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Joe Abercrombie

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Joe Abercrombie


Born
in Lancaster, England, The United Kingdom
December 31, 1974

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Joe Abercrombie was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Manchester University, where he studied psychology. He moved into television production before taking up a career as a freelance film editor. During a break between jobs he began writing The Blade Itself in 2002, completing it in 2004. It was published by Gollancz in 2006 and was followed by two other books in The First Law trilogy, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings. He currently lives and works in London with his wife and daughter. In early 2008 Joe Abercrombie was one of the contributors to the BBC Worlds of Fantasy series, alongside other contributors such as Michael Moorcock, Terry Pratchett and China Mieville. ...more

Joe Abercrombie isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

2025 in Review

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear me-eee, yes indeed, 51 years old today and STILL a fresh new voice in this genre etc. etc.

A YEAR IN BOOKSELLING – This was a big year for me, with The Devils coming out in May, my first new book since The Wisdom of Crowds in 2021. The longest gap I’d ever had in nearly 20 years of publishing. Would anyone still give a shit? Had they e

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Published on December 31, 2025 03:59
Average rating: 4.28 · 1,425,108 ratings · 101,220 reviews · 97 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Blade Itself (The First...

4.22 avg rating — 312,189 ratings — published 2006 — 13 editions
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Before They Are Hanged (The...

4.36 avg rating — 217,248 ratings — published 2007 — 143 editions
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Last Argument of Kings (The...

4.36 avg rating — 200,477 ratings — published 2008 — 116 editions
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Best Served Cold

4.25 avg rating — 111,569 ratings — published 2009 — 5 editions
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The Heroes

4.35 avg rating — 76,495 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions
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Half a King (Shattered Sea,...

3.97 avg rating — 74,477 ratings — published 2014 — 86 editions
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Red Country

4.32 avg rating — 65,612 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
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A Little Hatred (The Age of...

4.45 avg rating — 60,243 ratings — published 2019 — 56 editions
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The Devils (The Devils, #1)

by
4.23 avg rating — 54,909 ratings — published 2025 — 2 editions
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The Trouble with Peace (The...

4.60 avg rating — 45,117 ratings — published 2020 — 54 editions
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More books by Joe Abercrombie…
The Blade Itself Before They Are Hanged Last Argument of Kings Best Served Cold The Heroes Red Country Sharp Ends
(11 books)
by
4.33 avg rating — 1,173,791 ratings

The Blade Itself Before They Are Hanged Last Argument of Kings
(3 books)
by
4.29 avg rating — 766,761 ratings

The Blade Itself The Blade Itself #2 The Blade Itself #3 The Blade Itself #4
(4 books)
by
4.22 avg rating — 312,297 ratings

A Little Hatred The Trouble with Peace The Wisdom of Crowds
(3 books)
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4.53 avg rating — 147,573 ratings

Half a King Half the World Half a War
(3 books)
by
4.05 avg rating — 158,119 ratings

More series by Joe Abercrombie…

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Quotes by Joe Abercrombie  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them.”
Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings

“Once you've got a task to do, it's better to do it than live with the fear of it.”
Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself

“Has it ever occured to you, Master Ninefingers, that a sword is different from other weapons? Axes and maces and so forth are lethal enough, but they hang on the belt like dumb brutes. But a sword...a sword has a voice.
Sheathed it has little to say, to be sure, but you need only put your hand on the hilt and it begins to whisper in your enemy's ear. A gentle word. A word of caution. Do you hear it?
Now, compare it to the sword half drawn. It speaks louder, does it not? It hisses a dire threat. It makes a deadly promise. Do you hear it?
Now compare it to the sword full drawn. It shouts now, does it not? It screams defiance! It bellows a challenge! Do you hear it?”
Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
SciFi and Fantasy...: What I'm reading in March 82 580 Mar 29, 2009 03:05PM  
Fantasy Book Club: This topic has been closed to new comments. What are you reading in March? 72 379 Mar 29, 2009 05:36PM  
Fantasy Book Club: This topic has been closed to new comments. What Are You Reading in April? 48 183 Apr 20, 2009 07:57AM  
Fantasy Book Club: June/July Nominations - General Fantasy 23 170 Apr 28, 2009 09:14AM  
Beyond Reality: So who are your favorites? 49 779 May 21, 2009 08:24AM  
SciFi and Fantasy...: What I am also reading in April 40 402 Jun 30, 2009 07:43PM  
Beyond Reality: This topic has been closed to new comments. What are you reading right now? 175 517 Jul 01, 2009 01:34AM  
Beyond Reality: Nominations for October! 15 147 Jul 20, 2009 11:00AM  
SciFi and Fantasy...: This topic has been closed to new comments. August Fantasy Nominations 84 460 Jul 21, 2009 02:25PM  


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