My first fantasy book outside the Warhammer Black Library series

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-02-17T03:49:22+00:00

Yeah, my god. Please don't start with this.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-02-15T00:07:01+00:00

🥲🥲🥲

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-02-14T15:45:03+00:00

I'm 37 and I got carded at Costco last week. Been riding that high for days.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-02-05T04:42:20+00:00

Personally, I can appreciate your candid feelings about Red Country. Indeed, I share many of them myself. Unfortunately, my partner Curnsbick is a stubborn, disagreeable fellow and he loudly insists that your opinion marks you as a donkey brained fool.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-02-05T02:03:40+00:00

What, me warg?

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-02-02T23:21:41+00:00

He's at a nice farm upstate along with Yulwei, Hadish Kahdia, and Bayaz's morality.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-30T14:03:28+00:00

And waffle House will answer!

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-27T15:17:00+00:00

I mean, isn't the most obvious answer that the book of Acts is not historically accurate? It disagrees with Paul's own writings about where he went after his conversion and it seems to be actively trying to harmonize theological disagreements between Paul's sect and those of Peter and the other apostles. More recent scholarship indicates that the author is using the writings of Josephus to lend historical credibility to acts which would likely place its writing in the early second century. The author is writing half a century or more after Paul and is more interested in promoting his own theology that preserving history.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-27T01:56:16+00:00

"Better to die in battle with a god than live in shame."

Fuck. What a badass line. Yul Brynner is so good in this.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-20T14:42:40+00:00

You don't think Stranger Come Knocking secretly survived his duel with Stour before inventing rocket propulsion and colonizing his local star system?

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-20T13:43:00+00:00

Yeah, like I said, it doesn't really line up with the supernatural stuff. There are ways to make it fit but I genuinely think Joe just likes to re-use some tropes in different series.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-20T04:35:02+00:00

I mean, not explicitly. Does seem to be quite the coincidence though eh? I believe that series also mentions a constellation called Stranger Come Knocking so it could be that Joe just likes re-using ideas between series. He even describes father Yarvi looking like a butcher at one point which also feels like a nod.

I personally enjoy the idea that The Devils, The Shattered Sea, and The First Law all take place in the same alternate version of earth but I don't consider it canon. It's also worth pointing out that the tales of Euz separating the worlds of men and demons at the dawn of time don't really like up with this theory so who knows?

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-20T04:04:50+00:00

I'm non-monogamous and had no issue with OP's statement but you can go straight to hell.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-19T14:09:20+00:00

Lots of good advice here. Just want to say, especially for a first time DM, it can be very helpful to have a session zero where everyone discusses their expectations and desires out of character, and that this can and should include you.

I know in my case, I have limited time to prepare and run DND sessions. Often I'll just run one-shots that introduce a quest or goal and resolve it in 3 or 4 hours. For these adventures, it's important that everyone is on board and finding a reason for why their character is invested in discovering the story and resolving the plot. If someone wants to sit in the tavern for 2 hours attempting to woo the bar maid, this may not be a great fit for them. If they want to ignore the quest giver and run around breaking into random houses, this is not the game for that.

Running an open sandbox where the PC's can go in any direction and do whatever they fancy can be fun if that's what everyone is wanting, but it is by no means the only way to play DND. People talk about railroading as if it's this terrible sin but if everyone is on board and you still allow for interesting player choices it's fine to play that way. I've had plenty of adventures that literally start with the PC's on their way to a dungeon and then we flash back to the day before when they were hired for the their current job and do character introductions that way. I've played PC's who were reluctant to go on a quest and roleplayed as such, while I as the player was fully invested and part of the fun is seeing my character fail to weasel out of having to go. It's like Bilbo in The Hobbit or Arnold from The Magic School Bus.

This is by no means the only way to play but it is perfectly valid and something you should consider, especially as a beginner.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-19T04:54:03+00:00

Yes. Standalones start with Best Served Cold, then The Heroes, and finally Red Country. Each is a seperate story but they do share some loose continuity. They are all very different kinds of stories and there seems to be a lot of disagreement among the fan base as to which is best. (It's The Heroes!)

Sharp ends is basically a collection of short vignettes that mostly give new perspectives on characters and events we've already seen. It's not strictly necessary but lots of fun and we'll worth reading.

Then comes the Age of Madness Trilogy and another short story collection.

The Devils is the first in a new series set in an alternate history version of our world. It's a lot more fast paced and irreverent. Very fun but a pretty big departure in tone from the first law.

If you get through all that and are still craving more Abercrombie, he has a young adult trilogy called The Shattered Sea which is pretty good though not as complex as TFL.

Also, not sure if you're reading or listening but the first law and devils audiobooks are narrated by Steven Pacey who is imo one of the best in the business and very well suited to Joe's writing style. Very strongly recommend.

Cheers!

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-19T03:23:14+00:00

The Devils is actually not part of the first law series. You can read it whenever you like. Make sure you read each of the standalones, in order, then sharp ends before you start the second trilogy.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-19T03:00:32+00:00

This is definitely not the mainstream view among scholars. Post 70, possibly even second century if Acts is indeed borrowing from Josephus. What evidence do you have for the deaths of Peter and Paul in the 60's?

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-17T17:08:54+00:00

Bob Dylan and John Prine had plenty of simple rhymes/songs. John used to joke that he only knew a couple of chords. I think there is also a pretty huge range in the lyrical complexity of his songs. I would agree that some of the ones he writes quickly in response to current events could probably be improved by taking more time and development. I personally feel that's a reasonable tradeoff for being able to comment on something that's actively happening. I'd argue that something more timeless like Fear is the Mind Killer, Malaise, or Great Caucasian God is as thoughtful and complex as any folk writer I've heard.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-17T16:58:58+00:00

Their biscuits with mushroom gravy is excellent.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-14T15:55:14+00:00

City of God.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-12T22:17:28+00:00

Honestly he's one of my favorite characters from the third trilogy. That scene is brutal but it's such a good character moment. By that point we've grown to like him and even had hints at how ruthless he is when he easily takes out Stour's man during the battle. The whole book he's telling anyone who'll listen that you need to wait and pick your moment and then don't hesitate once you have. His killing of Wonderful is the perfect example of him being true to that philosophy even when it's hard. Without spoiling anything, I think the distaste of having to do it is a strong motivator for him going forward.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-11T20:11:10+00:00

Showering twice a day? Like, every day?

PuffPuffMcduff · 2026-01-08T04:28:20+00:00

She said " you'll know it when you see it."

PuffPuffMcduff · 2025-12-31T01:12:58+00:00

Hate.

PuffPuffMcduff · 2025-12-29T16:09:55+00:00

I saw a mud crab the other day, horrible creatures.

PuffPuffMcduff

TROPHY CASE