During the reign of the French King, Louis XIV, the cannons were inscribed by his order with “Ultima ratio regum” or “The Last Argument of Kings.”  This is also the title of the final book in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law  trilogy.

I discussed this series after having read the first two books.  I loved the series, I recommended it and I figured that was pretty much the end of it.  But the third and final book was so incredible that it has increased my respect for the series exponentially. 

If I had any problem with the first book, the sequence of events felt a little preordained.  The gathering of heroes for a quest by a wizard felt a bit cliché, even if those heroes were far from typical.  But I take it all back.  None of it is cliché.  Instead, it explodes the clichés, tears apart what we think of as a fantasy series.

First of all, it’s a wild ride.  Some plot developments I surely saw coming.  Others totally took me by surprise.  But nothing felt like a twist for the sake of being a twist and nothing felt unrealistic.  It’s wonderful to see a series wrapped up so well in three volumes.  It is dark and bleak, surely.  But it is also satisfying.

There were times I cheered, times I laughed out loud, times I was stunned, and times I was freaking frozen - unwilling to turn the next page for fear of what I would read (page 501 is an example if you’re curious).  That’s an accomplishment by the author.  But that’s not even my favorite thing about this series.

A few really minor spoilers from old books (not Last Argument) after the jump…

[click to continue…]