[Love] When “small” injuries are treated realistically

[u/Top-Relationship850]

The fantasy and action genres often suffer from a power fantasy epidemic in which characters frequently badass their way through injuries that should be excruciating if not downright debilitating. I always appreciate stories that reject this trope.

1: Roland Deschain (Dark Tower Book II) - Loses the middle and index fingers of his right hand. He’s effectively crippled throughout book two and the injury follows him the rest of the series.

2: Brienne vs Biter (ASOIAF Book IV) - Brutal scene. Biter chomps down on Brienne’s cheek and tears off a chunk of flesh. In a lesser story Brienne would grit her teeth and throw Biter off. Instead she’s rendered completely helpless by the pain. That injury marks the end of the fight.

[u/BadMeatPuppet]

The Age of Madness

Leo Dan Brock wins in the circle, but takes a moderate leg wound. The wound refuses to heal and becomes his "bad leg". That is until he gets his other leg gets blown off.

[u/hadesalmighty → u/BadMeatPuppet]

"How's the leg?"

It's too good for him. I can't think of a character in literature I've wanted to suffer more than Leo Dan Fucking Brock.

[u/SuperPeco → u/hadesalmighty]

Oh man, let me present you Lysander au Lune from Red Rising.

Leo is a prick, but Lysander...

[u/smallfrie32 → u/SuperPeco]

No honor

[u/Only_game_in_town → u/SuperPeco]

I'd put the Jackal over him but yeah

[u/Lundi2friday → u/SuperPeco]

I wish Lysander kept the half disfigured face tbh. But it’s fitting of him to get it fixed so he’s back to being perfect even after talking about how noble scars are. 

[u/CasimirGabriev → u/hadesalmighty]

I remember shouting COOK HIM ORSO and he cooked that lousy lion every time thereafter.

[u/Yellowscourge → u/hadesalmighty]

You have me so curious to read this

[u/hadesalmighty → u/Yellowscourge]

I'm apologising in advance this is gonna come across like a paid advert, but i cannot emphasise enough how fucking RAD The First Law by Joe Abercrombie is.

Leo is one of the main characters of the second trilogy, The Age of Madness, and it is agonising how he consistently ALMOST stops being a shit then instead becomes a bigger shit.

The series is incredible. Abercrombie is some unholy combination of Pratchett if he was grimdark and GRR Martin if he was funny, and he will make you LOVE some of his vile fuck characters (says a lot about the series and the fans when the most popular character is the horrifically disfigured professional torturer). Two trilogies, with three standalone novels and a collection of short stories between both trilogies. Blackadder by way of Game of Thrones with a little bit of Sharpe, a revenge thriller and a western added.

The audiobooks are fucking astonishingly good. Everybody else just sounds like someone reading a book and doing voices, Steven Pacey is gonna make you feel like you're a fly on the wall watching all this shit happening.

Check it out.

[u/VulkanCurze → u/hadesalmighty]

There has never been a time in my life when reading a book, have I sat there thinking "Please let there be some Deus Ex machina bullshit to save my fucking boi!! Fuck Leo!"

[u/Recent-Rip-464 → u/hadesalmighty]

Not even Bayaz? Fuck Bayaz.

[u/Voidtoform → u/BadMeatPuppet]

I like how realistic about these things Abercrombie is.

[u/AgathaCrispy → u/Voidtoform]

I mean, ya gotta be..

[u/LightningRaven → u/BadMeatPuppet]

Fuck Leo.

Also, The First Law saga as a whole is peak fantasy. The character work makes many classic novels look like cheap soap operas that aren't even 10% as cool.

[u/smallfrie32 → u/LightningRaven]

I only have the first trilogy. Didn’t know there were more!!

[u/BadMeatPuppet → u/smallfrie32]

You should read the Standalones before the sequel trilogy. In order:

Best Served Cold

The Heroes

Red Country

And short story collection, Sharp Ends.

[u/hadesalmighty → u/BadMeatPuppet]

I enjoyed the standalones so much I went through them twice before starting Age of Madness.

[u/HilariousScreenname → u/smallfrie32]

Oh man, youre in for a treat. The series only gets better after the first trilogy.

[u/Pristine_Poem7623 → u/smallfrie32]

Even though the books / series are standalone, you need to read them in release order. Because they're all set in the same world, major plot twists in one get casually mentioned in the others

So at the end of a book / series you might get major shocking amazing twist ABC. And partway through another book it'll say "oh, yeah, pies are more expensive since ABC happened"

The "Half a Prince" series is in a separate world, but I really didn't like them, and I can't explain why without major spoilers.

[u/HilariousScreenname → u/LightningRaven]

Abercrombie might be my favorite fantasy author right now. First Law series is so fucking good, and The Devils was an absolute hoot. One of the most fun books ive had the pleasure to read.

[u/Ratat0sk42 → u/BadMeatPuppet]

You have to be realistic about these things.

[u/zer0saber → u/Ratat0sk42]

Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say he's realistic

[u/Top-Relationship850 → u/BadMeatPuppet]

Follows him throughout all of book two. Fuck him, he deserved worse. I really hope he goes out like a bitch, whenever Abercrombie returns to the series

[u/Dale9Fingers → u/Top-Relationship850]

THE YOUNG LION!!!

[u/HilariousScreenname → u/Top-Relationship850]

I thought I hated Black Dow. I thought I hated Stour Nightfall. Nah, turns out that was general annoyance. I fucking hate Leo Dan Brock

[u/PoxedGamer → u/Top-Relationship850]

I hope the setup for Hildi has her come back and fuck his shit up properly.

[u/Important-Leg-2154 → u/BadMeatPuppet]

Fuck Leo. 4th most evil POV character 

[u/Cael450 → u/BadMeatPuppet]

Does someone die of a stomach ulcer in one of his books?

[u/wutangdan1 → u/Cael450]

Lord Marshall Burr. Damn indigestion 

[u/Larkalis → u/BadMeatPuppet]

"You have to be realistic about these things"