Reader questions whether Joe Abercrombie's stories all end the same dark way
A fantasy reader asks online whether the author's works consistently end with protagonists dead or worse off and antagonists unpunished.
What to know
- A reader raised the question of whether Abercrombie's works follow a consistent pattern of bleak, consequence-free endings for antagonists.
- The critique centers on lack of closure and character advancement, not necessarily the presence of dark outcomes.
- A commenter questioned whether the standard being applied is fair, noting similar patterns in acclaimed franchises.
The dispute Whether Abercrombie's pattern of dark, consequence-free endings for antagonists constitutes an unfair criticism or a legitimate artistic preference. · positions read across 5 posts and comments
Abercrombie's endings feel repetitively bleak and lack proper closure despite strong writing.
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“I'm not demanding a "happy" ending, but at least some closure would be nice!”
Robyl · Reddit ↗
The critique's criteria for "unsatisfying" endings are subjective and apply to many acclaimed works.
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“By this standard, Star Wars, Harry Potter, the MCU, and The Lion King don't truly possess happy endings.”
PM_BRAIN_WORMS · Reddit ↗
Joe Abercrombie Author
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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Commenter questions whether standard for "unsatisfying" ending is fair
A commenter challenged the premise by drawing comparisons to other major franchises, arguing that by the reader's criteria, Star Wars, Harry Potter, the MCU, and The Lion King would also not possess truly happy endings.
“By this standard, Star Wars, Harry Potter, the MCU, and The Lion King don't truly possess happy endings.”
— PM_BRAIN_WORMS -
There’s lots of humor and heart, and various individual characters have alright fates. Cynical, but with a big wry smile. He’s not interested in the human-life-might-be-worthless-and-everything-good-is-an-illusion spiel I think of when I think “grimdark.” That’s more R. Scott Bakker’s deal.
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
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Yeah grimdark is both a tone and a setting, and Abercrombie's tone is not dark and gritty even if his setting is grim and full of flawed characters.
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Abercrombie likes negative character arcs. No character is left better off - just changed and that’s what makes that type of arc interesting imho
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Reader posts criticism of Abercrombie's endings on r/books
A Reddit user asked whether all of Joe Abercrombie's stories end with protagonists dead or worse off, the world stagnant, and antagonists unpunished. They noted this pattern appeared in both The First Law Trilogy and The Devils, and requested recommendations if it was consistent across his work.
“His writing consistently top tier, his characters are compelling, and I like watching them interact with the world. But I have one thing that puts me off his stories, and that's that of the two stories of his I have read, BOTH end unsatisfyingly.”
— Robyl -
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https://www. booksns.com/228282/ Do all of Joe Abercrombie’s stories end this way? # books Spoilers for The First Law Trilogy and The Devils. So, I like Joe Abercrombie like 95% of the time. His writing consistently top tier, his characters are compelling, and I like watching them interact with the world. But I have one thing that puts me off his…
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