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  • A Little Hatred

  • Written by: Joe Abercrombie
  • Narrated by: Steven Pacey
  • Length: 20 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (634 ratings)

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A Little Hatred

Written by: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best-selling first book in Joe Abercrombie's The Age of Madness Trilogy where the age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die.

The chimneys of industry rise over Adua, and the world seethes with new opportunities. But old scores run deep as ever.

On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments.

Savine dan Glokta - socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union - plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.

The age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad hillwoman Isern-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or the curse, of the Long Eye. Glimpsing the future is one thing, but with the guiding hand of the First of the Magi still pulling the strings, changing it will be quite another....

For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out:

The First Law Trilogy:

  • The Blade Itself
  • Before They Are Hanged
  • Last Argument of Kings
  • Best Served Cold
  • The HeroesRed Country

The Shattered Sea Trilogy:

  • Half a King
  • Half a World
  • Half a War
©2019 Joe Abercrombie (P)2019 Hachette Audio

What the critics say

"Rife with emotion with wit to spare, both honed to an effortlessly fine edge. A Little Hatred is the joy of watching a master of the craft with his tools at their sharpest." (Sam Sykes, author of Seven Blades in Black)

"Abercrombie's work is dark and gritty and filled with black humor and grim observations about human nature." (Forbes)

"A Little Hatred is Abercrombie at his very best: witty, wise, and whip-smart. Masterfully plotted.... I had high hopes for this book, and it exceed them all." (Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld)

What listeners say about A Little Hatred

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found my new favorite author

This is the 1st book I've listened to by Joe Abercrombie.. Now that I have listened to his latest work I feel as though Ive missed out all these yrs.. Thoroughly entertaining, I laughed out loud so many times I'm sure those around me thought I was alil touched.
As you progress thro the story, Joe masterfully introduces you to all the aspects of his characters personalities at perfect intervals, it's almost like getting to know someone at just the right pace.. I will be starting Joes' books from the beginning of his first series, and making my way back to his latest works..
I honestly cant say enough good things about the narrator Steven Pacey either, very consistent with his different accents, you hardly need to be told who is saying what as the characters are easily recognizable...
It is a wonderful adventure of the imagination.. ☆☆☆☆☆

10 people found this helpful

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Wow

Wow,
Great start to a new "Grimdark / Medieval / low magic" series,
and I did like how it presents the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the world

But you should read the First Law Series first to get more out of this one

8 people found this helpful

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First audible book!

Didn't need to think twice about this one. Joe Abercrombie + Steven Pacey? Sign me up for the next 20.

4 people found this helpful

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Fantastic intertwined story lines

Brilliant character development and intermittent story line cross overs. The narration was brilliant, each voice different and distinct and perfectly capturing the essence of the characters.

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Enthealling

Great performance and excellent story as expected from this combination. Thank you for the experience.

2 people found this helpful

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Truly Hateful

I could not wait to listen to this audible book. Since discovering Joe Abercrombie’s books I have read/listened to everything he writes. This novel was fantastic. The characters wonderfully fraud and totally interesting to say the least. Steven Pacey is a great narrator for Joe’s books. Read/listen/enjoy

2 people found this helpful

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Same old brilliance..

I imagine Abercrombie's writing isn't for everyone. It is very much NSFW, graphic, with loads of rather detailed violence and sex and it lacks the genre's typical morally upstanding heros. But if that doesn't bother you, it is also absolutely brilliant, at times funny, at times loaded with suspense and drama and it is about as good as adult fantasy gets.
Steven Pacey's narration style is also perfectly suited for it.

Note that although this may be the first book in a new series, it does take place in the world of the First Law Series of books and characters he used in those appear; some are part of the story, older of course, and some simply are there as legends. You don't need to have read, or listened to, those previous books to enjoy A Little Hatred but I would suggest it.

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A continuation of excellence

Spectacular, and riveting. Part of why I enjoy Joe’s writing so much is the realism in reactions. Even in a world of fantasy and grit, the people are as ever real as we are in how they react.

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It Just Keeps Getting Better

This is a series review for the following books:

- The Blade Itself
- Before They Are Hanged
- Last Argument Of Kings
- Best Served Cold
- The Heroes
- Red Country
- Sharp Ends (read chronologically w.r.t. the series)
- A Little Hatred
- The Trouble With Peace
- The Wisdom Of Crowds

I can say with confidence that this is among the best stories I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Author Joe Abercrombie has crafted a politically and morally intricate world where every detail, large or small, matters. Inhabiting this world are truly human characters who you'll laugh, dread, and triumph alongside in their efforts to overcome the Great Leveller's somber inevitability. Narrator Steven Pacey brings these characters to life, giving each a distinct voice and demeanor while consistently nailing the tones and puches thrown by Joe Abercrombie's writing. I hope to see the continued collaboration of this genius duo.

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Joe and Pacey did it one again.

How can Abercrombie event get close to the gripping story and characters of the first law trilogy? Well he does it here and make it seem easy. What we have here is an absolute masterpiece of writing and character développement. Thanks Joe, my only complain in that I have to wait for the next book

1 person found this helpful

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  • Jared Clark
  • 2020-01-08

Rough listen.

Well written book presented and read with skill. The story is awful. Profane talk of violent sexual acts and forced bestiality. Couldn’t get into the story, not for me.

260 people found this helpful

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  • Daniel Leveson
  • 2019-09-18

Still got it... and then some!

I was worried about this book. Worried I had set my expectations too high. I really loved the first Trilogy, and had read those wonderful Stand Alone thematic novels at least five times each (some even more). So I was incredibly excited for this book and the new trilogy set in The First Law world. I love Abercrombie's way of creating nuanced characters with interesting thoughts and decisions, and his fantastic way of crafting brilliant dialogue (brilliant meant in the actual sense of the word, not the British way. I mean actually BRILLIANT). So I was worried. Worried about my insurmountable expectations. Worried about this world and story I love letting me down. Well, I'm happy to report – expectations mounted. And then some. Seeing some of the older characters pop up was like the icing on a lush and savory cake full of new intrigue and charm. I had always missed the feeling of reading the The Blade Itself for the first time. The quickly dawning realization that, wow, this is… this is interesting, this is different, this is… really good! And then devouring all the other books (luckily I became aware of Mr. Abercrombie's work right before Red Country was out, so I could read them all in a row.) Well, this feels like that. Although I know the world and the setting, and some of the main players (and those pulling their strings…) this new story holds promises of new intrigue and fantastic character work that I'm happy to gobble up. Purposefully avoiding talking about what actually happens so as not to spoil anything. Side Note – really hoping to get more standalones after this trilogy concludes, as Red Country, The Heros, and Best Served Cold are some of my all-time favorite books. They are a true master craft of taking the late medieval fantasy genre and combining it with concepts from modern cinema (Western, War Movie, Heist/Revenge Flick). I'm more than hungry for more.

P.S.
Let's not glance over how Steven Pacey's masterful narration and nuanced and distinct accent work brings everything to life in an incomparable way. Like watching a movie in my head. Fantastic.

117 people found this helpful

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  • Chris
  • 2020-04-10

Medieval-Punk

It's a pretty good read/listen, lots of interesting, well developed characters in what I would call a medieval-punk setting (if steam-punk is implementing 21st century devices with 19th century tech, medieval-punk is this instance is developing 17th century innovations with medieval tech). You have factories and mills and high finance and you also have people in armor bashing each other with swords. The plot is kind of uneven, humming along nicely in some places and really dragging in others, especially towards the end. I'll probably pick up the sequel at some point but not soon.

51 people found this helpful

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  • Sailfish
  • 2019-09-25

A Multi-Layered Nascent Industrial Age Fantasy

I've read and listened to close to 100 fantasy novels and am always on the lookout for ones that are unique and then hope that the story is interesting. This book caught my eye and I had my hopes up listening to the sample and then all of the positive reviews. I was leery, though, since this was my first introduction to Joe Abercrombie's writing. I had seen other offerings from him in the past but for one reason or another, passed him by.

What a mistake that was. He has spun a story so varied in nature and done so with a wit so subtly and sometimes, not so subtly, that I found myself refusing to do what my body and mind were screaming for me to do -- put it down and rest my weary body for the evening.

There are a multitude of characters whose charms or idiosyncrasies or cunningness or fecklessness or ruthlessness or even whimsicalness was so entertaining that I was almost spellbound to find even flimsy reasons to stop real world tasks and venture back into the telling. To that end, Steven Pacey's narration performance was superb in constantly surprising me with the author's timing on delivering comical passages and critical events.

I was saddened to discover that this was book 1 of a series and book 2 was not yet available. However, my disappointment was assuaged to discover that his First Law Trilogy series was a predecessor story to this one. I already started into it.

43 people found this helpful

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  • Friggins
  • 2020-01-21

Characters are getting a bit dusty

The first law books (3) are by far my favorite audio books. That being said I think it is time to bury any characters from that era/world. It's just tedious at this point .

36 people found this helpful

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  • Nathan
  • 2019-10-16

Detailed, but incredibly slow.

While it is well written and detailed the pace was too slow. I would find myself daydreaming then having to rewind in order to find out what I missed turns out not much.

36 people found this helpful

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  • Dane Mutters
  • 2020-03-01

Stunningly good.

I've been a fan of Joe Abercrombie's books, for a while, and I think this is the best book to date. It's a fantastic story. It's philosophically deep. It has bouts of cunning humor. It's incredibly gritty, but without straining realism or the suspension of disbelief, in the least. Every single thing that happens in the book has a believable motivation behind it, whether that motivation is beautiful or tragic. There is no hand-waving, no presumption that the likable characters are invincible, and no predetermination that the end will be what you want or expect it to be. The language is also beautifully composed (albeit crude, at times). In my opinion, this is everything a novel should be.

Note: This book is in the "grim-dark fantasy" genre, and is not for those who are easily revolted or offended.

31 people found this helpful

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  • Melissa Parker West
  • 2019-09-20

Weakest effort to date

On the one hand Abercrombie is still an absolute master of language, tension and simile, but in the downside these characters are not their fathers and we lose for that. None of the children hold a candle to the previous ones we have come to love, fear and despise.

I️ still want to follow the journey and see what happens because Abercrombie is so damn good at drama etc, but I’d be lying if I️ didn’t admit this is his weakest book to date and doesn’t even give us a great finale, we are just left hanging to wait for the next one.

26 people found this helpful

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  • ryan
  • 2019-09-23

Pull out that old Practical's Mask

As huge fan of the First Law series I couldn't wait to get this book. As release date approached I started worrying that it wouldn't live up the stratospheric expectations i had set for it. This book delivered and surpassed all expectations! The new characters are terrific, Every time an older character from the first 6 books makes an appearance it lends to the story, they are not there as a cheap cameo.

If you're new to the First Law world you will still be able to get into this book but I recommend reading them first so you understand all of the context behind some of the feuds, decisions, and friendships between characters, factions, and nations.

Again, Steven Pacey is at the top of this craft. You will not find a better narrator. Period. This man's ability to create so many voices borders the unnatural.

Buy this book now and thank me later, you will be back for more.

24 people found this helpful

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  • Kevin
  • 2019-10-16

Exactly what I've been waiting on!

In today's age where readers some times have to wait a decade for a story to continue, having a let down novel in a highly anticipated series is always a real concern... Unless that series is written by Joe Abercrombie.

He played just enough fan service to the original First Law trilogy to keep the biggest fans pleased while introducing a cast of new characters that are unique, but definitely belong in this world. I cannot wait to listen to this book as many times as I've listened to the other First Law books (3 times a piece).

As for narration, it's Steven Pacey. There's nothing left to say. Sometimes you just have to keep your mouth shut and enjoy listening to a master at work. Simply the best.

20 people found this helpful