Last Argument of Kings
David Gemmell Legend Award nominee 2008.
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 stop 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. As his days with a sword are far behind him, it's fortunate that he's deadly with his remaining weapons: blackmail, threats, and torture.
Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is too painful an undertaking, and turned his back on soldering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too – and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.
The King of the Union lies on his deathbed, the peasants revolt, and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is about to fall across the heart of the Union. Only the First of the Magi can save the world – but there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, than to break the First Law...
People Also Read
Joe Abercrombie
In the grimy taverns and blood-soaked battlefields of modern fantasy, Joe Abercrombie’s name is spoken with equal parts awe and amusement. Known for dragging epic fantasy out of its shining armor and into the mud, Abercrombie has built a reputation for turning genre conventions on their heads—then lopping those heads clean off.
Born in Lancaster, England in 1974, Abercrombie didn’t set out to be the crown prince of grimdark fiction. He studied psychology at Manchester University, worked as a freelance film editor, and quietly began drafting a story filled with flawed warriors, crooked politics, and sharp tongues. That story became The Blade Itself, the first book in The First Law trilogy—a debut that landed with a thud, a cheer, and the metallic ring of steel meeting steel. From there, the world of Logen Ninefingers, Glokta, and Jezal dan Luthar took on a life of its own, where even the heroes are liars, cowards, or worse—and the villains are often more honest.
The First Law Trilogy
The First Law Trilogy consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series World of the First Law
Book Reviews
I loved the first two books of this series and naturally had high expectations for the final one. Abercrombie is brilliant, Last Argument of Kings was as good as I hoped but in a different way than I anticipated.. The tone of the story stays the same, dark and grim and regardless of the fact that it happens in a fantasy world, it has realism in it that made me feel the sword cuts, smell the burning bodies and hear the death cries. Only thing that bothered me slightly was the ending that left too much open. I liked the fact that the door was left ajar for new stories but with some things I would have liked to see less ambiguous endings. (This is the point about which I've seen the most negative opinions) Abercrombie threw traditional fantasy cliches out of the window and made The First Law trilogy a great reading experience.