--- product_id: 167855920 title: "Last Argument Of Kings: The First Law: Book Three (GOLLANCZ S.F.)" price: "€ 64.40" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/167855920-last-argument-of-kings-the-first-law-book-three-gollancz store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # Last Argument Of Kings: The First Law: Book Three (GOLLANCZ S.F.) **Price:** € 64.40 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Last Argument Of Kings: The First Law: Book Three (GOLLANCZ S.F.) - **How much does it cost?** € 64.40 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/167855920-last-argument-of-kings-the-first-law-book-three-gollancz) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him - but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It's past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home. With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. It's a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough. Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it. While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law... Review: A powerful - but crushing - end to a superb series draws everything together in shocking ways - I’ve been marathoning my way through the First Law trilogy now for a while, and with each new chapter, falling more and more under Joe Abercrombie’s spell. And yet, I couldn’t have been more wrong in some of my comments that I made about the first and second books in the series. Not in their quality, and not in their strengths – the rich character building, the black sense of humor, the complex plotting. No, what I misjudged – and what punched me in the gut as Last Argument of Kings finished – was its sense of hope. Because while I thought that Abercrombie was presenting deeply flawed characters who were doing their best to be good people, and that those good people might be capable of redemption, it turned out he had a whole secondary game waiting for me in the shadows – one that left me pretty stunned by the end of the series. In most ways, though, Last Argument of Kings continues the threads we’ve seen for the other books. The wars we’ve been setting up on both sides of the Aduan kingdom – that with Bethod to the north and the Gurkish to the south – finally break loose, in all of their horrific violence and cost. And as those wars play out, our various “heroes” (put in quotes because, as anyone who’s read these books knows, calling any of these men pure heroes is a stretch of the imagination) find themselves in positions of surprising power over the events unfolding. Logen Ninefingers – a.k.a., the “Bloody Nine” – reunites with his old group of men, and does his best to turn the tide in the North, while continuing his internal debate of whether he could ever undo the damage he’s done in his old life. Sand dan Glokta – cripple, torturer, cynic – finds himself torn between two very demanding masters, and with the power to quite possibly save the kingdom – or maybe destroy it. And Jezal dan Luthar finally realizes exactly why Bayuz, the First of the Magi, has been following him around for so long. More than anything else, though, this is the book where we finally see Abercrombie’s full design, and just how elegantly he’s been putting all of this together. I’ve commented about the previous books that one of their joys is the sense that we’re not quite sure what the endgame is – just what, exactly, is the common thread of this trilogy? By the time Last Argument of Kings ends, you’ll realize exactly what’s going on, and see that what we’ve been watching play out has been far more controlled, manipulated, and shaped than what we expected. And our assumptions about our characters are going to take some serious blows. What Abercrombie seems to be fascinated by, overall, is the blurred line between good and evil, and that’s something that gives the ending its brutal punch. Characters we like, and even admire, turn out to be something less than heroic. Cowardice turns out to have its benefits. The cruelest, in some ways, show themselves to be capable of the greatest kindnesses. And more than anything, the question of power and survival hang over everything. Exactly how far should we be willing to go in order to survive and succeed? These are thorny questions, and Abercrombie doesn’t give us easy answers. Nor does he make the book an easy read, as he displays a Martin-like willingness to butcher and maim characters, to turn them on their heads, and make us question their motives. It’s a bravura performance by Abercrombie, and while the end can be a painful, heartbreaking read at points – one character’s fate, in particular, is truly awful in ways that I never dreamed of – I’m also floored by what he accomplished here. Each character developed, changed, evolved, and shaped over the course of the series in incredible ways, giving you a complexity and depth that many authors just dream of, and setting up moral shades of gray without ever betraying our assumptions. More than that, by the time you finish Last Argument of Kings, it becomes evident just what a grand scope Abercrombie was working on, and just how intricately structured the entire series has been from the beginning. In short, it’s a fantasy trilogy that I absolutely loved. It’s darkly funny, shockingly violent, richly written, beautifully rendered, thoughtfully constructed, and brilliant. And I’m thrilled that there’s more stand-alone books to come – I don’t plan on waiting long to jump into them. If you like George R.R. Martin and haven’t read these, you’re missing out, plain and simple. Review: A Satisfying But Open-Ended Conclusion - The Last Argument of Kings is the third and final volume in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. The series follows a small but varied array of characters as they navigate treacherous wars on several fronts in a world resembling medieval Europe. It's a fairly standard fantasy plot: the dark, mysterious empire to the south holds a grudge against the "civilized" good guys who are also dealing with the barbarian hordes to the north. In fact, a lot of the series is pretty standard, but the First Law trilogy excels anyway, and the Last Argument of Kings is a fine conclusion. There is no one aspect of the novel that is particularly fantastic. Although two of the characters, Glokta the crippled Inquisitor and Logen the reluctant warrior-barbarian, are fascinating (particularly Glokta), the rest of the characters fit into pretty basic character tropes: the mysterious wizard, the cocky swordsman, the bumbling apprentice, the murderous barbarians, etc. The more prototypical characters, however, are developed pretty well and fit into the story nicely. Characters like Jezal (the swordsman) and Bayaz (the magician) likely won't stick with the reader years later, but they're passable. Abercrombie's writing is pretty solid. Each character's point of view chapter is written uniquely. That is, chapters from Logen the barbarian's point of view are written more gruffly, with slang words, short sentences, etc., while chapters from Jezal the noble's perspective are written more fluidly, with more proper wording and sentence structure. It's a neat little touch that adds some realism to an already realistic bit of writing. For the most part, Abercrombie doesn't write deep, thorough descriptive narrative, preferring, instead, to leave the reader to imagine what most of the characters and scenery look like. It's an effective strategy for Abercrombie as flowery narrative would surely undermine the gritty feel he intended. The strongest part of the writing, however, is the dialogue, which is snappy and realistic. Abercrombie manages to give each character a unique mode of speech without relying on cheesy accents or catchphrases. As a final point on the writing style, Abercrombie writes some very good, very realistic action scenes. A lot of fantasy authors are a little high minded with their fight scenes, portraying them as little more than glorified fencing sessions, but Abercrombie's fights are brutal, dirty and painful - truly a pleasure to read. Although they all share a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses, the Last Argument of Kings is probably the best book in the series. As much as I enjoyed the Blade Itself, it was basically one long, extended introduction. The plot barely advanced at all. Things really started to move in Before They Are Hanged, but the novel served primarily to get the characters into position for the conclusion. Outside of the fact that you wouldn't understand the characters or the plot, you could probably read the Last Argument of Kings on its own and not miss a whole lot (aside from an enjoyable reading experience). The First Law Trilogy is by no means perfect. As I said, the plot is nothing special. In fact, it's fairly predictable at times. I don't recall a single moment of real surprise in any of the three books, even the conclusion. The book is a quick read with a decent plot, great action scenes and some really interesting characters. If you didn't like the Blade Itself, you likely won't like Before They Are Hanged. But if you did enjoy the Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged, or you are looking for an entertaining, exciting fantasy read, pick up the Last Argument of Kings and the First Law trilogy. As a final note, there are two side novels currently that build on the plot and characters of the First Law trilogy, which means that there is a lot more to read. And the best thing I can say about the series is that, even after three volumes, I am still eager to read more about Abercrombie's world and characters. The First Law trilogy is well worth your time. ## Images ![Last Argument Of Kings: The First Law: Book Three (GOLLANCZ S.F.) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71gtvJUxarL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A powerful - but crushing - end to a superb series draws everything together in shocking ways *by J***E on July 7, 2016* I’ve been marathoning my way through the First Law trilogy now for a while, and with each new chapter, falling more and more under Joe Abercrombie’s spell. And yet, I couldn’t have been more wrong in some of my comments that I made about the first and second books in the series. Not in their quality, and not in their strengths – the rich character building, the black sense of humor, the complex plotting. No, what I misjudged – and what punched me in the gut as Last Argument of Kings finished – was its sense of hope. Because while I thought that Abercrombie was presenting deeply flawed characters who were doing their best to be good people, and that those good people might be capable of redemption, it turned out he had a whole secondary game waiting for me in the shadows – one that left me pretty stunned by the end of the series. In most ways, though, Last Argument of Kings continues the threads we’ve seen for the other books. The wars we’ve been setting up on both sides of the Aduan kingdom – that with Bethod to the north and the Gurkish to the south – finally break loose, in all of their horrific violence and cost. And as those wars play out, our various “heroes” (put in quotes because, as anyone who’s read these books knows, calling any of these men pure heroes is a stretch of the imagination) find themselves in positions of surprising power over the events unfolding. Logen Ninefingers – a.k.a., the “Bloody Nine” – reunites with his old group of men, and does his best to turn the tide in the North, while continuing his internal debate of whether he could ever undo the damage he’s done in his old life. Sand dan Glokta – cripple, torturer, cynic – finds himself torn between two very demanding masters, and with the power to quite possibly save the kingdom – or maybe destroy it. And Jezal dan Luthar finally realizes exactly why Bayuz, the First of the Magi, has been following him around for so long. More than anything else, though, this is the book where we finally see Abercrombie’s full design, and just how elegantly he’s been putting all of this together. I’ve commented about the previous books that one of their joys is the sense that we’re not quite sure what the endgame is – just what, exactly, is the common thread of this trilogy? By the time Last Argument of Kings ends, you’ll realize exactly what’s going on, and see that what we’ve been watching play out has been far more controlled, manipulated, and shaped than what we expected. And our assumptions about our characters are going to take some serious blows. What Abercrombie seems to be fascinated by, overall, is the blurred line between good and evil, and that’s something that gives the ending its brutal punch. Characters we like, and even admire, turn out to be something less than heroic. Cowardice turns out to have its benefits. The cruelest, in some ways, show themselves to be capable of the greatest kindnesses. And more than anything, the question of power and survival hang over everything. Exactly how far should we be willing to go in order to survive and succeed? These are thorny questions, and Abercrombie doesn’t give us easy answers. Nor does he make the book an easy read, as he displays a Martin-like willingness to butcher and maim characters, to turn them on their heads, and make us question their motives. It’s a bravura performance by Abercrombie, and while the end can be a painful, heartbreaking read at points – one character’s fate, in particular, is truly awful in ways that I never dreamed of – I’m also floored by what he accomplished here. Each character developed, changed, evolved, and shaped over the course of the series in incredible ways, giving you a complexity and depth that many authors just dream of, and setting up moral shades of gray without ever betraying our assumptions. More than that, by the time you finish Last Argument of Kings, it becomes evident just what a grand scope Abercrombie was working on, and just how intricately structured the entire series has been from the beginning. In short, it’s a fantasy trilogy that I absolutely loved. It’s darkly funny, shockingly violent, richly written, beautifully rendered, thoughtfully constructed, and brilliant. And I’m thrilled that there’s more stand-alone books to come – I don’t plan on waiting long to jump into them. If you like George R.R. Martin and haven’t read these, you’re missing out, plain and simple. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Satisfying But Open-Ended Conclusion *by J***N on January 24, 2011* The Last Argument of Kings is the third and final volume in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. The series follows a small but varied array of characters as they navigate treacherous wars on several fronts in a world resembling medieval Europe. It's a fairly standard fantasy plot: the dark, mysterious empire to the south holds a grudge against the "civilized" good guys who are also dealing with the barbarian hordes to the north. In fact, a lot of the series is pretty standard, but the First Law trilogy excels anyway, and the Last Argument of Kings is a fine conclusion. There is no one aspect of the novel that is particularly fantastic. Although two of the characters, Glokta the crippled Inquisitor and Logen the reluctant warrior-barbarian, are fascinating (particularly Glokta), the rest of the characters fit into pretty basic character tropes: the mysterious wizard, the cocky swordsman, the bumbling apprentice, the murderous barbarians, etc. The more prototypical characters, however, are developed pretty well and fit into the story nicely. Characters like Jezal (the swordsman) and Bayaz (the magician) likely won't stick with the reader years later, but they're passable. Abercrombie's writing is pretty solid. Each character's point of view chapter is written uniquely. That is, chapters from Logen the barbarian's point of view are written more gruffly, with slang words, short sentences, etc., while chapters from Jezal the noble's perspective are written more fluidly, with more proper wording and sentence structure. It's a neat little touch that adds some realism to an already realistic bit of writing. For the most part, Abercrombie doesn't write deep, thorough descriptive narrative, preferring, instead, to leave the reader to imagine what most of the characters and scenery look like. It's an effective strategy for Abercrombie as flowery narrative would surely undermine the gritty feel he intended. The strongest part of the writing, however, is the dialogue, which is snappy and realistic. Abercrombie manages to give each character a unique mode of speech without relying on cheesy accents or catchphrases. As a final point on the writing style, Abercrombie writes some very good, very realistic action scenes. A lot of fantasy authors are a little high minded with their fight scenes, portraying them as little more than glorified fencing sessions, but Abercrombie's fights are brutal, dirty and painful - truly a pleasure to read. Although they all share a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses, the Last Argument of Kings is probably the best book in the series. As much as I enjoyed the Blade Itself, it was basically one long, extended introduction. The plot barely advanced at all. Things really started to move in Before They Are Hanged, but the novel served primarily to get the characters into position for the conclusion. Outside of the fact that you wouldn't understand the characters or the plot, you could probably read the Last Argument of Kings on its own and not miss a whole lot (aside from an enjoyable reading experience). The First Law Trilogy is by no means perfect. As I said, the plot is nothing special. In fact, it's fairly predictable at times. I don't recall a single moment of real surprise in any of the three books, even the conclusion. The book is a quick read with a decent plot, great action scenes and some really interesting characters. If you didn't like the Blade Itself, you likely won't like Before They Are Hanged. But if you did enjoy the Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged, or you are looking for an entertaining, exciting fantasy read, pick up the Last Argument of Kings and the First Law trilogy. As a final note, there are two side novels currently that build on the plot and characters of the First Law trilogy, which means that there is a lot more to read. And the best thing I can say about the series is that, even after three volumes, I am still eager to read more about Abercrombie's world and characters. The First Law trilogy is well worth your time. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolutely Epic *by D***E on October 16, 2020* A stupendous ending to the epic First Law Trilogy, although if you've been following closely, you know that there's at least two more trilogies in Abercrombie's First Law World. If fantasy to you means swordmasters, axe-wielders, and magicians whose powers come from the dark side, this is the ticket for you. If you want to be drawn into a world where life is nasty, bitter, fatalistic, where having all your dreams come true isn't all you thought it would be, read this. Forget Tinkerbell and happy bappy munchkins, and dancing oompa-loompas. They ain't here. This is fantasy for grown ups who know that there isn't always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and who you end up being isn't necessarily who you thought you were. It's grim, folks, rather grim. In this volume (and they are all around 640 pages so plan to take breaks before your eyes get too strained), we pick up where we left off at the end of the previous book. All our characters are coming home from their grand adventures and home isn't always quite what they expect. Logen Bloody Ninefingers surprises the world in the North, all of which was content to think him dead and gone. Logen wants to turn over a new leaf, but he's made do many damn enemies in the course of being the bloodiest and deadliest man alive. That, and he doesn't know much of anything but killing. Good thing they need his bloodthirsty spirit to take out Bethod and the dread forms Bethod has made alliance with. Nevertheless, in the North, civilized behavior is only temporary and no one easily accepts new leadership. Luthar returns to Adua and to his surprise is welcomed as a conquering hero. He still has it bad for Ardee, but knows marrying her is out of the question. Luthar has a lot of growth as he rises to the occasion only to wonder whether having all his childhood dreams come true is ever going to make him happy. Colonel West too has to rise the occasion of leadership. It is to him that falls the ugly task of facing Bethod and surviving the complexities of modern army hierarchy. He may long to return to wandering with a handful of barbaric Northmen, but that's not where he's needed. Glotka, the cripple, continues to be among the most fascinating of creatures in literature. Bitter, self-pitying, but with an odd knack for survival, Glotka figures out what it takes with palace politics and who to trust - no one. Last Argument of Kings is epic in every possible way from the hand to hand battles to the Union on the brink of survival nearly engulfed by overwhelming forces. What makes it work do well is that every one of these characters is fully human, burdened by their past mistakes, thrust into roles they don't feel right for, and swirling in the mists of fate and strategy, often struggling not to be puppeted by more powerful forces. ## Frequently Bought Together - Last Argument Of Kings: Book Three (The First Law) - Before They Are Hanged: Book Two (The First Law) - Blade Itself (The First Law) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/167855920-last-argument-of-kings-the-first-law-book-three-gollancz](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/167855920-last-argument-of-kings-the-first-law-book-three-gollancz) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-11-12*