The First Law Trilogy

Author: Abercrombie, Joe

One of the best fantasy book series period and one of the best audiobook performances to boot. This is one of those rare reading performances by a master narrator where the audiobook makes a great book into something grand.The Blade Itself (first in the First Law series) is brutally dark book interspersed by moments of dry humor ÃƒÃ‚Â¢ something that is performed perfectly by Steven Pacy in his narration of it. Pacy nails down the cynicism and dry humor of the characters perfectly: the dry humor and sarcasm of the characters is blended seamlessly with the gritty world.The author's powerful voice and engaging British accent give each character a certain gravitas -- you FEEL the emotional complexity of The Bloody Nine (the philosophical barbarian psychopathic killer ); you empathize with the plight of the tortured-turned-torturer Glokta as he unwillingly plies his dark trade while trying to do what is right. Pacy brings out the best -- and worst == in his characters through his nuanced and striking narration of them.Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook over reading the book.The audiobook version IS the way you should experience Abercrombie's work -- not only his astounding First Law trilogy, but his other books in the series as well. Steven Pacey is at his best and The First Law trilogy is his magnum opus performance. Don't even think about skipping this one. And if you've had the pleasure of reading it, do yourself a huge favor and listen to these audiobooks -- a whole new story will come to life from Pacey's reading.Listen to a sample of Steven Pacy's voice

Similar Recommendations

If you love Abercrombie and are looking for MORE audiobooks in the same vein, I recommend looking at The Grim Company by Luke Scull. The audiobooks are fantastically narrated and the story is about as Grimdark as you are going to find. Scull is writing some of the best Abercrombie style grimdark in the genre right now.

My next recommendation would be to look at The Blood Sounder's Arc series by Jeff Salyards. It's dark military fantasy that hits many of the same buttons that do Abercrombie. The audiobook versions are fantastic from start to finish. Absolutely listen to these if you love First Law.

You may want to explore Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy for dark, gritty anti-hero fantasy. It does push many of the same buttons as the First Law books. Lawrence's related trilogy (Prince of Fools) also has a lot of similarities to First Law in style and form. You'll like it.

Booklists having this book

Top 25 Best Fantasy Audiobooks

Listening to an Audiobook is a popular way to 'read' a book these days -- especially for those who are always on the move and don't have time to site... Read more