(High Fantasy Humor) A warrior woman and a thief fleeing from the south meet a male warrior fleeing from the north in the middle of a bridge. Then it gets complicated. (7,083 words; Time: 23m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Recommended By: GDozois:4 RHorton:4 JStrahan"Two's Company," by Joe Abercrombie [bio] (edited by Jonathan Strahan), published on January 12, 2016 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The joy of this story is Shev's running criticism of the crazy things that warriors do for honor. Even her description of deciding whether to throw a knife at a person or a horse (and the unexpected consequences) is funny. It's as though Shev were a person from the real world finding out what would really happen if someone tried to do the things we routinely find in high-fantasy stories.
Con: Nothing of great consequence happens in this story. If you take it seriously, what does happen is rather awful.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 01/12/16)
Joe Abercrombie Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Con: Nothing of great consequence happens in this story. If you take it seriously, what does happen is rather awful.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 01/12/16)
Joe Abercrombie Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
I thought this was fun and hilarious! I was already a Joe Abercrombie fan, and I definitely need to read the rest of the Sharp Ends collection now.
ReplyDeleteUnder our current guidelines, I'd have given this story 4 stars not 3. The old guidelines required more sophistication in the plot, but the new guidelines merely require it being well-written and fun.
ReplyDeleteI rate it ★★★★, one more than RSR. I haven't read any SF/F this funny before. I wonder how this compares to Douglas Adams' stories (he's the only funny SF writer I've heard of, but not read). Makes me want to check out a humorous SF/F anthology. :-)
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