The First Law Books in Order

The First Law is Joe Abercrombie's grimdark world - the shelf that asked what fantasy antiheroes look like after the joke stops being funny, and answered with Logan Ninefingers, Glokta the crippled torturer, and a war nobody wins. It runs one trilogy (2006-2008), three standalone novels that exploit the trilogy's aftermath, a generational sequel trilogy (2019-2021) and two story collections, complete since 2023. The screen world has caught up: a Best Served Cold film is in pre-production, and The Devils (2025), the start of a different world entirely, had its rights picked up by James Cameron's production company. This page sequences the world itself; the man and his other shelves have their own page here (2006–2023).

Where to start

The Blade Itself (May 2006), book one. The trilogy is one story with one destination; there is no other door.

Does the reading order matter?

Strict: The Blade Itself (May 2006), Before They Are Hanged (March 2007), Last Argument of Kings (March 2008) - one continuous story that lands its ending in the third book, so no skipping. The standalones follow and assume the trilogy's spoilers: Best Served Cold (June 2009) reads best immediately after Last Argument of Kings - it begins with the war's aftermath; The Heroes (January 2011) is the single-battle masterpiece; Red Country (October 2012) is the western. The Age of Madness trilogy - A Little Hatred (2019), The Trouble With Peace (2020), The Wisdom of Crowds (2021) - jumps a generation to the children of the original cast and needs everything before it. Sharp Ends (2016) is stories, safe anywhere after the trilogy; The Great Change (And Other Lies) (2023) is the world's last word to date. The Shattered Sea trilogy and The Devils (May 2025) are different worlds - sequenced on the Joe Abercrombie page here

Which one is the best?

The Blade Itself (2006), the voice; Last Argument of Kings (2008), the ending that earned the trilogy's reputation; The Heroes (2011), the best single book in the world.

Related guides

Readers finishing this shelf usually want the map next door: Joe Abercrombie books in order, Game of Thrones books in order, Robin Hobb books in order. Every guide follows the same format — the shelf, the entry point, the honest answer about order.

Make it a project

Pick a session size and let the days accumulate — at the pace our reading speed test measures, most shelves above clear in a few weeks of half-hours. Every guide on the books in order shelf follows this same format, and when a book lands, its 8-question quiz is waiting on the original book quiz.