Where to Start with Joe Abercrombie
- Best entry point → A Little Hatred
- Start The First Law Trilogy series → The Blade Itself
- Underrated but highly rated → The Trouble with Peace
- What fans keep coming back to → Before They Are Hanged
- Best narrator for Joe Abercrombie → Last Argument of Kings
- Highest rated by listeners → The Wisdom of Crowds (The Age of Madness #3)
- 1
The Trouble with Peace
The Age of Madness • Book 2
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.70 ABR Score (56.1K ratings)★ 4.6 Goodreads (46.4K) ★ 4.86 Audible (9.8K)21h 57m listening time • Released 2020Steven Pacey's narration transforms this political dark fantasy into something almost Shakespearean—his voice work elevates already sharp character writing into genuinely unforgettable performances you'll hear in your head for months.
- 2
The Wisdom of Crowds
The Age of Madness • Book 3
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.69 ABR Score (50.2K ratings)★ 4.6 Goodreads (41.3K) ★ 4.85 Audible (8.9K)23h 37m listening time • Released 2021Steven Pacey transforms Abercrombie's sprawling revolution into a masterclass in character voices, making each schemer's descent through chaos feel devastatingly personal across 24 hours of pure narrative grip.
- 3
Before They Are Hanged
The First Law • Book 2
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.64 ABR Score (243.2K ratings)★ 4.36 Goodreads (221.5K) ★ 4.81 Audible (21.7K)22h 39m listening time • Released 2015Steven Pacey transforms a brutal, cynical fantasy into something unforgettable—his voice work makes each character so distinct and morally compromised that you'll find yourself rooting for the worst people imaginable.
- 4
Last Argument of Kings
The First Law • Book 3
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.59 ABR Score (225.4K ratings)★ 4.37 Goodreads (204.4K) ★ 4.75 Audible (21.0K)27h 4m listening time • Released 2015Steven Pacey's narration transforms this brutal finale into something operatic—each character's voice so distinct and lived-in that you forget you're listening to one man performing 27 hours of morally broken people destroying each other.
- 5
A Little Hatred
The Age of Madness • Book 1
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.57 ABR Score (72.8K ratings)★ 4.45 Goodreads (61.8K) ★ 4.76 Audible (11.1K)20h 20m listening time • Released 2019Steven Pacey turns Abercrombie's grimy, morally bankrupt world into something genuinely alive—his voice work makes you feel the desperation of each character's climb, and the political scheming lands with brutal comic timing.
- 6
Red Country
First Law World • Book 6
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.54 ABR Score (77.2K ratings)★ 4.32 Goodreads (66.8K) ★ 4.79 Audible (10.4K)19h 52m listening time • Released 2012Steven Pacey transforms Abercrombie's sprawling revenge epic into pure narrative gold, nailing every voice from hardened mercenary to desperate frontier widow with the precision that makes 20 hours vanish.
- 7
The Heroes
First Law World • Book 5
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.53 ABR Score (87.1K ratings)★ 4.35 Goodreads (77.8K) ★ 4.76 Audible (9.3K)23h 5m listening time • Released 2016Steven Pacey elevates this three-day brutal siege into a masterclass in unreliable narration, giving each hardened warrior their own unforgettable voice while the carnage strips away every illusion of honor. The audiobook transforms what could be a straightforward battle into a darkly funny meditation on ambition and mortality.
- 8
The Blade Itself
The First Law Trilogy • Book 1
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.50 ABR Score (344.3K ratings)★ 4.22 Goodreads (317.5K) ★ 4.7 Audible (26.8K)22h 15m listening time • Released 2015Abercrombie's grimdark debut is a deliberate subversion of fantasy tropes — morally compromised heroes, no clean victories, and some of the sharpest dialogue in the genre.
- 9
Best Served Cold
First Law World • Book 4
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.46 ABR Score (126.0K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (113.4K) ★ 4.7 Audible (12.7K)26h 29m listening time • Released 2016Steven Pacey transforms a revenge epic into pure theater—his vocal range and timing make every scheming bastard feel like a fully realized antagonist, and the 26-hour runtime gives you time to savor the brutality.
- 10
The Devils
The Devils • Book 1
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.42 ABR Score (69.7K ratings)★ 4.22 Goodreads (62.8K) ★ 4.72 Audible (6.9K)25h 6m listening time • Released 2025Steven Pacey transforms a morally fractured cast of monsters into characters you'll actually root for—Abercrombie's darkest work gets its perfect voice match.
- 11
Sharp Ends
First Law World • Book 7
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.33 ABR Score (32.0K ratings)★ 4.11 Goodreads (27.7K) ★ 4.71 Audible (4.3K)11h 49m listening time • Released 2016Steven Pacey's voices elevate these interconnected First Law stories into something sharper than the sum of their parts—each character becomes instantly distinct, making the violence and treachery cut deeper.
- 12
Unbound
Annwn Cycle #The Dead's Revenant • Book 1
by Shawn Speakman, Terry Brooks, Seanan McGuire, Mark Lawrence, Anthony Ryan, Tim Marquitz, Brian Staveley, Michael J. Sullivan, John Marco, Peter Orullian, Kat Richardson, Sam Sykes, Kristen Britain, Mazarkis Williams, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Harry Connolly, Delilah S. Dawson, David Anthony Durham, Jason M. Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by Dick Hill, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Nick Podehl, Allyson Johnson, Christian Rodska, Emily Bauer
★ 3.74 ABR Score (1.3K ratings)★ 3.96 Goodreads (1.0K) ★ 4.13 Audible (246)20h 55m listening time • Released 2016A star-studded anthology where twenty-three fantasy masters tell exactly the stories they want, each perfectly matched to a narrator who elevates the prose—Dick Hill's gravitas, Tim Gerard Reynolds' intensity—making this feel less like a collection and more like a curated experience.
- 13
Dangerous Women
The Dresden Files #13.1 - Bombshells
by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Carrie Vaughn, Lev Gossman, Joe R. Lansdale, Megan Lindholm, Lawrence Block, Brandon Sanderson, Sharon Kay Penman, Lev Grossman, Nancy Kress, Diana Rowland, Diana Gabaldon, S.M. Stirling, Sam Sykes, Pat Cadigan, Caroline Spector, Joe Abercrombie, Megan Abbott, Cecelia Holland, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Melinda M. Snodgrass
Narrated by Scott Brick, Jonathan Frakes, Stana Katic, Inna Korobkina, Lee Meriwether, Claudia Black, Sophie Turner, Janis Ian, Iain Glen, Karen Dotrice, Various
★ 3.56 ABR Score (14.9K ratings)★ 3.67 Goodreads (13.2K) ★ 4.02 Audible (1.7K)32h 47m listening time • Released 2013A stacked anthology where Abercrombie, Sanderson, Butcher, and Gabaldon deliver knockout stories, anchored by an all-star narrator cast that elevates every twist—32 hours that justify the hype.
Browse Related Lists
How We Rank Audiobooks
Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.
Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.
We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.
Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.