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

Something Quite Different-- Part 3

I have been reading Fantasy/Science Fiction since Dinosaurs walked the earth. And if I have to read one more 'coming of age...gee who knew I was MAGIC!!' book, I'll throw up. So finally, along with Michael J Sullivan (with more swearing) or Patrick Rothfuss (with more blood and betrayal) or Anthony Ryan (with fewer animal companions) ... another series with some actual, more/less real people in it (though, let's face it, Berserkers are thankfully not common in our Internet age). I appreciate someone who realizes that a) we all MIGHT become better people but b) we bring ourselves with us. And, while mostly uncomfortable, sometimes our past selves are pretty useful. We might drink too much, we might say the wrong things at the wrong times... but if we are not so self-absorbed that we can't see beyond our noses... we can contribute. And not even modestly, at that. So, for a fantasy of 'real, flawed' people contributing...this gets an A+++. If you haven't read/listened to Red Country... you must. The ending of Costas is better than you can imagine! But listen to the whole First Law series, first.

Great Narration, Great Story, Unsatisfactory End

I bought the First Law trilogy audiobooks because Steven Pacey is the narrator. I've been listening to Pacey for years and I'm pretty much up to date and can't wait for more.(Thank you Steven for introducing me to so many wonderful writers). As usual, Pacey's variety of voices and pacing of the storyline is immaculate and largely inimitable. I especially loved Glokta's lithp which you probably won't have got from the print version. As for the writing, I found the characters extremely vivid, the action believable and the pace neckbreaking. Everything you'd want in a fantasy series, until the last book where Abercrombie pretty much destroys all the main characters exposing ugly flaws in their personalities which leaves you reeling and what-the-f-ing because you'd invested yourself entirely in them... I guess you have to be realistic about these things. I found the last few chapters of this book particularly heartbreaking when I looked at the time left on the audiobook I got the sinking feeling that there was no way the author could tie up all the loose ends (unless the world exploded or got overrun by demons or something). The ending was the worst. Say one thing for Abercrombie, say he's a tease. I have since reviewed my feelings about First Law and realized that I can't be this pissed off without having first loved the books. Nuff sed. Thanks Joe.

Great muddy characters

I greatly enjoyed the book and performance overall but my favorite part of the series is how you can both like and despise the characters. I grinned everytime I heard "You can say one thing about Logan Nine Fingers" or "Why do I do this?" also loved how it ended.

Gripping story, best reader ever

If you could sum up Last Argument of Kings in three words, what would they be?

Best Story, Reader

Who was your favorite character and why?

Glockter - He was so conflicted and so broken in mind and spirit, yet he struggled on.

Which scene was your favorite?

So many to choose from. The book never lagged.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me gasp!

Any additional comments?

Steven Pacey brought this book to life better than any I've listened to in my hundred plus audible buys. Each character sprang to life. His reading was FAR better than a radio play with many actors doing the parts. I'm very disappointed there aren't many more books by Joe A read by Steve Pacey.

* Inscribed on His Cannons by Louis XIV

I decided to keep with the pattern of review titles I had adopted in the first two books; that of completing the quote used in the name of the book. But here are some great quotes from this novel that would have made great review titles:

Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.
The good thing about every step being an ordeal: You learn to tread carefully.
Life is a series of things we would rather not do.
You’re never alone if you bring laughter with you
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments
In war the only crime is to lose
God smiles on results
You have to be realistic about these things

There are many small surprises in this last book in the trilogy. Some of the behind the scenes maneuvering is revealed and I like the long range planning involved. The strong suit of this series is characterization. I will long remember Logan, Jezel, Bayez and the twisted Glokta; all of whom undergo significant life changes, and all of whom are forced to do some serious soul searching. All the people are flawed, just like real life. All the people have something to contribute to one’s own introspection. This is an excellent series. I liked each book more than the last as the story grew in the telling it grew in my estimation as well. This is good enough to revisit again in the future.

And in the end Logan is…

Stephen Pacey gives a performance worth of an Audie award. He was great in the first two books and is even better here as the story builds toward the conclusion. He is adept at the variety of characters here. His voice for Superior Glokta is so very sarcastic. He does a fine job at portraying Jezel dan Luther, the selfish dandy that has greatness thrust upon him. He is even great in voicing the female characters. This is one of those books that I will be listening to again just to hear the one-man-show that is Stephen Pacey.

Superb!

One of the best audiobook experiences I've had! Performance by Pacey is as good as any I've heard. Highly recommend it!!

Excellent reading

Great story perfectly told. A bit heavy on gore. Too much sucking of gums at times. But interesting characters and well plotted.

Abercrombie does it again.

some of the best storytelling of recent history. if you haven't bought these books, you should.

Unsurpassed

The ending of this trilogy is just better than anything I have ever read so far or since then. I really like how Abercrombie has grown since the time he wrote this book, but I still think the first trilogy will be his "Exegi monumentum aere perennius" kind of work.

Hence me coming back to it after The Trouble with Peace, and enjoying the story with Steven Pacey's voice this time :)

Kind stranger, whoever you are, however you got here to read my review, stop contemplating, whether this book is worth it. Do yourself a favour, buy and enjoy.

Poor Ending for a good series

Any additional comments?

A good book, but not a good ending to a series. I was quite upset at the ending, yet it was very realistic ending. I am happy more stand alone books have come out after the events of this book. The trilogy may be over but the story isn’t. Over all it was fun to read. I enjoyed the book and it’s characters. Some of my favorites don’t end up how I wanted, some of my least favorite also failed to end like I wanted.. I would recommend it to fantasy fans.