Published in 2007, Before They Are Hanged is the second novel in British author Joe Abercrombie’s New York Times best-selling First Law trilogy. A leading figure in the grimdark fantasy subgenre, Abercrombie is known for his cynical tone, character-driven narratives, and realistic portrayals of violence that challenge traditional heroic archetypes. This installment escalates the conflicts of the first book, The Blade Itself, by fracturing the narrative into three parallel storylines: a brutal military campaign against invaders in the north, a desperate city siege against an encroaching empire in the south, and a perilous quest for a magical artifact across the ruins of an ancient civilization. The novel follows a cast of morally complex characters, including a torturer, a famed barbarian warrior, and a vain young nobleman, as they navigate a world consumed by war and political intrigue.

Before They Are Hanged explores themes of The Futility of Heroic Ideals in a Vicious World, The Dehumanizing Force of Institutional Power, and The Illusion of Control in a Chaotic World. As a prominent example of grimdark fantasy, the novel subverts the genre’s epic tropes by focusing on anti-heroes and morally ambiguous protagonists. Warfare is depicted not as a glorious endeavor but as a chaotic and brutal affair, often mismanaged by incompetent and vain leaders. Abercrombie continued to expand the world of the First Law with several standalone novels and a sequel trilogy, The Age of Madness, all of which are lauded for their gritty realism and psychological depth.

This guide refers to the 2015 Orbit e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, animal death, cursing, sexual content, sexual violence, rape, and death.

Language Note: The text uses terms to describe the indigenous population of the fantasy world that are used in racist context to describe Indigenous peoples in the real world. The guide reproduces these in quotation only.

Plot Summary

In the northern province of Angland, a band of Northern warriors known as Named Men (fighters who have earned reputations through combat, known by their unique nicknames) discovers the aftermath of a massacre. The Dogman, a lean scout, leads the group alongside Threetrees, their grey-bearded leader; the “savage,” one-eared Black Dow; the giant Tul Duru Thunderhead; and the silent Harding Grim. They cross into Union territory (the Union is a powerful state with its capital in Adua) to offer their services against Bethod, a cunning warlord who has crowned himself King of the Northmen. Although the Named Men are from the northernmost part of the world, they refuse to accept Bethod as their king, or fight for him in the war he is waging against the Union. After being turned away from the city of Ostenhorm, capital of Angland, the group ambush Lord Marshal Burr, the Union’s army commander, and Colonel Collem West, a commoner’s son risen through the military ranks, to demonstrate their worth. Burr accepts them into service.

Burr divides his forces: Generals Poulder and Kroy will march north to engage Bethod, while Crown Prince Ladisla, the vain and militarily incompetent heir to the throne, holds a defensive position behind the River Cumnur. Burr assigns West to Ladisla’s staff to prevent catastrophe and places the Northmen under West’s care. Burr gives strict orders that Ladisla must not attack Bethod’s forces. West also takes responsibility for Cathil, a young woman from a nearby penal colony, and Pike, a scarred convict who has been protecting her.

Superior Sand dan Glokta arrives in the southern city of Dagoska, the Union’s toehold on the Kantic (southern) continent, under orders from Arch Lector Sult, head of His Majesty’s Inquisition. Glokta is a former war hero and champion fencer who was captured by the Gurkish Empire, the cruel, mighty kingdom that rules much of Kantia, and tortured for two years, leaving him with serious disabilities. Glokta is now an interrogator, assisted by his Practicals (Inquisition enforcers) Frost, Severard, and Vitari. His mission is threefold: investigate the disappearance of his predecessor, Superior Davoust; root out a suspected traitor on the city’s ruling council; and hold Dagoska against the Gurkish forces massing outside.

Glokta finds the city’s defenses in disrepair and the indigenous population confined to a squalid, lower-city settlement. Glokta orders the land walls repaired and a great ditch dug across the peninsula so it can be flooded, turning the city into an island. He negotiates an alliance with Haddish Kahdia, a Dagoskan priest, opening the Upper City to the Dagoskan population in exchange for labor and soldiers. He also cultivates the charming but famously disloyal mercenary Nicomo Cosca as an asset. When the Gurkish army arrives, the ditch is flooded and the first assault is repulsed. A mysterious Magus named Yulwei warns Glokta that supernatural soldiers called Eaters, beings who have consumed human flesh to gain power, hide among the enemy, and that one lurks within the city itself.

In a separate storyline, Bayaz, the First of the Magi, or the chief-wizard of the Union, is on a quest across the ruins of the Old Empire. His party includes Captain Jezal dan Luthar, a vain young Union officer who resents being dragged from a budding romance with Ardee West, Colonel West’s sister; Logen Ninefingers, a scarred Northern warrior harboring a berserker alter ego called the Bloody-Nine; Ferro Maljinn, a mysterious woman with yellow eyes whose trace of demonic heritage gives her supernatural abilities; Brother Longfoot, a boastful Navigator; and Malacus Quai, Bayaz’s quiet apprentice. Their destination is the island of Shabulyan at the edge of the World, where a weapon called the Seed, a stone of immense destructive power from the Other Side (a demonic realm beneath the world), has been hidden since ancient times. Only Ferro, because of her demonic blood, can safely touch it. Bayaz believes the Seed can help the Union end the ongoing war with the Gurkish empire.

The journey is grueling. In a gorge, soldiers ambush the party. Bayaz unleashes his Art, the magical ability that blows apart enemies with the sheer force of Bayaz’s rage. Bayaz kills a few men, but collapses from the backlash, his body unable to take the force of his Art. Jezal freezes in his first real fight, unable to draw his weapons. With Bayaz incapacitated, Logen takes command. Thirteen pursuers track them to an ancient hilltop, where a desperate battle leaves Jezal with a shattered jaw and a permanently scarred face. The disfigurement devastates Jezal, but also prompts him to take stock of his life. Logen’s simple philosophy of treating others as one would wish to be treated strikes Jezal as a revelation, and he resolves to live differently and be kinder to others.

In Angland, Ladisla ignores West’s counsel in favor of maintaining a defensive position and orders his army across the river where Bethod’s forces are marshalling. Bethod’s forces spring a trap: armored Carls (elite Northern warriors) appear with flatbows, a dense mist rolls in, and disguised horsemen overrun the Prince’s headquarters. Cathil saves West’s life by killing his attacker with a hammer, but most of West’s company dies in the battle. The survivors begin a desperate winter march north to warn Burr that Bethod’s forces are moving faster than he thought. During the march, Ladisla attempts to rape Cathil. West intervenes and pushes Ladisla off a cliff to his death.

Glokta captures a Gurkish ambassador and extracts the names of the traitors behind Davoust’s murder. The traitors are revealed to be the merchant Magister Carlot dan Eider and Korsten dan Vurms, the son of Dagoska’s Lord Governor. Glokta takes the two in custody. Eider confesses that she betrayed the war-mongering Davoust so she could prevent a massacre through peaceful surrender. The Gurkish agent responsible for Davoust’s death proves to be Shickel, a young servant girl Glokta took from the Inquisition cells, who reveals herself to be an Eater with superhuman strength. A banker from the powerful house of Valint and Balk delivers 1 million marks to fund the defense of Dagoska, demanding only unspecified future favors. Glokta signs the agreement, knowing he is placing himself in a dangerous organization’s power.

As the siege grinds on, Sult orders Glokta to abandon Dagoska. Glokta escapes with Vitari by boat after having secretly released Eider. He watches the burning city recede, knowing his defense only prolonged the suffering. West’s group reaches Burr’s camp in Dunbrec, a northern outpost, where West lies that Ladisla was killed in battle. At the battle with Bethod’s forces at Dunbrec, Burr collapses from illness and West secretly takes command. Bethod’s Shanka allies, twisted creatures created as weapons by the ancient Maker Kanedias, attack Poulder’s flanking division. Threetrees fights a supernatural giant called the Feared in single combat and is killed. Cathil dies from a Shanka arrow. The battle is a pyrrhic Union victory, and the Dogman is named chief of the surviving band.

Bayaz’s party enters the ruined ancient capital of Aulcus, discovers it infested with Shanka, and barely escapes after Logen and Ferro fall into a chasm and fight through underground tunnels. A conflicted bond deepens between them during the journey, marked by a physical relationship neither can sustain emotionally. Crossing the Broken Mountains, the group encounter two fellow Magi, Zacharus and Cawneil, who accuse Bayaz of causing past catastrophes through his own ambitions and warn that using the Seed would be a worse crime than the enemy’s crime. On Shabulyan, the spirit of the island releases its treasure into Ferro’s hands: a plain grey rock. It is not the Seed. The ancient Maker tricked his brothers and substituted the powerful relic with a worthless stone. The quest has been utterly futile.

Returning to Adua, Glokta discovers that Crown Prince Raynault, now the sole heir, has been murdered by what appears to be an Eater, plunging the Union into a succession crisis. When he investigates the case, Valint and Balk warn him to stop, revealing the bank’s connection to forces far more powerful than he imagined. Glokta relents, after extracting a fake confession from a man named Tulkis, who is publicly disemboweled and executed for regicide. On the ship home, Logen and Ferro part in silence, unable to express what they mean to each other. Jezal alone looks forward with hope, dreaming of Ardee and a quiet life, unaware of what designs Bayaz may still have for him. The story continues in the trilogy’s final volume, Last Argument of Kings.