Red Country cover art

Red Country

A First Law Novel

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Red Country

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

 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 up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old stepfather Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb's buried a bloody past of his own, and out in the lawless Far Country, the past never stays buried.

Their journey will take them across the barren plains to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feud, duel and massacre, high into the unmapped mountains to a reckoning with the Ghosts. Even worse, it will force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, and his feckless lawyer Temple, two men no one should ever have to trust...

The past never stays buried...©2012 Joe Abercrombie Adventure Epic Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Scary Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

Highly recommended - a funny, finely-wrought, terrifically energetic work of high fantasy. Seek it out (Joe Hill)
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Red Country was one of my most eagerly awaited books for a while and it does not dissapoint. Set some time after The Heroes it is a brilliant mix of old and new characters venturing into a new land of opportunity. However, remembering what great pleasure Mr Abercrombie takes in giving his characters a rough time you can take it as red (sorry!) that things do not run smoothly. The plot is gripping and the beautifully described environment will have you wiping dust out of your eyes.



As ever Steven Paceys narration is glorious, bringing already solid characters to life.



The only thing I would say is if you are new to Joe Abercrombies work I would advise you go back to the beginning and start with the First Law Trilogy - you will be glad you did!!



More please!!!!

Gritty, Graphic and Darkly Funny

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The book:



Fans of Abercrombie's previous works will feel right at home with Red Country. This is the last of the stand alone books before another trilogy and is a good read. It's full of the violence, tension and dark humour you would expect from the author of The Heroes and Best Served Cold.



However to be honest, it's probably the weakest of the books. For me, the story line didn't flow as well as it could have and the pacing was a little off in place. It seemed that this book was setting up events that will happen further down the line. More of a prelude to the next trilogy rather than a story in its own right.



There also seemed to be an over use of previous characters from the other books and while it is a nice nod to fans of the series; it did seem forced.That said, there are some excellent new characters introduced (Temple being one of the best character I've seen in a long while). The new setting of the near and far country was also a joy to discover.



The Narration: Steven Pacey delivers another fantastic performance, he matches the tone of the book perfectly. I can't fault it at all.

The country will run red

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After not liking "The Heroes" I am very glad to be to loving this book :) Lots of new characters and the odd one or two we may have met before. If you have not listened to the the first law trilogy, this book is very good and stands fine alone without knowing the past history, it would even be a good starting point and treating the trilogy as a prequel would be very entertaining. If you have listened to the others you will be very happy with this book and I recommend you download it.

Excellent..

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This must be one of the best audio productions I have ever listened to, a fantastic performance by the narrator Steven Pacey who's superb narration was just mind-blowing! He really out-did himself here. Once finished I actually felt like clapping! As far as the story is concerned, at first I wasn't too sure about this. A western? Really ? However, this is Joe Abercrombie, and Logen Ninefingers makes a comeback! Reasons enough to get thisone!. And I am so glad I did. Essentially Red Country is a snapshot of another episode in the life of a much older Logen and turned out to be, in true Abercrombie fashion, another very gritty story but also a very engaging and very witty one. The black humour and quotable lines, especially by loveable mercenary-villain, Nicomo Cosca, are just superb. And although a stand-alone novel, ideally this should be listened to/read after the First Law trilogy, it will make the enjoyment of Red Country and the comeback of Logen aka "The Bloody Nine" so much more satisfying. An excellent novel and wonderful performance, do yourself a favour and listen to it!

By the Dead! What a Performance!

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Great to see some quality characters back and some new favourites arriving on the scene.

Thoroughly recommend this and I think of the three books post The First Law trilogy this is my favourite.

Great plot, great characters, great twists and turns and fantastic narration again.

Brilliant

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