Best Served Cold

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Springtime in Styria. And that means war.

There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, and behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.

War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too. Her victories have made her popular -- a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto's reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.

Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started. . .

Critic reviews

"The battles are vivid and visceral, the action brutal, the pace headlong, and Abercrombie piles the betrayals, reversals, and plot twists one atop another to keep us guessing how it will all come out. This is his best book yet." --- George R.R. Martin

"Joe Abercrombie takes the grand tradition of high fantasy literature and drags it down into the gutter, in the best possible way. Monza is a beautiful mercenary who has sworn to kill the seven men who tried to kill her. No elves, no wands - just lots of down-and-dirty swordplay." --- Time

"Abercrombie is both fiendishly inventive and solidly convincing, especially when sprinkling his appallingly vivid combat scenes with humor so dark that it's almost ultraviolet." --- Publishers Weekly

Incredible writing, legendary narration

I've come to really enjoy Joe Abercrombie's writing, and this is his best story yet. It is fast paced, yet detailed. Hard edged, but tender. Bloody, yet touching. As flawed as the characters are, Abercrombie puts you inside each of their heads, giving you a deep connection with them all. Pacey breathes incredible life into these characters with his distinct voices and accents and his terribly consistent performance made me want to listen to every second. A narration of the top quality.

Lots of action and awesome characters/narration.

After going through the First Law series, this is what I needed, several characters from that series have pretty big parts in the story. This book can certainly be enjoyed without reading the First Law trilogy. Also it is definitely rated R FYI

Not what I expected from Abercrombie

Rather more of the hard core sex than I expect from this author based on having read first The First Law trilogy. I personally didn't see as it served the plot in any way; struck me more as a published writing exercise, I'm sure that I'm in the minority in finding it detracting from the tale.
Otherwise it has the strong; morally complex characters you expect in this world and the story is a good change of pace; being a smaller scale, more personal tale of revenge.

Gritty

Joe Abercrombie knows pain. Every detail of pain is vivid. I didn't like this as much as the series but it deffinatly has the same streanths. And the perofrmance is amazing.

Rollicking fun ride!

Rollicking fun ride, fast-paced, gripping story, and an absolutely outstanding performance by the narrator. You'll love it!