Red Country

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times best seller!

They burned her home.

They stole her brother and sister.

But vengeance is following.

Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step father Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb's buried a bloody past of his own. And out in the lawless Far Country the past never stays buried.

Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into an alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust....

Red Country takes place in the same world as the First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold, and The Heroes. This novel also represents the return of Logen Ninefingers, one of Abercrombie's most beloved characters.

©2012 Joe Abercrombie (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Thrilling western style adventure in the First Law world

This side adventure may be the best in my opinion. There’s plenty of plot and character development to dig your teeth into. Steven Pacey’s performance is a class act as always. I didn’t like the fate of at least one main character but I found that apart from that it was a great story.

Glad this closed some loose ends

End of the first trilogy had me wanting for more. It was nice to tie up some of the loose ends

This was Great!

This was a great story and I finally got to revisit a character I'd been wanting to see again. A couple, in fact.

I really liked the main character Shy and I loved the flow of the story. It felt like some of the old magic was back with this novel, after trudging through The Heroes (which I didn't hate, but just found slower). The story follows a very interesting and unlikely pair of people who are on a quest to get their stolen family members after their home was destroyed. There are plenty of tie ins to The First Law trilogy and a lot of good exploration. There was one spot in the middle-ish where I thought the story got a little lost, but overall it was really good and I definitely recommend!

Just downloaded all three parts (7:55 pm)

I took a chance and tried to download again and this time it worked. I have now downloaded all three parts: Part 1 6:44:50, Part 2 6:31:14, Part 3 6:49:01. I got tired of waiting and started reading it on my Kindle. I like the audios better - especially having Steven Pacey as the narrator. He read the first three books in the First Law series (The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings).

The Return!!

Im so glad we got to experience more of the bloody nine! Wonderful journey in the first law world!

You Don't Know Joe!

Think you know Joe Abercrombie? While this book is another excellent read from an extremely talented writer, it certainly pushes the bounds of his earlier books. It has that comfortable blue jeans feel, but I could definitely feel the writer pushing out of his own comfort zone and expanding his expertise beyond war and gore. Yes, there is plenty of action, but this book goes farther afield into human interaction. I'm purposely being vague :)

You could easily read this book without having read any of his others, but if you've read the others, you will have a far deeper appreciation for the... restraint on display here. The character array is nothing short of brilliant (as usual) and the narration is beyond brilliant (also as usual)!

No big shocks, just a lot of great character development and storytelling, which is just all right with me. This means our story can continue it's bloody march forward without getting all goofy because the author overreached (as often happens in many series). When your writing is this good, you can just let the story unfold without cataclysmic end-of-the-world uber drama and leave (at least many) of your characters alive to fight another day.

So, I say bring it on Mr. Abercrombie! Stretch it on out there a bit from time to time, just retain the elements that keep those pages turning and we'll be here eagerly awaiting to immerse ourselves in your imperfect world.

maybe his best

..and they danced together, he with his half-full glass and she with her half-empty bottle


what more needs to be said?

What else could you want?

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

I would recommend this to anyone that appreciates Abercrombie's world or gritty fantasy novels. You fall into this book and are transported with the characters. You can see the action and feel the emotion.

As a bonus to those that have read the other novels, you'll run into some old friends.... or enemies.

What does Steven Pacey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Steven Pacey adds the gritty edge to the characters that lets you know that you're back in Abercrombie's world again. And you're happy to be there.

Entertaining from start to finish.

Grabs the listener from the beginning to the end. Top notch narrating brings the characters to life.

Abercrombie's early stuff is untouchable!

What did you love best about Red Country?

The return of the Bloody Nine!

What did you like best about this story?

The all star performance of Steven Pacey combined with the grimdark expert Joe Abercrombie!

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

The Bloody Nine of course! But Steven Pacey nails EVERY CHARACTER!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The bloodiest hands in the north.