The First Law Trilogy

The *First Law Trilogy* by Joe Abercrombie is nothing short of a modern fantasy masterpiece. From the first page to the last, this series grabs hold of you with its dark, unforgiving world and never lets go. It’s gritty, violent, and sometimes even cruel—but it’s all delivered with such finesse and wit that it becomes a brilliant, captivating experience. Abercrombie crafts a world that feels alive, yet utterly bleak. There are no shining heroes or easy victories here. Instead, you get morally gray characters who are as flawed as they are fascinating. Whether it’s the tortured Inquisitor Glokta, the barbarian warrior Logen Ninefingers, or the cocky nobleman Jezal dan Luthar, each character is meticulously developed, with their personal struggles laid bare for all to see. You’ll love them, hate them, and everything in between—but you’ll never stop caring about what happens next. What sets *The First Law* apart from typical fantasy is its unflinching realism. The battles are brutal, the politics ruthless, and the magic—when it appears—feels raw and dangerous. Abercrombie doesn’t shy away from showing the harshness of the world he’s built. It’s a place where idealism dies quickly, and survival often means compromising your soul. Yet, for all its darkness, the writing is sharp and incisive. Abercrombie’s style is dry, witty, and often darkly humorous, making even the bleakest moments enjoyable. The plot twists come fast and hard, leaving you breathless and desperate for more, as alliances shift and betrayals strike like daggers. The trilogy’s themes of power, corruption, and the cyclical nature of violence are woven deeply into the narrative, creating a story that feels as thought-provoking as it is thrilling. Abercrombie challenges your perceptions of good and evil, forcing you to grapple with the choices the characters make. If you're looking for a series that defies fantasy conventions, that embraces the dark and gritty realities of a world where happy endings are a rarity, *The First Law Trilogy* is an absolute must-read. It’s an unforgettable journey into a world that is brutal, beautiful, and utterly compelling. Prepare to be haunted long after you’ve turned the final page.

Okay, I have only got through the first third of the first book, but it was so good that I wanted to see what else Joe Abercrombie has published. I was very surprised to see so few reviews for this book. First thing I thought when I started was: This guy can write! Second thing I thought: This guy can write great characters! The first chapters introduce us to the main characters and the world they inhabit. You get a very clear picture of these characters with the authors great descriptions, and the world comes alive as the characters inhabit their place in it. Abercrombie's writing is crisp and snappy, his characters fully three-dimensional, no fluff, no filler! I I think another reviewer compared this to Game of Thrones, and I think in some ways that is fair. Each chapter is from a different characters point of view, there is a lot of political gamesmanship and backstabbing, motives are unclear, mysteries are slowly revealed and the characters come to life in the action and unfolding of the plot, and the magical elements are not overwhelming. Unlike Game of Thrones (which I thoroughly enjoyed!) there are not as many characters to keep track of so it is not as dense. The pace of The Blade Itself is therefore a bit faster and an easier read. But that does not mean it is not full of great characters and great writing. Seriously, this is great stuff! I have been reading quite a bit of fantasy between non-fiction stuff and read this trilogy and was pretty much blown away from the start. Abercrombie is a fantastic writer and has created an amazing group of characters. The story and the characters will pull you along and it's a difficult series to put down. I'm just glad I had all three books to rip through without waiting. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and was excited to see how it was all going to end. Not the way I thought - but that's a good thing! The only complaint is that I wanted more. His characters are so fully three-dimensional and well written that you can smell them! I was disappointed that everything wasn't neatly wrapped up and resolved, but my understanding is that Abercrombie will revisit these characters in a future series. All the characters initially seem like types familiar from the fantasy genre: the hero, the wizard, the evil manipulator, the warrior, the female warrior, etc. But the skill and talent of Abercrombie is to take those types and fully flesh them out so they are more than just types you have seen before. Compare these characters to say those of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I daresay Abercrombies are more fully developed, with conflicting desires and motives, with a fair share of good and evil within them that stops them from being cliched.

I’m a fan of fantasy. Not a huge one, but you can’t drink up Tolkien from the age of short-pants and not be a fan. I’ve flitted in and out of reading the genre over the course of the last thirty years or so, and have eyed Abercrombie’s books on the shelves of shops and libraries for the last 15 odd years, but never picked them up. First, the missing star: Abercrombie is a “grim dark” fantasy author. If you’re not familiar with it (I wasn’t, beyond occasionally hearing it and thinking it was a cool sounding phrase), it’s basically “adult” fantasy, as far as I can tell. Not X-rated or pornographic, mind you, just very violent, no good guys or bad guys, moral gray areas, that kinda thing. “Game of Thrones” is in that sub-genre from what I hear. Not saying there’s anything wrong with it, and the “light vs. the darkness” in the Tolkien mould does get a little samey when it’s the only thing around. Still, the cynical aspects of the grim dark stuff, the hopelessness of a lot of it, does rub me the wrong way sometimes. Again, not saying there’s anything *wrong* with it, but to my mind, it smacks a bit of a teenager reading Nietzche and then saying he/she is a nihilist, without realizing that he/she is mistaking a “no I mean I *really* don’t care” attitude for being deep. The emphasis on “gritty” and “realistic” and other words people use instead of saying that the characters are all fallible human beings can get a little tiresome. Some think it makes the fiction better, but it’s just different. I will always enjoy the classic light vs dark stories. Yknow, classic star wars and that kinda stuff. Now, the 4 stars: this trilogy is fun. I mean FUN! Abercrombie has great talent as a writer, which means you’ve blown through a mess of pages and are now late for doing something else you were supposed to do. You can almost “watch” the story unfold, with the way he writes Also, the black humor is genuinely funny. Actual, laugh out loud jokes. The story is dark, don’t get me wrong, but he has a talent for making you feel that you know the characters. Not friends, really, but acquaintances you don’t mind who are a good time, as long as you know where the exits are. The real winner for me, though: No one, single part of these stories is particularly original (stay with me here). The setting, the magic, the characters, the plot points. It’s all stuff that is… not stock, necessarily, but not anything mind-blowingly new. You’ll recognize every facet of this tale. BUT! Abercrombie’s arrangement of these well worn pieces is inspired. Again, I recognized every last part of the story, setting, and characters from plenty of other stuff I’ve read. The fact he’s a film editor means that makes sense. The barbarian, wizard, fop, former dashing noble turned torturer (Sand Dan Glokta, my personal favorite character), the dangerous wild woman; all characters you’ve met before. Not a “good v evil” story, but that’s the norm now, especially in fantasy. I was glued to this trilogy. I work with my hands, as a handyman, farm hand, and low-key farmer myself, and every free moment I had, I was glued to whichever of the three I was reading at the time. It’s *enjoyable.* It’s *fun.* It’s not “important” or “groundbreaking” or any other word you’d use to describe a lot of the navel-gazing that passes for literature, which I will read because I’m a pretentious b*stard. But it is an absolute pleasure to read. We have a book exchange in town near me, and I blew my trade in credit to get two more of Abercrombie’s books after I finished these. Books can be difficult (Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O’Connor) or classic (Salman Rushdie, George Eliot) or thought provoking and deep (Chuang-tzu, Soren Kierkegaard). But what Abercrombie reminds us, specifically for fantasy, but also in general, is that it’s also supposed to be fun. A good time and characters you are genuinely sorry to say goodbye to. That is also what makes a good book, not just deep themes and heavy layers. In short, loses a star because I’m stodgy and Victorian and a bit of a self-important d*uche. Four stars for excellent writing and dialogue, emotional engagement, and being, above all, fun. Highly recommend

Forget the fanboy hype. This trilogy is truly as good as people say. This is epic fantasy that is gritty and deeply satisfying because of its realistic characters; atmospheric depiction of people and environments; and, mysterious, converging plot lines. Readers hype this series because it is just such a different read from the typical tropes they find in popular fantasy. Characters are real, they have mixed motivations, they make wise and rash decisions. It feels like these are stories about people, not an invented cast. Artifacts, beasts, magic, monsters, technology and weapons are present in a pre-industrial world. The author's refreshing narration of situations, conversations, thoughts, and environments are Atmospheric: setting moods for the reader using compact descriptions to relate details that are highly interpretive to the circumstances. This abstract style transports the reader into the book to visualize and feel what is occurring without the author overly describing details. If you like copious minutiae, and high literary content, you will probably hate these books. The plot delivery borrows from modern cinematic techniques used in mystery thrillers without being a detective procedural. The reader does not know what the plot is until it gradually takes shape through the perspective of five or six characters. There is a sense of dread and mystery to the potential result of every chase, discovery, fight, intrigue, and use of magic. The pacing moves from fast to slow repetitively, influencing the reader to question the impact of events in the story, and further making the end unpredictable. In terms of genre, this trilogy fits into the Epic High fantasy category but is distinctly more glum and violent when compared to classic and modern counterpart series; but still not reaching a level for inclusion in the Grimdark genre. Writings by author, David Gemmell, must have been an influence on this series, specifically his book "Legend." When George R.R. Martin dies without finishing A Song of Ice and Fire, his estate should hire Joe Abercrombie to finish the series.

This was my first Abercrombie read, and he has quickly become one of my favourite fantasy authors. This world building is truly amazing, with such a dark, tired and gritty world. The characters are superbly written, where all of them are both good and bad and very realistic. The plot is fast paced and bloody, and there is so much happening. A really awesome, original but classic fantasy.

What can be said that is new.... This is the best series of this genre and one of the best modern books I have ever read. Here Abrecrombe has developed some of the best characters anyone has ever assembles with arches that make sense, not trying to subvert your expectations of them. Every character whether you like them or not is flushed out, dynamic and has a role to play. Every character is important to progression of the story, their path is strategically laid out before them and they don't trip over themselves. The use of convenient plot devises is minimal which is surprising when magic is involved. Interestingly, in my view here the magic is almost a character of its own, minor, plays a pivotal role, not overarching and frightening as anything. Best of all it is not used as plot armor for the most part. No giant eagles on their way........ Book 1 is set up, character introduction and very little exposition. Book 2 is a traditional quest, lots of exposition and setup for the finally. Book 3 is the climax, the outcome in every sense of the word. The action is out of this world and the storyline is direct. Characters who's motivation or reasoning was not clear from the previous books was elucidated and flushed out. Everyone has a place and a reason, really no one was left behind in these books. Now don't get me wrong, there are some characters that I did not particularly like and one outcome that I did not fully agree'd with but even those were integral to the story. There were things that were too convenient but I did not find them to be a device. They were planned and it was apparent, just convenient. Anyway, this is a great series with the best characterization of the grim dark genre. Worth the reading

Absolutely amazing books. My only gripe is that the story isn’t technically a “trilogy” there’s several other books that continue the story but from different perspectives and characters. So if you have it in your head that you can just read these three books and get the entire story, it doesn't really work like that. And you will want to keep reading after you finish this trilogy because it is that interesting. Also Glokta is literally Dr. House and once you get it in your head you can’t erase it.

It's to the author's credit that he made an unrepentant torturer a sympathetic character - and that's only one example. The series is brutal, but human and really funny. Not least for the tongue-in-cheek treatment of "genre" cliches. Also, Abercrombie has an ear for dialogue, a woefully rare trait in this "genre." It's not as unpredictable or involved as A Song of Ice & Fire, but it certainly is more deliberately fun. However, the story falls apart in the third volume. This being fantasy I expected some magic, but an overly-powerful & insufficiently explained magic system dominates more & more of the plot. What really bothered me is that the practioners of this art show their hand & in effect render everything - the triumphs & tragedies, the insight & growth - utterly meaningless. The players have changed, but the game is the same. As a storyteller myself, I realize not every character can have a happy ending, but my god, must everyone suffer? The last 100 pages are so depressing, watching the true villain gloat & everyone you've finally come to like after 1,500 pages is either dead or dying, insane, emotionally destroyed, had their will broken or are right back where they started. I guess that's what bothers me: So much movement, & yet no one goes anywhere. Joe Abercrombie is noteworthy, but he's not George R.R. Martin by a long stretch. Martin's a rogue, but he occasionally throws fans a bone. Abercrombie's all gristle.

Read it twice. Translated then in its original version. Amazing piece of littérature. Great and so original characters. Better read it than never have heard or it!

It was damaged on the edge

Un infaltable si se es aficionado al genero fantástico. En la trilogía de la primera ley acompañamos a Logen Nine-Fingers, el hombre mas temido en el norte, en su viaje a travez del Circulo del Mundo. A Sand dan Glokta, quien busca la verdad de una conspiracion en contra del rey mismo. A Bayaz, el primero de los Magi, lleno de mentiras y sin duda el personaje mas despreciable de la saga. A Ferro Maljin y su profundo odio hacia los Gurkos. Y a Jezal dan Luthar, quien sin duda es el mas afortunado del grupo.

Bought this for my kids and they loved it :-)

A truly brilliand and thougoly interesting story. If you like dark and gritty stories where no character is the hero and everyone is characterised by their flaws, their past, and the weight of their choices, this story is a must read!