About the Book
Before They Are Hanged is the second book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, following on directly from The Blade Itself. If you haven't read or listened to that first book, start there, this one picks up without meaningful recapping and assumes you already know the characters.
The story runs three parallel threads. In the frozen north, the Union army is trying to hold back an invasion led by the warrior king Bethod, doing so with catastrophically poor leadership, underprepared soldiers, and the kind of institutional incompetence that makes military disaster feel inevitable. Meanwhile, in the scorched southern city of Dagoska, the crippled Inquisitor Glokta is tasked with defending a city everyone expects to fall, while also hunting down a traitor who may be ready to hand it over before a single wall is breached. The third thread follows the wizard Bayaz and a small company of unlikely companions on a long westward journey toward something ancient and potentially world-altering.
Abercrombie uses the split structure deliberately. Each storyline has a different tone, the north is grim and chaotic, Dagoska is tense and conspiratorial, and the road west has a slightly darker, more ironic take on quest fantasy. The book is longer and more confident than its predecessor, and most readers consider it the strongest entry in the trilogy.
Narration & Audio Performance
Steven Pacey is the reason to listen to this series rather than read it. He has narrated the entire First Law world, the original trilogy, the standalones, and the second trilogy, and his work here is among the most consistent long-running narrator performances in fantasy audio.
Pacey gives each major character a distinct and stable voice. Glokta, the bitter, self-mocking inquisitor, is probably his best performance, dry, sardonic, with a physical weariness that comes through in the delivery without ever becoming a caricature. Logen, West, Jezal, and Bayaz are all clearly differentiated and hold up across long listening sessions. His pacing matches the material: slower and more deliberate in the introspective passages, crisper during action. He doesn't oversell the dark humor, which is the right call, Abercrombie's wit lands better when it's underplayed.
Production quality is clean. No distracting music or sound design, just narration, which suits this kind of multi-POV fantasy better than most audio enhancement approaches would.
The Audible Verdict
Steven Pacey's narration is genuinely one of the stronger long-form fantasy narrator performances available on Audible, and Before They Are Hanged is where the First Law series hits its stride. If you're already committed to this trilogy, spending a credit here is reasonable, Pacey's character differentiation makes the parallel storylines easier to track in audio than they might be on the page, particularly across long listening stretches.
Listen on AudibleIs This Book a Good Fit for Audio?
This book is a good fit for audio. The structure is linear within each POV thread, and Abercrombie's prose is dialogue-heavy enough that Pacey's voice differentiation does real work. There are no maps, charts, or visual elements that matter to following the plot, and the chapter-by-chapter POV shifts are easy to follow aurally because the characters sound distinctly different from one another.
The one potential challenge is the three-strand structure itself. Listeners who are easily pulled out of one storyline when another begins may find it harder to stay oriented in audio than in print, where you can flip back a few pages to reorient. If you're a focused listener, commutes, long walks, household tasks that don't demand split attention, that won't be an issue. If you listen in short, scattered sessions, the print version might help you track the threads more reliably.
Popular Listener Questions
Do I need to listen to The Blade Itself first?
Yes. Before They Are Hanged picks up directly where The Blade Itself ends. The characters, factions, and ongoing conflicts are not reintroduced, so starting here without the first book would leave you without essential context.
Is this the second book in a series?
Yes. It's the second of three books in the First Law trilogy, followed by Last Argument of Kings. Abercrombie has also written several standalone novels and a second trilogy set in the same world, all narrated by Steven Pacey.
Is the narration consistent with the first book?
Yes. Steven Pacey narrated The Blade Itself and all subsequent First Law books, so voice characterizations carry over directly.
Is this suitable for listeners new to grimdark fantasy?
The First Law trilogy is one of the most accessible entry points into grimdark fantasy, it's dark and cynical but not gratuitously so, and Abercrombie's dry humor keeps it readable. That said, this is the second book, so new listeners should begin with The Blade Itself.
Similar Audiobooks
The first book in the First Law trilogy, required listening before Before They Are Hanged.
The concluding volume of the First Law trilogy, also narrated by Steven Pacey.
A standalone novel set in the First Law world, narrated by Pacey, a good next step after the trilogy.
Another widely recommended fantasy series with strong audio production, for listeners who want to explore beyond Abercrombie.
Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy series appeals to many of the same readers, larger in scale but similarly committed to character work across a large cast.
A standalone set in the First Law world focused almost entirely on a single battle, Pacey narrates, and it's considered one of Abercrombie's tightest books.
Audiobook Details
| Title | Before They Are Hanged |
|---|---|
| Author | Joe Abercrombie |
| Narrator | Steven Pacey |
| Genre | Grimdark Fantasy |
| Year | 2009 |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
| Abridged | Unabridged |
| Cast | Single narrator |
| Author-narrated | No |
Ready to listen?
Before They Are Hanged is available on Audible, if you're working through the First Law trilogy, Steven Pacey's narration makes the audio version a genuinely good way to experience it.
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