The Wisdom of Crowds: Book Review

I just finished The Wisdom of Crowds, which is the third book in the Age of Madness trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie. As such, this book concludes the narrative that began in A Little Hatred and picks up in the immediate aftermath of The Trouble with Peace. What follows is a tense and epic tale mirroring key historical events that I won't mention for the sake of keeping this spoiler free. The Weaver's plans have finally kicked into gear, and now we get to the frenzied climax and the resulting horror of his actions.

This book was quite simply amazing. I think it brought Abercrombie's best trilogy to a close.

Overall (No Spoilers)

Almost everything that I have to say about this story is positive. I'm not sure that there are any negatives at all, though I might have a nitpick here and there.

The best part of the story, of course, is how everything comes together in the end. This book concludes the trilogy, ending the story in a manner that I felt was perfect. I will have to save the deeper discussion for the spoiler section, but I can say that the landing was stuck.

I should also mention that there weren't any characters that I felt were wasted, save for one, though this is not so much a flaw as it is a necessary side-effect of a better story decision. So, characters like Vick and Broad, who I thought were relegated to side characters throughout the second book, were utilized to their full extent here. The rest of the characters were as prominent and relevant as ever.

The middle part of the book is so visceral and intense. Aside from the end, where everything comes together, I thought that this section was the best part. I think Judge is one of my favorite side characters, and all I can really say is, hats off to her, the fucking lunatic that she is. And I also liked the themes explored throughout this section, and then through to the end, something that grimdark fantasy is best suited to deal with.

And I know that I mention this in every review, and it should be a given unless otherwise stated, but dear lord is the humor great. Basically, everything about it is so funny in the gleefully twisted way that it is. And again . . . Judge. Motherfucking Judge.

Can I really talk all that much without spoilers? I don't really think so. I am running out of things to talk about. So, I think I will conclude the non-spoiler section here.

Overall, I think this is my favorite Abercrombie book to date. I haven't read The Heroes or Red Country yet, and the first trilogy is kind of old in my mind, but based off what I do remember, I think I can say this. I will give this book a 9/10.

Strides and Stumbles (Spoilers)

Let's get right to the important stuff. Glokta. I guessed that this was the case. There was always uncertainty, of course, but when he yeeted himself out of the Union upon learning about his daughter's involvement in the rebellion, I knew something was up. And the idea that this was some scheme to rip up Bayaz's roots in the Union was just too tantalizing to ignore. This only became more obvious as Pike's motivations seemed to be fixed on Valint and Balk throughout his time there, content to let Risineau and then Judge take over the running of affairs.

All the same, my guessing the twist did nothing to quell the excitement over the development. We know that Glokta is a character that hates to lose. He refused to give up in the original trilogy and was promoted for that very reason. With exceptions. Bayaz had him under his thumb. And now, thirty years later, Glokta managed to hit Bayaz back with this elaborate scheme.

I also want to briefly mention that Pike never actually claims to be the Weaver. Each time a character suggests as much, he responds with something like, "That's a name I have gone by at times." And this is a such a nice touch.

And since we are on the topic of Pike, I have a few things that I want to comment on. Some are positive, some are negative. I'll just mention the negatives here because they are just unfortunate developments that don't really impact my enjoyment at all.

Firstly, the positive, is simply Pike's presence within the story. I loved that he was the overall organizer, but was always on the peripheries of the developments, doing his own thing. Every time he came on page, I grew excited, knowing I would be drip fed information about his motivations. One scene in particular that I just loved was his interaction with Vick in the vault of the bank. He calls out her conspiracy completely out of nowhere, and then tells her to "proceed." He is endlessly clever, and the presence he has on the page cannot be overstated. (Though I do wonder how he found out about the conspiracy. I thought it would be explained, but I guess Abercrombie didn't think it was necessary. Which is fine).

Now, two caveats. Once the Glokta twist happens, Pike is kind of pushed to the side. This is inevitable, to a certain degree, so I dismiss it as a serious issue. But it does make me wonder about his motivations. I remember talking about his motivations in the review of The Trouble with Peace, discussing his relationship to Glokta and how it contrasted with Vick. But now, he was working with Glokta, all along. Why? What changed? I'm not saying this is an inconsistency. The end of The Last Argument of Kings shows that he is willing to be pragmatic and let things slide with Glokta, but this adds a bit more dimension to him that I wish could have been expounded upon.

The other problem that I have with his character is less to do with the man himself, and more to do with what Abercrombie kind of just brushes aside. Pike was the Arch Lector (and the Superior before then), and had worked alongside Glokta for years. He hung hundreds of Breakers in Valbeck, and this is even mentioned at multiple points in the text. Yet he was never turned on or questioned by anyone. Part of this is due to him standing on the peripheries and letting Risineau and Judge manage things and take the spotlight, and I can understand that; and it also seems that he kept his loyal practicals with him the whole time, so that also helps; and I even understand his motivations, like the desire to remove the moderates from the movement when he hung the breakers. But I also wonder to what degree he could openly walk amongst some of these crazies. I remember the scene where Orso turns himself over, and he simply walks through the rioting crowd, with their compliance taken for granted. Is no one suspicious? More importantly, how long have most of these people known he was the Weaver? It was secret for a time, and then at the end of The Trouble with Peace, he shows up and everyone seems to know and has already accepted him. Technically, he ought to be as removed as Glokta. This did not break my enjoyment, but I think Abercrombie took a gamble in brushing these questions aside.

One quick aside is to mention Ardee. While I guessed that Glokta was the Weaver, I never expected her to be so prominently featured in the schemes. The fact that this whole thing was her idea is hilarious and perfect. I love Ardee.

I also need to mention Bayaz. I am so glad that he was not defeated in this book. I wasn't expecting him too, but I was fearing that as a possibility. Namely, I want a character as powerful and omnipresent as him to last for some time. He certainly was hurt. This was a major blow to his machinations, and seeing him take the hit is very satisfying, but now he has time to hit back. And that last chapter, implying that he'll make the North his own in retaliation, has me pumped for any potential sequels. Bayaz is basically unbeatable in the long term, given that he has lived for centuries, and will continue to live. All he has to do is bide his time, and Glokta and Pike and the rest will slowly die out. This makes me wonder what will happen. We know Glokta has eaters, and Abercrombie has mentioned in interviews that he likes the idea of magic coming back into the world. So, I wonder what Glokta is planning in that context. I am fuzzy on how the magic works. Are there only certain types of people capable of using magic?

I loved Vick's character arc in this one. I felt that her role in the last book was just errands for other characters without much substance to them, but this book turned that around completely. I loved seeing her develop to the point that she is the one organizing the rebellion against Judge. Not only is this a major plot point with her driving the events forward, but it is important character progression, as she decides that she no longer wants to choose the losing side. And the end of her arc, with the Glokta reveal, the Tallow reveal, and then her choice to eschew it all and run off into the sunset with a smile, is one of the few truly content ends for any of the characters.

Orso contrasts that. I have noticed that only one perspective character has been killed in each trilogy (not counting the little people chapters), and Orso was the one who took the rope this time. And, of course, Abercrombie plays with your hopeful tendencies, making you think he might escape, only to have his demise come along in the worst way possible. But it also makes sense. Black Rikke didn't have much choice (nor did Leo or even Savine, no matter her stance on the issue). The final scene, especially his final speech, was perfect. "How's your leg?"

On a related note, Gorst's death was also tragic and satisfying. He died thinking he redeemed himself, even as it was futile in the end. Such an Abercrombian thing to do.

Black Rikke's arc was less interesting than the last books, but it was by no means bad. I somewhat predicted her scheme. The catch is that I didn't think about it too hard since I was just plowing through the book and because of my policy to avoid excessive theorizing when I could just be reading. I do remember thinking that her falling out with each person, one after the other, seemed too contrived to be natural, which made me suspicious and made me hope that Abercrombie had some kind of twist involved. In fact, I think I spent more time thinking about how I would tweak the execution of these events than I did speculating about what he had planned. I just thought it could have felt more natural.

Also, I would have liked an explanation for why Black Calder fell for it; I get that he seemed to accept defeat as if he were expecting it, but he still wanted to win. Finally, I wish the fight was less one sided. The mood of the fight was an absolute low in the beginning, followed by a series of dominos that swung everything around. Once Rikke's scheme unfolds, there are no more twists of fortune, which is kind of disappointing in retrospect.

All the same, she has a rather bittersweet ending, with her being the first to unite the North, but also having that dream almost certainly hinting at her demise at the hands of Bayaz. If anything, her success will allow Bayaz to do what he hasn't been able to before: unite the North.

Savine's was a bit of a rollercoaster at the end there, but thinking back over it, I really enjoyed it. Throughout the book you see signs that she is becoming a nicer and more altruistic person. And when she expresses shock at Leo's betrayal of Orso, she is understandably horrified. But in the aftermath, it becomes quite clear that she is more so worked up because of her connection to Orso, rather than an overall change in character. We see that she has the same avarice that she had before, with the knowing comments that she hopes she has changed from the experiences, and this all muddies the waters. And now she is working with her father and mother, and with a number of Eaters to effectively replace Bayaz as the puppet masters of society. She is determined to give some kind of purpose to Judge's reign of terror, but what does this entail? Her altruism and giving seems more a calculated strategy to win popular favor, and she let Sworobreck escape judgement, so this is an open question with serious doubts.

Leo's arc is just funny to me. He seemed to be on his way to becoming a Glokta-esque schemer with newfound tendencies for brutality, but upon the return of his mother, and then the later hints that Savine was poised to take that role over, Leo is again reduced to standing in the shadow of another person who knows better than he does. Even Jurand seems be on the fence. While it would have been cool to see him become a badass, I think this arc is more realistic and less fanservicey. Leo has shown from the beginning his potential for low-cunning, namely from his fight with Glaward in the first book, but it would make no sense for him to outstrip someone like Savine or Glokta. And seeing the mixture of progression with regression is the perfect mixed bag. He is essentially King, he is able to passably scheme, yet he's got Finree 2.0 overshadowing him, bringing out his bitterness and petulance.

One thing I should comment on, however, is that I thought the execution of Leo's turn towards conniving seemed a bit forced. In The Trouble with Peace, Leo kind of comes off as cartoonishly dumb. And in this one, he's scheming like a bastard. There are seeds of Leo's low-cunning, and characters can have their irrational sides, but I did think this glaring contrast could have been smoothed over a little.

Broad's character arc, like Vick's, was also much better than the last book. He is still more of a side character, but that is fine for him. Seeing him hit his absolute low was the culmination of all his fears throughout the first two books, and the ending was the perfect catharsis, showing that he is right back where he started. I guessed and hoped his arc would end with him meeting his wife and crying just as he had before, and seeing it unfold like that was great.

Clover is the last POV character. His character doesn't exactly do all that much. Nor does he change. And I don't really think that was the point, either. I wasn't unsatisfied, or anything. His chapters were mainly just comical with him swooping from one side to the next with the ease of a leaf in the wind. And one scene that I must mention is the scene where he is interrogating those men from Black Calder, and Downside is just killing them one after the other, until Clover yells at him. Perfect dark humor. And knowing that he has a hand in Bayaz's take-over of the North is also perfect.

Judge and her reign of terror was perfectly executed. This is one of those developments that is rather predictable, but the events are so compelling that you are just eagerly riding the waves all the same. I knew Risineau was going to be among the first real casualties once his idealism began to flounder, and Judge's arrival in that moment to lay down the law kicks off the beautiful horror sequence that follows. And I just love that the execution method was casting people off the top of the tower. And the darkly humorous comments that they needed new methods for escorting people up the tower because they were killing too many people was great. Also, Judge's character is just so entertaining. She's so fucking repulsive in every way. The fact that she was in power is just a curse on the people of Adua (or a scheme, lol).

Finally, I want to talk about the overall feeling of the ending. The ending was bittersweet, maybe completely depressing. It was much like the last trilogy. I loved how Abercrombie tortures you with the possibility of new beginnings even as he hints at things coming full circle. Part of me hopes that freedom from Bayaz will let things get better for the common folk, at least in the years to come. But we don't know. Leo is a tyrant, killing as many as Judge, but is doing it discretely. Though Savine has him in check. And Savine is under Glokta's influence, with his Eater's and potential to take Bayaz's place. He might be a man who will change things, or maybe he simply wanted to win against Bayaz. The latter is a given. The question is whether there is complexity there. Or maybe he'll die soon, allowing Savine to turn things around. Glokta, at the very least, is nasty enough to do what is necessary to rip up Bayaz's roots, and perhaps he thinks Savine will be primed to carry on into the next stage after his death.

Conclusion

Overall, this book was amazing. I will give it a 9/10.