Order of Book Series
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Joe Abercrombie Books in Order

Joe Abercrombie has written 20 books, published between 2006 and 2025. The first book is The Blade Itself (2006) and the newest is The Devils (2025). One more title is announced: The Heretics (2027). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
20 + 1 announced
Published
2006–2025
Confirmed
17 of 21 titles
Pages on record
5,941 in 12 of 21 books
Reading time
99–149 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,941 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 21 titles with a page count on record.

See all 21 books in order Printable Joe Abercrombie checklistNext: The Heretics (2027)
Photo of Joe Abercrombie, author

Joe Abercrombie, born 31 December 1974, is an English writer of epic fantasy who has also worked as a film editor. The First Law and Age of Madness trilogies share one setting with other Abercrombie novels, and Abercrombie has also written a young adult trilogy. Half a King took the 2015 Locus Award for best young adult book. The catalogue opens with The Blade Itself (2006), reaches The Devils (2025) and lists The Heretics for 2027. Series include First Law World, Age of Madness, Shattered Sea and Devils.

How many Joe Abercrombie books are there?

Joe Abercrombie has 20 published books, released between 2006 and 2025. They include 5 series and 1 title listed outside any series. One more, The Heretics (2027), is announced.

Joe Abercrombie Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 21 Joe Abercrombie books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 of the First Law series (2006)
  2. Cover of Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, book 2 of the First Law series (2007)
  3. Cover of Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, book 3 of the First Law series (2008)
  4. Cover of Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 of the First Law World series (2009)
  5. Cover of The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, book 2 of the First Law World series (2011)
  6. Cover of Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, book 3 of the First Law World series (2012)
  7. Cover of Half a King by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 of the Shattered Sea series (2014)
  8. Cover of Half the World by Joe Abercrombie, book 2 of the Shattered Sea series (2015)
  9. Cover of Half a War by Joe Abercrombie, book 3 of the Shattered Sea series (2015)
  10. Cover of Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 of the First Law World series (2016)
  11. Cover of A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 of the Age of Madness series (2019)
  12. Cover of The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie, book 2 of the Age of Madness series (2020)
  1. 1
    The Blade ItselfFirst Law #12006 · 531 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2006531
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Before They Are HangedFirst Law #22007 · 448 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2007448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Last Argument of KingsFirst Law #32008 · 639 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2008639
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Best Served ColdFirst Law World #12009 · 912 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2009912
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The HeroesFirst Law World #22011 · 592 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2011592
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Red CountryFirst Law World #32012 · 464 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2012464
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Legends: Stories in Honour of David GemmellLegends #12013 · confirmed 4/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Half a KingShattered Sea #12014 · 336 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2014336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Tough Times All OverFirst Law #42014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Half the WorldShattered Sea #22015 · 366 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2015366
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Half a WarShattered Sea #32015 · 366 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2015366
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Sharp EndsFirst Law World #12016 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Fool JobsFirst Law World #42016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Two's CompanyFirst Law #52016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Two's Company (First Law Short Story))2016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    A Little HatredAge of Madness #12019 · 471 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2019471
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Trouble With PeaceAge of Madness #22020 · 512 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2020512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Wisdom of CrowdsAge of Madness #32021 · confirmed 4/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Great ChangeAge of Madness #42023 · confirmed 4/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The DevilsDevils #12025 · confirmed 4/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The HereticsDevils #22027 · confirmed 3/4
    2027–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Joe Abercrombie series and characters in order

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Joe Abercrombie books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.

First Law books in order

5 books by Joe Abercrombie
  1. 1. The Blade Itself
  2. 2. Before They Are Hanged
  3. 3. Last Argument of Kings
  4. 4. Tough Times All Over
  5. 5. Two's Company

First Law World in order

5 books
  1. 1. Best Served Cold
  2. 1. Sharp Ends
  3. 2. The Heroes
  4. 3. Red Country
  5. 4. The Fool Jobs

Age of Madness in order

4 books
  1. 1. A Little Hatred
  2. 2. The Trouble With Peace
  3. 3. The Wisdom of Crowds
  4. 4. The Great Change

Shattered Sea in order

3 books
  1. 1. Half a King
  2. 2. Half the World
  3. 3. Half a War

Devils in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Devils
  2. 2. The Heretics

Legends in order

1 book
  1. 1. Legends: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell

Standalone books

1 book

1 Joe Abercrombie title here is not listed as part of any series.

Joe Abercrombie Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Joe Abercrombie books run from The Blade Itself (2006) to The Devils (2025), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Joe Abercrombie in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Joe Abercrombie books in order?

You only need to read Joe Abercrombie books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

What order should you read Joe Abercrombie books in?

Read them in publication order, starting with The Blade Itself (2006), the first First Law book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest Joe Abercrombie book?

The Devils (2025) is the newest Joe Abercrombie book released so far.

Is there a new Joe Abercrombie book coming?

Yes. The Heretics (2027) is the next Joe Abercrombie book announced in the catalogue. A publication year announced this far ahead moves, so it is worth rechecking: every announced title dated after 2026 sits on the upcoming book releases page.

Awards Joe Abercrombie has won

Wikidata records 3 awards and 18 nominations for Joe Abercrombie. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Joe Abercrombie at a glance

Still publishing
Joe Abercrombie is still publishing. The Heretics is announced for 2027.
Release pace
Joe Abercrombie books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
5,941 pages across the 12 of 21 books with a recorded length, a median of 468 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Joe Abercrombie books, 12 of 21, were published in the 2010s.
Corroboration
15 of the 21 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 17 in at least three.

What the Joe Abercrombie books are about

13 of the 21 Joe Abercrombie books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 12 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other Fantasy authors

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.