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Before They Are Hanged
- The First Law: Book Two
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins
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Before They Are Hanged
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Summary
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 unprepared for the slaughter that's coming. Lacking experience, training, and in some cases even weapons, the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod's scouts, let alone his elite forces.
In the heat-ravaged south, the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta. The city is braced for the inevitable defeat and massacre to come... but a plot is festering to hand the city to its besiegers without a fight, and the previous Inquisitor of Dagoska vanished without trace. Threatened from within and without the city, Glokta needs answers, and he needs them soon.
And to the east, a small band of malefactors travel to the edge of the world to reclaim a device from history - a Seed, hidden for generations - with tremendous destructive potential. A device which could put a end to war, to the army of Eaters in the South, to the invasion of Shanka from the North - but only if it can be found, and only if its power can be controlled.
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What listeners say about Before They Are Hanged
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nina
- 15-01-17
A good middle book to a well written trilogy.
Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" trilogy is really growing on me (I have not read the 3rd book yet).
The second book in the series picks up where the first left off, upping the tempo on our journey of intrigue and danger, developing the main characters further and thrusting them deeper into the vortex of events which will leave the world around them forever changed.
The book has elements of surprise, and its only when you reach the end the that thing do not quite turn out as you expected.
The description of the war is realistic and portrayed in all it's horror. Let's be honest, war is ugly and this is where the author shows his great story writing skills.
Steven Pacey's narration is one of the best. He is soft, he is scared, he is dangerous, he is a man of many distinctive voices.
I would recommend this book to any fantasy fan.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steffen Andersen
- 01-02-21
The first law is amazing
the narration is perfect as always. And the story is superb. Starting bok 3 immediately
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Morris
- 24-10-21
2 down in 3 days.
I am moving on to the 3rd book later today! What a journey great book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- stu
- 11-11-21
Brilliant
Second book in the trilogy and it’s just as amazing if not better than the first.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 28-12-18
CAPITAL! GOOD SHOW!
This book made me cry, laugh and shiver. Pacey is a world class voice actor and brings Joes amazingly real and gray characters alive.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Naomi
- 10-08-18
Really well performed
The narrator is brilliant and the story keeps you coming back for more. Can't wait to get onto book 3 now.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Vicci
- 12-08-18
Brilliant but the same niggles apply
Narrator fabulous, but wush he'd learn to pronounce grimace properly! Author needs a better editor.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Mainprize
- 21-01-19
Thoroughly enjoyable listen
Great story, great characters. The characters are believable with flaws and petty hates and jealousies making them more real and rounded. The story itself is engaging and I'm looking forward to book 3. Normally I'll listen to another story and then come back to a series, but I'm eager to hear what happens and how it all pulls together in the end. The narration is outstanding, Pacey has done a fabulous job giving the characters voice, his range of characterisation really enhanced the experience , one minor quibble, and it might be me that's wrong, but his pronunciation of "grimacing" is not the way I pronounce it! But otherwise I rate him as possibly my favourite narrator yet in terms of bringing the story, and it's characters, to life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Trev
- 10-03-20
brilliant
loved it. steam rolled through it to just keep up with the bloody nine!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kieran McLoughlin
- 18-03-20
Solid Second Entry
I throughly enjoyed The Blade Itself. I loved the characters and the story was very interesting. This took me a little while to get into. I'm not sure why, but for the first few hours something just didn't click for me. However, once I felt the story settled I really started enjoying it. The characters and their development has always been the series strongest aspect, and it's no different here. Brilliantly developed, and beautifully real in a sense. I also really enjoyed the further fantastical aspects which started to come in as the book progressed. Of course, it's still mostly toned down fantasy, but you can sense something is coming for the third, and I'm really looking forward to get into the next one. Steven's narration is absolutely brilliant, one of the best out there. He's an absolute pleasure to listen to. In many ways, I would've given this a five. However, with the first few hours just not clicking I can't do that here. Otherwise, a fantastic read.
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