First Law Trilogy Boxed Set The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings (2012)

This linked set contains all three novels of the original First Law trilogy: start with The Blade Itself. The standalones and Age of Madness trilogy extend the world beyond this finished arc. Abercrombie turns memorable voices, military ambition and black comedy into a particularly bleak examination of who can actually change a political order. The first book does much of the positioning. Commit for character and consequences, with no expectation of consoling moral bookkeeping.