Best Served Cold

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Springtime in Styria. And that means war.

There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, and behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.

War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too. Her victories have made her popular -- a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto's reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.

Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started. . .

Critic reviews

"The battles are vivid and visceral, the action brutal, the pace headlong, and Abercrombie piles the betrayals, reversals, and plot twists one atop another to keep us guessing how it will all come out. This is his best book yet." --- George R.R. Martin

"Joe Abercrombie takes the grand tradition of high fantasy literature and drags it down into the gutter, in the best possible way. Monza is a beautiful mercenary who has sworn to kill the seven men who tried to kill her. No elves, no wands - just lots of down-and-dirty swordplay." --- Time

"Abercrombie is both fiendishly inventive and solidly convincing, especially when sprinkling his appallingly vivid combat scenes with humor so dark that it's almost ultraviolet." --- Publishers Weekly

Better than the first 3 books by far.

If you could sum up Best Served Cold in three words, what would they be?

I enjoyed the First Law trilogy. Pacey's a great narrator, better than most, and I loved Glokta. I bought Best Served Cold thinking I would get more of the same, but instead I got a much darker story with better characters and dialogue. I loved this listen!

Great narration, good story, but the platitudes

The First Law trilogy is probably my favorite trilogy. I've listened to it three times through. Best Served Cold was a good story, but I swear every other sentence was a platitude trying to be a very profound introspective statement. I don't remember The First Law trilogy being that way. Either way this book is still worth a credit and listen.

I just love the First Law audiobooks

Stephen Percy does an amazing job. Story was amazing. I loved it. It was awesome to see the characters from the first trilogy move on and do new things!

He's Done It Again!

Joe Abercrombie has outdone himself. Every story is better than the last.

If you've just finished the First Law trilogy, and you're wondering if you should give this one a shot, do yourself a favor and do it!

If you're worried what a book set in the world of the First Law would look like without Glockta or Logen, trust me. This book is well worth the read. The characters introduced in this book are fantastically well written. The few characters that crossed over are fleshed out, and their stories are waiting to be told.

You won't regret giving this one a chance.

Great book, but toys with your expectations

The audiobook is fantastic - the narrator really brings to life each of Abercrombie's endearingly unlikeable characters. You can hear every spit and sneer. The story also surprises and yet satisfies at every turn.

Just know what to expect from Abercrombie - unhappy lives, ugly decisions, and some anti-climax that still manages to be earned and artful. 4 stars because the end left me wanting just a bit more.