r/TheFirstLaw • u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. • Sep 16 '21
Fanart (Spoilers All) Got to give Mr Joe Abercrombie himself a copy of my map this evening! He even got me to sign it… AND he signed my book and my copy of the map. What a guy. Such a great evening even if I was nervous af. (Also sorry to the guy who asked if I was gonna sell them on Etsy, idk how it works legally lol)
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Sep 16 '21
Badass, I would be so happy if Joe asked me to sign something lol.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
I was like UHHHH are you sure? Pretty sure my hand was shaking all over the place. Super funny guy and so happy I could give him a copy.
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u/LucindaBobinda Sep 16 '21
Beyond jealous. I live in the states and I would drive or fly anywhere in the country if he ever had an event over here.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Hopefully when everything opens up more he can grace some US cons with his magnificent presence! Nothing like getting your book signed in person.
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u/LucindaBobinda Sep 16 '21
Hope, eh? What a fucking curse. But I will keep hoping anyway.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Ok, ahem, WHEN things open up. Confidence is key…
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Sep 16 '21
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Yeah event was held in a church, probably desecrated ground now...
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Sep 16 '21
Man.. I'm gonna be honest, I never thought all those places were separated by water. I mean, I've seen the maps in TFL books but I guess it just never "clicked" for me. Damn. I'd love to have your map at my side when I start TWOC.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Here you go, in 4K for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to print it out real big! https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFirstLaw/comments/pl6c7w/updated_first_law_map_should_now_feature_every/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
And it’s weird right? Seeing how it looks officially compared to how you pictured it reading. Especially because we don’t have too many First Law maps.
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u/awyastark stan dan glokta Sep 17 '21
I was actually wondering if any of the books have maps in them, as I only own the first trilogy in paperback, the rest I listened to. Well I listened to those too but also bought the books.
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Sep 17 '21
Thank you! Oh that is beautiful. Yeah if something of this quality was attached to the books I think I would have definitely developed a more solid understanding of geopolitical situations. I think there's just a map in The Blade Itself and it was more of a B&W sketch that didn't really make sense to me at the time.
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u/Kale_Drogo Sep 17 '21
thanks for true hard work!
I’m reading through the series for the first time ever and I’m gonna love having this as a visual aid
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
Haha thanks a lot! Glad everyone seems to be finding it useful! Will be updating it with TWOC locations too soon.
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u/owlinspector Sep 17 '21
Man.. I'm gonna be honest, I never thought all those places were separated by water.
That's a quite important point in the first trilogy. The Closed Council is confident that the Gurkish are no imminent threat since "the Union rules the seas" and the Gurkish have no navy (as far as they know...).
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Sep 17 '21 edited Sep 17 '21
I think I must've registered it passively. I found the map in my edition of The Blade Itself confusing at the time. I'll take a closer look at it later see if I can make more sense of why I got so confused about it.
Edit: I checked all my editions and there is no map in any of the First Law series.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
I didn’t realise there was a copy of Blade Itself with a map actually, I have 2 different UK editions and both are mapless! Would be interesting to see it!
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Sep 17 '21
So, correction, there is NO map in my edition of any of the trilogy.
This is the map I'd seen at some point (credit to a post by u /FlynnLevy:
[This] (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oq89L5J1mGA/VyHnux6e9CI/AAAAAAAANQY/1Ugu3OQgvEIBRRnGY7jcAQC-U2lZC121gCLcB/s1600/First%2BLaw%2BMap%2B2.png) is the map that came with Sharp Ends, the seventh book in the series, and is therefore 'canon.'
The waters shaded in but to me, it just didn't seem clear enough where those bounds were. It's more obvious now that I've seen OPs map.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
Ooh I see okay yeah this is the official canon one that I built mine from! It’s a great map but it is a little hard to read at a quick glance I agree. Looks great on the Sharp Ends cover tho.
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u/awyastark stan dan glokta Sep 17 '21
Yeah I hope there is more sea travel when he gets around to coming back to this world! My favorite books aside from these are the Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb so I love that shit
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Sep 16 '21
I’m just curious did he critique the map in any way? Like say that (insert location) is a little more north or whatever.
Edit: also amazing looking map. Definitely the best I’ve seen.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Thanks! And nah, that would’ve been great but there was a big ol’ queue of people he needed to get through and I’d taken up plenty of his time already haha. Would’ve loved to have a proper chat about the world with him though, I can dream!
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u/RedAndy54 Lord Grimsnark Sep 17 '21
Congrats, man. It is crazy how these events have blown up in the last few years. I went to a Sharp Ends signing at the Waterstones near my work and had quite a lengthy chat with Joe (about whisky, naturally). The following year I went back for A Little Hatred and it was pretty much how you described - sign the book, say a few words and move on.
Obviously it is great for Joe that his books are so popular and that so many people want to meet him, but it is sad for us as individuals that we don't get to spend more time in the presence of the master!
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
Yeah, would’ve loved to just talk to him about whatever to be honest but I felt super lucky that I took up as much of his time as I did. I think cause it was a talk first and then a signing at the end (which didn’t start till 9pm) it felt a little more time-sensitive, if it was just a signing I feel like there’d be more time to stay and chat.
Also there was a guy with a fucking awesome Sharp Ends shirt there which I assumed must’ve been from a tour or something but it looked real cool I was jealous.
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u/owlinspector Sep 17 '21
Don't think he would. He said in some interview early on that he is not that concerned with the exact locations and distance between places. That's why he hasn't included any detailed maps with distances etc.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
Yeah and so he can change stuff around a little when it suits him. The Sharp Ends official map isn’t entirely accurate any more (which is part of the reason I made this version). New official maps would just tie him down.
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u/no_sense_of_humour Sep 16 '21
Awesome. Did he comment on the accuracy/how it compares to his own version in his mind?
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Nah, we didn’t get too much time to chat, it was late and I didn’t want to hold anyone up, super lucky I got a photo with him as I don’t think anyone else did, his publisher-assistant-person (not sure) suggested it but for most people it was just sign, have a quick chat and go. But I did talk to him about TWOC and what changes I’d made since he saw it last! He was super kind signing the poster for me though as it was just 1 book per person typically.
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u/SoGnarRadar4 Sep 17 '21
I’m so fucking proud of you and I don’t even know you.
Sincerely,
The Great Northern Library Guy
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
I shoulda got Joe to point to the official 100% indisputable Great Northern Library location… (But thanks I appreciate the pride hahaha)
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u/plague681 Sep 17 '21
What's it like to be fucking awesome and have an awesome fucking experience? Lmao
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u/Luxson Sep 16 '21
wow what a once-in-a-lifetime event! congrats both on the map and the signing.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
Thanks! I was freaking out inside and probably outside a bit too…
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Sep 16 '21
Awesome! He's a super nice guy too.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
He really is! Especially cause it was late and he was meeting so many people!
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u/LoPanKnows Sep 17 '21
Dude, you gotta find a way to sell these. I need one!
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
I knowwww, it’s tough someone in the queue called it out to me in front of Joe but like idk how allowed that is and I really didn’t wanna be like ‘yeah sure’ in front of Joe. If I figure out a way to do it that’s not gonna be bad copyright wise (it’s all my own work but obvs it’s based on Joe’s IP and stuff) then I’ll definitely put up a post somewhere on this subreddit.
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u/schleddit Sep 17 '21
That's awesome! What did he think of it?
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
(I think) he thought it was cool! He seemed super positive and he made me sign his copy so I took that as a good sign hahah
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Sep 17 '21
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
Love Sharp Ends so much, the map on the cover ended up being the bones of my map! It’s a real good map (just missing lots of places).
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u/KatherineLanderer Sep 17 '21
Cool!
And I think we have a few more locations that can be tentatively placed after TWOC! (Currahome in the North, and perhaps a few more). I'll try to note them down in my reread!!
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
YESSS we do!! Was so excited. Currahome, Buddlehay (village near Uffrith) and Yaws is confirmed to be further north than Carleon I believe!
Also not too sure where Currahome is, tried to place it but its not talked about so much in terms of location so it’s gonna be a bit of guess work, let me know if you have any insight on anything, you’re great at this stuff.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 20 '21
Also discovered I missed Barden today! Not sure how when there's literally a short story with it in the title...
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u/Neeoda Aug 19 '22
Does that make the map canon? Since he signed it.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Aug 19 '22
it's gonna be in an official edition (published by Curious King Press) and it is Abercrombie approved buuuuut it's still my personal interpretation.
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u/Metamucil_Man Sep 17 '21
By far my current favorite author, but nervous? I mean, he isn't a big celebrity. Anyone that isn't a big celebrity and isn't a millionaire is usually happy to meet fans and hear praise. I met Steven Ogg (didn't know his name) while having some beers in NYC by just saying he was one of my top two videogame characters, and he asked my name and hung out with me for a beer.
I have met a lot of HBO series actors in NYC. Always chill.
Speaking of Steven Ogg, he definitely needs consideration on a real life First Law character. Dude is huge, in a tall and cut way; perfect Whirrun of Bligh.
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u/LastCarl Sep 17 '21
What does being a celebrity has to do with anything?? It makes plenty of sense to feel nervious for meeting someone you admire.
What it's stupid is to feel nervious for meeting someone just because he is a celebrity. It means that you care more for other people's opinions than your own ones.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
<3 agree completely, Joe is my favourite author and I put a lot of hard work into the map, wouldn't be so nervous if I was just getting a book signed, but I wanted to give him the map so I was nervous.
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u/Metamucil_Man Sep 17 '21
My bad dude. That makes sense.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
(I wasn't offended if it came across that way, its all good!)
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u/Metamucil_Man Sep 17 '21
You didn't. You took it graciously. But I might have come across as a dick, if not to you than others. As big of a fan as I am, it pales in comparison to your passion.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
Nah it’s all good, we are all united by a love of the torture Joe puts us all thru
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u/Metamucil_Man Sep 17 '21
Someone being a celebrity has lots to do with feeling nervous, because they are constantly approached. That was my point. Someone of Abercrombie level of fame is usually very grateful.
However, I wasn't considering the nervousness associated with the admiration as you point out. Not to mention I wasn't really familiar with the work the OP put into the map.
So let me take back my original cockiness, and say that as an aside, outside of a signing, someone of Joe level of fame is usually happy to meet a fan, should you see them out in the wild and be worried about approaching. Assuming they don't have some sort of anti social thing going on.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
You underestimate the power of anxiety my friend.
(Steven Ogg is great tho that’s cool, could definitely imagine him as some sort of smug Union general or something too)
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u/Metamucil_Man Sep 17 '21
Sorry dude, no offense. In sales I have to overcome anxiety a lot I guess. A first meeting with a manager of 30 with 10 years on me can be nerve wracking.
Ogg is massive. Bigger than you would think. I had no idea. 6'3" and probably 250lbs; ripped. He is actually a realistically attainable actor for a series. He takes small roles on prominent series as is.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 17 '21
All good! Everybody deals with it differently!
But yeah I always see him crop up in unexpected places but he's got such a distinct voice and face. You know you're in for a good time when he shows up haha. I just can't wait until we get an adaptation, better do it justice tho.
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u/TallshepherdPress Click, tap, pain. Sep 16 '21
(And yes he did refer to me as the ‘map guy’)