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Cover of Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Book · Fantasy and science fiction

Best Served Cold

by Joe Abercrombie

Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start Best Served Cold, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.

Pages
822
Reading time
≈ 14 h 50 min
Checkpoints
23
Genre
Fantasy, SF
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How long does it take to read Best Served Cold?

At 822 pages, Best Served Cold is a doorstopper. Expect about 14 hours 50 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.

At 30 minutes a day, that is about 30 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 12 reading days. For a book of this length (600 pages or more), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 6.4 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).

Reading days to finish it
30 minutes a day30 days
Vread median pace (72 pp./day)12 days

Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.

Prove you read it

The Vread challenge: 23 checkpoints

  1. Checkpoint 1, page 36
  2. Checkpoint 2, page 71
  3. Checkpoint 3, page 107
  4. Checkpoint 4, page 143
  5. Checkpoint 5, page 179
  6. Checkpoint 6, page 214
  7. Checkpoint 7, page 250
  8. Checkpoint 8, page 286
  9. Checkpoint 9, page 322
  10. Checkpoint 10, page 357
  11. Checkpoint 11, page 393
  12. Checkpoint 12, page 429
  13. Checkpoint 13, page 465
  14. Checkpoint 14, page 500
  15. Checkpoint 15, page 536
  16. Checkpoint 16, page 572
  17. Checkpoint 17, page 608
  18. Checkpoint 18, page 643
  19. Checkpoint 19, page 679
  20. Checkpoint 20, page 715
  21. Checkpoint 21, page 751
  22. Checkpoint 22, page 786
  23. Checkpoint 23, page 822

In Vread, Best Served Cold is split into 23 checkpoints, one every 36 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.

The challenge: validate all 23 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.

Also available in French on Vread.

Illustrative example

Checkpoint 1/23pp. 1–36

What a checkpoint looks like

A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.

The answer is in the text: reply in the app.

This is not a question from Best Served Cold: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.

Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.

Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions

How many pages is Best Served Cold?
The edition listed on Vread has 822 pages. The exact count varies by edition (paperback, hardback, ebook).
How long does it take to read Best Served Cold?
About 14 hours 50 minutes of reading, or 30 days at 30 minutes a day.
Is there a quiz on Best Served Cold?
Yes: the Vread app has 23 reading questions on Best Served Cold, one per checkpoint, unlocked as you read.
Where can I find a summary of Best Served Cold?
Vread does not publish summaries: the app supports reading the book itself, part by part. Checkpoint questions cover what you have just read, which makes them a good way to check you did not miss anything.

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Read Best Served Cold with Vread

Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.

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Written by Vread from its catalogue data (page count of the listed edition, checkpoints, ratings aggregated from 10 ratings). No summary or publisher text is reproduced. Reading times are estimates; see the method in the Vread Reading Barometer (in French).