The Trouble with Peace

This novel is the second book in the Age of Madness trilogy and continues the overarching narrative from the first book, A Little Hatred. While it progresses the stories of several characters, it does not fully resolve all plotlines within its own pages.

The Trouble with Peace is set in the same world as Abercrombie's earlier First Law trilogy and features several returning characters, though it focuses on a new generation. Readers familiar with his previous books will recognize the setting and some of the political dynamics.

Yes — The Trouble with Peace picks up directly from A Little Hatred's events and characters. It cannot be read as a standalone.

Yes — the civil war that was building throughout A Little Hatred erupts in this volume. Much of the novel tracks how it starts, who chooses sides, and what it costs.

Yes — Orso survives and his arc continues into The Wisdom of Crowds, where it reaches its conclusion.

Yes. A Little Hatred was setup; The Trouble with Peace is where the characters' decisions start producing serious consequences. The political violence is more immediate and the betrayals more personal.

The same four core perspectives as A Little Hatred — Savine, Leo, Orso, and Rikke — plus additional viewpoints including Gunnar Broad, an ordinary soldier drawn into the conflict.

Savine is one of the three central protagonists. Her arc in this volume is about navigating the consequences of A Little Hatred while maintaining her ambitions in a shifting political landscape.

It ends with the civil war's immediate outcome resolved but the political situation highly unstable. The Wisdom of Crowds follows directly and delivers the trilogy's conclusion.

Both, depending on your perspective. Leo is a point-of-view protagonist, but his choices in this volume make him functionally antagonistic to several other characters. Abercrombie refuses the easy label.