History Literature / TheFirstLaw

** [[spoiler: Shivers is one to Black Dow in ''The Heroes''... until he turns on him - not because he wants the power, but simply in revenge for bad treatment. Then he becomes one to Calder.]]

** The aptly named Fenris the Feared, though he's ironically a unknown entity prior to Bethod's invasion of Angland.

The first three novels form a trilogy; the remaining stories are stand-alone (and some have their own pages). The novels are:

''Sharp Ends'', a short fiction collection, appeared in April 2016, between ''Red Country'' and ''A Little Hatred.'' The stories in it take place throughout the timelines of all six previous novels.

In August 2016, the author [[http://www.joeabercrombie.com/2016/08/28/progress-report-august-16/ confirmed]] that the next installment will be a cycle of three trilogies, which will be set twenty-five to thirty years after the events of the original trilogy in a world moving towards early industrialisation. The focus will be on a new cast of characters, though previously established ones will make appearances. And in June 2018, the titles of all three books in the first new trilogy were [[http://www.joeabercrombie.com/2018/06/29/progress-report-june-18/ announced]]:

* ''Literature/ALittleHatred''
* ''The Trouble With Peace''
* ''The Beautiful Machine''

** In the first trilogy, Jezal ends up [[spoiler: King of the Union, but as a puppet to Glokta and stuck in a marriage that can be charitably described as resentful]]. Glokta overcomes [[spoiler: Archlector Sult and takes his place. He and Ardee West seem to have a reasonably happy if unexpected marriage, and later books paint them as HappilyMarried nearly 30 years later. However, he is merely an extension of Bayaz' will, and his daughter isn't his by blood.]] Callem West is rewarded for being the OnlySaneMan in the Union military by being [[spoiler: the first commoner promoted to Field Marshal, and thus also the first commoner to sit on the Closed Counsel. He winds up dead in less than a year, under [[NoodleIncident unspecified circumstances]] that are so horrible even the Northmen agree he didn't deserve it.]]

** In the first trilogy, Jezal ends up [[spoiler: King of the Union, but as a puppet to Glokta and stuck in a marriage that can be charitably described as resentful]]. Glokta overcomes [[spoiler: Archlector Saulk and takes his place. He and Ardee West seem to have a reasonably happy if unexpected marriage, and later books paint them as HappilyMarried nearly 30 years later. However, he is merely an extension of Bayaz' will, and his daughter isn't his by blood.]] Callem West is rewarded for being the OnlySaneMan in the Union military by being [[spoiler: the first commoner promoted to Field Marshal, and thus also the first commoner to sit on the Closed Counsel. He winds up dead in less than a year, under [[NoodleIncident unspecified circumstances]] that are so horrible even the Northmen agree he didn't deserve it.]]

** [[spoiler: ''Red Country;; ends with Pit and Ro safe with Shy and Temple. On the other hand, Ro has been aliented from her mother and may never forgive her. Lamb/Logen also leaves after realizing he can't escape his past.]]

* EvilAlbino: Played with in the case of Practical Frost, a large and passive man who just follows Glokta's orders. Played straight with [[spoiler: him again when he sells out Glokta]].

* TheChessmaster: Bayaz treats everyone like pawns in his game against Khalul.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Don't expect to hear about the Shanka again after the party leaves Alcus, despite them being the only non-Human mortal race in the Circle of the World.

* ''Literature/ALittleHatred''

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: The original trilogy follows Union characters and their allies among the Northmen against their common enemy of Bethod. ''The Heroes'' has Bethod's son Calder as perhaps it's most significant viewpoint character.

* AuthorVocabularyCalendar: "Squelch," "grimace" and "dour" are all words you'll find at least once a chapter. The original trilogy also constantly has people "squaking" when surprised.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: [[OurOrcsAreDifferent The Shanka]] appear in the original trilogy and are never even mentioned again.

** Logen Ninefingers is the most feared man in the North.

* CrystalDragonJesus: In this case, Crystal Dragon Mohammed. Khalul leads the temple of the Furnish Empire as it's prophet, using FantasyCounterpartCulture imagery that is clearly based off Islam. This being ''The First Law'', it is heavily implied that the "miracles" of the Empire's God are the result of Khalul's position as Second of the Magi, and that both he and his closest disciples have broken [[ImAHumanitarian the Second Law]]. This is implied to serve a very similar function for Khalul as Bayaz' permanent seat on the Union's Closed Counsel, allowing him to control the Empire as a pawn in their endless feud.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Shivers undergoes one across the entire series. [[spoiler: He starts out as a good guy in the original trilogy, undergoes a StartOfDarkness in ''Literature/BestServedCold'', is fairly villainous in ''The Heroes'', and finally ends up a bit more like his original self in ''Literature/RedCountry''...only to turn up some 20 years later in ''A Little Hatred'', once again one of the most feared men in The North.]]

''A Little Hatred'' is the start of a second trilogy dubbed, "The Age of Madness." It takes place just under 30 years after the end of ''The Last Argument of Kings'' and it's protagonists include many of the offspring of major characters from the previous six books. The primary difference between ''The Age of Madness'' and the previous books is that Adua and other cities in the Union are going through an Industrial Revolution and all of the growing pains that includes.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Shivers undergoes one across the entire series. [[spoiler: He starts out as a good guy in the original trilogy, undergoes a StartOfDarkness in ''Literature/BestServedCold'', is fairly villainous in ''The Heroes'', and finally ends up a bit more like his original self in ''Literature/RedCountry''.]]