The Blade Itself

*audiobook review* This book starts off in the epic fantasy vibe - vigniettes of different characters that all come together by the end of the book into a finely-woven tale. One thread is that of Logen Nine-Fingers, a barbarian from the north - we meet him as he narrowly avoids his own death at the hand of raiders. Another thread spins from the tale of Inquistor Glockta - a former fighter held captive for two years, who had turned his broken body and skills to ferreting out whatever truth he needs to find. The last major thread comes from Jezal dan Luthar, a spoiled brat of a gentleman who thinks it may just be cool for his career if he becomes a fencing master for his country. There's a huge cast of characters, but it's no problem at ALL for the audio listener because Steven Pacey is an absolute artist at narration. The combination of Abercrombie's clean text and the skilled voice work of Pacey brings every character alive from the very beginning - you hear the fear and resignation in Logen's voice as he falls off a cliff, the pain and life-long effects of torture in Glokta's voice, and the subtle spoiled tones in Luthar as he decides what kind of man he's going to be. These people and the rest of the cast meet in the story of Bayez, first of the magi, who is headed to the Union capitol to gather resources and equipment for an expedition that is meant to save the world. It's going to be hard with Bethod's Northmen attacking from the northern part of the Union, and the barely peaceable Gurkish Empire agitating to take over parts of the southern Union. The king is barely coherent, the ruling council is corrupt, the nation is woefully underprepared for war, and the scene is set for a fantastic audiobook experience. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling audiobook experience - Pacey's narration skill may even make the book easier to understand because each character has a unique voice. This is my favorite book I've read this year!

I really enjoyed reading The First Law trilogy and getting to know the characters created by Joe Abercromie. I admit that when I began to read The Blade Itself, it took a couple of chapters for me to become absorbed by the story, but I appreciated JA's writing style and wit and found the Bloody Nine to be as interesting a barbarian as I had ever encountered. Logen is a hero... for the most part. He is feared by many, he is practical and amusing, he is intuitive and he is a relatively decent man. He is also deeply flawed and at war with himself, as many of us are, so one may relate to him as he experiences both triumphs and tragedies. The story itself provided enough action and intrigue to keep me entertained and interested in what might come next. I found myself cheering for and supporting different characters at various times, disliking most of them at one point or another, then resuming my cheering at a later point. I appreciated the fact that not every story arc was obvious and easily predicted, and that the main characters weren't perfect, but they each showed growth throughout the series. I liked that most of the characters were alternately fascinating or repulsive. I loved Glokta's sarcasm and sadism, West's intelligence and noble attitude towards' things HE felt were noble, Ferro's ferocity and Bayaz's twisted and manipulative nature. Of course, there were a few things I didn't like. For example, I wasn't a big fan of the Logen/Ferro "romance". It seemed bizarre and awkward, at best. I liked them individually, but when they were together in any way besides as warriors, I found it annoying. I didn't like that at the beginning of the series I had no idea what the heck was going on and couldn't read comfortably for around 100 pages. I wasn't impressed with some aspects of the story that seemed to drag, ie: The Contest, wherein Jezal and other swordsmen compete for a title. However, I really don't feel that these issues detracted much, if at all, from the trilogy as a whole. I definitely liked the way in which the series ended, as there are many directions that JA can take the story if he chooses to continue writing about these characters. I'm glad that he didn't write himself into a corner when ending the trilogy. All in all, I thought that the First Law was enjoyable and creative. It is not fantasy a la Jordan or GRRM (as well it shouldn't be); it is unique and gives the genre a little push in an interesting direction. I recommend all three books.

Where to begin . . . I have such a wide range of feelings for this book. First off, we’ll start with the world. I thought it was very well done, had a nice rounded out feel to it, and seemed very solid. There were races and countries at war, prejudices and an array of cultural differences, old heroes and long forgotten lore. It gave me enough without boring me to tears. Always a bonus. When I was learning, it was through the eyes of a character, so it made it much more enjoyable. No info dumping! Loved that I didn’t have to read pages of history. The pacing was rather slow at times. Normally that would bother me, but it didn’t with this book. Personally, I view this as more of a character read. Sure, there were some amazing action scenes, but overall—to me—it moved a bit slow. I would have been bored if some of the characters weren’t so damn amazing! So while the story might have lazily plodded along, I was content because I had some interesting people to plod alongside with. Now, that being said, I had no problem putting the book down and coming back to it later. This was one of those few times where I read other books while enjoying this one. This book felt like a first book. A lot of setup. Character examination. World building. Again, nothing wrong with it. There was a point to this buildup that I understood by the end. I don’t think it was a waste and it was needed. Now that I’ve grown rather close to some of the characters, I’m anticipating book two will raise the stakes and I’ll become obsessed. I nearly was with this book towards the end, which was incredibly fun. As for those characters, that’s where this book shines. First off, I really didn’t like Jezal. I don’t think we’re meant to, honestly. For me, I cared the least about him, I didn’t find his story that engaging, and I ended up skimming some of his sections. Abercrombie nailed Jezal’s character: haughty nobel with no idea how insufferable he is. I hope he grows. I hope in the next book his story is a bit more interesting. He’s the only character I didn’t like and sighed each time I came to one of his chapters. Logen. Now, he was a favorite of mine pretty quickly. I not only loved his character, but he had a fun story: traveling, fighting, action. His journey held my interests the most of all the characters. That’s not to say he was my all time favorite, just that his story was. I tend to like traveling with characters and seeing the world. Glokta, my favorite character of the whole book. I can’t say enough amazing things about him, but I don’t want to ruin how well Abercrombie rolls out his entrance in the book. I’ll just say that I loved him. I wanted to be in his PoV just to hear his internal thoughts. However, his storyline wasn’t as interesting to me as Logen’s. It’s just a matter of personal tastes on that one. As I said, I like traveling and exploring. I tend to grow bored with political intrigue, which is where Glokta’s story unfolds. Shame. Not to say the intrigue wasn’t good, it was, it’s just not something that can get me flipping through pages in excitement. Regardless, I never shied away from his PoV like I did Jezal. The other characters were done well. I think in the next book West will play a bigger role which I’m actually excited about. I liked him from the start and as the book grew, he became one of the PoV’s I was excited to read, especially as his role in the unfolding story becomes more important. We see sides to him I would never had guessed. Brilliantly done. Abercrombie’s writing took me a few chapters to adjust to. Most of the longer reads of late have been very poetic almost, the prose reading smoothly and, at times, flowery. I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of a way to describe Abercrombie’s writing and the closest I can get is delightfully choppy. Harsh maybe, compared to the others. It kinda reminds me of Logen, honestly. It’s how I would imagine him writing a book. Though it took me a bit to adjust, once I did I was completely enraptured by it. I hit my stride and found that I thoroughly enjoyed his style. There was something alluring to it, something that made me feel entrenched in the story when reading. So overall, a bit of a yo-yo effect for me, but it ended on a high. I’m very excited to pick up the next book. Matter of fact, I’m aching to, but I’ve got two I need to read before I can carry on with the series. But as soon as I can, I’m buying the second book. This is one of those reads that would be enjoyed by a wide range of readers.

There’s little way to read The Blade Itself and not think of Game of Thrones. I hate to say that, but it’s true. Abercrombie’s rich fantasy world owes a lot of debt to Martin’s. After all, both series are ones in which magic is largely pushed to the background and minimized; both focus on anti-heroes (at best) and misfits; both juxtapose court intrigues and political scheming against much larger threats that could unravel the world as the characters know it. But more than anything else, there’s the sense of cynicism towards the genre that underlies both series. These are worlds in which traditional heroism barely matters, where old school honor and chivalry are a way to death – if you’re lucky. And yet, to rely too heavily on that comparison is to miss out on all the ways in which The Blade Itself absolutely soars and stands on its own two feet. Over the course of this first novel of The First Law trilogy, Abercrombie sets up a fascinating world, but more than that, he dives deeply into their psyches, giving us a sense of these broken people. Our three main characters – Logen Ninefingers, Sand dan Glokta, Jezal dan Luthar – Abercrombie brings them to rich, detailed life, letting us see their scars, their psychic baggage, their complex motivations. But more than that, rather than embracing the nihilism and selfishness of the men, Abercrombie pushes them farther than that, finding an inner core of decency. It may be small, it may be only a piece of their cruelty or motivations, but it’s there. And that alone makes The First Law stand apart from Martin’s bleak, hopeless world where nothing – and no one – good can last. More than that, though, Abercrombie brings a sometimes dry, sometimes dark, but sometimes genuinely funny sense of humor to the story, allowing his characters to be more than just another grim, broken-down soul. That’s maybe most true of Bayaz, the wizard figure around whom much of the book orbits. Bayaz is no one’s idea of a typical wizard, and that jarring inability to fit expectations pays off wonderfully again and again in the book, as Bayaz demonstrates both his ability and his willingness to use them as he sees fit. In other words, it’s all of Martin’s knack for turning the genre on its head, but done with a little more heart, a bit more humor, and every bit the imagination and talent. If there’s a knock on The Blade Itself, it’s the sense that it’s an intentionally shapeless story at times, one where the lack of predictability makes it hard to make sense of at times. Is this the story of an impending war between the nations? Are the Flatheads a sort of White Walker analog – a monstrous “other” that lurks nearby? How does Ferro and her story tie in with everything going on around Adua? It’s hard to tell until near the end of the book, and even then, it’s a bit hard to get a sense of the bigger picture and how this will come together. But given how engaging, deep, and complex the characters are, how fascinating the world is, and how deep and layered the story is, I’m okay with that. I’m on board to see how this all fits together, and to see what else Abercrombie has going

In a poll on a very popular fantasy forum (sffworld.com), this 3 book series was voted the top fantasy series by a considerable margin, above A Song Of Fire and Ice and many others. Its action packed, with gritty, highly developed, incredibly real characters, and written with wit and style. The series is, clearly, one to read for fantasy fans. At the same time, its not one of my all time favorites, precisely because of the ways the books differ from traditional fantasy. Although the characters have this incredible realism to them, you may not actually like them, nor care about which side wins the wars. Though there is a faction of canibalistic wizards, its not entirely clear that they are wholly evil, and its not like you are ever vested in their defeat. On the other side, mostly just stands Bayaz, First of the Magi, and he is hard to root for. I did root - strongly - for many/most of the key characters, but, without giving any spoilers, let me say that this is ultimately an unrewarding exercise, and many characters are ultimately not what you thought, do not change or grow as you expected, or do not necessarily get what they deserve. In many respects, the plot seems secondary to the characters. For example, events that took place 1000 years ago are important. We eventually learn that they did not happen exactly as we were initially told, but never get the details nor the "why". The faction of evil wizards claim some sort of moral right, and your left wondering whether there is something to it. The "how" as to magic is not explained, and one of the two main characters has a serious double-personality, uncontrollable rage affliction that is never explained either. It feels like there is a deliberate "head fake" as to all the characters -- i.e., you are supposed to think one thing, only to eventually learn you were wrong. Characters that we thought were good guys maybe arent, characters that we thought were changing or growing maybe werent, characters that we thought were strong turn out to be weak (in some ways) and if you assumed there would be happy endings for your favorite characters, well, apparently that is something that experienced Abercrombie readers know to never expected. I'm all for complex characters, but being deliberately led astray as to so many of the characters was an annoyance to me. I did root for the main characters for most of the 3 books, but your left realizing that doing so was a mistake. It seems that fans of the "dark fantasy" genre cite flawed protagonists as an indication of realism and a plus, but here it seems that Abercrombie is deliberately leading you astray -- leading you to believe that characters are strong/good/changing just so we can achieve a dramatic feel when it turns out they were not. Maybe dark fantasy isnt entirely my thing, this was my first true "dark fantasy" series. While I *loved* the writing and the characters, I did not love the plot, and felt that something important (something/someone to root for) was sacrificed to achieve "realism". At the same time, the books and the characters will stay with me a long time, and I could scarcely put the books down. Verdict: *Highly* conflicted, but read the books anyway.

Does not get in a rush setting everything up. Excellent story and character development. I can’t wait to read the next two books!

I waited until I finished the trilogy to review this to give it the best shake, because if you are a impatient reader you will hate book one "the Blade Itself", because it is a very slow burn. I picked up "The First Law" trilogy because I saw it crop up in more then one 'top 10 best fantasy's of all time' lists, and the synopsis was hooky enough, however the only reason I finished this book was because I am stubborn and refused the time I had spent on the first half of the book to be a waste by setting it down and to be honest until I got to the last 10 pages I had zero intention of reading book 2, it just had given me nothing to care about or look forward to. I'll give credit where credit is due, Joe Abercrombie is a great writer, I really appreciated the voice he writes in, his descriptions are unusually but very visceral, his combat feels real (although relatively rare in book one) not these ridiculous prolonged slogs some fantasy books use to fill pages, and his characters are top notch, some of the best written characters I've ever read, BUT the world was so undeveloped as to be fuzzy and indistinct, countries are troupe-y (western Europe, north Viking types and southern Arabs), the main country is simply called "The Union" and I still after 3 books have no idea why/how it exists or what it's motivations are other than "Important peopled founded it long ago, and now its prosperous", but the big kicker, no clear plot was evident, not even for the main characters, and even less for the side characters (some of those plots could have been cut all the way out and not impacted the book at all), until the last chapters of the book none of the expertly written characters had any motivation or crisis to drive them, just motes of dust wandering in the wind of the unrevealed plot following a 'magus' because they apparently have nothing better to do, literally the only thing that turned the pages was the quality of main characters personalities. until, the last 10 pages when he gets the hooks in for book 2. If you take "The First Law" trilogy as a series of books, its a ok story with great characters that are very relatable, not sure I'd rate it as highly as some have, but the pacing is so challenging that I know I would not re-read them even though over all I enjoyed them and I would be hesitant to recommend them to anyone else unless I had a strong feeling for what they liked and that they could muscle through the page tax that is "the blade itself" before moving on to the books in the series that matter. overall, 3/5

I don't even like fantasy, but I liked this trilogy much, and believe me, that's something. I've tried many best selling authors labeled as 'the best' in the genre, and I swear I enjoyed none. This one is the first typical modern fantasy book I encountered that truly feels as written for adults. No Mary Sues and Gary Stus, no black and white characters, no banal moralizing, no cheesy pompousness, no soap opera-like storylines, no easy answers, no 'from zero to hero and he is so awesome' trope. Finally! It's low fantasy. Magic exists in this world, but hardly anyone believes in it. The plot is mostly about the military conflict, the intrigue that underlies it and, last but not least, the relationships between characters. And these are SO good! At first they all seem pretty cliched: you get a scary, sadistic Inquisitior, a handsome, dashing young knight, a husky barbarian, a tough female warrior wanting her revenge, a wise mage and his clumsy apprentice, a sassy, fearless lass... And in the end it turns out that NOTHING is as simple as it initially seemed. The characters are so well fleshed out, their struggles feel real, they evoke real emotions, and the relationships between them are just delightful. And the content is, yeah, adult. There is lots of violence, pain, gore, sarcasm, lost hopes, failures, fake victories and disappointments. It's captivating and entertaining to the last sentence of the third book. Definitely worth trying. Please expect nothing special like I did and let yourself be positively surprised, if not in love.