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

Fantastic

Loved it. Just as good as book two.

Great finish - Great series

Enjoyed this final book in the series very much. The ending was different than what I expected but did not detract from the story at all. Loved the narration, made for a very easy listen. Some have complained about the strong language throughout, for me it made it more lifelike. Spend your credits and listen, you won't be disappointed!

Abercrombie’s finest work.

He just keeps getting better. No author today writes better characters. He is completely underrated

Worth every minute

Say one thing for this book - say it’s full to the brim! The first law trilogy was well worth every minute. Great narration, amazing plot points tied together and plenty of satisfaction.

The ending fits nicely for me. Life goes on.

Best audio book I’ve ever listen to

This whole trilogy is one of the best written, best voice acted audiobooks I have ever listened to. I cannot express how much I love these books. 

Voice characterization! The story and characters are compelling, but the narrator brings them alive.

Story. Inquisitor Dan Glotka. Brilliant narration and voice characterizations. One of my All-time favorites!

IN WAR, THE ONLY CRIME, IS TO LOSE

AH, YOUR WIT IS SO VERY SHARP, I HARDLY NOTICED I WAS EVER CUT.
This is book three and to really enjoy this series you need to start at book one. The best fantasy writers build their stories around the characters, not the story and Abercrombie is one of the best fantasy writers. I enjoyed book one the best, then book two and then this book, but all three are great books. Superior Glokta is my favorite character. You have to be a good writer to make a man who makes his living torturing people, a favorite character that you rout for. There has been a lot of talk about the ending. I believe he left it open ended so he could return to it, if he wanted. Nobody's story ends until they die, so the only why for a final, final, would be to kill off everyone.

YOU CAN'T REALLY HATE A MAN, WITHOUT LOVING HIM FIRST.
If this book would have ended about four hours earlier, I could have given it five stars. Towards the end of the book, The Seed takes over. For over twenty hours I listened to some of the best writing I have ever listened to, and then it was like a light went off in JA's brain, Oh Yeah, this is a fantasy. Everything to do with The Seed was just a distraction and just did not seem to fit in with the rest of the story. Also, even though Glokta was my favorite character, he was getting too predictable toward the end. He constantly talks to himself and it got to where I knew what he was going to mumble to himself before he did. These are small complaints, but it was enough to rank the story itself at four instead of five stars.

Narrator was excellent

Now let me leave you with a few of the powerful lessons of life, I learned.

LIFE IS A SERIES OF THINGS WE RATHER NOT DO.
LIFE IS FULL OF DISAPPOINTMENT.
LIFE IS MEAT.
LIFE IS THE MISERY WE ENDURE BETWEEN DISAPPOINTMENTS.
THAT IS WHAT LIFE IS, A BUNCH OF ERRANDS.
IT IS BETTER TO DO IT, THEN LIVE WITH THE FEAR OF IT.
SOMETIMES IT CAN BE BETTER TO LIVE WITH THE FEAR OF IT, THEN TO DIE DOING IT.
IT'S NOT HOW YOU DIE, BUT HOW YOU LIVE THAT COUNTS.
FRIENDS ARE THE ONES WE PRETEND TO LIKE IN ORDER TO MAKE LIFE MORE BEARABLE.
SOMETIMES LOSING AN ENEMY, CAN BE WORSE THEN LOSING A FRIEND.
POWERFUL MEN CAN AFFORD NO FRIENDS.

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY KNIVES.
IT'S ALWAYS THE BLADE YOU DON'T SEE THAT CUTS YOU THE DEEPEST.

SOME MEN ALWAYS WANT MORE.
GREAT JOURNEYS START WITH SMALL STEPS.
FREEDOM IS FAR OVER RATED.
HOPING FOR A THING, DON'T MAKE IT HAPPEN.
AMAZING, THE RUBBISH IDIOTS WILL BELIEVE, IF YOU SHOUT IT LOUD ENOUGH.
DOES THE DEVIL, KNOW HE IS THE DEVIL?

THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH ANSWERS, THEY ARE NEVER AS EXCITING AS THE QUESTION.

A Classic

This book is the last of the trilogy, I think. What applies to this book, applies to the other two.
This guy can write fantasy! Great characterization. No strength without frailty, no goodness
without evil. Even when they do the unexpected, it makes human sense. And they do quite
a bit of that.
Yes, there are
demons and magic here, but they are only the condiments. They add spice but don't overpower
the main course. The plot lines are twisty and complex but the author does a great job in
providing enough direction so the reader never gets confused or lost.
There is enough wit and humor to keep things moving with a zippy pace. And, again, the
laughs come at the most unexpected times. Abercrombie writes with clarity and a marvelous
sense of pace. The ending to this book, which seems to end the trilogy, is not "and they
lived happily, ever after." It is as imaginative and thought provoking as the end of
a Ray Bradbury short story. This is what I always look for but almost never find...a great
original.
And, Steven Pacey's narration is first rate and makes all three come alive.

What do you mean its over?

I was a bit unsure of this series when I first started it. I am not a huge fan of political intrigue and plots within plots. However, as the first book came to an end, I was hooked. The second book was wonderful and right up until the end the third was as well.
Then alas disaster. It seems as if Mr. Abercrombie had a pressing appointment the day he finished this book. Everything was coming together and the story was winding down when all of a sudden it was over. I can expect that from a second book or even a first in a series, but when you have invested this much time into enjoying an author and his story to have it end floating in the midst of nowhere is a bit of a let down.

say one thing about the first law series

Great series, I have listened to it multiple times and was entertaining the entire way through the three books. Great story and great narrator.