Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Red Country cover art

Red Country

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £10.00

Buy Now for £10.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Will of the Many cover art
The Black Company cover art
Red Rising cover art
The Shadow of What Was Lost cover art
Dead Irish cover art
Jade Shards cover art
The Ninth Rain cover art
The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story cover art
Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella cover art
Lords of Asylum cover art
In the Shadow of the Gods cover art
The Cycle of Arawn cover art
Swan Song cover art
Ordination cover art
The Heart of Stone cover art
Son of the Black Sword cover art

Summary

Shy South comes home to her farm to find a blackened shell; her brother and sister have been stolen and she's going to have to return to her bad old ways if she's ever going to see them again. She sets off in grim pursuit with only her cowardly old step-father Lamb for company. But it turns out he's hiding a bloody past of his own. None bloodier.

Their journey will take them across the lawless plains, to a frontier town gripped by gold fever, through feuds, duels and massacres, and high into unmapped mountains to a reckoning with ancient enemies, and force them into alliance with Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune...and a man no one should ever have to trust…

Steven Pacey is best known for his role as Del Tarrant in the third and fourth seasons of the sci-fi series Blake's 7.

He has worked extensively in Theatre, TV and film for many years and in 2009 played opposite Graham Norton in La Cage Aux Folles at London's Playhouse Theatre. He has read numerous audiobooks including Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Best Served Cold and The Heroes, and abridged titles by Matthew Reilly.

©2012 Joe Abercrombie (P)2012 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about Red Country

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,113
  • 4 Stars
    642
  • 3 Stars
    91
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,228
  • 4 Stars
    180
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,641
  • 4 Stars
    615
  • 3 Stars
    146
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Old friends and enemies

I am a huge fan of Joe Abercrombie. Critics will tend to ignore him because he works within the fantasy genre but there is real genius here. The depth, breadth and sophistication of his characters are startling.

Red Country is perhaps Abercrombie's weakest work but still manages to be one of the best books I've ever read. He is that good.



Steven Pacey's narration, once again, takes the excellent source material to a higher level. He is the best narrator around. Each of the characters is distinctive; the pace is perfect and the timing superb. This is not a reading, more a one man radio play.



That the Abercrombie - Pacey combination haven't won an audiobook award is a total traversty.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Gritty, Graphic and Darkly Funny

Red Country was one of my most eagerly awaited books for a while and it does not dissapoint. Set some time after The Heroes it is a brilliant mix of old and new characters venturing into a new land of opportunity. However, remembering what great pleasure Mr Abercrombie takes in giving his characters a rough time you can take it as red (sorry!) that things do not run smoothly. The plot is gripping and the beautifully described environment will have you wiping dust out of your eyes.



As ever Steven Paceys narration is glorious, bringing already solid characters to life.



The only thing I would say is if you are new to Joe Abercrombies work I would advise you go back to the beginning and start with the First Law Trilogy - you will be glad you did!!



More please!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite character's back!

Yay! Logen's back!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the First Law trilogy, and although Best Served Cold was equally good, I was a little disappointed by Heroes (just a personal taste thing, as I know other reviewers have raved about it) - but for me, Red Country was a return to the earlier style/ story, which I so enjoyed. Admittedly, I might be slightly biased because old Logen is back, and he's been my favourite character since the beginning, however there are some great new characters in this instalment too - most notably, Temple!

As always, Abercrombie's characters are well developed and all unique, and his story telling is gritty and engaging. A great bit of entertainment.
Steven Pacey's narration is, as usual, flawless.

If you're new to the series, treat yourself by starting at the beginning with the Blade (First Law Trilogy), and be entertained through all 6 books. It never gets "samey" - well worth each and every credit used on these books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The country will run red

The book:



Fans of Abercrombie's previous works will feel right at home with Red Country. This is the last of the stand alone books before another trilogy and is a good read. It's full of the violence, tension and dark humour you would expect from the author of The Heroes and Best Served Cold.



However to be honest, it's probably the weakest of the books. For me, the story line didn't flow as well as it could have and the pacing was a little off in place. It seemed that this book was setting up events that will happen further down the line. More of a prelude to the next trilogy rather than a story in its own right.



There also seemed to be an over use of previous characters from the other books and while it is a nice nod to fans of the series; it did seem forced.That said, there are some excellent new characters introduced (Temple being one of the best character I've seen in a long while). The new setting of the near and far country was also a joy to discover.



The Narration: Steven Pacey delivers another fantastic performance, he matches the tone of the book perfectly. I can't fault it at all.



Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Abercrombie Masterpiece

Okay... there is a lot of violence. But there's also a lot of story, humour, great characters and a fantastic world. This book is part of the same universe made up of the First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold and The Heroes (with many of the same characters). I confess I've avoided The Heroes as the write ups all seem to focus on endless battle. I should probably read it however - as all of the others are absolutely fantastic. If you want to spend some time in a convincing and fantastical other world - these are the stories for you.

Amplifying their effect is Steven Pacey. The best performer for these books (and available across all of them) - he reads effortlessly and (to my mind) perfectly. Accents, timing, consistency - all done brilliantly.

If you've not listened to the First Law Trilogy - I strongly recommend you do - and first. You will not regret it (and I am extremely jealous if you've not listened to them...)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent..

After not liking "The Heroes" I am very glad to be to loving this book :) Lots of new characters and the odd one or two we may have met before. If you have not listened to the the first law trilogy, this book is very good and stands fine alone without knowing the past history, it would even be a good starting point and treating the trilogy as a prequel would be very entertaining. If you have listened to the others you will be very happy with this book and I recommend you download it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Bloody funny

I am in awe of Joe Abercrombie, he writes stories that are visceral, filthy, grim, philosophical and funny, balancing high and low fantasy (mostly low in this case) on the fulcrum of a gripping narrative. And the bodycount is astounding.



You might be better off starting with the First Law Trilogy (as the resonances here will make you smile) but Red Country is a fine stand alone tale. It channels the spirit of the Wild West, but never feels like a clash of genre's, more as if you have wandered off the edge of the map of his previous fantasy world and are blundering around in the Far Country. For that skilful mix alone this is worth a read, I've never seen anyone do it better.



Narration by Steven Pacey is excellent again, capturing just the right levels of weight and levity.



The new characters are interesting, well-rounded and sometimes even survive. Abercrombie is building up quite the cast list. But the old characters are always welcome, and two in particular will have you laughing and grimacing in turn.



So a welcome addition to the canon and well worth a five-star rating. Recommended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant novel brought to life by great narration

Joe Abercrombie creates another fantastic set of engaging characters that are taken to the limit physically and (more interestingly) morally. Abercrombie's characters have never been black and white but in this novel the line is blurrier than ever.



The narration by Pacey gives further life to the already colourful characters (a new contender for all time favourite fictional character is a certain mercenary captain who makes an excellent re-appearance in this book).



I finished this absurdly quickly in a couple of staggeringly unproductive days.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Genius of Abercrombie continues

Once again Joe Abercrombie entertains with a cavalcade of brilliant characters. While these stories are categorised as Fantasy, they could sit within the realms of any great fiction genre.

Some great old characters and some enticing new ones invite you to follow them on a journey so exciting that it makes the reader hope it wont end. If you liked his previous books you will love this one. The best read of the year, bewitched from start to finish. The only downside is that I have to wait for the publication of his next one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • El
  • 05-01-19

great book

I just love this series and I loved this book. that's it. And pacey is an amazing narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful