The Trouble with Peace
Joe Abercrombie
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Conspiracy. Betrayal. Rebellion.
Peace is just another kind of battlefield…
Savine dan Glokta, once Adua’s most powerful investor, finds her judgement, fortune and reputation in tatters. But she still has all her ambitions, and no scruple will be permitted to stand in her way.
For heroes like Leo dan Brock and Stour Nightfall, only happy with swords drawn, peace is an ordeal to end as soon as possible. But grievances must be nursed, power seized and allies gathered first, while Rikke must master the power of the Long Eye . . . before it kills her.
The Breakers still lurk in the shadows, plotting to free the common man from his shackles, while noblemen bicker for their own advantage. Orso struggles to find a safe path through the maze of knives that is politics, only for his enemies, and his debts, to multiply.
The old ways are swept aside, and the old leaders with them, but those who would seize the reins of power will find no alliance, no friendship, and no peace, lasts forever.
I read both A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace pretty much back to back because I just needed to know what would happen next. The book thankfully follows on quite neatly with all our characters and we jump straight back into this world. The end of the first book brings about an uneasy peace for the Union, of which I was fully expecting chaos to ruin during the second book. I love books that show the more political side of disputes, and Abercrombie perfectly sets up the threats to peace at the start.
What stands out to me most is the characters. Similar to A Little Hatred, there wasn’t any point of view that I wasn’t enjoying reading. This is mainly because all these characters are so distinctive. Whilst some like Leo, Stour and Orso do have very similar (almost mirroring) stories at times they each stand out on their own as well.
I also enjoyed that there’s different backgrounds, cultures, social class and more that each of them have, which understandably changes how they react and what they do. So Leo, Stour and Orso are all heirs to their titles, with Orso and Stour being princes and when you’re reading you can pinpoint the similarities between them. But because of different upbringings and things that happen within the books, they have different story arcs through their actions. Abercrombie writes his characterisation so well that you fully believe this is what each character would logically do.
The first book brought politics and engaging fight scenes, and The Trouble with Peace doesn’t disappoint these expectations. It does have some action scenes and gory fights like the first. But, overall the books pacing shifts more to focus on the character dynamics, scheming and conspiracy’s surrounding and towards our characters. However if you like the slow paced politics, betrayal and backstabbing… you’ll still love it.
I do love some political maneuvering and even the smaller situations brought a sense of humour to the table. For example, when Leo and Savine’s mothers team up they’re a perfect pair to plot the future for mutual gain in a hilarious way for our characters. This was also the point where I noticed how much we knew about our secondary characters too. These two didn’t interact in the first book, but once together you realise how similar they are in both demeanor and how they run their lives (and children).
We’re introduced to Bazel, the first Magi a bit more in this book – although I think he was briefly mentioned in A Little Hatred. This along with Rikke learning more about her long eye brought a bit more magic to the series. As someone who loves high fantasy, this intrigued me a lot and I was always trying to second guess Rikke’s visions to foreshadow the book itself.
The Trouble with Peace has well navigated away from middle-book syndrome and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. I’ll be avidly keeping my eye out for The Wisdom of Crowds next year.
Positives of The Trouble with Peace
- Character development for main, secondary and even tertiary characters
- Excellent world building (that doesn’t need knowledge of previous books to understand!)
Negatives of The Trouble with Peace
- A little less action packed than book one
I received The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review
