This epic fantasy saga delves into the dark corners of human nature, blending politics, war, and personal ambition. Follow the fates of unforgettable characters navigating the line between heroism and betrayal. Brutal conflicts and morally ambiguous situations test the limits of what it means to be human. The series is renowned for its gritty depiction of violence and cynical wit.
Infamous Logen Ninefingers has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian. He is caught in murderous conspiracies and old scores, along with Captain Jezal dan Luthar, Inquisitor Glokta and the wizard Bayaz, who all must try to survive the coming war.
A bitter and merciless was is coming to the frozen north. It is bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that is coming.
The King of the Union lies on his deathbed, the peasants revolt, and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No one believes that the shadow of war is about to fall across the heart of the Union. Only the First of the Magi can save the world, but there are risks.
Springtime in Styria. And that means war. Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge. 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, 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... Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge.
They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbor, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them. THE HEROES For glory, for victory, for staying alive.
Shy South comes home to her farm to find a blackened shell, her brother and sister stolen, and knows she'll have to go back to bad old ways if she's ever to see them again. She sets off in pursuit with only her cowardly old step-father Lamb for company. But it turns out he's hiding a bloody past of his own. None bloodier. Their journey will take them across the lawless plains, to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feuds, duels, and massacres, high into unmapped mountains to a reckoning with ancient enemies, and force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune, a man no one should ever have to trust . . .
A beautiful box set containing SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author Joe Abercrombie's epic fantasy trilogy: THE BLADE ITSELF, BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED and LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS.
