BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED by Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by Stephen Pacey

We should forgive our enemies, but not *

This is the middle book in Abercrombie’s Fist Law Trilogy and as such advances the various story lines but does not attempt a conclusion. The lives of five main characters are followed, Logan (The Bloody Nine), Inquisitor (now Superior) Glokta, the Dogman, Bayez The first of the Magi, and Jazel. All these characters show significant development. So now that the stage is set with all these great characters the conclusion is anticipated. The thing is, I really have no idea where the story is headed because there is no central quest to this series so far. One thing to focus on that will give you a leg up: focus on the insults. Abercrombie is a master of the backhanded insult and his characters are often given witty invective dialog to display this penchant for diatribe.

The characters are so good that Stephen Pacey has ample opportunity to display his considerable talents. Pacey is in fact fantastic making what could have been a plodding middle book into an engaging entertainment.

The above was written after my first listen to this book. I have now listened to it two additional times along with the First Law World books—Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country Joe—two more times each as well. I only listen to a book twice when I enjoyed the first experience immensely and know that a repeat performance will help enhance my enjoyment. I can unequivocally state that Joe Abercrombie is a top shelf storyteller and that Stephen Pacey is in the first rank of narrators. These audiobooks I now consider to be among my absolute favorites.