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    Last Argument of Kings
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    Last Argument of Kings
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    Last Argument of Kings
    Audiobook27 hours

    Last Argument of Kings

    Written by Joe Abercrombie

    Narrated by Steven Pacey

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The final novel in the First Law Trilogy by New York Times bestseller Joe Abercrombie.
    Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him -- but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the king of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy: it's time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.

    With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. As his days with a sword are far behind him, it's fortunate that he's deadly with his remaining weapons: blackmail, threats, and torture.

    Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is too painful an undertaking and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too -- and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.

    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 world, but there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, than to break the First Law...


    First Law Trilogy
    The Blade Itself
    Before They Are Hanged
    Last Argument of Kings


    For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:

    Novels in the First Law world
    Best Served Cold
    The Heroes
    Red Country
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateSep 8, 2015
    ISBN9781478907831
    Unavailable
    Last Argument of Kings
    Author

    Joe Abercrombie

    Joe Abercrombie was born in Lancaster in 1974. His first book, The Blade Itself, was published in 2006. He lives in Bath with his wife Lou and their three children Grace, Eve and Teddy.

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    Reviews for Last Argument of Kings

    4/5

    1,395 ratings58 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A great ending to an incredible series. Abercrombie has a great sense of pace and character. These are real people in fantastical situations. Like most of us, they are all struggling with themselves as much as each other or their situations. I look forward to more stories from this world and with these characters.
    • 3/5
      I greatly appreciate Abercrombie's style and panache. I think he is a very skilled writer, I just find his worldview to be utterly disheartening. Some people might laud him for having the guts to make his characters truly suffer, but what is the point of such suffering if his character don't gain anything in the end? Ferro is left haunted by demons, hellbent on revenge. Jezal is turned into a puppet king with none of his own agency. Logen is presumed dead. What was the point of the suffering, the pain, the struggle if in the end nothing changes? Why should I care at all about the characters and their fight? To me, the ending turned the books into nothing more than a nihilistic farce. All of the love I had built for the characters crumbled away like dust in the wind.

      Now don't get me wrong. I do not demand happy endings. In fact, I find happy endings just as repulsive as this emptiness. There is no point in raising the stakes so high and making the characters suffer so much if in the end they don't get anything for their troubles. There is such an emphasis on the characters becoming better people. Jezal and Logen both want to be better men. But all this book showed me was that it is impossible to ever become a better person. If you try, you are left even worse off than you were before.

      So I'm left with the question: What is the point of this book?
    • 5/5
      An excellent conclusion to the trilogy, that left me yearning for more, which I'm sure will come someday, as this world is too rich to be abandoned at this point.

      Some may be a bit put off by how grim the ending appears to be, but I would argue that there was no other way this story could have ended. The characters are what they are, their personalities, histories and impulses were well established in the first two books. While some of the characters are ultimately good people striving to be better, they must also struggle with the influence of powerful companions who have specific, and sometimes contrary goals in mind. In fact, any attempt by Abercrombie to craft a "happily ever after" conclusion to the book would have struck me as an insult to the reader. The story ends perfectly for what it is, and once the story was set in motion, it ended the only way it possibly could have.

      The series as a whole was wonderful, with well-drawn characters, lots of well written intrigue, fantastic action, and a wicked sense of humor. I loved it and this has quickly become one of my favorite fantasy series.

      I sincerely hope that Abercrombie will provide us with more stories set in this world soon. There is much more to be explored, and I, for one, would love to see a story where a certain wizard gets taken down a few pegs.
    • 5/5
      Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie - he knows how to spin a good yarn. This final book in the First Law trilogy hits all the notes. The odd combination of travelers has returned from the end of the world and now it's back to regular life which means, of course, war. Final conflict is imminent and Abercrombie builds it detail by bloody, fantastic detail. Most of the main characters continue to develop in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways. The ending is satisfying without being too wrapped up or too open-ended. A thoroughly enjoyable high-action, high-stakes adventure series in which each book is a gem.
    • 5/5
      So satisfying. "No one gets what they deserve." Would love to read a graphic novel of Ferro claiming her vengeance in the South.
    • 5/5
      After the impressive prequels, Joe had an uphill task to ensure the final installment of his debut fantasy series lived up to the hype. Skillfully, Joe has surpassed even his own standards, raising the bar once again for other writers to aim for with his largest volume to date. Fantasy books have set a negative precedent over the years with increasingly large volumes being published, yet quality will often suffer as the result of heavily padded storylines. Joe doesn't fall into this trap and anyone who has visited his website will understand that this is due to his writing ethos to create realistic and fast flowing situations. All his beloved characters have also returned and meet some surprising and often hilarious twists against the background of two colossal battles. All through the series Joe has ensured that the conclusion of each character's own story remains uncertain, yet he wraps everything up tightly and by the end hindsight reveals that perhaps in the whole adventure, there was destined only to be the one to come out totally on top..
    • 4/5
      In general I liked this series and enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, this last book was a little flat. Events went pretty much as you would expect at the end of book two, though the scale of devastation was a bit higher than was really necessary. There is one surprise twist early in the book, but the rest is fairly predictable. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, I still enjoy the characters and the writing, I just felt it could have been a better book. I do think its a worthwhile and somewhat 'new' feeling book.
    • 4/5
      I will miss The First Law trilogy. This book, the third part, was as good as the previous ones. Can't think of another author who mixes so well fantasy, magic, action, blood, politics, violence, humor, sarcasm and suspense. Joe Abercrombie: you have a new fan!
    • 5/5
      Awesome finish to one of the best fantasy series I've ever read.
    • 5/5
      Almost a year has passed and I am still conflicted over the ending of this book. Regardless of how bad that sounds for the beginning of a review, I stand by it. Glokta is a wonderfully horrid yet multi- faceted man whose story I could not get enough of. The guy was crippled beyond belief and he chose to put himself through a new kind of torture- a game that was played behind the curtains, where all the players lie and everyone is doomed. Yet the old cripple continues. Jezal is a different man entirely. At first he couldn't care less whether anything ever got done, but then he attempts to mend everything when nothing can be done. He was trying to put together a hopelessly crumbled leaf. Logen. Oh my dearie Logen. His own battle, quite literally, took him to the edge of sanity. How can one man, regardless of how large he is, live with the crimes that Logen has committed? This book has no happy ending. Don't bother looking for one. No one is happy. Happiness is for those who are purer than these. At least we have Abercrombie's dark humor to fall back onto when we're done crying.
    • 1/5
      I actually hated this one. I skimmed the last 2/3 of it. If your point is that everything is pointless, aren't you being hypocritical?
    • 4/5
      Loved this series - very black humour, great character studies, believable battle sequences and some political intrigue to boot. This book was a tad bit disappointing as it didn't really come to any resolution, but the ending was clever as it basically ended exactly the same way it started. A good read - check it out.
    • 4/5
      I really hoped this was going to end differently but i guess it leaves room for another round of trilogies. One of the best action fantasy novels out there a definite must read for fantasy fans.
    • 5/5
      Joe Abercrombie has created a very complex world. The books just get better and better. I loved the way the characters developed.
    • 5/5
      The Last Argument of Kings by Joe AbercrombieThe Third and final book in the First Law Trilogy.Say one thing about Joe Abercrombie, say he tells a good story, and tells it well.I should really just end it there, and leave it with that. That says it all really. But when did I ever know how to stop when enough had been said already?This trilogy is going on my shelf. The "Series that I love" shelf. It's joining Game of Thrones, The Malazan Series, The Bas-Lag series, The Sandman graphic Novels, and select others. This was an amazing trilogy. It's a damn fine book in a damn fine series. And I'd recommend it highly. Of course, if you're reading a review on the third book, you know that already. So lets talk about other things.I read these books out of order. Not the trilogy, I had was alert enough to realize that the first book in the First Law Trilogy came before 2 and 3. But I didn't realize that the First Law Trilogy comes before everything else.So I read 'Best Served Cold' first. Through books 2 and 3 I was enjoying the fact that I had read them out of order. I even advised others to read them out of order. At least 'Best Served Cold'. And there were definitely fun moments, knowing the events and characters out of order like that. But my mind changed with this book. And now I'm back to agreeing with convention. They are probably best read in order. I think the reverse introduction could still be fun. I'm thinking of Shivers in particular (yup, spoilers). Knowing what happens to him, and who he becomes, in 'Best Served Cold', it was fun to see his back story unfold and have all thos little pieces fit together in reverse. But at the end of it all, I think the experience of having Shivers walk back into the story would have been better. And honestly, I'll get the best of both worlds, I've got at least 2 more Joe Abercrombie books to go..
    • 4/5
      The climatic last third of Joe Abercrombie's Last Argument of Kings, is a fantastic sequence that the reader cannot help but read in one sitting. After the first two book's of The First Law trilogy this confluence of events is exactly what the series deserved in it's final volume, however leading up to this literally climatic battle there was a congestion of happenings to begin the book that while not frustrating just took too long to get through that made the volume feel longer than it was. Abercrombie's characters lost none of their originality or well-roundedness throughout the book, however in a few instances they seemed to accept things or do things that seem literally out-of-character. Like that previous two volumes, Abercrombie seemed to telegraph basic fantasy tropes then paid them off in surprising and unexpected ways though as stated before some of them happened at the beginning of the book and felt longer to get through then seemed necessary once you finished the book. The ending of Last Argument of Kings is without a doubt a very thought provoking one, especially in the character of Bayaz who is the embodiment of the saying "history is written by the victors." Though I was a tad disappointed with the pace of the first 375 or so pages, the last 260 pages through are what makes The First Law Trilogy great and so if you've read the first two books, The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged, then you have to read this book to see how all the story arcs play out.
    • 5/5
      Joe Abercrombie is an excellent storyteller, and has created a wonderful story in this trilogy of books. I've been assured by fellow readers that his excellent characters continue in some additional books, and I'll give those a try. What I particularly love is how he takes us through a journey of discovery of some of his characters. Characters that I saw as innocent or good or"righteous" in the beginning evolved throughout the story, becoming more slippery and dark as we made our way through their experiences. By the same token, characters that seemed dark and sinister early became the real heroes as the story progressed. So much like the real world, right? Good and bad in everything and everyone, and often times the best folks aren't necessarily hiding behind the prettiest faces. These books were a present to me from one of my kids, and what a great present they were - I'll be looking for more by Joe Abercrombie!
    • 5/5
      more difficult to keep a track of all the action than the previous two, or perhaps I wanted to relive it all so finished at a gallop...At the end, some ends are tied up and some are loose, and there is nothing fairytale about any of it... I loved it!
    • 3/5
      So many mixed feelings on this book and I will try to address this without delving into spoilers. The writing is top-notch. The tension is intense throughout every plot--each character is at risk, and the stakes are high. That said, the end left me frustrated. Mind you, I know the genre is grimdark. I didn't expect happy endings. Even so, I wish the ending hadn't kept dragging on, because the longer it went, the less I liked it. It came back to a simple fact: most of the characters didn't change through the course of the trilogy (the major exceptions to this being Ardee and Jezal). There was no enlightenment, no growth. This contradicts how most books--heck, even 1000-word flash fiction stories--usually develop a character arc, and it left me without a sense of satisfaction at the end. That said, I am still mightily impressed with Abercrombie, and I will look for more of this books. This trilogy was still a great read overall, even if the very end wasn't quite what I wanted.
    • 5/5
      Great Series
    • 5/5
      This book was every bit as excellent as I expected it to be.

      Joe Abercrombie's skill as an author cannot be overstated. The plot moves swiftly, the language is clean, yada yada. He's a great author.

      What I enjoyed most about Last Argument of Kings was the characters. Joe Abercrombie writes "grey" characters like no-one else. Is Logen Ninefingers a good man forced into fight after fight, or is he really a homicidal maniac? Is Sand dan Glockta a good man in a bad position, or is he a sociopath?

      Just as you think you've got it worked out, Abercrombie has his characters do something that shakes your certainty; this is not fantasy where the characters have the luxury of easy decisions, and they then have to live with the consequences. War is not glorious: it is messy and tragic. Good people die along with the bad. Nobody, as Glockta says, gets what they deserve in life.

      Abercrombie also has a master's touch when it comes to poisoning chalices. I don't think anybody ends up with an untainted chalice, although some of the poisons are pretty subtle. The closest, though, is Glockta himself. I was really, really happy about the way that turned out.

      This book could be adequately subtitled: Be careful what you ask for: you might just get it.
    • 4/5
      We pick back up a couple of months after the events of Before They Are Hanged (The First Law: Book Two), Bayaz and crew have returned to the city of Adua after their failed quest, Sand dan Glokta is a Superior of Adua and carrying out his duties - both for the country and for his boss, the Arch Lector, West and the Northmen are in the North fighting against Bethod. The king is about to die, and both crown princes are dead, and the nobles are trying their best to outbid each other in both favours and blackmail so that they can seize the throne. As if the kingdom doesn't have enough troubles, the war with the Gurkish is about to come to a head.All the plotlines set up in the last couple of books converge and get resolved - the wars with the North and the Gurkish, the succession, Bayaz's plans. In a way, they're resolved neatly, but not in the way you'd expect from a work of fantasy. No one in Abercrombie's world is particularly nice, but almost everyone turns out to be nastier than you might expect - and yes, that's possible. Although, the character arcs are certainly plausible and realistic, it's still sad.This book is certainly well crafted, but it's not one that I particularly enjoyed reading. After the negativity in Before They Are Hanged (The First Law: Book Two), I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and the characters that Abercrombie had spent the last two books building up get some measure of redemption, for all the blood and gore to pay off, but as Abercombie keeps repeating - "no one gets what they deserve." There are a lot of battles, every characters gets put through hell, everything in sight is destroyed, but there's no reprieve in sight.Writers can choose to focus on how miserable the world is, or they can try to find inspiration in unlikely sources, which is what most fantasy does. Abercrombie chose the former, and it feels like he got swept up in his desire to write a gritty and realistic world that he forgot to make it likeable - it's merely depressing. It makes me retroactively dislike the other two books for making a promise they didn't deliver on, but no one gets what they deserve and that includes me, apparently.I would write about the plot and the ending of the characters, but it doesn't seem like it matters. It hardly feels like the end of a trilogy, it just seems like a few more moves have occurred in the game of chess that Bayaz and Khalul are playing. Indeed, Abercrombie has continued to write books that will hopefully end in some sort of resolution - there are three more books set in this world and a forthcoming trilogy. I don't think I want to be along for the ride, though.I struggled to decide how many stars to give this book - it's very well done, but I didn't enjoy it. Readers that are not bothered by futility would probably like this series, though (fans of George R.R. Martin, I'm looking at you.)
    • 4/5
      Highly enjoyable. Interestingly complicates common fantasy tropes. No deep art here, just fun entertainment. Very satisfying end to the trilogy.
    • 4/5
      Steven Pacey bring this book and all of it's fascinating characters to life
    • 3/5
      Summary: A war threatens to engulf all the nations of the north and south. A bunch of atypical 'heroes' are drawn into the conflict and will never be quite the same as a result. This is a review of the trilogy.

      Things I liked:

      The characters: Their deep, they change dramatically across the story, even the extras drip with style and depth.

      The style: is varied taking some of my favourite elements from genre's such as classic fantasy, western and spy thriller.

      Things I thought could be improved:

      It's one big story masquerading as a trilogy. You don't really get much closure as the end of each book. If I'd had to wait for the next book I would have been a bit peeved by that.

      Not much of story. By that I mean the story doesn't really involve a lot of change (IMHO) to the world where the story is set. That said, the characters change quite a bit (in their outlook) but I still would have enjoyed a bit more setup and resolution, as it was I feel a bit like everyone just ran around in circles for a bit until the story stopped.

      Highlight:

      Lots of candidates, if I had to pick I'd probably say where 'the bloody nine' stabs Tul I had to read the passage twice to be sure I'd read it right (not because it was badly written but because it was a such a twist for the characters involved).

    • 4/5
      Amazing character voice. Plot really dragged. Good ending.
    • 4/5
      I read through this trilogy back to back. I wasn't thrilled by the first book, mostly because of the writing (I thought it needed more editing). I stuck with it, intrigued by some characters, especially Logen and Glotka. The second book was way too long; I dislike the need for fantasy series to have a second book that consists of traveling around but it ended well, so I continued on. Again, the beginning of this third book was very slow, but Mr. Abercrombie does write good endings. So, I enjoyed the book overall.I admit I'm still confused by the grimdark stuff. The ending was just history told in a fantasy setting. Nothing wrong with that as it often makes for a good, albeit dark, story. There are very few winners and mostly losers, generally among the lower classes, in history, and the author portrayed this well. The characters were mostly interesting, and I'll be curious to see what happens to them in future books.
    • 3/5
      Unfortunately, this final book in the trilogy was a struggle. About halfway through I was bored and just wanted it to be over. Abercrombie may just not be for me. I may try the later books at some point but won't be rushing.
    • 4/5
      Een mooi, maar wat langdradig, einde van deze trilogie.

      Wat mij betreft had het verhaal al een heel stuk eerder af kunnen lopen, en waren de toegevoegde hoofdstukken na de overwinning op de Gurken onnodig.

      4 sterren: Na de eerdere twee delen blijven de karakters me nog steeds verbazen; omdat Glokta een superschurk is, maar toch een van de betere personages in het boek.

      Okay, ik begon een beetje zat te worden van Logen, maar dat ligt waarschijnlijk aan mij.

      'Je kan een ding zeggen van Jeo Abercrombie, en dat is dat hij goed kan schrijven'.
    • 4/5
      I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them. - Logan

      Again, this is a review for the Audiobook version.

      As you may have noticed, I loved the first two books. But sadly, this book failed to grab me. It even went so far that I was able to put it down for about two months, and me finishing it can mostly be attributed to wanting to clear out the "currently-reading" list here on GoodReads.

      I have no idea what went wrong. The characters were still interesting, although no new characters were introduced, if I recall correctly. The twists were mostly pretty obvious, and the one or two that I did not see coming were mostly irrelevant to the story, sometimes missing a great opportunity, in my opinion. Without spoiling anything, I can only say that some characters changed in ways that did not feel natural to me. In the end, I ended up with more sympathy for the people that were considered "evil" than some of the main characters. That might have been the point of it, but I don't think so.

      Also, the story doesn't get wrapped up properly. Abercrombie left himself an opening to add more books to the main story, and although some characters get a proper ending, some others are just left at some point and never returned to. I expected a better ending from Abercrombie, especially because he managed to get halfway proper endings done for the first two books. So why no proper ending for the third? I can't imagine a reason.

      Don't get me wrong. It is still a good book. I recommend to read the whole triology, as the first two books are really, really good. But this book is another victim of the quality of the first two parts. As a standalone book, I would have regarded it with more favour (Although it would still only have been a 4 star book), but following the quality of the first two books, it leaves a bitter taste.