The Wisdom of Crowds

The Riotous Conclusion to The Age of Madness

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Concluding the AGE OF MADNESS trilogy, THE WISDOM OF CROWDS brings the series which is revolutionising fantasy to its stunning conclusion. . .

Chaos. Fury. Destruction.
The Great Change is upon us . . .
Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.

With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . . . while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.
The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver's ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together . . .

Critic reviews

In book three of this dazzlingly gruesome and gripping cycle, Joe Abercrombie does politics much as he handles everything else: with a clear-eyed understanding of the limits of human kindness and the banal depths of evil.

Joe Abercrombie is doing some terrific work

No one writes with the seismic scope or primal intensity of Joe Abercrombie

Delightfully twisted and evil

Witty, Bloody and fun

A vivid and jolting tale

I had a blast with this trilogy.

Bravo, Joe Abercrombie; the bar for grimdark fantasy has been raised again. And you, Lord Grimdark, remain absolute as one of the greatest fantasy authors of all time

A cutting satire of political revolution with wonderfully dark humor and a grim mess of an outcome that will leave you wanting more. 9 out of 10.

The Wisdom of Crowds is Abercrombie at his best. It's fun, it's engrossing, it's brutal on its characters in all the best ways, and it's just a damned enjoyable way to spend a few days glued to the pages of a book

Thoroughly recommended - a definite book of the year

This is not just your average good third volume of a decent fantasy trilogy; this is the stunningly ambitious final section of what was clearly originally conceived and planned as a single, unified work of art. Not only do the plotlines, themes and narrative devices of the trilogy cohere into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts but they also speak to a second age of madness: the one we currently live in.

Bloodily brilliant...This is fantasy as it should be, with blood, guts and broken bones felt on every page.

Masterfully written, god-level narration

Abercrombie delivers and wraps up the series nicely. Witty dialogue and elegant good-byes. Pacey is a master of narrating and brings Abercrombie's characters to life (and death) flawlessly.

Thanks Joe and Steven for the hours of company and hope to listen to further material from both. Whatever it will be, I'm sold already.

Good book, but could have been better.

It's worth a read or a listen, but the author is getting too predictable. These books are just history repeating itself over and over and over again.
I was hoping for my favorite character to finally be a shining beacon of hope, but of course that wouldn't be gritty and realistic enough. So we're getting more disappointment and nothingness. It's hard for me to stay with characters and a world, where nothing matters and all goes down the drain. It really loses all appeal for me, if there is nothing and no one to root for.

Thats it…

Joe is my favorit author, can’t deny it no more… just read this and enjoy every friggin sentence as if it was the last thing you are going to read this life

The best there is

Thanks for "a little private hanging" You executed my heart with one chapter. I'll never stop listening to this book

Couldn't stop listening!

How's the leg?!

Rikke's storyline wasn't perfect, but it's still a great listen.

I have listened to the whole series 3 times so far, and Steven Pacey is a genius.