Жо Аберкромби (Joe Abercrombie)
By Joe Abercrombie
THE FIRST LAW TRILOGY
The Blade Itself
Before They Are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings
Best Served Cold
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by Joe Abercrombie Limited
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Orbit
Hachette Book Group
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First eBook Edition: July 2009
Originally published in Great Britain by Gollancz, June 2009
Orbit is an imprint of Hachette Book Group. The Orbit name and logo are trademarks of Little, Brown Book Group Limited.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
ISBN: 978-0-316-07908-2
For Grace
One day you will read this
And be slightly worried
Contents
By Joe Abercrombie
Copyright
Benna Murcatto Saves a Life
I: TALINS
Land of Opportunity
The Bone-Thief
Fish out of Water
Six and One
Bloody Instructions
II: WESTPORT
Poison
Science and Magic
The Safest Place in the World
Evil Friends
Two Twos
Plans and Accidents
Repaid in Full
III: SIPANI
Fogs and Whispers
The Arts of Persuasion
The Life of the Drinker
Left Out
A Few Bad Men
The Peacemakers
Cooking up Trouble
Sex and Death
That’s Entertainment
What Happened
IV: VISSERINE
Vengeance, Then
Downwards
Rats in a Sack
The Forlorn Hope
Mercy and Cowardice
The Odd Couple
Darkness
The Connoisseur
Vile Jelly
Other People’s Scores
The Fencing Master
V: PURANTI
Sixes
The Eye-Maker
Prince of Prudence
Neither Rich nor Poor
Heroic Efforts, New Beginnings
The Traitor
King of Poisons
No Worse
Harvest Time
The Old New Captain General
VI: OSPRIA
His Plan of Attack
Politics