Before They Are Hanged

The First Law: Book Two

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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 his elite 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... but a plot is festering to hand the city to its besiegers 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.

©2007 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Third time around and still awesome

I love this series. The characters are well developed and I've yet to find a character like Glockter (spelling?) in stories or real life. Fast paced and worth coming back to again and again.

Brilliant 👏

Fantastic story and Epic performance by Steven Pacey. I will be buying all of Joe's books it seems

Amazing Performance - The story continues

The second entry in The First Law series is grimmer, funnier and more darkly twisted than the first. The plot continues to unfold, more mysteries, larger conflicts and a broader canvas. The performance is gripping as ever. Some events truly come as a surprise, some deaths are awful and poignant.

Abercrombie at his Finest

Fantastic story full of all the essentials, and delivered with a very keen voice. A Must-Read and Must-Hear for all fantasy lovers. Do yourself a favor and jump in now.

great

found myself laughing out loud at one moment and on the edge of my seat at another. Great book.

Still continues to be a great story

This second book is still full of good writing, as much as the first at least. The world building is a bit more like an info dump at times, but not overly so. Like some other books I have listened to I have noticed something. There tends to be a bit of word or phrase repetition. The first few time are ok, but this happens often in this second book. Something that the editor should have commented on I feel.

Great sequel

Lots of fighting, lots of character development, lots of mysteries and intrigue. I bought this book hoping it would last me to the end of the month, but i gulped it down in just four days. I have of course the third book already downloaded, there area still mysteries to be solved, and i can't wait to start on the third book.

An amazing performance for a solid narrative

Would you consider the audio edition of Before They Are Hanged to be better than the print version?

Absolutely. Steven Pacey provides such an incredible performance, it truly amplifies the merits of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

My favorite part of the entire narrative has to be Sand dan Glokta, who is one of the most compelling characters I have read. Anyone interested in complex, sympathetic anti-heroes should be pleased by this character.

Which scene was your favorite?

I listened to all three books in sequence, one after the other, and so cannot remember scenes as being specifically in the middle book!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really. It was enjoyable, but not as compelling as other books I couldn't put down.

superb fantasy, nothing more nothing less.

fantastic story with brutal plottwists, characters You love to hate, characters You weep for. do your self a favour and get going with this epic.

Excellent

Where does Before They Are Hanged rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 20%

What was one of the most memorable moments of Before They Are Hanged?

Not sure. I just loved the character of Sandan Glokter (not sure I spelled that right). Awesome character.