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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2516 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 25, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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a character becomes king through a series of completely unforeshadowed unlikely coincidences.

You are slightly wrong here, though I think the reveal is at the end of this book. I thought it was kinda of foreshadowed but in general the character responsible is generally subtle and is very much part of the grim-dark element trope subversion element. I think thats a pretty core part of his writing theory. He wants to subvert fantasy tropes in a dark/grim way. As Tanista said below, Bakker does it better.

The king doesn't rape his wife because he's a coward. That's the whole point of why he was chosen to become king.

Overall I don't think you are wrong about your reading that Ambercrombie really throws a ton of modern anachronisms into his writing. His prose is essentially Sanderson-tier and his worldbuilding is not that good. Lots of inconsistent values. I do think the second series on the industrial revolution is better, mostly because the values are a bit more aligned with his apparent blindspot. But I don't think consistent worldbuilding is his forte. He seems to be a character-oriented writer. And the three characters he wants to write are Logan, Bayaz and Old Sticks. Everyone else is weaker, but still enjoyable.

You are slightly wrong here, though I think the reveal is at the end of this book. I thought it was kinda of foreshadowed but in general the character responsible is generally subtle and is very much part of the grim-dark element trope subversion element. I think thats a pretty core part of his writing theory. He wants to subvert fantasy tropes in a dark/grim way.

The lack of foreshadowing is part of the trope-subversion, things just happen without massive buildup. This can work really well as a rug-pull subverting expectations, but without a connection to the characters or otherwise caring about what happens, it ends up feeling to me like "a bunch of things happen" rather than "a story." Subverting expectations works when the writer is cleverly creating expectations and then dashing them, once I have no expectations there's nothing to subvert.

The king doesn't rape his wife because he's a coward. That's the whole point of why he was chosen to become king.

If that's what he was going for, he just didn't land that plane for me. The whole scene was anachronistic and immersion breaking.

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