Sharp Ends

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

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

Fun stories but not enough content to be great

Having enjoyed all 6 existing books in Abercrombie's First Law series I find myself always craving for more. That is why I picked up Sharp Ends despite the fact that I tend to not like collections of short stories. Add on that Steven Pacey narrated this audiobook and there was no way I could resist it. The Abercrombie/Pacey combo is one of the best that I have ever listened to and the two of them just bring out the best in each other. Pacey's narration of these characters is just superb and I highly recommend that you give the entire series a listen even if you have already read it. To my delight many of my favorite characters from the prior books do make an appearance in these short stories including, but not limited to, Glokta, Logen, Dogman, Bethod, Whirrun, and Nicomo Cosca. However, in the end, the short story format left me wanting more and feeling unsatisfied as favorite characters appeared and were gone before I knew it.

Most of the stories with the characters mentioned above are short and are over way too quickly. That would be fine if some of them didn't feel incomplete at the same time. Spending time with Glokta before he was captured was quite entertaining but when the events are interrupted by an attack the story abruptly ends. I kept expecting a return to flush out what happens next but it never happened. Get used to it. There is one particular story thread that goes on for quite a while but it is the exception and not the rule in this collection. Most of the stories end quickly and a few times you are left hanging without a real resolution. So if you want to spend a little time with some old friends then go ahead and give this one a chance, but you should go in knowing that it will be over way before you want it to be.

Two interesting side notes. One, Joe Abercrombie reads a portion of one of the stories and while he isn't Steven Pacey he does a decent job as a narrator, and two, there is a mini interview at the end in which Abercrombie and Pacey answer a few questions about their respective creative processes. I did find the interview to be enjoyable and entertaining and I do hope that these two collaborate on additional full length stories in the future. However, this is all we get for now so I end this with an appropriate quote from the First Law series - "A man lost in the desert must take such water as he is offered."

A Great Return To The World We Love

Steven Pacey reading Joe Abercrombie may just be my favorite audible flavor. Something about that combination is just so compelling. Joe is of course a premiere - if not the preeminent- fantasy author, so much credit must be given him, but Pacey brings life to the material in a way that is hard to fathom. Michael Page is quite talented, but to me, Pacey is Abercrombie. And this collection of short stories is like cool cucumber water to a man fresh from the wastes. It's only a cup, but it's worth the price at twice the cost. For those nervous about the short story aspect of the endeavor, as I was, I suggest you keep your expectations low and dive in. There's more here than one would expect from a collection of short stories, which I generally disfavor.

More sucking of teeth and spitting

Which is a great part of the books.
Fantastic addition to the novels. Well worth the credit to read.

Left wanting more

Seems like most people are thrilled with this but for me this is not what Joe Abercrombie is about. I love the epic flavour of The First Law books (journey/battle/journey/battle) with the great character portrayal and development throughout the tale.

So I suppose the stories are OK, and OK for Joe Abercrombie equates with good for most other authors. I just wanted more.

Deleted scenes

The book was pretty much what was edited out of his books with a story woven throughout it. This reminds me of Neil Gaimens Trigger warnings. It's like the publisher rush the author to put something out. To shut them up the author gives them the trash sitting on their desks.

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.

The perfect marriage

I’d venture a guess that you’ll not find a narrator as well suited to characters in this series as Steven Pacey. As for the author, the last chapter of this book pretty well explains why these stories have breathed new life into the Fantasy genre. It’s like that scene in Avatar where Jake has to “take things to whole new level”, well that’s what Joe does and he’s up there by himself. Thank God Steven got the contract to read his books. Simply incredible - all of them.

Abercrombie (author) + Pacey (narrator) = 🥰🥰🥰

My favorite author's works narrated by the absolute best in the business, Steven Pacey, makes for a fantastic read! If you haven't read the First Law series, start there. Pacey narrates them all!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Backstory to First Law

Great to hear a lot of missing backstory to the entire series. Joe reads too!

More of the same, a little differently.

I've loved all of the First Law audiobooks, including this collection of short stories. New characters begin fresh adventures, old characters turn up to fill in gaps and shed new light on previous tales. Great stuff as always.