Before They Are Hanged: The First Law: Book Two: 2

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Glokta frowned, his twitching eyes moving from the two broken corpses to the cowering girl, his head spinning from the effort, and the heat, and the stink. ‘Well this is very cosy. What have they told you?’

Glokta grimaced and snarled his way across the square, jolted and barged and painfully shoved at every limping step. It was only when they finally emerged from the crowds at the far side that he realised they were standing in the very shadow of a vast and graceful building, rising arch upon arch, dome upon dome, high over the crowds. Delicate spires at each corner soared into the air, slender and frail. Shivers is a main POV character introduced as a newcomer to Styria via Westport with a wish to be a better man and find honest work that doesn't involve endless battles. Spurred on by tales from a merchant about the niceness of Styria, he has high expectations that he'll be able to find himself a niche, but encounters prejudice and problems from the onset, resorting to begging and taking odd jobs to barely keep his head above water. He is subsequently rescued by Monza Murcatto when four bandits attempt to steal the last of his belongings and she offers him a job to take a message to a man in a tavern. Deciding that he needs the money, he takes her job and the knife she offers. Joe Abercrombie is one of the best character writers I’ve ever read. Yes, I’ve read books where there may be one character whom I’ve enjoyed, but never have I read a book series where I’ve genuinely been fascinated to be reading each person’s story and their personality arcs and what they’re going to do next. Before They Are Hanged final rating – 4.5/5

The book follows three distinct sets of characters as war breaks out on two fronts. In the south, Sand dan Glokta and his inquisitors attempt to repel a Gurkish invasion of the city of Dagoska, the Union's sole possession on the continent, won some decades earlier at great cost. In the North, the book follows Colonel West and the Northmen as they attempt to deal with Bethod, who intends to force the Union out of Angland, their principal northern possession. Finally, the book follows Logen Ninefingers and his companions as they journey into the far west of their world with the sorcerer Bayaz, First of the Magi, seeking out a powerful and dangerous ancient artifact known as the Seed. The book makes it explicit that all these events are interconnected and part of the greater machinations of a sorcerer called Khalul, Second of the Magi and one of Bayaz's enemies. Khalul has raised a great army of slaves and Eaters (cannibalistic transformed humanoids with enhanced durability and magical abilities), and has indirectly given Bethod an alliance with the Flatheads, orc-like creatures created as weapons in an ancient war, as well as a man known as the Feared, who is supernaturally all but immune to damage. The story ends on a low note for all groups involved: Dagoska is lost to the Gurkish, an intrigue sees both heirs to the throne killed and an innocent man is blamed for political reasons, the quest for the Seed is an abject failure, and Bethod remains at large in the North. Tough Times All Over" won a Locus Award, and "The Fool Jobs" and "Some Desperado" received nominations. [13] Chronology of events [ edit ]

A reference to an in-world monument consisting of many large, upright stones on the top of a hill, called "The Heroes", where it is said that a legendary hero of old is buried. The monument is a central part of the setting for the book. Rudd Threetrees, an older veteran member of Logen's band, a skilled and inspiring leader in his own right. Harker did not recognise the irony. ‘They have indeed. During the short time the Gurkish controlled the city, they took many of the leading citizens as slaves. Now, under the Union, they are truly free to work and live as they please.’A reference to the words that Louis XIV had inscribed on his cannons: " Ultima Ratio Regum," which is Latin for "the last argument of kings."