Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial

Hardcover
$42.95

Paperback
$17.70

Buy new:

$17.70

RRP: $22.99

Save: $5.29 (23%)

FREE delivery on first order.

Select delivery location

In stock

$$17.70 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon AU

Ships from

Amazon AU

Sold by

Amazon AU

Sold by

Amazon AU

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Follow the author

Joe Abercrombie

Follow

Before They Are Hanged: Book Two Paperback – 1 May 2008

by Joe Abercrombie (Author)

15,919

Book 2 of 3: The First Law Trilogy

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$17.70","priceAmount":17.70,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"17","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"70","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"f%2BWijlITBlUbA%2BNoBZG0ODLHIDHeMm%2BVFJHjX4vf%2Fipl%2BZEogIqrGKeP9RwARx2IfSiur7gZbPVx7usI6HpSTJ3NtYfoyIT2vGpsZZj5yMSKIrVdHQqXkGSg%2BYcmRPjHhxHpizN8RWEolJN9%2FWLjXarJi2l4NOnv","locale":"en-AU","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

A bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It is bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that is coming. Lacking experience, training and in some cases even weapons the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod's scouts, let alone the cream of his 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 beseigers without a fight. 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, but only if its power can be controlled.

Report an issue with this product

Book 2 of 3

The First Law Trilogy
Print length

592 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Gollancz
Publication date

1 May 2008
Dimensions

12.8 x 4 x 19.6 cm
ISBN-10

0575082011
ISBN-13

978-0575082014
See all details

Frequently bought together

$17.70

In stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon AU.

+

$17.70

In stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon AU.

+

$17.70

In stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon AU.

Total Price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

Joe Abercrombie
13,321
Paperback
13 offers from $8.72
Joe Abercrombie
12,659
Paperback
18 offers from $17.70
Joe Abercrombie
8,648
Paperback
18 offers from $17.70
Joe Abercrombie
7,548
Paperback
17 offers from $17.70
Joe Abercrombie
9,864
Paperback
15 offers from $17.70
Joe Abercrombie
10,288
Paperback
15 offers from $22.99

Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

‘Suffering is what gives a man strength, my boy, just as the steel most hammered turns out the hardest.’
Highlighted by 923 Kindle readers
You treat folk the way you’d want to be treated, and you can’t go far wrong.
Highlighted by 587 Kindle readers

Product description

Review

This grim and vivid sequel to 2007's THE BLADE ITSELF transcends its middle volume status, keeping the reader engaged with complicated plotting and intriguing character development. Abercrombie leavens the bloody action with moments of dark humor, developing a story suffused with a rich understanding of human darkness and light. - Publishers Weekly Starred Review.

Review

This grim and vivid sequel to 2007's THE BLADE ITSELF transcends its middle volume status, keeping the reader engaged with complicated plotting and intriguing character development. Abercrombie leavens the bloody action with moments of dark humor, developing a story suffused with a rich understanding of human darkness and light. - Publishers Weekly Starred Review.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gollancz; 1st edition (1 May 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0575082011
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0575082014
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 4 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 5,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 928 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
- 1,324 in Epic Fantasy (Books)
- 1,448 in Military Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
15,919

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Joe Abercrombie

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Joe Abercrombie is a freelance film editor, who works on documentaries and live music events. He lives and works in Bath. THE BLADE ITSELF, his debut novel, is the first novel of The First Law trilogy, followed by BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED and LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS. His new stand-alone bestseller is BEST SERVED COLD.

Review this product

Write a customer review

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

richard

Great story and characters

Reviewed in Australia on 17 June 2023

Verified Purchase

I am about a third of the way through and absolutely recommend this and the first book in the trilogy. I don't generally read fantsay but this is just awesome. I am hooked!

Reviewed in Australia on 18 March 2016

Verified Purchase

Fantastic - love the characters and look forward to the rest of the series

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Jerome

Great

Reviewed in Australia on 7 May 2021

Verified Purchase

Too good

Helpful

A fan

Just keeps getting better. You've gotta be realistic about these things.

Reviewed in Australia on 13 March 2017

Verified Purchase

Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he keeps fucken swinging! 5 stars! Steven Pacey does a fantastic job on the audible version for this whole trilogy too, the perfect voice for the series.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Adam J Brownsea

Brilliant series.

Reviewed in Australia on 10 November 2015

Verified Purchase

Great fantasy read.

Reviewed in Australia on 27 June 2015

Verified Purchase

wonderfull immagination

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Cliente Kindle

Profundo apesar de ser fantasia

Reviewed in Brazil on 13 January 2024

Verified Purchase

Leiam este livro!!!!! Uma das melhores trilogias de fantasia que já li em toda a minha vida. Apesar de ser uma ficção de fantasia, a construção das personagens foi feita de forma primorosa, profunda e crescente. A leitura é envolvente, e vai ficando cada vez mais ao longo do livro. Num mundo onde uma guerra se aproxima, e as artes mágicas estão se esgotando, um grupo improvável continua sua busca complexa junto a um líder difícil de decifrar. Veja bem, leve em conta que, neste mundo, a magia não é algo mundano, usado no dia a dia para atividades corriqueiras, tem um outro viés, como um grande poder de destruição, alterar espaço tempo, falar com antepassados, mas não é o foco do livro, o centro está nas relações humanas e jogos políticos.

Translate review to English

F. B.

Il secondo libro della serie "The first Law" dopo "The Sword itself"

Reviewed in Italy on 4 December 2023

Verified Purchase

E' il secondo libro della serie "The first rule". Il libro è molto bello e ben scritto. Ci porterà nel viaggio agli estremi del mondo per ritrovare "il seme", nel Nord, con Ward, nella guerra in Angland e con Glotka in difesa di una città.

Translate review to English

The Fantasy Review

I think this one might be even better than The Blade Itself!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2023

Verified Purchase

I went into Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie with very high expectations after The Blade Itself, and I think this one might be even better! I love the continuation of the gritty tone and atmosphere, blending classic tropes with a modern fantasy style… all of it is just brilliant.

Where Before They Are Hanged improves upon the previous book is the worldbuilding. The main characters have been introduced, some elements of the political landscape and intrigue are known to us, so in this book we can just relax a bit more and enjoy more of the story without that learning curve.

Having said that, the worldbuilding and all the other aspects are expanded upon, of course, and I loved learning more about this world, and especially the characters.

The characters in these books continue to shine as one of Abercrombie’s strongest aspects of the narrative. These feel like real people, unpredictable, volatile, with very different voices and outlooks on the world. “Morally grey” is an easy term to define this, but it is more than that.

Take Glokta, for example, an individual who has endured so much pain and is bitter, emotionally and physically scarred… his outlook on the world and his actions all stem from this turmoil that he attempts to overcome.

Overall, Before They Are Hanged is a fantastic second book for this trilogy, and somehow an improvement on the first! Pick up an Abercrombie book if you haven’t already

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Another sizzling entry from Lord Grimdark Himself!

Reviewed in India on 16 May 2021

Verified Purchase

Say one thing about Abercrombie, and one thing alone say he's a great writer.

I read the first book "The Blade itself" when i was searching for novels like Martin's ASOF, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The plot was not all that fleshed out, but the extraordinary characters more than made up for it. This book kicks the plot up to 11, and I loved it. The characters are still the best hands down in all of fantasy, So much so in fact that I care about them so much that hardly seems possible that i spent only two books with them. The arcs of logen and glokta especially so well done that they have become some of my favourite characters in all of fantasy.

My emphasis on character does not mean that the other parts of the book are weak in any way. The action in particular, is so gritty and real that i found myself clutching the book so hard that my hands began to hurt. The prose is also really good, not flowery in the Rothfuss style, but gritty and real.

Gritty, Dark and Real are the three words that i would use to describe the book and just a warning, if you find gore and violence disturbing, you might want to proceed with caution as Abercrombie does not shy away from describing the gore in the most explicit way. He does not glorify it though if that is any recompense.

All in all one of the best books I have picked Up recently, Loved it!

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Keeping it Real

Reviewed in Japan on 13 December 2023

Verified Purchase

Love the snarky sarcastic dialogue. More action and travel in this one compared to the first book.

See more reviews

Buy new:

$17.70

Recommended Retail Price (RRP)

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Before They Are Hanged: Book Two Paperback – 1 May 2008

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product description

Review

Review

Book Description

From the Publisher

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Joe Abercrombie

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new: $17.70

Recommended Retail Price (RRP)

Follow the author

Before They Are Hanged: Book Two Paperback – 1 May 2008

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product description

Review

Review

Book Description

From the Publisher

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Joe Abercrombie

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$17.70