinating, and I think supported one of the overarcing themes of the whole of first law - that people just want someone to tell them what to do and seem like they know what they are doing.

<b>Vick</b>

Vick has massively grown on me throughout the series and I really loved her arc in this book. Through her we explore the ember of hope in a world that is full of cyncism, and how often it feels like everything that happens feels like it's for nothing but sometimes you just have to take a chance on something. I also think she is a very interesting example of how shifting loyalties can influence our choices and how important it is to have someone to care for you. I'm really hoping for a future Vick standalone because I think she has so much more potential to explore.

<b>Others</b>

Other characters also have important roles to play. Both Broad and Clover go through interesting arcs (although slightly predictable) and the reappearance of Bayaz and Glotka will leave you screaming. I really liked all the different parent/child relationships explored throughout the book - highlights being Leo/Finree (one of their scenes made me SOB) and Savine/Glokta (one of their scenes was so iconic, it may have been my favourite scene in all of first law).

Joe Abercrombie's prose as always is a delight to read, I love his dark sense of humour, banter between characters, and extremely frank (and often hilariously crude) ways of describing things. The themes in the age of madness books are impeccable and this installment is no exception. We spend a large chunk of the book with the breakers and burners in charge of a new regime and I think parallels our real world history of certain communist revolutions that were often sabotaged by the greed of a select few. I think the dangers of populism and the so called 'peoples justice' are explored very well and in an incredibly nuanced way. The horrors and devastation that humanity can inflict on itself are not shied away from and I think the fundamental lesson of this series is even in a world with magic and monsters, humanity is the real villain and history is all to often doomed to repeat itself.

The last 150 pages of this book take a slightly different turn from the rest of the book and are absolutely INSANE - the betrayals, the revelations, . It is an incredibly emotional ride and is clearly the work of an experienced author, making it one of the most satisfying conclusions to a trilogy I've ever read, whilst still teasing and leaving the door open for more to come in the world. The book doesn't really feel like an ending for this world or our charcaters and I can't wait to see what happens next in the first law world.

Overall a conclusion you absolutely do not want to miss and if you are anything like me will devour in a couple of days, leaving you a hollow shell of who you used to be.