 Hey guys, it's Liana and I'm here today to rank the books from the world of the first law. You don't know what the first law is, this is probably not the video for you because I'm not here to explain it to you. I'm here to rank these books. So, I guess real quick, Joe Abercrombie is Lord Grimdark. His Grimdark fantasy books are the best Grimdark there is, and these are the books that take place in the world of the first law. And I'm going to rank them today, which is just my opinion. So, let's do it. I didn't have in this stack because it didn't match the aesthetic. Little Hatred, which is his newest. It does take place in this universe, but as you can see this book doesn't look like these books. So, I couldn't have it in the stack. It's different size, different style. It just doesn't fit. Okay, so I did not plan this video. I have not pre-ranked these books. We're going to rank them together. And by together I mean I'm going to do it. You're going to watch me do it. Point being though, I don't know yet what the rankings will be. So, let's do it. Should we do best to worst or worst to best? Makes most sense. I think worst to best just because I think that'll be easier. Right, so let's do that. So, I already know what my least favorite is. That's easy. I think that's why I decided to start with worst to best because I know which one is my least favorite. I don't know how I'm going to choose my favorite. We'll get there. So, my least favorite is The Heroes. I was going to say Pie Joe Abercrombie. All these books are Pie Joe Abercrombie. The Heroes is one of the stand-alones that takes place after the trilogy, and it is my least favorite. It's Abercrombie and it's the first law. So, it's still excellently written. I don't want to say that it's not. And there's a lot in it that I like, but it is my least favorite because it does not have a plot. It does not have a plot. And this is Abercrombie we're talking about where the presence of a plot isn't necessarily a big part of how he writes. So, it's plotless even for Abercrombie is what I'm saying. I was recently at a signing for Pierce Brown because the newest Suns of Aries graphic novel is out and this is relevant, I promise. I was on the front row and yeah, someone asked him if he reads Sanderson or what Sanderson books he likes or something like that because he had mentioned Sanderson's writing style as it differs from his own writing style, his approach to how to structure or how to plan a book. And someone asked him, you know, since you mentioned Sanderson, what's your favorite Sanderson book or do you read any Sanderson books? And Pierce Brown was like, I don't really read Sanderson. I like Joe Abercrombie. And I burst into the spontaneous applause and he turned to me and my friends who were also clapping and was like, oh, would you read Joe Abercrombie? And we were like, yeah, we do. He just kind of started to have a conversation with us about Joe Abercrombie while everyone else was just watching. And he was like, well, what should they start with if they should read Abercrombie? Where should they start? And we were like, well, the blade itself, right? Because that's like the first book. And he's like, do you think, I don't know, maybe they should start with one of the sandalines. And we were like, well, then best served cold. And he was like, no, I didn't really like best served cold. And I was like, what the fuck? Best served cold is the best. And he's like, no, I really like the heroes. And I was like, no. But apparently Pierce Brown's favorite is the heroes. So all that to say, it's not like universally the opinion of Abercrombie readers that this is the weakest one for other people. This is their favorite one. So it might be your favorite. It's Pierce Brown's favorite. It is not my favorite. It's my least favorite. And again, it's because it has no plot. It's just literally like a few days of battle and like multiple perspectives who are in that battle. That's it. That's a whole fucking book. You know what I mean? What was the point of that? There's a lot of great character work because it's Abercrombie. That's not enough. Like I do need some kind of a plot. There is not. There is literally not. My favorite part of this book is the part where somebody invents a cheese sandwich. And I'm not kidding. That really happens. He calls it a cheese trap. That's my favorite part of the book. It's good. And I still say you should read it because you should read all the books in the first lot. But this was my least favorite for sure. Okay. So that's bottom done. Let's move on to my next least favorite. So what's next? I would say probably Red Country. This is the until a little... No, that's not true. Scratch that. This is the third standalone after the first lot trilogy. And it is good because they're all good. Again, I love all the books that I'm talking about today. So even the bad ones are good. Anyway, Red Country is Abercrombie's version of a Western but in the world of the first law, which is the cool concept. And I think he did a great job with it. But even he, he being Abercrombie, has said that he felt the most burnt out when writing this book. And it feels that way. To me, that is kind of one of its strengths though, because to me, I associate Westerns with this kind of like burnt out, exhausted feeling. So if you are going to be burned out for any of your books, I feel like the one that's like a Western is the one to be burned out for. So I don't know that that's what hurts it. Maybe I just don't really like Westerns. Like I love the fact that he did this because it's so unique to write a Western but in a grim dark fantasy world that doesn't actually take place in the American West but to have that vibe. And he really does capture that vibe, like definitely. I just, I've never been that big a fan of Westerns. I do like some Westerns, I don't want to say that I don't. Like I love Tombstone, the movie. And kind of like Deadwood, the show, I didn't finish it. What other Westerns do I like? Oh, I love 310 de Yuma, the new one. That's a good one. Anyway, yeah. All I have to say, Westerns are like very hit and miss for me. So he definitely has a great Western here and it is a Western. So if you love Westerns, this might be your favorite Abercrombie book of all time. That's just like not my favorite. He does a great job with it. And because of what happens in Red Country, it makes possible one of my all-time favorite short stories of his, which that short story is based on the events of Red Country. So I definitely still recommend you read it. It's still a good book, but it just wasn't really my favorite experience and not really my cup of tea. So I don't know that I would ever reread this. Same with the heroes. Like I might just because I run out of Abercrombie and I need more. I'm glad I read it and it's good because it's Abercrombie, but not my favorite. I like all the rest equally goodbye. I'm joking. So for real, I might have to go with, this kind of hurts, but I might have to go with The Blade itself, which is the first book in the first law. This is the beginning of the first law trilogy and the beginning of everything in the first law. And for that reason, it's necessary and it's fantastic and it's great. But I'm pretty sure this is also his debut novel, because I don't think he wrote anything before the first law. And this is the first book in the first law. And it kind of feels that way. Like for a debut, like mind bogglingly good, because fuck, this is your first stab at it. Whoa. A lot of people complain about this and I don't disagree that it does feel kind of a little bit all over the place, a little disjointed, a little disconnected. You kind of feel like, where is this going? What is the point of any of this? So I see that and he's definitely gotten better at that about kind of creating more direction in a way that the reader can really feel it or doesn't notice it if it's not there. So The Blade itself is an excellent introduction to this world and his writing style. And so I feel like if you do not like The Blade itself, like I'm not going to say, oh, but keep reading because it gets better. This is really, it does really give you a good sense of what his style is like and what the books are going to be like. It's just not as tight and not as to the point as some of his other books are. It's kind of setting everything up. And whenever you're setting anything up, that can often feel a little bit tiresome. Some of my favorite moments in the entirety of the first law are in the first book. It's great, but it's weaker just because it's it's earlier in his career as a writer. So I think if he wrote it today, it would be much better because he's grown a lot as a writer. So it's still really, really good. When the best four star reads it, there's a lot of kind of, it's not filler. There's just the reader doesn't really get why they're being shown and told things. When you reread it, if you've read all the books, you get it. And you see where all this is going to make sense. The first time through, it's not really there. And to me, a good book should have it the first time through. So it's still a good book. It's still really, really good. And Glock does in it. Glock does great. Some of my favorite Glock to moments of all time are in this book. Let's say then that my next least favorite are those who are counting. You want to check in on my stack. These are the rankings so far. Heroes, then Red Country, and the late itself. Next worst is Sharpen's, which is the collection of short stories. This is next on my list because it's a mixed bag. Some of the short stories here are amazing. And as I mentioned, one of them is based on Red Country and it is superb. In Red Country, one of the characters hires a chronicler scribe to follow him around and to document his heroic exploits, which of course, it's an Abercrombie book, so they are not heroic. He's a horrible person. And what he's doing is horrible. And it is not worthy of a heroic telling. But in Sharpen's, one of the short stories is what this chronicler scribe ended up writing about the events of Red Country. And he has written it as though it was heroic and noble, which is just so fun and funny because it's so tongue-in-cheek and it's so Abercrombie because it's so overly heroicized. And you know exactly how not heroic everything actually was in Red Country. So it's just such a great concept and so fun to read. And if you read the audio or if you listen to the audiobook, this whole audiobook is read by the guy who reads all the first law books. So that's great. But the one story that is that, where it's what this chronicler with this scribe wrote about Red Country, Joe Abercrombie himself reads that story. And that's fab. So fab. And at the end, there's an interview with Joe Abercrombie and the guy who narrates all the books, which is just fun if you care about that kind of thing. So yeah, this is, it's really good, obviously. Like it's already like fourth from the bottom. So it's like, it's in the middle there. Some of the short stories here are a bit of a drag, kind of don't go anywhere, or like they're about characters that we've never seen before. And I don't feel enough of an introduction to them here to really give a shit. Like I haven't had enough time with them and I didn't instantly feel interested in them. But then again, there's also, there's a short story in here that's Young Lacta before he was ever disfigured back when he was still heroic and virile and attractive and had complete asshole. Not that he's not an asshole, post disfigurement, but you know, so that's, that was great. Seeing Young Lacta, seeing again the heroicized version of what happens in red country. There's, there's several short stories that I really, really enjoyed and overall it was fun to just kind of get little pieces of the world without having a full novel, just kind of having a bit of bit more first law goodness. So it's really good. I really like it, but it's not my favorite. There are eight books to rank and those were the first four. So I guess the top four now. Okay, I think I know the order. I think I've decided. All right, all right. The fourth best is Before They Are Hanged. This is the second book in the first law trilogy. And some of my favorite moments in the first law happen. Okay, some of my favorite moments happen in Egypt, because I should stop saying that. After the blade itself introduces you to the world, then you really get to see kind of a lot more of this world and really get to know these characters and the politics and people go to more places and more stuff happens. And you just really get a sense of how scheming and how deep this goes and the conspiracies get darker and the characters that you kind of thought you knew in the first book, they surprise you again, and things take even darker and twistier turns. So you're like really getting into the meat of it. But it ultimately also it's a middle book. So it kind of still goes nowhere. So at the end of it, you're like, all right, all of that was like pretty juicy, but also like, where is any of this going? I still gave this four stars, but it was like a higher four stars in blade itself. Because again, it's getting darker, it's getting twistier. There's like a lot of interesting moments in character development and a lot of OMG twists that are so good and so, so avacrombie. But again, by the end of it, everyone is even further apart than they were when we started. And you're like, does this all tie up somehow? Where is this going? I love it. But it's fourth best. Third best is The Last Argument of Kings, which is the third and final book in the first law trilogy. And it's the one that I gave five stars to of the trilogy because it does wrap everything up in a way that's just like, holy fuck, oh my God, that really did wrap up. It is longer and I feel like avacrombie's writing, you know, you can see that it's grown. He's starting to tell the story in a more fast paced way. It's tighter. He does some interesting things with the timing of how he's telling things and the way that he's bringing everything together, all the pieces that you thought were extraneous or kind of out of left field do tie in and suddenly you're like, oh my God, like not only did you wrap this up, all that other stuff that I was like, this is probably filler was definitely part of this whole fucking enchilada. So wow. And then he ended it in a way that had me just going, fuck, what, what did I just read? What the fuck was that in the best way possible? Um, yeah, it's just excellent the way that he ties everything together, leave some loose ends in a way that you're just like, why did you leave this loose? It's better that you did, but why? It's just so fucking good. And it makes me like the first two books in the trilogy. So that happened a lot last year in a bit this year, where they're like the last book in a trilogy makes me ultimately hate the trilogy, because the first two books in a trilogy make you like start pushing you in direction, make you ask questions about where all this is going, make you wonder how this is going to wrap up. And the first two books in the first long trilogy, I was like, is this gonna tie it together? Is it going to wrap up? And then holy guacamole, it wraps up and it ties things together and you're like, Jesus, fuck, other trilogies I've read where I feel really like there is a direction to this, like I feel like I do see it and I see like I'm asking the right questions and I'm interested in the mystery. And then I read the third book and I'm like, y'all, that was a horrible answer and that didn't wrap anything up. And that was, fuck you. This is the opposite here. I'm gonna go back and like, I shouldn't say gonna, because I've read it twice, I would go back to the first two books and love them more. Whereas with those other trilogies, the first two books, I loved them because I thought I knew where this was going and then it didn't. And now I can't even like the first two books because I know where this is going and it's going nowhere. So with this, it makes me love the first two books more. So when people say, this seems directionless and pointless, I'm like, I know it seems that way the first time. But if you read the whole trilogy and then you go back and reread it, you're like, oh, this is connected. So well done. Excellent conclusion to a trilogy, in my opinion, which is apparently rare for me to find a conclusion to a trilogy that I think is a good conclusion. All right, we're down to the top two. And I think if you've watched my channel and my Abercrombie videos before, you already know my top two are because my second best used to be my first best, but it has been demoted, Besser cold, which apparently Pierce Brown's least favorite. So you are incorrect, sir. Besser cold is the first standalone after the trilogy. The main character is a female, which is unusual for them to our fantasy and unusual for Abercrombie until recently. And it is a rip roaring revenge story that is definitely, I think, of all of the Abercrombie first law books. This is the grittiest and most violent. I was talking to Amanda from the Nauta Librarian who's making her way through these books, and she read Besser cold. And she was like, that was the darkest one yet. I disagree only because I would agree that it is the grittiest and the most violent, or definitely. But to me, I felt to me, dark is also depressing. And the most depressing to me was Red Country, because it had this like this grizzled kind of worn out feeling to it. So this is the grittiest for sure. It opens and is already like page two. You're just like, blah, I was expecting this, but also I was not ready. The first law trilogy meandering a bit but does wrap up. This is a standalone and it is tight as fuck. It never stops. Oh, so fucking good. It's a revenge story where this female character wants revenge on seven men and she's assembled a crew of like terrible and worse people who altogether she's going to kill those seven men. Come hell or her water, she's going to kill them. And it is a story like only Abercrombie could tell. There is no one to root for here because it's a revenge story. So you tend to want to root for the person who's seeking revenge. I'll account him on a crystal, but she's not a good person. So, Pierce, what is your problem? Why is this not your favorite? What does the hero sound that this doesn't have? Please explain it to me. I don't get it. And my most bestest, best Abercrombie book that I've ever read ever is Little Hatred, which is his newest. And that's just such a delight to know that an author's best work is still ahead of him, that it's not like he wrote the first law trilogy and it's been downhill ever since. This was amazing. It dethroned my former favorite. Besser of Cold was my favorite until Little Hatred came along. It's so fucking good. So the way that Red Country is pretty unique in terms of being a grimdark western, here he's taken this grimdark world that he's built and he's pushed it into the industrial revolution kind of background age. And that by itself as a concept is great and it's well executed. He's brought in some new characters because now we're like many years down the line. So a lot of the previous characters have died or too old to be kind of part of it. So they're kids or new characters all together that are not just the next generation or in it. And you get Glockta again. And why did I miss Glockta? But he doesn't just lean on Glockta. He's a less good author. But I've just been like, I'm just going to give you a whole bunch more Glockta because that's what y'all like and we're just going to do a whole bunch more of that. He doesn't do that. He uses Glockta sparingly because yeah, you want to see Glockta. Of course you want to see Glockta. But this is a new story. This is a new cast of characters. It's a new series. It's their story. The parts that have Glockta are great because it's fucking Glockta. But the new characters are incredible. The new plot lines are incredible. The way that the old plot lines do tie into this and do cast a different light on the events. Because a lot of times you know more if you've read the previous books than the characters themselves and what you know about where they've come from and what their parents and grandparents did before them. It's just amazing. It's epic. It's amazing. I already said amazing, but it's fucking amazing. This was just the best thing I've ever fucking read. I'm so excited for the next book, which is supposed to come out in September, I believe, because I believe he's on a pretty tight schedule and he's not going to let us down. A book a year for this new trilogy. So this came out last September. The next book, which is The Trouble with Peace, supposed to come out in September. I am ready for it. I was ready for it the moment that I finished this one and I need it now. I need it right right now. So if someone gets in the arc of it, that would be great. So if you want to see the final rankings, they are, oh god, we have the heroes, red country, the blade itself, sharp ends, before they are hanged, the last argument of kings, best served cold, and a little hatred. Let me know in the comments down below if you read Abercrombie, if you have what your favorite Abercrombie book is, if you haven't, why the fuck you haven't read Abercrombie. Let me know all the things. I post videos on Saturdays, sometimes Wednesdays, so like and subscribe and I'll see you when I see you. Bye.