Book Series Guide

Joe Abercrombie · shared-world

The First Law World books in order

A shared fantasy world encompassing The First Law trilogy, related standalone novels, short-fiction collections, and the Age of Madness trilogy.

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Reading order

Only reading orders present in the catalog are shown. Optional novellas and companion works can be hidden without changing the underlying sequence.

Publication order

  1. 1
    The Blade Itself

    Book 1 · novel · 2006

    Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian -- leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.…

  2. 2
    Before They Are Hanged

    Book 2 · novel · 2007

    Bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It's bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that's coming. Lacking experience, training,…

  3. 3
    Last Argument of Kings

    Book 3 · novel · 2008

    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…

  4. 4
    Best Served Cold

    Book 4 · novel · 2009

    War may be hell, but for Monza Murcatto, a solider of considerable fortune; 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 and left for dead,…

  5. 5
    The Heroes

    Book 5 · novel · 2011

    Set over three days, "The Heroes"--the new novel by the author of "Best Served Cold"--is about violence and ambition, gruesome deaths and betrayals, and the brutal truth that no plan survives contact with the enemy.

  6. 6
    Red Country

    Book 6 · novel · 2012

    "Abercrombie writes fantasy like no one else." - The Guardian They burned her home. They stole her brother and sister. But vengeance is following. Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen…

  7. 7
    Sharp Ends

    Book 7 · short-story-collection · 2016

    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…

  8. 8
    A Little Hatred

    Book 8 · novel · 2019

    From New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie comes the first book in a new blockbuster fantasy trilogy where the age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. The chimneys of industry rise over Adua and the…

  9. 9
    The Trouble with Peace

    Book 9 · novel · 2020

    Despite the peace, unrest snakes through each layer of society, the Breakers still lurk in the shadows, and Orso struggles to find a path through the maze of politics.

  10. 10
    The Wisdom of Crowds

    Book 10 · novel · 2021

    Chaos. Fury. Destruction. The Great Change is upon us . . . Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of…

  11. 11
    The Great Change (and Other Lies)

    Book 11 · short-story-collection · 2023