In The End, we're introduced to Logen Ninefingers as he battles for his life. Already. Think you're ready? Then join me as Rocky reads The Blade Itself.
I read that when book editors and publishers are forming their opinion of a book, they give the author, at a maximum, 300 words to have established a character, a setting, and a conflict. And that 300 words is being generous. Some only allow 150 words. If that doesn't happen, the book gets tossed aside and they move on to the next one.
Abercrombie most certainly had nothing to worry about. The End is the prologue of this book (which I think is fantastic, The End. But, it's the beginning. It's before the beginning. Love it), and it starts off fast paced.
When we meet Logen, he's just been separated from his boys (or it's actually also possible that he's one of the boys and got separated from his leader. I'm not positive which, but I think Logen is the leader, and he's missing all his boys now), one of which-- The Dogman-- was with him until two seconds ago. This all happened in the first two sentences. But Logen doesn't have time to try to find anyone, because now he's being hunted by two Shankas-- who sound much like neanderthals.
Holy. This book literally started a paragraph and a half ago, and Logen is already being hunted! He kills the one Shanka who's smaller, then fights with the second much larger Shanka, and they find themselves hanging off a cliff, Logen holding onto nothing but a root, and the Shanka holding onto nothing but Logen's leg. As his hands start slipping, and the Shanka is sitting there still fighting him, Logen decides his best option is to let go, kick out, and try to land in the water below him. The Shanka then lets go of Logen, and falls into the rocks, almost certainly dying, and Logen plummets down to the water, where we're left, not actually sure if he's still alive.
I have questions. Oh man. This was a good intro. First, why is it called The End? The end of what? The end of Logen's life? Is this like, the end of the story, but it was put at the beginning to draw you in and entice you to read? Is it the end of the Shanka? The end of the world? Who is the Dogman? Are the Shanka fighting Logen for any particular reason-- did he provoke them-- or are they just fighting him because he's there? Did Logen live?
I think he lived. Or at least, I'd like to think he lived. Most stories don't start with someone you're supposed to get to know and possibly like, then kill them off. (That said, that's exactly how The Mortal Instruments starts off. You're given two point of view characters, and one of them dies before the chapter ends. Though I guess you were never actually intended to like that particular POV character.) And Logen is someone that I want to like. As he's sitting there, hanging from the root over his doom, he thinks about his life and how worthless it's been. He hasn't improved anyone else's life, he hasn't made a difference. That's his big flaw so far, and now that it's something he's realized, he has the potential to want to change. It's possible that will be the drive for the character from here on-- he wants to make a difference in the world.
This is a good flaw and drive for his character to have, because it's something that people relate to. I can't count the number of times I've said, right here, that I want to change the world and make a difference. And I can't count the number of times someone's agreed with me after I said that. I immediately feel connected to Logen because he has realized that his life hasn't been anything worth bragging about. And though he hasn't actually consciously decided he wants to amend that, I trust that's mostly because he's kinda really likely to die right now. Good start to the book. I look forward to seeing how the rest of it goes, and if Logen, as part of the prologue, will actually be carried through to the rest of the book.
And in case it needs to be said, please don't answer any of my questions. Don't correct my perception on anything I've read yet. Don't even tell me if Logen's the leader or one of the boys.
Once you've got a task to do, it's better to do it than to live with the fear of it.
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