The First Law

Three trilogies and three standalones, and the standalones are where the next trilogy's cast comes from.

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Where to start with The First Law

Publication order, without deviation. This is the cleanest of the big fantasy sequences to order and the easiest to get wrong by skipping, because the three books in the middle are called standalones and people take that literally.

  1. 1
    The First Law Trilogy The Blade Itself

    The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings. Book one is setup and book three is the payoff.

  2. 2
    Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country Best Served Cold

    Standalone in plot, cumulative in everything else. Best Served Cold builds Styria, The Heroes builds the North, Red Country carries Logen and Shivers forward.

  3. 3
    Sharp Ends Sharp Ends

    Right here, after Red Country. Some of its stories spoil the standalones, which is why chronological placement of the earliest story at the front would be a mistake.

  4. 4
    The Age of Madness A Little Hatred

    A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds. Savine, Leo, Rikke, Orso and a returning Bayaz, and half the cast means nothing without the six books before it.

Then what? The Great Change and Other Lies is a small collection nothing depends on. The Shattered Sea trilogy and The Devils are the same author in different worlds.

A suggested way in, not an official one. The full list is below: tick anything off in either place.

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The First Law Trilogy

  • The Blade Itself 2006
  • Before They Are Hanged 2007
  • Last Argument of Kings 2008

The Great Leveller

  • Best Served Cold 2009
  • The Heroes 2011
  • Red Country 2012

The Age of Madness

  • A Little Hatred 2019
  • The Trouble With Peace 2020
  • The Wisdom of Crowds 2021

Short Fiction

  • Sharp Ends 2016
  • The Great Change (And Other Lies) 2023

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