Shy South lives on her farm with her gentle stepfather Lamb and the rest of her siblings. While away, Shy and Lamb return to find their farm has been attacked and destroyed and her brother and sister Pit and Ro, have been stolen. Shy has never been one to take anything lying down so she and Lamb set off after them. Eventually, they are joined by a host of colorful supporting characters and their fellowship begins their long journey into the untamed far country. As their sojourn continues, Shy's bloody and unsavory past is revealed and she is learning that her step-father, the soft-spoken Lamb, may have had an unpleasant past of his own. His missing ring finger is a window into a history that is far more "bloody" then anyone can imagine.

Readers of the First Law Trilogy are going to immediately guess at who Lamb really is. Abercrombie never once in the entire novel speaks his other name, but everybody familiar with Abercrombie will know exactly who it is. So if you are new to Joe Abercrombie, you're just going to have to go back and read The First Law Trilogy for a complete history of Lamb's past. Lamb is not the only character from past stories who shows up as readers of Joe's previous work will quickly find out and delight in. As for Red Country, this is Joe Abercrombie catching his stride. He is in absolutely rare form in Red Country. The story combines different elements of classic American Western films such as The Searchers and The Wild Bunch, so the plot will seem familiar, but it is still executed wonderfully. The story is as black and vile as ever, the dialogue is razor sharp and the exchanges between the characters are at times laugh out loud funny. Abercrombie's background as a television writer is really serving him well as an author. It's evident in all his writing, but especially so in Red Country. It feels like it's ready for television as it is and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if some astute producer picked up the option for the book. But until then, we will have to "settle" for his writing.

Red Country is easily one of the best fantasy novels I have read this year. It's filled with action, humor and camaraderie and the final product is arguably his best work to date. It is fair to say that some of the emotional punch may be taken out of Red Country if readers haven't read the rest of Abercrombie's work, but it is by no means a prerequisite to enjoying it. Red Country is a good book on its own merits, but a terrific one in context with the rest of Joe Abercrombie's work. Do not hesitate to read Red Country or any of his six novels to date. They have all deservedly earned a place high up on my bookshelf.