2016 July Aug (a) Joe Abercrombie's First Law Series

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Joe Abercrombie's First Law series...including stand alone books of the same world.

[Periklis, Fafhrd (Emeritus)]

Just ordered my copy of the First Law anthology, Sharp Ends. A couple of stories I've read so far (published elsewhere) were as powerful as Abercrombie's early entries in the series.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

I think we could use a First Law aficionado to explain the series and suggest whether to start with a stand alone one ? Any help here?

[Periklis, Fafhrd (Emeritus)]

I'd go for Red Country as a stand alone entry. Otherwise, The Blade Itself is a good way to get hooked on Abercrombie's world-building and characters.
The First Law trilogy sets the mood and all the books after, offer the same thrills yet different settings and/or characters. Most of them make small appearances in the stand alone books.
He reminds me a bit of Quentin Tarantino's movie-verse. Best Served Cold actually reads like a sword-and-sorcery take on Kill Bill...

[[deleted user]]

S.E. wrote: "I think we could use a First Law aficionado to explain the series and suggest whether to start with a stand alone one ? Any help here?"

NO!!! Start with The Blade Itself, finish the trilogy, then proceed to Best Served Cold, Heroes, and Red Country - in that order. The events of the previous books often get mentioned in the following, so you will get spoilers.

[Greg]

Evgeny wrote: "S.E. wrote: "I think we could use a First Law aficionado to explain the series and suggest whether to start with a stand alone one ? Any help here?"

NO!!! Start with The Blade Itself, finish the t..."

Evgeny is absolutely correct in this and now you can sneak Sharp Ends in their somewhere's amongst the those last 3 stand-alones. Sharp Ends is Abercrombie's anthologies of the shorts he's done of the characters.