Last Argument of Kings

The First Law: Book Three

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 27 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

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 top him. His oldest friend and his oldest enemy. It’s 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 too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on someone.

While the King of the Union lies on his death bed, 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. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law.

©2008 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Great characters, great narrator, okay plot

Probably my favorite narrator ever. Characters are unique and compelling. Plot was good but forgettable.

Ending (light spoilers)

First, let me say I'm an avid reader of negative reviews. I want to find out what people don't like about a book when I bother to find out anything at all beforehand. That having been said, most of the bad reviews of this brilliantly written and performed series are aimed directly at the ending Mr. Abercrombie gave us. And I must point out to anyone who might read my glowing review that we are warned a couple of times in this book that it's not going to be pretty. But that's the point of the whole thing, at least to my mind. Ardee says "No one gets what they deserve," or something close thereto, and that sums up the whole thing.

I guess my point is that anybody that's looking for a fairy-tale ending should probably read a fairy-tale and leave off the grown-up fantasy. They'll just be disappointed.

I also particularly enjoyed the very end. (BEGIN SPOILERS) I think dropping the Bloody Nine off a cliff into a river and leaving it there is an awesome way to come full circle and let the reader's mind fill in what happens next. I can just see him washing up somewhere--"Still alive..."--and charging into another several months of butchery to pay back Black Dow. Or maybe he'll head south and find Ferro. It's up to me and which aspect of Logen I want to root for how it all turns out. I'm thankful for that.

In all, a superb work of fantasy by one of my new favorite authors. Thanks Joe.

Great series but disappointing ending

I was very pleased and enthralled with the majority of this series of books, but the ending was very anticlimactic and left a lot to be desired. The authored created an interesting world and intriguing characters and I have seen some crossover of these characters and this world in his other works, but the end of this particular series just left me disappointed and wanting something a little better. It almost seemed like after creating such a vivid story, he could not figure out a good way to end the series. Overall I recommend the series as a good read (or listen as the case may be) for those who like fantasy with a dark edge.

An ending so bad one might ...

What did you love best about Last Argument of Kings?

Very funny a times and interesting characters.

What was most disappointing about Joe Abercrombie’s story?

An ending that .......... . Also slow at times.

Which character – as performed by Steven Pacey – was your favorite?

All of them. Steven Pacey was great.

Any additional comments?

If you are wondering what the rest of this review's heading statement is....... Well, that is how this book ended. It was like he was writing an ending and decided to go to lunch and forgot to finish the book. I am sorry, there is nothing genius or clever about it. It was a terrible way to end a THREE BOOK series. I do not need fairy tale endings, but one would be better than an ending that makes you feel like you wasted your time. Maybe I am just unsophisticated, or maybe I feel like telling the truth.

Sad it Had to End - Great Book and Series

This book or should I say series of books, are some of the best I have read. I found all three to be truly entertaining, well written by Abercrombie and expertly performed by Pacey. I was hesitant going in with each book being well over 20 hours, but ended up sad that it had to come to an end. There were stories within the stories and the author did an excellent job tying them all into the main plot. There were many parallels to real life woven into the story which I found very interesting as well. I???ve said it in my other two reviews, but think it???s worth mentioning again. Steven Pacey???s performance is outstanding and Abercrombie's writing is masterful. I highly recommend all three of these books, which should be read in order.

fantastic series

loved it, great narrator.. Joe has an epic twist of plot and way of draw in ng you in.

Intricate, well-constructed tapestry!

This trilogy said thrilling ride through a fascinating world. Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he's a master of the written word. I highly recommend this trilogy.

Action Packed great characters

I enjoy this series and am hoping that Joe Abercrombie will write another book to carry on with these characters . I got so connected with them all. Loved the narrator Steven Pacey.

Lots of adventure, action… and laughs!

The story is fantastic (although a little more language then I personally care for). However, not only does the author have an incredible sense of humor lived out through the different characters. The narrator does a beyond amazing job of switching between voices and capturing the essence of what I imagine these characters to sound like. Well done all around!

Is this really the end of the argument?

Any additional comments?

This is as 3.5 star. Overall it was a great story, however I found that there were a few inconstancies with the characters (very minor).

I really like the second book in the series, it was a solid 4 stars. I feel that the first one didn't quite have enough action, and the 3rd had a bit too much. Too much action can make pacing seem off, too much of anyone thing makes the pacing seem off.

I find this series to be a fairly fresh take on fantasy and I can't wait to read the next one. Which is stand alone novel. Come on Audible put it in a BOGO sale.