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Sharp Ends

Stories from the World of the First Law

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Sharp Ends

Written by: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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Sharp Ends is the ultimate collection of award winning tales and exclusive new short stories from the master of grimdark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie.

Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue's gallery of side-shows, back-stories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law.

The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta.

Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: no one seems to know what the item is.

Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp.

And after years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There's only one obstacle left -- his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine . . . Anthologies & Short Stories Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Science Fiction Law Short Story
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What the critics say

"Pointed, driven, and sharp."—Locus on Red Country
"Terrific fight scenes, compelling characters (some familiar, some new), and sardonic, vivid prose show Abercrombie at the top of his game."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on Red Country
"Magnificent, richly entertaining"—Time on The Heroes
"Imagine The Lord of the Rings as directed by Kurosawa."—Lev Grossman, Wall Street Journal on The Heroes
"[Abercrombie has] begun breaking his own rules. And succeeding wildly at it. ... [R]arely has Abercrombie had so much fun while rollicking through his colorful cast's foibles and witty dialogue - and rarely has he dished out so much straight-for-the-heart poignancy."—The A.V. Club
"New, fresh, and exciting."—The Independent (UK)
"Exhilarating... Abercrombie's knack for wit and grit holds your attention throughout, and his eye for character means that there's heart as well as muscle."—SFX (UK)
"Abercrombie writes fantasy like no one else."—Guardian
All stars
Most Relevant
My first audiobook experience was Stephen Fry, who is very impressive. Then I listened to several more audiobooks and realized all narrators are not created equal, and Fry became my benchmark for great voice acting…

Dear Mr. Fry, with much love and respect, please step to the side. Stephen Pacey is amazing.

Oh. And Abercrombie’s work is fun, gritty, dark and wonderfully immersive.

There is only one book remaining of the 9/10 in this world for me to enjoy and I’m already planning on re-listening to the whole series!

Narrator is unbelievably talented!

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Eleven short stories in the First Law World. The stories begin prior to any of the novels and finish after the events in the novel, Red Country. There are some real bangers, like “Small Kindnesses” which introduce a new duet, Javre the Lioness of Hoskopp and Shevedieh, a thief. These two made for a great pairing, except in the story “Two’s Company” that story was so ridiculous that it was actually a little cringy. Some of the stories in the middle are a bit weaker including, “Some Desperado” which features Shy South and “Yesterday”. The penultimate story “Tough Times All Over” was excellent. I enjoyed the narrative choice of having the perspective change every time someone picked up an item central to the plot. The final short story, “Made a Monster” featuring a young “Logan Nine Fingers” was a huge disappointment. I wish it had been cut from the list.

Joe Abercrombie narrated part of one of the stories, he did fine. Of course Steven Pacey, as the sole narrator of the other stories, was magnificent.

Mostly Excellent Stories, with a Few Duds

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My fiancé and I have listened to all the First Law books and we are completely hooked!! We both loved the depth this anthology added to the other stories and we had fun tracing the timelines of the series. Pacey is absolutely perfect for Ambercrombie's action-packed style and humor. We really tried to drag this one out as we no longer have any books left to listen to... very much hoping the final book in the "Little Hatred" trilogy comes out soon!

A View from the Other Side

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👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻🔥🔥🔥🔥 Loved every word of this book and every word written in this universe. Thank you Joe & Steven!

Amazing stories & storytelling!

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A very entertaining story. With great characters that the narrator brought to life. I love the combination of this author and narrator.

Great characters Fantastic Narrator bringing them to life

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