Before They Are Hanged: The First Law: Book Two

Hey Joe Abercrombie, are you playing games with my mind? Yeah... I think maybe you are.

What's up with page 524? You dropping an Easter Egg in this thing?

On page 524, Mauthis says to Glotka, "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Superior." Ahhhh... that's the same line that Vader says to the Commander of the Death Star in Retrun of the Jedi. "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander. I am here to put you back on schedule."

Then Mauthis says, "I have no ego to bruise." Ahhhh... that's the same line that Spock says to Kirk in Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan. "Jim, you proceed from a false assumption. I am a Vulcan, I have no ego to bruise."

Say one thing for Moondonkey, say that his knowledge spans the galaxy.

Brilliant analysis aside, I'm giving this book 3 stars. I gave The Blade Itself 4 stars, but I don't think the second book is quite as good as the first. Frankly, I expected to gain a little more understanding of where the series is going, the goals of the people in it, etc. I can't say that I did for the most part. Therefore, I'm giving the book 3 stars. Hey - that's still good though. I'm not one of those review zombies who gives everything they like 5 stars because "it was the best book ever" or some such nonsense. 3 is good. 4 is exceptional. 5 is off-the-charts awesome.

However, the overall series taken as a whole is what really matters here. It strikes me that the three books are really just one large novel split into three parts - so it is somewhat premature to rate each separately.

Originally saw the name of the first book of this series on a list of five books called "books I wish i could read again for the first time."

Man am I glad I read that article, these books so far are amazing.

Very entertaining continuation of the series! Kind of easy reading, very funny sometimes, and at the end I am looking forward to see how the plot and the characters develop at the end of the story. I am not sure I like them, anyone, very weird, but I guess it is what make them very real somehow.

Second book in the First Law Trilogy. Quality did not decrease from the first book. If you were a fan of The Blade Itself, I recommend you continue to follow the same characters and watch their development.

Much better than the first in my opinion. Though it did seem interesting the violence and "romance" seemed to be pushed into over drive. San Dan Glokta is perhaps my favorite. However, I've found the growth of each of the characters to be well done. Looking forward to the next.

Great story line and great characters. What more could you ask for. I read reviews that dog this author or that author for "same worn out plots" and such. There's really only so many ways you can go with a story. To me, it's the characters that matter. If I don't love or hate characters, then why would I care what happens to them? Joe Abercrombie evidently realizes this and so, he focuses on character development and lets the story tell itself.

The characters aren't black and white. Many of them are gray and black. But it's a fascinating character study and some great descriptive writing about the setting. If you don't have to read Terry Pratchett, or even Tolkien, read these. They're not all good people. But they are really good representations of people.

I definitely had a hard time putting this one down. There's just so much going on in the lives of these characters. I like how the lives in each plot line are all somehow touched or affected by the lives in the others.

Interesting characters that actually develops as the book progress. Highly recommend this, although you certainly need to read book 1 in the series first to fully appreciate it. Some reviews have compared Abercrombie's writing to George R. R. Martin, but I think Abercrombie has a style that is fully his own. Gritty, to the point and he doesn't waste much time describing the vistas. That said, I enjoy his writing a lot.

Interesting characters that actually develops as the book progress. Highly recommend this, although you certainly need to read book 1 in the series first to fully appreciate it. Some reviews have compared Abercrombie's writing to George R. R. Martin, but I think Abercrombie has a style that is fully his own. Gritty, to the point and he doesn't waste much time describing the vistas. That said, I enjoy his writing a lot.

Wow!!!!!! I'm a huge Joe Ambercrombie fan. When I picked up the Blade Itself I was hooked. I read the Game of Thrones novels years and years ago and these are far better.

I'd recommend this book for the fight scenes alone.

Thank you Mr. Abercrombie for writing such an excellent book . The dialogue is clever , the action is fierce and brutal, and the storytelling is exceptional . By far my new favorite author . Please keep writing

Joe Abercrombie continues to provide me excellent books to read. His morally ambiguous characters are at first difficult to attach yourself to, but by this book in the series I am loving it. It is hard not to route for Glokta or Nine-Fingers, despite their past. The only critique I have with the book is introduction of Ferro into the main plot line was not the greatest.

Really well written and hard to put down. Some very graphic violence, but overall very exciting with lots of twists and turns. Hard to put down. If you like Game of Thrones-type fantasy with morally difficult choices, complex characters, and a world of nasty sweeping political struggles, this fits the bill.

Joe Abercrombie is one of my favorite newer authors...he combines dark fantasy, humor and adventure into his writing. All of his books & stories pull you into the story as though you were part of it. The First Law Trilogy started it all.

Joe Abercrombie is quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy authors. Really enjoyed reading this trilogy, and now working on some of his newer books. A great story, fantastic characters, well written dialogue. You will laugh and have you gripped at the edge of your seat.

I found out about this series from a video podcast and picked up the first book immediately after hearing the rave review. Finished that book in a few weeks. Then I was on hiatus from this series and now I've jumped back in. I love the way these books are written and I like how it keeps changing perspectives to keep my interest in all the regions of conflict.

As I've said before, this series is comedy fantasy. It's an enjoyable read, and will make you laugh. The series was good enough that I bought all the books and read them all. Again, this series is more or less like a Hitch-Hikers guide to fantasy, although I wouldn't classify it at the same level as Hitchhikers guide. Defintely something I don't regret spending my money on.

The characters have all been developed well and are very interesting and the plot progresses smoothly with some intrigue and action to hold my interest and curiosity enough to want to read the 3rd book.

If you liked Glokta before you will really like him now.
Everything about the Glokta plot line is golden.
The rest of the book is good, but the siege that Glokta is in really brings this book to a level higher than the first book.
If you liked the first book this one is better.

I got onto this series through the various rabbit holes in the world of book searches on kindle and was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of ideas and writing of Abercrombie. I am a fantasy fanatic and have suffered through some poor writing just for my love of the genre. This series could go up against most (almost all) of the myriad stories I have followed. Excellent plot and character development. Absolutely worth it

These books by abercrombie have become my new favorite. I have now read all six books set in his world and loved them all. He is the king of flawed heroes that you grow to care about despite them. If you like fantasy, abercrombie is a must read.

Good characters, well written action, subtle humor. A good follow up to 'The Blade Itself', and, like its predecessor, it leaves you with a sense of not fully knowing where things are heading. It definitely puts pressure on 'The Last Argument of Kings' to answer a lot of questions and wrap things up, but I don't doubt Abercrombie is up to the challenge.

I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend, who was dead-on when he said "the first book starts out kind of slow, but books 2 and 3 are amazing". If you like a lot of action and war sequences, you don't get to much of that until books 2 and 3. Book 1 is primarily character development. The easiest comparison is to imagine the first lord of the rings book ending right before the fellowship sets off from Rivendale. The book does carry a bit of action, as you are introduced to some of the major characters, but the action is simply a backdrop to get to know some of the characters.

I found book 1 a bit of a slow read, but I could not put books 2 or 3 down once I started.

What an amazingly great book. The story is complicated and well-told. The characters are real and believable. The humor is rich, the fighting detailed and accurate. This is a fantasy novel, a fantasy trilogy, for the ages.

A strong second installment. Sometimes Abercrombie can seem to get a little carried away with his description of fight scenes that can go on for pages, but his characterization is deep and complex. This volume shows Glokta emerging not only as the ¨hero¨of the trilogy, but as an iconic character

Well worth the time spent reading the series so far (although book 1 takes a while to get into, by the end you are left wanting more.) Characters seem to be fairly deep and the whole story is somewhat dark which is refreshing even though not usually in my personal taste.

An interesting follow-up for the first book of the series. Fantasy, but with a lot of believability. Yes, there is magic, but considerable mystery thrown in. Be assured that all the loose ends from the first two books are resolved in the final book in the series.