Having enjoyed all 6 existing books in Joe Abercrombie's First Law series I find myself always craving for more. That is why I picked up Sharp Ends despite the fact that I tend to not like collections of short stories. Add on that Steven Pacey narrated the audiobook and there was no way I could resist this one. The Abercrombie/Pacey audiobook combo is one of the best that I have ever listened to and the two of them just bring out the best in each other. Pacey's narration of these characters is just superb and I highly recommend that you give the entire series a listen even if you have already read it. To my delight many of my favorite characters from the prior books do make an appearance in these short stories including, but not limited to, Glokta, Logen, Dogman, Bethod, Whirrun, and Nicomo Cosca. However, in the end, the short story format left me wanting more and feeling unsatisfied as favorite characters appeared and were gone before I knew it.

Most of the stories with the characters mentioned above are short and are over way too quickly. That would be fine if some of them didn't feel incomplete at the same time. Spending time with Glokta before he was captured was quite entertaining but when the events are interrupted by an attack the story abruptly ends. I kept expecting a return to flush out what happens next but it never happened. Get used to it. There is one particular story thread that goes on for quite a while but it is the exception and not the rule in this collection. Most of the stories end quickly and a few times you are left hanging without a real resolution. So if you want to spend a little time with some old friends then go ahead and give this one a chance, but you should go in knowing that it will be over way before you want it to be.

Two interesting side notes. One, Joe Abercrombie reads a portion of one of the stories and while he isn't Steven Pacey he does a decent job as a narrator, and two, there is a mini interview at the end in which Abercrombie and Pacey answer a few questions about their respective creative processes. I did find the interview to be enjoyable and entertaining and I do hope that these two collaborate on additional full length stories in the future. However, this is all we get for now so I end this with an appropriate quote from the First Law series - "A man lost in the desert must take such water as he is offered."