The short version
The company splits into separate, converging story threads across a hostile frontier.
What it's about
A spoiler-light premise
War spreads across the Union while the trilogy’s divided cast moves in opposite directions. West faces a brutal northern campaign, Glokta is sent to defend a city that appears impossible to save, and Bayaz leads an ill-matched group across dangerous country in search of a legendary weapon. The journeys create more external momentum than the first volume while continuing to test whether any of these people can escape their worst habits.
The reading experience
What to expect on the page
- Point of view
- Third person, rotating among the established ensemble
- Prose style
- Sharp, cynical, and driven by distinctive character voices
- Pacing
- Three parallel campaigns with steadier forward motion
- Story focus
- War, failed quests, and character relationships
- Reading commitment
- Moderate — requires book one and rewards attention to the ensemble
You'll probably like it if
Readers who liked the character work in book one and want the story to open into separate adventures.
Maybe skip it if
You wanted book one's plot threads to converge quickly — they split further here before reuniting.
Story profile
Themes & familiar elements
Themes
- Failure
- Loyalty
- War
- Personal change
Tropes
- Dangerous expedition
- Besieged city
- Military campaign
- Unlikely companions
Before you start
Content considerations
Spoiler-light subjects that may matter when choosing this book.
- Graphic violence
- Torture
- War and civilian suffering
- Profanity and sexual references
Editorial perspective
Before They Are Hanged gives its cast room to change through travel, war, and uncomfortable alliances. The humor remains sharp, but the relationships gain enough depth to make later reversals land harder.
Ways to read
Formats & editions
Print edition
558 pages
- Publisher
- Gollancz
- Published
- 2007
Page count and cover can differ between editions.
Audiobook
Narrated by Steven Pacey
- Runtime
- 22 hrs 39 min
- Edition
- unabridged
- Language
- English
- Listed for
- US
Details verified Aug 10, 2026. Retailer availability and edition details can vary by country.
At a glance
Fantasy Index scorecard
Continue in order
The First Law
The full series is available.