 Hello and welcome folks, I'm Philip Magnus and I swear I didn't mean to make another short but it is what it is. I'm actually working on a longer project, a video essay, about Mark Lawrence's use of Dungeons and Dragons and role-playing elements in his Impossible Times trilogy but I'm not quite happy enough with it yet so I'm leaving it on the back burner and I'm just doing one of these instead. Let's get into it, shall we? The Blade itself. This totally reminds me of those fantasy novels I used to read as a kid, except maybe it's a little darker. But these characters all look very promising. There's a barbarian who wants to turn away from a life of violence, an inquisitor who is very introspective and strangely relatable. There's even a wizard and afraid to get his hands dirty, but he's wise if a little mischievous and I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Before they are hanged, this is why character development happens. The last argument of Kings. Character development? What's that? Best Served Call. A woman's haunt will burn down your house, your financial institutions, your country and your throne. Then sit on whatever's left. The Heroes. War is great. No, really. Or a young man learns the value of staying home while a bunch of middle-aged men duke it out for a hill in what is truly a masterclass in storytelling for any author who does not want to tell a story across a trilogy. Featuring a conniving young woman, a grumpy old man, in an insane lad with the biggest sword you've ever perceived. Red Country. Someone put all this western in my first law and I'm confused but delighted. Sharp ends. Well, doesn't this give you just jarring amounts of insight on our characters in world? You've probably read it last though. And with that, the first law is now done. There is nothing more to be said about it. No one could ever analyze these books in more depth than I just did. And I'm honestly relieved. It is good to be the final word on a thing. In all seriousness though, I would very much love to go back to the first law. I have actually gone back to the first law books now and again. But what I would like to do is I would love to make certain that fairly in-depth takes on these books are made by Australia, in which I just make fun of them in so many diverse and horrifying ways. I love Java Cromby's work and I'm looking forward to talking about his new trilogy as well in video form. But this will have to come later. Next week we are doing a desolation called Peace, a review of that novel, the sequel to A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martin. I'm reading it right now. Boy, oh boy, is it really special. Until then, I hope to see you again. If you enjoyed this video, please like it, share it, subscribe, leave a comment down below, right down here somewhere, yeah. And don't forget to ring that bell button for notifications. That's it. That's your call to action. Now scram. Bye!