Sagaspedia
The First Law timeline
when each title takes placeThe First Law trilogy
Adua and the North, on the eve of war
The Blade ItselfA barbarian tired of killing, a crippled inquisitor who tortures for a living and a spoiled noble who only cares about fencing get caught up in a legendary wizard's plans. Acid humor and no real heroes. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
right after The Blade Itself
Before They Are HangedThree fronts: a siege in a city nobody wants to defend, a war in the North going badly and a journey to the edge of the world after a relic. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
after Before They Are Hanged
Last Argument of KingsThe trilogy finale: war in the North, an invasion at the capital and everyone's bills coming due at once. The longest and most brutal of the three. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
The standalones and the stories
Styria, a few years after the trilogy
Best Served ColdA betrayed mercenary general left for dead puts together a crew of scoundrels to kill the seven men responsible. A self-contained revenge story: it works without the trilogy, but the trilogy helps. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
about 7 years after the trilogy
The HeroesA three-day battle over a worthless hill, seen from both sides. A standalone war novel, start to finish. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence
about 13 years after the trilogy, on the frontier
Red CountryA young woman crosses the frontier after her kidnapped siblings, with her quiet stepfather beside her. A fantasy western, with a wagon train, a gold-rush town and mercenaries. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence
from before the trilogy to after Red Country
Sharp EndsThirteen stories that fill gaps in the First Law world, from before the trilogy to after Red Country. Best read after the standalones. Adult fantasy, with violence and some sex scenes
The Age of Madness
about 15 years after Red Country
A Little HatredA generation later, with factories, smoke and strikes, the children of the trilogy's characters inherit their parents' wars and debts. The start of the Age of Madness trilogy. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
shortly after A Little Hatred
The Trouble with PeacePeace arrives, and so do the conspiracies: old allies switch sides and everyone works out their own price. The middle of the Age of Madness trilogy. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
after The Trouble with Peace
The Wisdom of CrowdsThe Age of Madness finale: revolt reaches the streets of the capital, and the crowd becomes the most dangerous character in the book. Adult fantasy, with heavy violence, torture and some sex scenes
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