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Book List
Author is Joe Abercrombie
#Year1st ReadTitleAuthor(s)My Rating 
1 2007 2015 Before They Are Hanged
The First Law #2
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It's bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that's coming. Lacking experience, training, and in some cases even weapons the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod's scouts, let alone the cream of his forces. In the heat-ravaged south the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta. The city is braced for the inevitable defeat and massacre to come, preparations are made to make the Gurkish pay for every inch of land . . . but a plot is festering to hand the city to its beseigers without a fight, and the previous Inquisitor of Dagoska vanished without trace. Threatened from within and without the city, Glokta needs answers, and he needs them soon. And to the east a small band of malefactors travel to the edge of the world to reclaim a device from history - a Seed, hidden for generations - with tremendous destructive potential. A device which could put a end to war, to the army of Eaters in the South, to the invasion of Shanka from the North - but only if it can be found, and only if its power can be controlled . . .
2 2009 2020 Best Served Cold
First Law World #4
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Springtime in Styria. And that means war.

There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, and behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.

War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too. Her victories have made her popular - a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto's reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.

Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started...

Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge.
3 2006 2015 The Blade Itself
The First Law #1
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it. But as he's discovering, old habits die really, really hard indeed . . .

. . . especially when Bayaz gets involved. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Glotka, Jezal and Logen a whole lot more difficult . . .
4 2014 2022 Half a King
Shattered Sea #1
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read this
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Yarvi, second son of the feared King Uthrik and the ruthless Queen Laithlin of Gettland, was born with a useless hand, and cannot hold a shield, or make fast a knot, or pull an oar, or do any of the things expected from a man. Left an outcast, he's surrendered his birthright and been given a woman's place as apprentice to Mother Gundring, Gettland's Minister, training to be an adviser, diplomat, healer and translator.

But when his father and brother are murdered by Grom-gil-Gorm, King of neighboring Vansterland, Yarvi is forced to take the Black Chair and become king himself - or half a king, at least - swear an oath of vengeance against the killers of his father, and lead a raid against the Vanstermen. Betrayed, left for dead, and enslaved on a rotting trading galley, Yarvi will need all his Minister's wit and cunning to escape, and all his diplomacy and knowledge to keep a rag-tag band of other slaves together on a month long trek across the frozen wastes of the utmost north. Among them are Sumael, the ship's single-minded navigator, Rulf, an ex-raide, Jaud, an ex-baker, and Nothing, a mad old man with a mysterious past and an almost magical skill with a sword. And their owner, the brutal Captain Shadikshirram, will be dogging their heels at every step. Father Peace may be the patron god of Ministers, but to reclaim the Black Chair, Yarvi will have to strike a deal with Mother War, and once you've invited the mother of crows to be your guest, there can be no telling whose blood will be spilled.
5 2015 2022 Half a War
Shattered Sea #3
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read this
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. She must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge if she is to reclaim her birthright. Only half a war is fought with swords The deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king's minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has raised the greatest army since the elves made war on God, and put Bright Yilling at its head - a man who worships no god but Death. Sometimes one must fight evil with evil Some - like Thorn Bathu and the sword-bearer Raith - are born to fight, perhaps to die. Others - like Brand the smith and Koll the wood-carver - would rather stand in the light. But when Mother War spreads her iron wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness.
6 2015 2022 Half the World
Shattered Sea #2
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read this
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Thorn is such a girl. Desperate to avenge her dead father, she lives to fight. But she has been named a murderer by the very man who trained her to kill. She finds herself caught up in the schemes of Father Yarvi, Gettland's deeply cunning minister. Crossing half the world to find allies against the ruthless High King, she learns harsh lessons of blood and deceit. Beside her on the journey is Brand, a young warrior who hates to kill, a failure in his eyes and hers, but with one chance at redemption. Will Thorn forever be a pawn in the hands of the powerful, or can she carve her own path?
7 2011 2021 The Heroes
First Law World #5
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbor, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them.

THE HEROES

For glory, for victory, for staying alive.
8 2008 2015 Last Argument of Kings
The First Law #3
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him ¿ but it¿s going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there¿s only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It¿s past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home. With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It¿s a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough. Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it. While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law . . .
9 2019 A Little Hatred
Age of Madness #1
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0
Want to readIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

The New York Times bestselling first book in Joe Abercrombie's The Age of Madness Trilogy where the age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. The chimneys of industry rise over Adua and the world seethes with new opportunities. But old scores run deep as ever. On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments. Savine dan Glokta -- socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union -- plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control. The age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad hillwoman Isern-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or the curse, of the Long Eye. Glimpsing the future is one thing, but with the guiding hand of the First of the Magi still pulling the strings, changing it will be quite another . . . For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out: The First Law Series The Blade Itself Before They Are Hanged Last Argument of Kings
Best Served Cold The Heroes Red Country The Shattered Sea Trilogy Half a King Half a World Half a War
10 2012 2021 Red Country
First Law World #6
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

A New York Times bestseller!
They burned her home.
They stole her brother and sister.
But vengeance is following.


Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step father Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb's buried a bloody past of his own. And out in the lawless Far Country the past never stays buried.

Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into an alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust . . .

Red Country takes place in the same world as the First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold, and The Heroes. This novel also represents the return of Logen Ninefingers, one of Abercrombie's most beloved characters.
11 2016 2023 Sharp Ends
First Law World #7
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3Rated 3
I read thisIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

Sharp Ends is the ultimate collection of award winning tales and exclusive new short stories from the master of grimdark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie.

Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue's gallery of side-shows, back-stories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law.

The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta.

Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: no one seems to know what the item is.

Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp.

And after years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There's only one obstacle left -- his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine . . .
12 2020 The Trouble with Peace
Age of Madness #2
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0
Want to readIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

A fragile peace gives way to conspiracy, betrayal, and rebellion in this sequel to the New York Times bestselling A Little Hatred from epic fantasy master Joe Abercrombie.

"A master of his craft." -Forbes  "No one writes with the seismic scope or primal intensity of Joe Abercrombie." —Pierce Brown

Peace is just another kind of battlefield . . . Savine dan Glokta, once Adua's most powerful investor, finds her judgement, fortune and reputation in tatters.  But she still has all her ambitions, and no scruple will be permitted to stand in her way. For heroes like Leo dan Brock and Stour Nightfall, only happy with swords drawn, peace is an ordeal to end as soon as possible. But grievances must be nursed, power seized, and allies gathered first, while Rikke must master the power of the Long Eye . . . before it kills her. Unrest worms into every layer of society. The Breakers still lurk in the shadows, plotting to free the common man from his shackles, while noblemen bicker for their own advantage. Orso struggles to find a safe path through the maze of knives that is politics, only for his enemies, and his debts, to multiply. The old ways are swept aside, and the old leaders with them, but those who would seize the reins of power will find no alliance, no friendship, and no peace lasts forever. For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out: The Age of Madness A Little Hatred The Trouble With Peace
The Wisdom of Crowds
The First Law Trilogy The Blade Itself Before They Are Hanged Last Argument of Kings

Best Served Cold The Heroes Red Country
The Shattered Sea Trilogy Half a King Half a World Half a War
13 2022 The Wisdom of Crowds
Age of Madness #3
Cover Blurb
Joe Abercrombie  Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0Rated 0
Want to readIn my library
Book Cover
From amazon.com:

The New York Times bestselling finale to the Age of Madness trilogyfinds the world in an unstoppable revolution where heroes have nothing left to lose as darkness and destruction overtake everything.

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 . . .

"No one writes with the seismic scope or primal intensity of Joe Abercrombie." —Pierce Brown

For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:

The Age of Madness
A Little Hatred
The Trouble With Peace
The Wisdom of Crowds

The First Law Trilogy
The Blade Itself
Before They Are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings

Best Served Cold
The Heroes
Red Country

The Shattered Sea Trilogy
Half a King
Half a World
Half a War






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See my librarything icon librarything page. I use this site to catalogue books and it has more details on books than goodreads does.


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