I am still alive!

Imagine Dumas and Stendhal were thrown into a dungeon and told to knock out something post-Tolkien with beefed-up sordid realism and judicious dashes of cheek and swearing. Their jailers, Robert E Howard and Raymond Chandler, may add a few bon mots should they feel inclined; and, while they're at it, they should also reanimate Arthur C Clarke for a wonderfully strange segment in the middle. Fortunately we have Joe Abercrombie, so you don't have to.

To describe the plot may make it seem like many other fantasy fictions out there, but it isn't. It's not the stuff of doom and gloom either. Bayaz the affable wide boy magus, but woe betide you if you disrupt his bath time, has a cunning plan, the ramifications of which presumably play out over the trilogy. To this end he draws in diverse characters to the capital city of the Union (itself about to enter a war on two fronts). Our adventurers are already on the hop before they are drawn in, and, in some cases, beset by hazards both human and somewhat beyond. And it's the somewhat beyond that interests Bayaz. There are numerous intertwining threads beyond this though that reach out across Abercrombie's world. The characters are skillfully drawn---so much so, that the novel could be regarded as fantasy's The Wire.

Mr Abercrombie, perhaps tapping into his skills as a film editor, brings a seemingly effortless pace to proceedings. There is a sense of reality too: the protagonists seldom leave confrontations unscathed, and even use of magic has a price.

Which brings us to Steven Pacey. His narration is extraordinarily good. The book has a huge cast, and Mr Pacey imbues each and every one of it, including female characters, with a recognisable and believable voice (so much so, I began to wonder if he had smuggled Sean Locke and Pete Postlethwaite, and many more, into the recording sessions). Yes, Mr Pacey deserves an audio-Oscar (and a proper one too).

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38 people found this helpful

Fabulous

Absolutely amazing
Brilliant, Brilliant,Brilliant
I haven’t enjoyed anything as much in over 10years
Funny, engaging totally emerging

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1 person found this helpful

slow but brilliant

OK so this is a slow start to this series and for some that may be too slow. for me the absolute masterful way the author builds the characters make it more than worth it. they leap off the page as real as if they were sat there with you , with all their flaws and.good points laid bare. add the excellent narrator to this and you have a 5/5 all day long. you will hate some characters that haven't really done anything too bad and love people with the blackest of hearts.

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1 person found this helpful

Very good.

Now that, is a cracking yarn with some great characters. I would recommend this book to anyone.

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unbelievable

Fantastic story, full-bodied characters - minus a finger here and there, brilliant voice acting. Loved it.

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fantastic!!

amazing from start to finish! story, characters and narrator is 10/10. highly recommend. This writer is just so precise in details, yet never too long to describe the setting. condensed, packed and vivid language!

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Best book series on audible

This is my favourite series of books. Performed by one of if not the best voice actor still working. The whole thing is just very well done from the first book to the ninth.

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Beyond epic!!!

Need the next book and fast!!!!! I absolutely loved this book and the narrator is a genius :-)

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Really Enjoyable, not quite 5 stars

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Joe Abercrombie's First Law Universe is an interesting place and fairly well fleshed out. The pacing is good with a good balance of fantasy/intrigue/violence and humor. The characters are generally great, particularly Glokta and Byaz (I find Ferro a bit irritating), but some of the themes (magic, orcs (shankur) are a little played out now and not the most original concepts. Overall really enjoyed the book and the narration was generally fantastic (with a couple of caveats below).

Why not five stars:

Story
I really like the character of nine fingers, who is arguably the main protagonist of the piece, however I think the reason I like him is that he's very heavily based on my favorite comic book character, Wolverine. His name, his appearance (apart from his size) that fact he's a fast healer, and other parts of his personality that I won't ruin, are very closely based on Marvel's own Logan. Byaz even exclaims 'he's the best there is at what he does' at one point! I also found a couple of the other characters a bit irritating, namely Jazowl and Ferro.

Narration
Genuinely excellent narration is provided throughout by Steven Pacey (particularly when reading Glokta's chapters). However, a couple of the voices are clearly based on Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Although first class impressions of these people, it can be a little jarring. I kept expecting one character to exclaim 'you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!'

Overall this is a really enjoyable listen and highly recommended. I look forward to reading/listening to the next book. However, it’s not quite in the same league as the top tier of fantasy novels like GOT.

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say one thing for Joe Abercrombie

say he can write a really fu**ing good book. It has recently usurped Scott lynch's gentleman bastards series as my favourite, upon second reading. and Abercrombie actually releases books these days.

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