Sharp Ends

Stories from the World of the First Law

De: Joe Abercrombie

Narrado por: Steven Pacey

Sharp Ends is the ultimate collection of award-winning tales and exclusive new short stories from the master of grimdark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie.

Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue's gallery of sideshows, backstories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law.

The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta.

Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: No one seems to know what the item is.

Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp.

And after years of bloodshed, idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There's only one obstacle left - his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine….

For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:

The First Law Trilogy

The Blade Itself

Before They Are Hanged

Last Argument of Kings

Standalone Novels in the First Law World

Best Served Cold

The Heroes

Red Country

©2016 Joe Abercrombie (P)2016 Hachette Audio

For the Joe Abercrombie enthusiast

If you don't know who Joe Abercrombie is, go download The Blade Itself, then thank me later. This is a collection of short stories for the Abercrombie fans that are hungry for more of their favorite characters. Even then Joe portions them out sparingly, the basterd, and we're forced to go with characters far less interesting IMHO. Still well worth the read/listen. Steven Pacey, as always, sets the gold standard for voice actors. The man is a marvel.

Delivers again

Another great book composite of short stories of all your old favorite characters and some new ones. Give it a go

Just when I thought I was out......

Mr Ambercrombie pulls me back in. I usually do not listen to short stories, but I had to give this one a go. Wow, it was awesome. Even though the stories are like 35-55 min long each they feel longer and leave you satisfied. If you enjoy any of Mr. Abercrombie other books than this is a must. A+ Joe good Job.

Just great

I thought this would be a throw away in the first law world but it's just fantastic. should be a must read if you love the others by Joe Abercrombie on your shelf.

I will say the ending gives me a perspective on a character I really didn't want to have. but that itself is good writing really.

I loved everything about this!

I put off starting this collection for a while because it's been a long time since I finished the First Law books, and I feared that I would have forgotten too much, and also because short story collections are often disappointing, or at least uneven. I regret that decision now, and kind of only want to listen to Sharp Ends over and over forever (and I do not typically relisten to anything).

It's hard to even list all the things I liked because it was all incredible. Particularly, though, I liked the story about the package being passed from person to person. And the story at the end about 9 Fingers was chilling, and reminded me of what I loved best about the First Law, which was Abercrombie's ability to make despicable characters sympathetic. I sincerely hope there is more to come, and I won't put off listening again.

Fresh faces, old friends, and lots of blood.

Would you listen to Sharp Ends again? Why?

I'm not the type to listen again, but my girlfriend and I love The First Law books so much that I would probably sit in with her while she listens to a few of them, just to see her reactions.

What other book might you compare Sharp Ends to and why?

The obvious comparison would be to any of the other books set in this world. I was worried at first, as brevity is not a thing I associate with The First Law books, but he did a fine job of giving us brief, but very entertaining, glimpses into a his complex world.

Which scene was your favorite?

Any scene with Javre, The Lioness of Hoskopp. Her matter of factness in the face of literally any situation is wonderful.

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

Steven Pacey gets Abercrombie's intended timing, so the jokes land. Scene's between Javre and Shev illicited the most chuckles from me. Also cringing.

Any additional comments?

If you've stumbled onto this one and are kind of interested, just go listen to the rest of The First Law books first. You'll get a lot more out of this book. The first three especially, and Best Served Cold.

Great collection of stories

I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but these are great stories and a loose thread ties them together to make it a very enjoyable collection.

No Meg episodes

When you read a book the follows a POV character at different times there are always seems to be the characters that are important to the story but just boring to follow. Who got excited when finding a Breanne of Tarth chapter after Tyrion Lannister? Joe Abercrombie just doesn’t seem to bother with blunt pallet cleansers and sticks to the sharp ends. A wise man once said, “You can never have too many knives.”

Absolutely Great Stories

Absolutely love the first law series, age of madness, and anything to do with this world. This book did not disappoint. I’d definitely recommend reading the First Law and the other stand alone books before this one though, that way you’ll notice all the characters that pop up throughout the stories. Even if haven’t read them though, these short stories are pretty darn good without knowing any of the characters or their backstories.

Loved the back stories and new characters

As for the new: I absolutely loved the stories about Shev, the best thief in Westport, and Javre, the Lioness of Hoskopp. I'd love to have more stories about them and their lives.

As for the back stories: it was such fun hearing about my favorite characters and their lives before the previous books. I'm shaking my head at Nine Fingers and his choices. I've been feeling bad for him for over 150 hours of my life and now....
It was a hoot hearing about Sand dan Glokta pre-imprisonment and torture. What a sassy dandy!
Bayaz is such a trouble maker and you can see his fingers in everything as always.
The writing and narration was fantastic as always.