Unlike its genre cousin science fiction, fantasy has closer bonds to backward looking types of storytelling. It is linked to the older forms like myth and fairy tale, and that can make innovation a bit more tricky. We can't just keep on recycling "chosen one" tropes; at some stage we need to say something new, or our original stories risk being redundant compared to the superior rivals already in the canon.

At the same time, we can't depart from the form too much, or in the wrong way, or else it seems inauthentic or a sellout.

For some, Abercrombie might have strayed from the marvelous and primal form that gives fantasy its great strength. But for me, he has breathed life into the genre. "The First Law" trilogy and its sequel "The Age of Madness" are well worth the investment of your time.

Having read all six of Abercrombie's books in this series, as well as all five "Song of Ice and Fire' novels, I felt like George RR Martin's most famous work is not worth the considerable investment of time you need to get through his excessive verbiage. Just watch the tv series, it's bloody good.

Abercrombie, on the other hand, IS worth your time. Actually it's not Abercrombie. It's Glokta, Jezal, Bayaz, and Logen that you will be visiting, rather than their creator. Vivid, primal characters in a brilliantly-conceived fantasy world which I enjoyed immensely.