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Best Served Cold cover art

Best Served Cold

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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Publisher's Summary

Springtime in Styria. And that means war. There have been nineteen 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, 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.

©2010 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group Limited

What listeners say about Best Served Cold

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow! What an awesome read!👍

I really can't believe how great Abercrombie is! Every time I finish another of his books, I'm amazed time & again how good they keep being. So far they've kept me fully sucked in to the very end, where I think heck yeah that's his best yet! So when I get that feeling every time with him i know that I'm experiencing something great. His character's have such individual richness that they really leep right off the page! Cosca had me bursting out laughing on a packed bus without me even realizing it!
Thd 1st trilogy definitely has to be read 1st though. I'd rsad few reviews saying that the last 3 could be read independently, however I strongly recommend that u read the 1st trilogy 1st as some characters stay in the series with the time line flowing smoothly along. I'm now on book 5 The Heroes.
So far it feels like book 5 was best, but I think that's because it's a great story that just gets better.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Yes! Yes! Yes! More of The First Law!

Having lived through the First Law trilogy audiobooks (and the audiobooks really make you feel like you have lived through them), I desperately wanted more. Then I discovered there were three standalone books set in the same world and my life was complete again!

This is the first of the three standalones and picks up with the same Abrecrombie themes and characters and Pacey voices and delivery that made the First Law series unmissable! This one does not disappoint, with the introduction of some new main characters and the return of some of the old, but none any less interesting, unpredictable and entertaining.

You really must listen to the First Law trilogy first before starting this one.

If you want more reasons to listen to this audiobook, please see my review below of The Blade Itself:

These books are far and away my favourite Audiobooks, and I have listened to some excellent ones such as Red Rising, The Name of the Wind, A Game of Thrones, The Way of Kings, The Lies of Locke Lamora, Harry Potter, etc.

The reason they are so good is the combination of Joe Abercrombie (author) and Steven Pacey (narrator). You couldn't get a better pairing.

Joe creates characters that are real, with heroic and flawed traits, that result in never quite knowing what they are going to do, but leave you hanging to see just what they are going to do. Add to that the very entertaining humour interspersed throughout, the catchy little favourite sayings of the characters, gripping fight scenes, dark deeds, intricate plots and you have the foundation for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

However, my recommendation is not read these books (sorry Joe!), but to listen to the Audiobooks. And the reason for that is Steven Pacey.

This is a phenomenal narrative by Steven Pacey that is so perfectly matched to the book and the characters you could not imagine one without the other. This is not an audiobook, this is an audio theatre so masterful is his performance. He brings each character to life and sucks you into the story so that when it finishes you want to dive straight into the next one.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gruesome and brilliant

If you love the first law books, you'll love this. true to form, a great story following a few old favourites from the original trilogy

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The best voice in the business

Honestly, Steven Pacey reading Joe Abercrombie is one of life’s rare treats. Story wise, the Blade Itself trilogy was a better ride, but this is very close!

Money well spent!

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

too much blood and guts

interesting story but the violence becomes boring and gets in the way of the story

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent writing and narration

I stepped outside my usual genre to try this book and wasn't disappointed! It was visceral, gritty, and engaging from the get go. The plot is well developed and the characters are unmistakeably human and relatable, with their own intricate backgrounds, flaws and motivations.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very good, maybe slightly too long

This is one of those books you really need to take a couple of days break every 10 hours or so. Joe Abercrombie is a great writer and this story was very well done. I felt like it was a bit drawn out though so it’s not quite a 5/5.

Otherwise, great characters, great motivations and really interesting storyline.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lighter and funnier than the first 3books.

Great, memorable characters.
The tone is somewhat lighter that preceding books, but just as bloody... somehow.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Struggled to finish

Narrator was brilliant however there was not one likeable character so I didnt give a stuff whether they died or not. So much prafanity too so could it listen with headphones so as not to scar my children for life .

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Sweet Revenge

Absolutely fantastic reading once again b. Steven Pacey, truely brings the characters to you in a personal way. The man is a master storyteller.
The book is another great work by Mr. Joe Abercrombie. gritty, bold, bloodthirsty and brutal. this cutthroat piece of fiction will keep a smile on your face while you follow along and join the characters to find revenge styrian style

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