Abstract
Using Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings as template and applying the typology of heroic modes suggested in Northrop Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism, Petzold first establishes the importance of heroes in fantasy fiction. His chapter then analyses Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy (2006–2008), arguing that Abercrombie creates a postmodern fantasy world in which the heroic is simultaneously upheld and subverted, and that Abercrombie’s fictional world suggests multiple links to our own—links that range from the ‘devilish’ power of nuclear weapons to the manipulative power of financial institutions.
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Petzold, J. (2017). Constructing and Deconstructing the Fantasy Hero: Joe Abercrombie’s “First Law” Trilogy. In: Korte, B., Lethbridge, S. (eds) Heroes and Heroism in British Fiction Since 1800. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33557-5_8
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