The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. 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 Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge
The Reason
My online bookclub had a disagreement about the books, with some saying they loved it and some saying they hated it. I had to see what the fuss was about and where I stood on the matter.
I finished these books way back in May and June, and hadn’t gotten around to reviewing them so I decided to review them as a series and not as individual books.
The Quotes
“You have to be realistic about these things.”
There are so many great quotes in this series and I had a whole post about it a couple of months ago. Check it out for more amazing quotes from the books!
The Narrator(s)
Steven Pacey. He is an amazing narrator for these books! I have to admit that he makes me want to reread the books again just to hear his narration. His portrayal of Glokta is particularly good, but he does a great job with all the characters throughout and I’m really curious to try more of his works.
My Thoughts
The Blade Itself
I started this book not really liking any of the main characters, and ended up loving them all! I think it’s brilliant that they are all so flawed and yet so relatable. I also love the “taglines” and repetitive quotes many of the characters use throughout the book. Some people criticise it as being lazy writing, but I feel like it’s actually quite true to real life because we repeat quotes and sayings all the time, and these characters and this world happen to have their own set of quotes and sayings they use all the time. I loved the first book and it left me wanting more.
Before They Are Hanged
I started the second book almost immediately after, and I loved it even more. I especially love the quest that Logen and his team go on, and the way they all bonded through that journey. A lot of second books aren’t the best, but I think this one might be my favorite book in the trilogy. The stakes get higher, and it’s so thrilling to see some of the ways they resolve their issues. Glokta’s story was very exciting too, and he’s easily one of my favorite characters.
Last Argument of Kings
It took a while to get to the final book because I had to wait on some book buddies, but I’ll be upfront and say I’m not completely satisfied with the resolution of the story in this book. I’m happy with most of it, but I have a problem with Logen’s storyline because I didn’t feel it was consistent what we’ve seen of him before. It’s a whole thing and I could get into it, but I won’t for now (unless provoked! 😂) so I’ll just focus on the positives. Overall, I loved the whole trilogy, and if I can find more audiobooks in set in this world narrated by Steven Pacey, I’m definitely going to read more!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars
Have you read this series? Would you read this series? Did you like the books or do you think you would like them?
