The Ninefingered Logen has strength left for only one more battle - a battle like no other. The King of the North remains powerful, and there is only one man who can stop him: his oldest friend and oldest enemy. It is time for the Bloodthirsty to return home. In the meantime, Superior Glokta fights his own secret battle against time and his many masters, where no one is safe and no one is trustworthy. The King of the Union breathes his last, the peasants revolt, and the nobles vie for succession. But no one imagines that the shadow of war will cover the heart of the Union itself. Only the First of the Magi has a plan to save the world... a rather risky plan. For what is more dangerous than breaking the First Law?

"The best example of contemporary fantasy literature."
("SFX")

"There is a savagery in his world and an awareness of the cost of violence that is extremely modern."
("The Times")

"Abercrombie has written the best fantasy trilogy in recent years. He is an author not to be missed."
(Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner)