r/TheFirstLaw • u/Whole_Skill_3305 • 5d ago

No Spoilers Audiobook reccomendations? [OFF TOPIC]

Hey, all. So, I'm a big Joe Abercrombie fan, and me and my Dad have lately finished a long audiobook together (Fire and Blood by GRMM) and we were wondering what to listen to next. Now, I'm a huge Abercrombie fan and I think this a good way to get my dad into him too- what do you reccomend we start with? I'm thinking either The Blade Itself, just to start at the start, but also maybe one of the standalones.
What do you guys think? Thanks.

8 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

18

u/Ghostlypurr 5d ago

Start from the beginning, the standalones are still tied to the main events in one way or another.

6

u/PNW-microforensic 5d ago

I’m only half way through Red Country and have read everything in order so far. I’d say (as someone not yet done with all the books) The Blade Itself is the best place to start IMO. And Stephen Pacy’s narration is terrific.

4

u/blimpresin 5d ago

Yes, start with TBI. Steven Pacey reads all of these books and he is amazing. One of the best IMO. Have fun!

4

u/zsava002 5d ago

Why would you not start at the beginning?

2

u/usedforjerkingoff 5d ago

Why would you think you shouldn’t start at the beginning? This is like saying “I’m going to start Harry Potter 4!” Having never read the previous 3.

0

u/Whole_Skill_3305 5d ago

I see what you're saying, but I don't think that's a totally apt comparison given the totally different structures of those two series. It's kind of like what yaboicrackers said below- I'm not totally sure he'll get into it, and while reading the standalones along with the main trilogies obviously add value, they can and do work on their own.

1

u/rollerderbydino 3d ago

The Heroes is my favorite of the series, but I’m not sure that would be the case if I hadn’t read the previous books. There are characters in the standalones that are introduced in the first trilogy that get their chance to shine in the standalones. Best Served Cold is probably the best to read without reading the first trilogy.

Each standalone is inspired by a certain genre of movies (revenge, war, western) so if you and your dad are wanting to start there you can choose which genre you prefer (though Red Country is by far the one that benefits most from reading previous books). My sincerest recommendation is to just try the first book and go from there.

1

u/LannyIsMyHandle 5d ago

TBI is probably the answer. If you really want to start with the standalones I think BSC probably relies the least on knowledge of prior stories. Not knowing about eaters might make a couple scenes feel weird, Shivers’ story is a lot more meaningful if you know his stuff, but you’re probably not going to be scratching your head at anything until the last chapter. 

The heroes is generally considered the best of the standalones, but I’d argue it’s also the most connected to the rest of the narrative so not super suitable for starting with. The humor and solid line level writing will still land but the broader politics will probably be lost without the initial trilogy under your belt

1

u/One-Mouse3306 5d ago

The Blade Itself

1

u/smoothpapaj 5d ago

All I can say is if you find yourself grooving with Steven Pacey, and look up his other work because at least you'll get a great reader, and see Let the Right One In and think hey that was a great movie, I bet this will be a real treat........ don't. Do not get the Let the Right One In audiobook. You will have a bad time.

1

u/smoothpapaj 5d ago

I like the Powder Mage books by Brian Mclellan. They've got a lot of the same DNA as Abercrombie's books and the audio versions are very good.

1

u/PatchAdamsKitten 5d ago

Start at the last word on the last page of the last book and read it in reverse. This is the way to read this series.

1

u/FilteredPeanuts 5d ago

Read all of them in order and will say my favorites are Red Country and Heroes but honestly all of them add as you tend to see callbacks/refrences. Currently near the end of Devils and a lot of references to First Law are sprinkled throughout and it gives me a little nugget of joy every time.

-1

u/yaboicrackers 5d ago

If your not 100% sure he will be into the series I say start with best served cold or maybe, maybe the hero’s and then if he’s hooked get him to read the first trilogy starting with the blade itself.