Joe Abercrombie offers an approachable jumping-on point to his First Law series with A Little Hatred, which welds Abercrombie's gritty approach to epic fantasy to a world undergoing violent technological change. Many fantasy authors choose to ignore technology, locking their worlds into an eternity of horses and swords. There are still plenty of swords--and bloody death--in A Little Hatred, but also canals, factories powered by child labor, pollution and ruthless investors seeking to maximize profits any way they can. For Abercrombie, a new era merely offers new opportunities for exploitation and cruelty.
Devoted Abercrombie fans will recognize characters previously featured in the First Law series, but A Little Hatred largely focuses on a new slate of characters. There is Leo dan Brock, a young warrior seeking fame and glory in a losing war. Savine dan Glokta profits from her father's fearsome reputation and from an approach to capitalism that would make Gordon Gekko proud. And then--because magic still has its part to play--there is Rikke, who catches glimpses of the future at the cost of terrible seizures. There are many more characters--Abercrombie likes to pivot among them rapidly so there is no possibility of getting bored. They are surprisingly likable inhabitants of a grim world, yet many of their good intentions are perverted by cynical realities.
As ever, Abercrombie's greatest talent is in writing violence, but A Little Hatred shakes up the fantasy status quo enough to intrigue any reader with a strong stomach. --Hank Stephenson, manuscript reader, the Sun magazine