Few fantasy series have used the scope of time so effectively to examine how society's progress affects their characters and world. The setting is a character unto itself, experiencing its own process of growth and change, trauma, and uncertainty. Abercrombie returns to the tropes and character archetypes we saw in The First Law, but as the world changes around them, so to do the roles they play within it: charismatic princeling Orso must grapple with the royal family's fading power in the face of industry and hawkish financiers; Savine's sharp mind allows her to move through society with an authority that would have been impossible a generation earlier. These are fascinating examinations, and they tell readers as much about our our world as they do about Abercrombie's fictional one.
In all the ways that matter, Abercrombie delivers fans exactly what they've always expected from the Lord of Grimdark: a critical, compelling epic fantasy loaded with wonderfully drawn characters, the bloodletting tempered with sharp social commentary and a touch of satire. (Also: bad sex scenes.) It also welcomes newcomers by focusing on a new generation of (anti-)heroes facing new challenges in a world their parents hardly recognize. It's doesn't feel like a stretch to say Abercrombie's on his way to writing another masterpiece of epic fantasy—though one vastly different than his first.