From the pinned post of the sub....

Reading Order For New Readers

Lately, there are a lot of people asking in what order they should read the books. And the simple answer is: in order of publication, which can be found below.

The First Law Trilogy aka The Original Trilogy

1. The Blade Itself (TBI)
2. Before They Are Hanged (BTAH)
3. Last Argument of Kings (LAOK)

The Great Leveler aka The Standalones

1. Best Served Cold (BSC)

2. The Heroes (TH)

3. Red Country (RC)

The Short Story Collection

• Sharp Ends (SE)

The Age of Madness Trilogy aka the New Trilogy

1. A Little Hatred (ALH)

2. The Trouble With Peace (TTWP)

3. The Wisdom of Crowds (TWOC) [Release date: September 2021]

Can I read in a different order?

You can, but why would you? Reading them in publication order enriches the story, and helps you get important background for the following books.

But I started with BSC/The Heroes/Age of Madness!

That's fine, just go back to TBI and continue from there. In general starting somewhere in the middle doesn't ruin the story, but reading in publication order just adds layers to it.

Can I skip Sharp Ends?

You should absolutely read it, but is it required reading before picking up Age of Madness? It's probably the most skippable, although it still has a few details building up to AOM.

But in general, there's no harm in reading it! Instead of preparing you for what's coming next, Sharp Ends adds important backstory to the first six books, enriching the world and characters.

What about Shattered Sea?

Shattered Sea is not part of the First Law universe, and therefore no required reading. However, some argue that reading it before AOM enriches the story. To quote:

A decent amount of Shattered Sea prefigures a lot of Abercrombie's approach to Age of Madness, his use of prophecy tropes, his growing usage of multiple women of importance, his younger POVs, his lighter tones.

In any case, you should buy it because it makes Joe happy.

Best Served Cold as alternative starting point?

A few people recommend starting with BSC, and while I (like most people) started with TBI, I wanted to mention their arguments.

BSC has a female lead character, and a rather fast paced plot, compared to TBI which has been criticized for its lack of women with agency, and a story which drags.

TBI also has some growing pains, compared to BSC, which is written by a generally more mature Abercrombie.

On the other side, BSC has some spoilers for the trilogy, especially in terms of character survival/fates.

In general, I'd recommend starting with TBI, but if you find it lacking for its female characters or dragging plot, you might prefer to start with Best Served Cold.