Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For my latest Waiting on Wednesday article, I take a look at The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie, which is easily one of this year’s most anticipated fantasy releases.

Now this is a book that I have been eagerly waiting for ever since I finished off the previous entry in the series. The Trouble with Peace, which is set for release in September 2020, will be the second book in the Age of Madness trilogy and the eighth overall novel in Abercrombie’s epic First Law series.

The First Law books are an outstanding dark fantasy series that follows several extremely flawed and complicated protagonists as they navigate the wars and politics of the chaotic fantasy nation, known as the Union, and its surrounding landscapes (especially a barbaric northern kingdom). This series started back in 2006 with The Blade Itself, and is currently made up of two trilogies, the initial First Law trilogy and the three standalone novels that are loosely collected into the Great Leveller trilogy. The First Law books are considered by many (myself included) to be amongst some of the best dark fantasy novels ever written, and pretty much all new dark fantasy novels are compared against them. Each of the books in this series is characterised by intense violence, brutally realistic characters, deadly politics and all manner of action, death and destruction. I listened to the audiobook versions of the original First Law trilogy a couple of years ago, and absolutely loved them. While I have not yet had a chance to read any of the books in the Great Leveller trilogy yet, I did jump at the chance to read the new First Law book last year, A Little Hatred.

A Little Hatred was the first book in Abercrombie’s Age of Madness trilogy, which once again transports the reader to the Union, 28 years after the events of the First Law trilogy. This new trilogy focused on the troubled offspring of several of the surviving characters from the original three books, and features new conflicts, bloodshed and diabolical politics as war and chaos once again come to the Union. A Little Hatred was a really impressive read, and I absolutely loved the captivating story, the new characters and the changes that occurred in the Union in the intervening years, including the start of an industrial revolution. I powered through A Little Hatred in very short order and it was easily one of my favourite books of 2019, getting a full five stars from me.

As a result, I am very excited to check out this second entry in The Age of Madness, especially after the stunning conclusion to the first book, which saw the death of one of the main characters from the original trilogy. A cool cover (see above) and an interesting synopsis have already been released, and I am looking forward to learning more about this book.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Conspiracy. Betrayal. Rebellion.
Peace is just another kind of battlefield…

The old ways are swept aside, and the old leaders with them, but those who would seize the reins of power will find no alliance, no friendship, and no peace, lasts forever.

While this is a long synopsis, it only gives a really basic description of what is going to happen in this book. Still, there are some interesting details, such as the line: “The old ways are swept aside, and the old leaders with them”. As the book ended with the death of a couple of major characters from the First Law universe, this line makes me think that Abercrombie is going to go on a bit of a killing spree and perhaps take out some more key characters from the prior trilogies. This would not be too surprising, considering how A Little Hatred was pretty much exclusively dedicated to the new cast of characters, but I am sure that any of these potential deaths will result in some rather shocking moments.

As for the rest of the synopsis, it sounds like The Trouble with Peace will continue to focus on the plot arcs that were introduced in the first book. As I mentioned above, Abercrombie came up with some really good storylines in this first novel, so I am rather excited to see what developments happen in this book. I am particularly keen to see the unready Orso deal with suddenly becoming king, and that will no doubt be a great moment when he finally realises that someone else actually holds all the power in his realm. The whole Breakers angle should also prove to be interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out, mainly because, while I am pretty sure who is behind the Breakers (although if I’m wrong I will be pleasantly surprised), I am intrigued to see what their endgame is. I am also curious to see what happens with the character of Stour Nightfall after he killed his uncle in the previous book to become King of the North, especially as most of his story will probably be told by Jonas Clover, who was easily my favourite character in A Little Hatred.

Overall, I am extremely eager to get my hands of The Trouble with Peace when it comes out in a few months. Every book in the First Law series has so far turned out to be an outstanding read, and I see no reason why this latest book will be any different. The previous novel, A Little Hatred, was a very addictive read, and with the character arcs and storylines continuing in this new book, there is very little chance that I will not have an incredible time reading The Trouble With Peace, and I strongly believe that this latest First Law novel will once again be one of my top reads for the year.