I have added some additional locations and included a scale (based on the discussion of the distance from Aostum to Darmium given in the text). This map is based closely on the map created by Dave Senior for Sharp Ends, the 2016 Joe Abercrombie collection of short stories set in the same world. Styria is a collection of feuding city-states, the most powerful of which is Talins. Adua, the capital of the Union, is located in Midderland. Midderland is the homeland of the Union, a large empire which includes possessions on all three continental landmasses: Angland in the North, Dagoska in Kanta and Starikland on the western continent.

Located between these continents are several islands, the most notable of which are Midderland, Styria, Suljuk and Thond. Kanta is the home of the massive Gurkish Empire, the largest and most populous nation in the Circle of the World. Best Served Cold takes place in the year 579 AU two years after the events of Last Argument of Kings. The southern continent, Kanta, is a vast land of deserts and arid plains with civilisation clustered around the great rivers. This continent is the location of the Far Country, where rumours of riches and gold have drawn settlers, and the Old Empire, a formerly great nation that has collapsed into civil war. The western continent is land of prairies and plains, reminiscent of the American West.

The Northmen are hardy warriors, living in a land of war, raiding and a rough kind of honour. The North is a land of frozen rivers, towering mountains and ferocious creatures called Shanka. Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world is divided into three continents and numerous large islands.

Best served cold trilogy