Order of Book Series
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First Law Books in Order

Joe Abercrombie has written 10 First Law books, published between 2006 and 2016. The first book is The Blade Itself (2006) and the newest is Two's Company (2016). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
10
Published
2006–2016
Confirmed
7 of 10 titles
Pages on record
3,890 in 7 of 10 books
Reading time
65–97 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,890 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 10 titles with a page count on record.

See all 10 books in order Printable First Law checklist

First Law is Joe Abercrombie's epic fantasy sequence. The Blade Itself opened it in 2006, followed by Before They Are Hanged in 2007 and Last Argument of Kings in 2008. The wider First Law World continues through Best Served Cold (2009), The Heroes (2011), Red Country (2012) and the short fiction collected in Sharp Ends (2016). Wars, kings and revenge drive the plots, and ten books make up the run.

How many First Law books are there?

First Law has 10 books, released between 2006 and 2016.

First Law Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 10 First Law books in the order they were published, 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 Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 of the First Law World series (2016)
  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
    Tough Times All OverFirst Law #42014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Sharp EndsFirst Law World #12016 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Fool JobsFirst Law World #42016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Two's CompanyFirst Law #52016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read First Law books in order?

You should read the First Law books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each First Law book also stands alone.

Where to start with First Law

Start with The Blade Itself (2006), the earliest published title.

What is the newest First Law book?

Two's Company (2016) is the newest First Law book released so far.

Is there a new First Law book coming?

No next First Law book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards First Law has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 11 nominations for First Law. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Locus Award for Best Novelette2015Wonfor Tough Times All Over
  • British Fantasy Award for Best Collection2017Shortlistedfor Sharp Ends
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Collection2017Shortlistedfor Sharp Ends
  • Locus Award for Best Collection2017Shortlistedfor Sharp Ends
  • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2013Shortlistedfor Red Country
  • Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel2013Shortlistedfor Red Country
  • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2012Shortlistedfor The Heroes
  • August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel2012Shortlistedfor The Heroes
  • Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel2012Shortlistedfor The Heroes
  • Locus Award for Best Novelette2011Shortlistedfor The Fool Jobs
  • August Derleth Award2010Shortlistedfor Best Served Cold
  • Locus Award for Best First Novel2007Shortlistedfor The Blade Itself

First Law at a glance

No recent titles
The newest First Law title on record dates from 2016, 10 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
First Law books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,890 pages across the 7 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 531 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most First Law books, 6 of 10, were published in the 2010s.
Corroboration
6 of the 10 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 7 in at least three.

What the First Law books are about

7 of the 10 First Law 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 7 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Joe Abercrombie

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.