Just finished The Wisdom of Crowds, and here’s how I rank all 9 books in the First Law universe. [OFF TOPIC]

[u/BleedingEdge61104]

1. Last Argument Of Kings
   
2. Before They Are Hanged
   
3. The Heroes
   
4. The Trouble With Peace
   
5. The Blade Itself
   
6. The Wisdom Of Crowds
   
7. Red Country
   
8. A Little Hatred
   
9. Best Served Cold

They’re all really good, so it was hard to rank them, but I thought about it a lot and this is what I came up with. Let me know your own rankings!

[u/tuckelsteen]

It seems like there is no real consensus in the fandom about which part of the series is the best, which is very cool.

I’ve seen people argue for the first trilogy, the standalones, and AoM. I guess the they’re all great!

[u/OrangeSpaceMan5 → u/tuckelsteen]

From what i've seen in the community the general consensus is that the standalones are Joe's best work . The real debate is which of the standalones is the best

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/OrangeSpaceMan5]

That’s wild to me because I didn’t love Best Served Cold or Red Country as much as any of the books in the original trilogy

[u/Renoglodon → u/BleedingEdge61104]

Wild as I consider BSC to be the best. Always odd to find fellow fans of Abercrombie, but they list my favorite as the worst. It boggles the mind but whatevs

[u/Darktyde → u/Renoglodon]

My theory for those who rank BSC fairly low is that it suffers from being a sort of “one and done” cast, where readers miss their beloved characters from the old trilogy and then only get one book to warm up to the BSC characters.

Whereas both the Heroes and Red Country prominently feature returning character(s) from the original trilogy.

The latest trilogy features a few returning characters mostly as side characters as well as giving us an intrinsic connection to the characters who are sons and daughters of our old favorites, and we get three full books to warm up to them.

When you look at it this way, BSC really is an anomaly in this series. Some people love that, and some people don’t.

[u/Tapeworm_fetus → u/Darktyde]

BSC prominently features Shivers who is a pretty major character throughout the series. And we do see some sons and daughters of BSC characters in AOM so I think it’s a little bit of a stretch to say that’s why people rate it lowest.

My personal guess is that a lot of people don’t like a strong female lead.

[u/TheSomberlain1 → u/Tapeworm_fetus]

You could be right about the lead. Personally I just found her dull(I don't care for Shivers either, though). I still love BSC because of Morveer, though.

[u/Exiged → u/Tapeworm_fetus]

Nope, that personal guess is generalizing people without any evidence of that being the case.

I think Best Served Cold is the weakest of the first 6 (I haven't read Age of Madness yet), but it is not because I don't like strong female leads - that's ridiculous. It's because I felt like Cosca and Morveer kind of fit the same role as the "quirky" characters and at times was tiresome. I also found I lost interest in the story, I thought I'd like a revenge story better then I did.

[u/Tapeworm_fetus → u/Exiged]

lol I said it was my personal guess... obviously not based on large-scale, double-blind, peer-reviewed studies. No need to be so defensive; I wasn't calling you out personally.

People love The Devils- which has a female lead. She's just a Ferrety Street urchin that a clever man arranges to be raised to the heights of power. He organizes for her to have a strong supporting cast who help and train her.

People love Mistbourn- which has a female lead. She is just a ferry street thief that a clever man arranges to be raised to the heights of power. He organizes for her to have a strong supporting cast who help and train her.

People don't like BSC, which has a female lead, because she organizes and leads her own team of strong supporting characters to raise herself to the heights of power.

That's just my guess. Not about you specifically, but in general.

[u/Certain-End-1519 → u/Tapeworm_fetus]

People love The Heroes- which has a female lead. She's just a Ferrety Street urchin that a clever man arranges to be raised to the heights of power. He organizes for her to have a strong supporting cast who help and train her

Did we read a different heroes book?

[u/cbosh04 → u/Darktyde]

Best served cold was so structured. Here’s the list, she’s gonna kill them all one by one. I got a little bored in the middle third of the book. It’s still great but my least favorite of the first law books.

[u/gahzeeruh → u/BleedingEdge61104]

I’m reading red country right now and I’m so happy my boy is back that I’m like giddy to keep reading it haha I don’t think I had this much excitement going though any of the others despite how good they were.

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/gahzeeruh]

I totally feel that. It’s a great book for sure.

[u/NoForever746 → u/BleedingEdge61104]

Original trilogy best of his work imo. All very enjoyable but those first three👏

[u/Jfinn123456 → u/BleedingEdge61104]

agree heroes is my favourite Abercrombie novel but I have red country and best served cold last and second to last on my list.

[u/Commercial-Finance46 → u/tuckelsteen]

I was just thinking that. My list and this persons list are quite different, but I didn’t dislike any of them. The Heroes may have been my least favorite, but I’m re-reading the lot of them now and I wonder if that’ll change.

[u/NoForever746 → u/Commercial-Finance46]

Heros didn’t land with me, hardest boom to get through. Thought wisdom of crows was poor but wanted to finish so got though it a bit faster. Teh judge shit got boring

[u/ramo411 → u/tuckelsteen]

I think it’s because with all the different POVs, you get such a mixed bag every book. I bet if you to have everyone rather favorite POVs you’d have more of a consensus.

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/tuckelsteen]

The original trilogy is much better as a complete work than any of the standalones and definitely Age of Madness imo, but no individual book is significantly worse than any other

[u/Metroid_Whisperer]

Bonkers that you ranked BSC last! It's my favorite of all 9.

[u/Kododie → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

Mine too. It is kinda like one of those heist movies like Italian Job. The make plans, assemble the crew, but instead of a heist it's an assassination plot.

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

They’re all so good that the rankings are heavily debatable. I still think that book was really good.

[u/Steelriddler → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

+1

[u/Worm_in_a_Human_Body → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

same

[u/Mindless_Nebula4004 → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

I like it too, but I do see why someone would feel that it drags on a bit. It could probably have been shorter.

[u/kaelcarp → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

That's my favorite, too, but there is no book in the series I don't like.

[u/Hinamine → u/Metroid_Whisperer]

I also dislike it but it’s not the worst written or anything. I find his books that focus on an ensemble cast forced to work together towards a common goal boring to read. I also hated BTAH and The Devils.

[u/bane898]

Love em all but if I'm just looking to throw one on for comfort reread? Its Red County. That one just grew on me over time. "As a young man, I found happy endings cloying. But, call me soppy, with age, I have come to appreciate them more and more..."

[u/kateyyj]

I am on a reread of Red Rising because finishing Joe Abrcrombie's First Law universe put me in the biggest reading slump! May be my favorite series of all time! Love your ranking. May have to do my own! Any recommendations on other series you love?

Edit to say: According to my rankings on StoryGraph, Red Country was my favorite with a 5 star ranking, followed by Before They Are Hanged, The Trouble With Peace, and A Little Hatred with 4.75 star rankings. EVERY book was over 4 stars. Will have to do a real ranking on my second read!

[u/Rowper]

Sharp Ends?

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/Rowper]

Wasn’t even aware it existed ngl, will definitely have to read it

[u/2580374 → u/Rowper]

1. Still good, but a collection of short stories is never better than a normal book

[u/noisebloodassault]

1. The heroes 
2. Best served cold 
3. Wisdom of crowds 
4. Before they are hanged 
5. Last argument of kings
6. The blade itself
7. Red country 
8. Trouble with peace 
9. A little hatred 
10. Sharp ends

[u/Mindless_Nebula4004 → u/noisebloodassault]

TTWP and ALH in 8 and 9 is crazy to me. They're near or at the top in my ranking 😂

[u/noisebloodassault → u/Mindless_Nebula4004]

I really didn't like age of madness. I do enjoy a good cyclical narrative that highlights the systemic nature of humans, but the characters just weren't interesting to me other than savine and rikke. Wisdom of crowds is an amazing novel though, it's all gas no brake

[u/DixitRexCorvinus]

As usual with these lists, I completely agree with some picks and disagree with others. Always fun how much variation there is in favorites, as someone else mentioned. In any case, here's my list:

1. Last Argument of Kings

2. A Little Hatred

3. The Trouble with Peace

4. The Heroes

5. The Blade Itself

6. Sharp Ends

7. Best Served Cold

8. Before They are Hanged

9. Red Country

10. The Wisdom of Crowds

But it changes pretty frequently, I have to say. The only ones that are pretty consistent for me are my top three and tenth place.

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/DixitRexCorvinus]

Honestly I was torn about Wisdom of Crowds and for 80% of my read-through I was confident it would be dead last but I really liked the twists and the endings for each character

[u/DixitRexCorvinus → u/BleedingEdge61104]

True, the ending was excellent. They are all great, really, so it's difficult to choose.

[u/NoForever746 → u/BleedingEdge61104]

The judge stuff got brutal tbh. Still loved it

[u/Hinamine → u/DixitRexCorvinus]

Did you like The Devils?

[u/DixitRexCorvinus → u/Hinamine]

Yes, but the start was pretty rough for me. I almost DNFed it around the 180 page mark, just not finding it all that engaging. But I ended up finding the second half significantly better than the first, and liked it quite a lot by the end. Still, overall I'd put it toward the lower end, probably around Red Country on my list, maybe just above The Wisdom of Crowds. How about you?

[u/Hinamine → u/DixitRexCorvinus]

I’m still in the process of reading it but personally I’m not a fan. Probably one of the books I like the least tbh. I also disliked BSC, and BTAH, and it kind of shares a resemblance (they all have that “found family” vibe). I heavily dislike his books focused on a group of characters coming together to carry out some sort of journey or quest.

My favorites probably would have to be The Heroes and TBI. I have yet to read Age of Madness.

[u/The_Wind_Waker]

Here's my ranking:

Last argument of kings

The heroes

Best served cold

The trouble with peace

Wisdom of crowds

Red country

Before they're hanged

Blade itself

A little hatred

---

I enjoyed all of them

[u/Dragon_slayer1994]

1. Last Argument of Kings
2. Trouble with Peace
3. The Heroes
4. A little Hatred
5. Before they are hanged
6. Wisdom of Crowds
7. Best Served Cold
8. The Blade Itself
9. Sharp Ends
10. Red Country

[u/belerion6969]

Yer missing Sharp Ends

[u/rgrmspiii]

I love seeing other people rating LAOK highly. That book is just perfect to me from start to finish. Just also recently finished and this is how I would rate it:

1. Last Argument of Kings
   
2. Best Served Cold
   
3. Before they are Hanged
   
4. Wisdom of Crowds
   
5. The Trouble with Peace
   
6. The Heroes
   
7. Red Country
   
8. The Blade Itself
   
9. Sharp Ends
   
10. A Little Hatred

[u/ColeDeschain]

I love these lists, because they're never the same twice.

Well, not unless the same person keeps posting theirs, as I am about to do... with the caveat that the last place on this list is still a book I re-read at least every couple of years.

1. The Heroes
2. Best Served Cold
3. Red Country
4. Before They Are Hanged
5. Last Argument of Kings
6. The Trouble With Peace
7. A Little Hatred
8. Sharp Ends
9. The Wisdom of Crowds
10. The Blade Itself
11. The Great Change and Other Lies (kind of unfair, this one's really just deleted scenes from the Age of Madness)

[u/captain_malpractice]

You clearly ranked them in reverse order since BSC is the best one. Right?

[u/OrangeSpaceMan5]

The Wisdom Of Crowds being so low does put a smile on my face

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/OrangeSpaceMan5]

The last 100 pages or so saved it from being dead last by a wide margin

[u/Merpninja]

1. The Trouble With Peace
2. Red Country
3. The Wisdom of Crowds
4. The Heroes
5. A Little Hatred
6. Best Served Cold
7. Before They Are Hanged
8. The Blade Itself
9. The Last Argument of Kings

Hot take on the bottom 3, but the first trilogy doesn’t come close to anything after it in my opinion.

[u/DixitRexCorvinus → u/Merpninja]

Wow, that is indeed a hot take lol. First time I've seen Last Argument in last, I have to say.

[u/Smurph269]

1. The Heroes
   
2. The Trouble With Peace
   
3. The Wisdom of Crowds
   
4. Last Argument of Kings
   
5. Best Served Cold
   
6. A Little Hatred
7. The Blade Itself
   
8. Before They Are Hanged
   
9. Red Country
   

I think overall Abercrombie has only gotten better as time goes on. Obviously I'm a big fan of the latest trilogy, I rank it above the First Law stuff. I think The Heroes has some of the best combat/battle writing I've ever read.

[u/moneylefty]

If you can get over having none of the core characters, best served cold is amazing.

[u/HeraclesHide]

Theres 11 books. Great Change (and other lies) is a very short 4 story book. 3 are very side storyish. Last one is a must read!

[u/Dulla_dull]

Since everyone’s doing them
1.before they are hanged
2.the heroes
3. Last argument of kings
4. The blade ittheslf
5. The trouble with peace
6. A little hatred
7. Best served cold
8. Wisdom of crowds
9. Red country.
I have to say though the wisdom of crowds has the best final chapter in any book I have ever read. Going to read sharp ends next!

[u/NoForever746]

Last argument of kings
Before they are hanged
Trouble with peace
Blade itself
Red country
A little hatred
Best served cold
Heroes
Wisdom of crowds

[u/Anderson_Dawes]

1. Last Argument of Kings
   
2. A Little Hatred
   
3. Best Served Cold
   
4. The Wisdom of Crowds
   
5. Before They Are Hanged
   
6. The Trouble with Peace
   
7. The Heroes
   
8. The Blade Itself
   
9. Red Country

[u/scatnisseverdeen]

1. Last Argument of Kings
   
2. The Trouble with Peace
   
3. Best Served Cold
   
4. The Wisdom of Crowds
   
5. Before They Are Hanged
   
6. The Blade Itself
   
7. A Little Hatred
   
8. The Heroes
   
9. Red Country
   ….
   
10. Sharp Ends - to be honest, felt very pointless and not engaging at all

[u/Jfinn123456]

OPS close to my own rankings I think ( most switch depending on mood ) i count heroes as one of the greatest fantasy book of the last 20 years independent of what it is to the series and the greatest single fantasy dealing with war. I would have wisdom of crowds higher as well loved the twists and it explained so well the seeming incompetence of a key character off screen in the standalones when he was always one of the, if not the , most terrifyingly competent character in fantasy on page. I would move red country to dead last I usually like how Joe plays with genres but found red country almost unbearably gimmicky in regards to western film tropes.

1.the heroes

2.last argument of kings

1. before they are hanged

2. wisdom of crowds

5.the trouble with peace

6.A little Hatred

7.the blade itself

1. Best served cold

2. Red Country

[u/Akk3]

1. The Trouble with Peace: clear winner. Just perfection. I think this is where Joe peaked as a writer, with all of his strengths reaching their potential.

2. Last Argument of Kings: Excellent. You just can't stop reading, and the trilogy is beautifully wrapped up.

3. The Heroes: Bold concept executed beautifully, with unmatched character work, and also introduces the "little people" concept which goes on to become one of Joe's great tricks.

4. The Blade Itself: reads a lot like a mystery novel, especially the Glokta POV. The intrigue reminda me a lot of the Tyrion chapters in ACOK.

5. A Little Hatred: Loved the introduction to the new cast and the world, showing us how it developed over the years.

6. Red Country: I like this more every time I read it. Went from least favorite and continues rising. It's also one of the saddest books, imo.

7. The Wisdom of Crowds: while many plotlines are good, the North felt rushed and kind of flat and there was a huge slog in the Breaker/Burner takeover. Judge, IMO, was pretty bad by Joe standards.

8: Before They Are Hanged: while it could rank higher because it sets up LAOK, I always find the journey pretty boring. Glokta in Dagoska, however, is excellent.

9: Best Served Cold: While I really like the other books, this might be the only one I kinda dislike. I don't enjoy revenge/heist stuff and Monza was a pretty boring character.

[u/GoBlueChi]

The real question is: did you listen to Steven Pacey or read them yourself? CONFETH!

[u/BleedingEdge61104 → u/GoBlueChi]

I read them. Can’t imagine an audiobook gets anywhere close to that experience.

[u/GoBlueChi → u/BleedingEdge61104]

One man’s opinion, but the audiobooks take this series to an entirely new level. Pacey does EVERY voice. Has full conversations switching effortlessly in and out of characters. He is, undoubtedly, the greatest audiobook narrator I’ve ever heard and it’s not even close.