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The First Law · Book 4

Best Served Cold

by Joe Abercrombie
Published
1 January 2009
Pages
632
ISBN-13
9780575082458
Type
novel
Buy on Amazon All The First Law books in order
Cover of Best Served Cold

About this book

Best Served Cold (2009) is the first of three First Law standalone novels, following a new protagonist across Joe Abercrombie's world years after the original trilogy while revisiting familiar faces from the sidelines. At 632 pages, it sits between Last Argument of Kings and The Heroes.

Key facts about Best Served Cold

Joe Abercrombie wrote Best Served Cold, a novel on our list. It has been out since 2009. The book has 632 pages.

We list 3 editions of this novel. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9780575082458 to find the main one.

Best Served Cold is book 4 of 11 in The First Law series. The series has 11 published books. However, the series starts with The Blade Itself (2006). The Wisdom of Crowds is the latest book in the series with a full release date, out on 14 September 2021.

Additionally, Joe Abercrombie writes Shattered Sea as a separate series. Those series sit on our grimdark epic fantasy and young adult fantasy shelves. Meanwhile, The Devils is the latest published Joe Abercrombie book on file, from 6 May 2025.

About Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie is a British fantasy author whose First Law series, beginning with The Blade Itself in 2006, helped establish "grimdark" as a recognizable fantasy subgenre -- morally compromised characters, unglamorous violence, and a willingness to subvert classic quest-fantasy tropes rather than play them straight. See every Joe Abercrombie book in order.

Its place in The First Law

Best Served Cold is book 4 in the The First Law series. It follows Last Argument of Kings. It is followed by The Heroes. See the full The First Law reading order.

A crippled torturer, a vain swordsman convinced he's the hero of his own story, and a manipulative wizard who never seems to be quite what he claims are pulled together by a looming war and the wizard's own unexplained agenda. Joe Abercrombie's First Law world is epic fantasy stripped of most of its comforting illusions: kingdoms are run by the venal and incompetent, battles are chaotic and ugly rather than glorious, and the people readers root for are, almost without exception, deeply compromised. It's the book…

Editions

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