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Before They Are Hanged

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Before They Are Hanged

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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The second novel in the wildly popular First Law Trilogy from New York Times bestseller Joe Abercrombie.

Superior Glokta has a problem. How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, and your predecessor vanished without a trace? It's enough to make a torturer want to run—if he could even walk without a stick.

Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory. There is only one problem—he commands the worst-armed, worst-trained, worst-led army in the world. And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a perilous mission through the ruins of the past.

The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and the most selfish boy in the Union make a strange alliance, but a deadly one. They might even stand a chance of saving mankind from the Eaters—if they didn't hate each other quite so much. Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost. Bitter enemies will be forgiven—but not before they are hanged.

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

For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:

Novels in the First Law world
Best Served Cold
The Heroes
Red Country Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Historical War & Military Suspenseful Fantasy Epic Fiction Wizardry Royalty Law First Law English

Critic reviews

"Bloody and relentless."—George R. R. Martin on Best Served Cold
"Bold and authentically original."—Jeff VanderMeer on The Blade Itself
"Abercrombie has written the finest epic fantasy trilogy in recent memory. He's one writer that no one should miss."—Junot Diaz
"If you're fond of bloodless, turgid fantasy with characters as thin as newspaper and as boring as plaster saints, Joe Abercrombie is really going to ruin your day. A long career for this guy would be a gift to our genre."—Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora on The Blade Itself
"Compelling characters, a complex plot, and style to burn."—Strange Horizons on The Blade Itself
"Pointed, driven, and sharp."—Locus on Red Country
"Magnificent, richly entertaining"—Time on The Heroes
"Imagine The Lord of the Rings as directed by Kurosawa."—Lev Grossman, Wall Street Journal on The Heroes
"[Abercrombie has] begun breaking his own rules. And succeeding wildly at it. ... Rarely has Abercrombie had so much fun while rollicking through his colorful cast's foibles and witty dialogue - and rarely has he dished out so much straight-for-the-heart poignancy."—The A.V. Club
"New, fresh, and exciting."—The Independent (UK)
"Exhilarating... Abercrombie's knack for wit and grit holds your attention throughout, and his eye for character means that there's heart as well as muscle."—SFX (UK)
"Lord of the Rings as directed by Kurosawa."—Wall Street Journal on The Heroes

Continue the series
Last Argument of Kings Audiobook By Joe Abercrombie cover art
Last Argument of Kings By: Joe Abercrombie
Complex Characters • Engaging Storylines • Witty Dialogue • Unexpected Plot Twists • Gritty Realism • Emotional Delivery

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Third book ends terribly but this was a pretty good listen. This series had so much potential. Fell flat.

Don't get third book.

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The story was a little thin, but the narrator was great and characters were decent.

Mixed feelings

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I think it is a vast improvement over the first book the twists and turns are good and well thought out

good

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If you liked the first novel then it only gets better in the second. Very much a deep dive on the characters while plot advancement is slow, but I enjoyed it the whole way. Highly recommend!

Great read

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This continuation of the First Law trilogy was good as expected. it's not the usual kind of fantasy I normally LOVE to read. but I am really impressed with the character development, the realism of them particularly. they are not ALL perfect or ALL bad; the good guys make bad decisions - the bad guys do good things. They are human and I love that about them. With all that being said, the performance of this narrator is one of the best I've ever heard! His characters are fantastic, the accents, pitch of voice, and other subtleties would have you believe there's a whole cast performing. Another great thing is the dry humor of the author. I have "lol'd" much more than usual because of the reality of the humor and the deliverance by the narrator. Overall it's a strong, well developed story -not too detailed (that sometimes turns me off) but very thorough with great very authentic characters, albeit no obvious "hero" or villain. But the performance (in my opinion) "makes" this story for me. Can't wait to jump into the next book.

great New fantasy!

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