Joe Abercrombie - Before They are Hanged
Curious King presents to you, Joe Abercrombie’s “Before They are Hanged” illustrated by Vance Kovacs!
In the gritty realm of the First Law Trilogy, where darkness shrouds every corner and betrayal lurks in the shadows, Joe Abercrombie beckons readers once more into the heart of adventure with “Before They are Hanged.” In this gripping sequel, the echoes of war thunder ominously across the land as heroes and villains alike navigate treacherous paths fraught with peril.
From the blood-soaked battlefields to the murky corridors of power, a tale of courage, cunning, and sacrifice unfolds, where alliances are forged and broken amidst the clamor of impending doom. Joe’s characters once more jump right off the page, and we follow the tales of Logen Ninefingers, Sand dan Glokta and Jezal dan Luthar.
Brace yourself for an epic journey where the line between heroism and villainy blurs, and the fate of nations hangs in the balance. Welcome to the world of “Before They are Hanged,” where every step forward plunges deeper into the darkness, and every choice carries the weight of destiny.
There are three tier’s in total for this series :
Standard Edition – 500 copies
Deluxe Edition – 150 copies
Lettered Edition – 26 copies
Public Pre-Order is now live!
About the Editions
Limited to 500 copies only, the standard edition is 480 pages, printed letterpress two colours (black and blue) on Omnia Natural 120gsm by Pat Randle and Ellen Bills from Nomad Letterpress on their Heidelberg Windmill Press.
This is the only version that comes with Vance’s incredible dustjacket of Sand dan Glokta, and this three practicals. This edition is signed by the author and artist only.
It is bound in black buckram cloth with two hit foil stamping to the cover and spine, with rounded spine, tailband and coloured ribbon.
The endpaper will be a another landscape illustration by Vance Kovacs, which will depict the “other side” and the mythical Glustrod. There will be another 7 colour images within the book, 6 interior images and 1 frontispiece.
The book is protected by a black buckram slipcase with unique design foil stamped onto the cover side.
This edition is signed by both the author and the artist.
Pre-Order Price – £215
Published Price – £230
Limited to 150 copies only. The numbered edition is 480 pages printed letterpress two colours on Omnia Natural 120gsm paper by Pat Randle and Ellen Bills at Nomad Press.
Bound in a matching blue goatskin and handbound by the artisan’s at Ludlow’s Bookbinders and sporting a new “noose” design and three-pass foil stamping on the cover, spine and back.
The tailbands and ribbon will be the same as book 1 and we’re carrying on the blood spattered topedge as it just feels right. This design has been worked up alongside books 1 and 3 to ensure they flow.
As with the Standard Edition, this book comes will an illustrated endpaper by Vance Kovacs and a further 7 tipped in plates (including a frontispiece) and fold out map.
Housed in a curved mauve cloth slipcase with the noose design foil stamped across all three sides.
This book comes with rights to Last Argument of Kings and any future Abercrombie works we take on following the release of LTAH.
This edition is signed by both the author and the artist.
Pre-Order Price: £575
Published Price: £595
Limited to just 26 editions and printed two colour letterpress on Magnani Mouldmade 130gsm paper by Pat Randle and Ellen Bills at Nomad Letterpress, this edition features unique bindings, case and title setting.
Bound in finest Harmatan black goat with blue leather onlays on the front, back and spine with three colours of foil stamping. It includes 4 raised bands, rounded spine, coloured headbands and all 3 edges gilded gold.
As with the previous editions there will be 7 tipped in pieces of art (including a frontispiece) and a fold out colour map. The lettered also comes with a new unque marbled endpaper and foldout piece of art (the illustrated endpaper used in the other two editions).
It’s housed in a black and blue leather solander box with a rounded spine, and blind stamped cross hatching across the front and back covers. There are also 3 hits of foil stamping on the leather covering and inside is lined with a sumptuous dark blue suedel.
This edition is signed by both the author and the artist.
Pre-Order Price: £2400
Published Price: £2500
Vance Kovacs is producing 9 colour illustrations (1x Dustjacket exclusive to the Standard Edition, 1x Endpaper and 7 portrait pieces within the book).
The pedigree of Vance is absolutely undeniable and his work spans numerous games and movies, and has worked previously with Jaime Jones (Hyperion artist) and Justin Sweet (Legend artist). Most notably Vance worked on God of War Ragnarok, which he did a phenomenal job with that IP. Vance’s style fits in well with Tommy’s, and he has a real eye for emotion, grit and has almost impressionistic brush strokes covering his work.
Following on from Tommy Arnold’s incredible The Blade Itself dustjacket, Vance has created another masterpiece for the Standard Edition. We’ve gone with the prominent characters in Book 2 being the much-reviled Inquisitor (now Superior) Glokta and his three practicals, Vitari, Frost and Severard.
We wanted another statement piece and we feel we 100% have achieved that. Vance has been a pleasure to work with and has been more than comfortable with mine and Joe’s involvement in the art direction.
This is the public pre-order page for Before They are Hanged. Please use the purchase links above to secure your copy and rights to future Abercrombie works!
The book has had in the text formatted and will be getting pritned alongside Last Argument of Kings late Summer. Once finished this will go straight to binding with plans to ship no later than Q1 2025, ideally Q4 2024.
All Before They are Hanged copies have rights to future Abercrombie works published by Curious King. This includes Last Argument of Kings next, which should go on pre-sale next year.
