Best Served Cold Audiobook By Joe Abercrombie cover art

Best Served Cold

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Best Served Cold

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

Springtime in Styria. And that means war.

There have been 19 years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, and behind the scenes bankers, priests, and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.

War may be hell, but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money, too. Her victories have made her popular - a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain, and left for dead, Murcatto's reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.

Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers, and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started....

Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge.

First Law Trilogy

The Blade Itself

Before They Are Hanged

Last Argument of Kings

Novels in the First Law World

Best Served Cold

The Heroes

Red Country

©2015 Joe Abercrombie (P)2015 Hachette Audio
Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Sword & Sorcery War Scary Suspenseful King Revenge Epic Literature

Critic reviews

"The battles are vivid and visceral, the action brutal, the pace headlong, and Abercrombie piles the betrayals, reversals, and plot twists one atop another to keep us guessing how it will all come out. This is his best book yet." (George R. R. Martin)
"Joe Abercrombie takes the grand tradition of high fantasy literature and drags it down into the gutter, in the best possible way. Monza is a beautiful mercenary who has sworn to kill the seven men who tried to kill her. No elves, no wands - just lots of down-and-dirty swordplay." ( Time)
"Abercrombie is both fiendishly inventive and solidly convincing, especially when sprinkling his appallingly vivid combat scenes with humor so dark that it's almost ultraviolet." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Best Served Cold

Highly rated for:

Intricate Plot Compelling Characters Gritty Realism Unexpected Twists Visceral Storytelling
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Incredible writing, legendary narration

I've come to really enjoy Joe Abercrombie's writing, and this is his best story yet. It is fast paced, yet detailed. Hard edged, but tender. Bloody, yet touching. As flawed as the characters are, Abercrombie puts you inside each of their heads, giving you a deep connection with them all. Pacey breathes incredible life into these characters with his distinct voices and accents and his terribly consistent performance made me want to listen to every second. A narration of the top quality.

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Lots of action and awesome characters/narration.

After going through the First Law series, this is what I needed, several characters from that series have pretty big parts in the story. This book can certainly be enjoyed without reading the First Law trilogy. Also it is definitely rated R FYI

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Gritty

Joe Abercrombie knows pain. Every detail of pain is vivid. I didn't like this as much as the series but it deffinatly has the same streanths. And the perofrmance is amazing.

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ups and downs

loved first law and it's scale. This book had times I was just loving it but overall it drug on. They set to the task of revenge and that's as far as the story goes.

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Color to black and white audio medium

Joe A. Is a genius whose work is served best by this narrator Steven Pacey.

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Outstanding characters, plots & presentation

All Abercrombie's works deliver exciting & often twisted characters from fictional settings that mirror the real world.

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Abercrombie Strikes Again!

This book may be my favorite in Joe Abercrombie's First Law World. His ability to use secondary characters from the trilogy to bring you back into the world is truly astonishing. While the old characters are great, the new ones are just as good. For anybody that loved the First Law Trilogy, I beg you to continue your wonderful experience with this book.

And lets not sleep on the talent of Steven Pacey to give all the characters we love a unique voice. I don't know if these stories would be half as good without Pacey lending his color and creativity to the story.

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Poetic

First off. The narrator is hands down the best there ever was, has been, or will be. Just so good.

As far as the story goes. It’s poetic in how things turn out. You’ll understand after it over. My only issue is you start learning about deeper plots and bigger pictures and that’s what I want hear about. I’m really hoping we get a legit new trilogy that explores this more.

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great book

drags on the last few chapters but excellent writing, reader, good plotlines. highly recommended, as well as his other 3 book series

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Great book

Steven Pacey is an outstanding narrator. They did a great job matching him to this style of writing. Never a dull moment. When you miss listening to a story, you know its a good book.

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