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

One of the best narrators I've heard yet.

Pacey does an amazing job narrating, the voices, the accents, and emotions were all fantastic one of best narrators I've ever heard.

Excellent story paired an excellent narrator

A worthy final to "The First Law" trilogy that brings the main story lines to a satisfying end without trying to wrap up all the little details. When combined with the excellent performance of the narrator, this audiobook makes for a very addictive listening.

Finest writer of the genre I have read

Rare to find such a master of the writing craft. Great narrator, amazing author. Makes you wonder why we like heroes in our stories when its so much more entertaining to have protagonists like these. More please!

The story is still alive...

Say one thing of Joe Abercrombie, say he is a sneaky bastard. And thus we ended as we began, a plunge into the unknown. This "trilogy" has more loose ends than a whore's cut jeans. Over to you Joe, don't be a diva in the time you take to deliver another.

Lackluster finish to a fair trilogy

After the first two, I was truly looking forward to Last Argument. Unfortunately, it left me dismayed at the weak ending of this trilogy. It felt hollow and incomplete and left me unsatisfied in many ways. The characters we spent so much time with over the course of three books never truly grew, and even Giselle's apparent growth seems skin deep and sporadic in many ways. I truly found Byer's little revelations at the end unsurprising. With that in mind, I was wonderfuly captivated by Inquisitor Glokta, and found myself happy for him. He may be the strongest character in all three books, and his combination of sarcastic wit and willingness to do the necessary, pretty or not, was great. I think had it not been for him, I would have long ago stopped. All in all, a fair book with an ending that left me feeling as if the author took the easy way out. Also, click click click lets find a new word for sword meets skull. Still, I would recommend the series to those who appreciate gritty fantasy, even if this was the weak link in the three novels.

First Law is a solid trilogy.

Where does Last Argument of Kings rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

To be fair? It ranks around the 70th percentile

Would you be willing to try another book from Joe Abercrombie? Why or why not?

Yes. I have.

Any additional comments?

Joe Abecrombie is solid all the way through this series. If you like gritty fantasy then pick this trilogy up. Joe doesn't write about "heroes", he writes about flawed, "realistic" type characters. He has a great sense of strong character development and a solid grasp of dialogue, Logen Nine Fingers is one of my favorite fantasy characters and I'd love to see a back story done on him.

Great action. Great characters. Great reading.

Steven Pacey does a great job reading this white-knuckle fantasy tale! This was a great trilogy, and had a very satisfying ending.

Good ending?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The First Law series was geat, this last book was good. I think most fantasy fans would like it.

Which scene was your favorite?

The battle storm in the city.

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

I thought that the author did an excellent job of writing. He made you feel that you were in the right there with the party.

Any additional comments?

The story didn't really end. It was left very open at the end. I would not be surprised if there was a 4th book someday.

Disappointing end to an otherwise excellent story

It felt to me like Abercrombie wasn't quite sure how to end his story. Several of the main characters flattened out near the end and became archetypal despite having show impressive depth during the second book. That gave the ending a rushed feel, but otherwise the story is riveting and delightful.

The narration is superb! The voices are distinct and consistent, the pace is perfect, and the tone just right.

A bold conclusion to an impressive trilogy

Joe Abercrombie is a bold writer. I knew this about five minutes into "The Blade Itself" - but he proved it with his approach to ending the trilogy. I am SO glad that I persevered through the more gruesome and spine-tingling passages. It was worth every second.

Steven Pacey is a phenomenal narrator. His narration gave so much life to these novels, it was as though they were being acted out, not merely read aloud.


But more to Abercrombie's writing - he utilizes a couple of literary devices that I appreciated. Maybe that's the wrong term, but it's the one I shall use to describe two parts of his style:

1. Shifts in perspective. This began in Book 1 and continued seamlessly through Book 3, further enabled by the expert narration. Each character takes on different life depending upon through whose eyes he is being viewed. Glokta becomes more or less revolting, Jazel becomes more or less whiny and annoying, Logan more or less barbaric ... I thoroughly enjoyed seeing each character through his own eyes, and through the eyes of the others. The subtle shifts between characters were very bold, anticipating the reader's ability to quickly follow along and catch the changes (though these shifts may not have been so subtle in print ...) I enjoyed catching a change in pitch in the narration of a voice, to realize that the perspective had changed. Although this style was used throughout the trilogy, it became most pronounced in this third book as the action and suspense increased.

2. Use of themes/repeated phrases. Glokta repeats the phrase, "Body floating by the docks" to illustrate when he is in danger of reprimand, or to point out (subtly, yet not so subtly) when another is in equal danger. Logan has the "say one thing about Logan Ninefingers..." attached to his character. These repeat themes were witty and wise, yet not so over-used as to become cliche, annoying, or a vice of the author. Instead, they were just plain clever.

Although the third novel was not my favorite of the trilogy (that prize goes to "Before They Are Hanged"), it was expertly written and concluded with such audacity that I felt not a twinge of disappointment at finishing the trilogy, though I thirsted for more of Abercrombie's refreshing style.