Best Steven Pacey Audiobooks
Steven Pacey's narration of Joe Abercrombie's First Law series is frequently cited as the greatest audiobook performance of all time — and it's hard to argue. Pacey voices dozens of characters with such consistency and distinction that listeners forget they're hearing a single person. His Glokta is iconic, his Logen Ninefingers unforgettable. A veteran stage and screen actor, Pacey brings a theatrical intensity to grimdark fantasy that perfectly matches Abercrombie's dark humor and brutal action. If you haven't heard Pacey perform The Blade Itself, you're missing one of the medium's defining achievements.
Where to Start with Steven Pacey
- New to Steven Pacey? Start here → The Blade Itself
- What fans keep coming back to → Before They Are Hanged
- Short listen, big payoff → Valdor: Birth of the Imperium (The Horus Heresy: Characters)
- Highest rated by listeners → The Trouble with Peace
- Best narrator–author pairing → Last Argument of Kings
Best Steven Pacey Audiobooks
- 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
Locked In
Department Q • Book 10
by Jussi Adler-Olsen, Caroline Waight
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.30 ABR Score (10.0K ratings)★ 4.18 Goodreads (9.5K) ★ 4.67 Audible (525)16h 15m listening time • Released 2024 - 13
Valdor: Birth of the Imperium (The Horus Heresy: Characters)
The Horus Heresy: Characters
by Chris Wraight
Narrated by Steven Pacey, Jonathan Keeble, Katy Maw, Toby Longworth
★ 4.22 ABR Score (4.4K ratings)★ 4.12 Goodreads (2.5K) ★ 4.7 Audible (1.9K)6h 16m listening time • Released 2020Steven Pacey and the ensemble cast elevate Wraight's exploration of the Emperor's greatest warrior into something genuinely theatrical—each narrator brings distinct weight to Valdor's origin, making this feel less like lore-building and more like witnessing legend unfold.
- 14
Let Me In
Let the Right One In • Book 1
by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.19 ABR Score (124.0K ratings)★ 4.04 Goodreads (121.7K) ★ 4.28 Audible (2.3K)16h 49m listening time • Released 2010Steven Pacey's performance elevates this vampire novel beyond genre—his voice work captures the psychological depth and isolation that makes the relationship between these two damaged kids genuinely haunting.
- 15
The Falling Sword
Clash of Empires • Book 2
by Ben Kane
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.16 ABR Score (1.5K ratings)★ 4.38 Goodreads (1.2K) ★ 4.68 Audible (260)15h 30m listening time • Released 2019Steven Pacey elevates Kane's Roman-Greek clash into a visceral experience, his voice work making Felix and Demetrios' opposing loyalties cut deeper than any plot summary could. The final battle sequence alone justifies the 15-hour commitment.
- 16
The Shadows in the Street
Simon Serrailler • Book 5
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.11 ABR Score (7.0K ratings)★ 4 Goodreads (6.6K) ★ 4.4 Audible (466)11h 59m listening time • Released 2010Steven Pacey's narration transforms Hill's psychological thriller into something genuinely unsettling—his ability to shift between Serrailler's steely composure and the creeping dread of a town under siege makes this fifth installment impossible to abandon.
- 17
The Other Side of Midnight
Midnight • Book 1
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.11 ABR Score (50.6K ratings)★ 3.96 Goodreads (50.6K) ★ 4.87 Audible (46)14h 30m listening time • Released 2021Steven Pacey transforms Sheldon's globe-trotting revenge thriller into pure listening gold, nailing every accent and emotional shift across 14 hours of genuine page-turning suspense.
- 18
Let the Right One In
Let the Right One In • Book 1
by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.11 ABR Score (122.0K ratings)★ 4.04 Goodreads (121.7K) ★ 4.31 Audible (301)16h 48m listening time • Released 2022 - 19
Memories of Midnight
Midnight • Book 2
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.10 ABR Score (21.2K ratings)★ 3.75 Goodreads (20.9K) ★ 4.58 Audible (310)9h 43m listening time • Released 1999Steven Pacey transforms Sheldon's revenge thriller into pure narrative propulsion—his voice work elevates every twist, making the amnesia and deception genuinely gripping across nearly 10 hours.
- 20
The Soul of Discretion
Simon Serrailler • Book 8
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.07 ABR Score (5.4K ratings)★ 4.17 Goodreads (5.0K) ★ 4.42 Audible (467)9h 53m listening time • Released 2014Steven Pacey's masterful narration transforms this eighth Serrailler mystery into something deeper than procedural crime—his voice captures the quiet moral complexity that makes Hill's detective series so addictive.