[quote=@FantasyChic][b]The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (and by association..the other ones that follow it)[/b]

If you love a good mystery/suspense book, this book (and series) is one of my favorites. I recently reread the book because I kind of forgot how it played out and I was hooked yet again. I believe the author recently released another one that I haven't read yet (but plan on it). It is a lot of fun reading these.[/quote]
The author to those books, Stieg Larsson, died in 2004. But I agree, they are really good books.


As for my own recommendation, I'll start with Joe Abercrombie's dark fantasy bookseries [i][b]The First Law[/b][/i] and the first book, [i]The Blade Itself[/i], which was released in 2006. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys interplay between characters, a hint of lethality and similar. It holds certain similarity to Game of Thrones in that sense, just not AS lethal (thank god, my issue with that series was me stopping to give a damn about the characters whatsoever). The thing I feel Abercrombie's series did the best is forming a strong cast of characters where none are truy good nor bad. He lingers a lot in the greyzone, and there's no character I disliked or found lacking. And while I mention the cast, it is rather vast. He has no specific main character, instead placing himself in the perspective of a number different characters. I'll mention them a little further down, with a snippet of their personalities and ambitions.

Set in a world 800 years after a disastrous war between the brothers Juvens and the Master Maker Kaledios, the sons of Euz, in the kingdom referred to as the Union, the wild North and the southern Empire of Gurkhal. There's also the Eastern Old Empire, a nation in constant civil war. Most of the story is from the perspective of the Union, most happening in the inner circle of the capitol Adua, simpy referred to as the Agriont. It is more or less the land of the nobles as well as wealthy merchants and other outstanding individuals.

The Union is a nation about to face two disastrous wars, one in the North and one in the South. The king is old and demented, the crown prince is... an idiot and the second in line is by all accounts the superior option as a new king. Meanwhile in the North, the man known as Bethod has gathered the various clans under one banner like Skarling did in the older days. His ambition is to turn the untamed lands into a tamed kingdom much like what the other lands have been able to in order to defeat the flood of Flatheads (goblin-like creatures) from the mountains. And in the Empire of Gurkhul, the marching armies subdue more and more in an attempt to unite the entire Southern continent under one banner.


[hider="Main" Characters]
Logen Ninefingers (also known as the Bloody Nine)
An experienced and feared warrior, a Named Man as they call it, banished from the North at the hand of Bethod. Once Bethod's champion and second man, after one day deciding to rebel he was exiled. With his group of mighty Named Men, they travelled south to meet up with the Union to defeat Bethod. As a man, Logen is heavily held back by his own regret of the cruelties he's done in his past. A down to earth type of person, he has proven time and time again he's a natural leader. If only he wasn't the Bloody Nine as well...

Jezal dan Luthar
A noble of the Union in both character and status, his only concerns seems to be his own and what woman he has in his eyes. Pushed by his father to fight in the noble Contest, a fencing contest of high regard, as well as taking a role in the King's Own, he spends most of his days training with Lord Marshal Varuz and drinking and playing cards with his comrade officers.

Sand dan Glokta
A noble of the Union, and a cripple as well, that works in the Inquisition. His job is to remove treachery from the nation's inner circle, and with his companions Practical Frost and Practical Severard will they torture their way through any they find. As a person, he seems to hate everything and most of all himself. A shadow of his former days as a brave Colonel in the King's Own, he holds no compassion, mercy or friends. No wonder, when everyone is scared of him. West's old friend.

The Dogman
Perhaps the man most loyal in the entire North, he is Logen's best friend. Neither the strongest nor the bravest nor the most feared, he is often thought of as a bit of a coward (not as bad as Forley the Weakest though), yet he proves his bravery by fighting his fears. He's overall a good man that fighs for his principles, despite his massive urges to piss before any battle.

Major West
A veteran of the previous war with Gurkhal, he seems to be a decent man allround. He has some anger issues that tend to bite him in the arse, but a brilliant war mind nonetheless. A friend of Jezal, if one could call it that, and a previous winner of the Contest. He is also a commoneer that has fought his way to his role.

Ferro Maljinn
She hates Gurkhal. She hates the pinks. She hates everything. Once a member of a tribe that was slaughtered by the Gurkish armies, and the remaining sold to slavery, she was trained to be a court concubine in the service of the Emperor himself. One day she managed to find her way out of his clutches and instead started to stain the sands with Gurkish blood, something she's exceptionally skilled at. A serial killer in every sense of the word. Atleast she has a fine reason for it, being a descendant of the Demon-bloods. 
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