Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body – not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. … friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.
And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all – ideally by running away from it. But as he’s discovering, old habits die really, really hard indeed . . .
. . . especially when Bayaz gets involved. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he’s about to make the lives of Glotka, Jezal and Logen a whole lot more difficult . . .
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Joe’s characters are what bring me back to his books, again and again. Is it a great story, with great writing and world-building? Yes! But the characters that you admire/loathe/pity or otherwise feel real emotions for; they are they jewels of this story, they are what you remember long after the events have faded in your mind.
What else makes a really great writer?
I couldn’t finish this book. I just could not love the story enough to spend time with it.
It’s well written, great world-building, truly despicable. But something about it didn’t click with me.
I absolutely love Joe Ambercrombie’s books. He creates unusual characters that fit seamlessly into their world. If you love well done battles, action that rarely slows, and a well told story, you can’t do better than to read this book. I read everything he writes. One of my favorite authors.
love it
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/the-blade-itself-joe-abercrombie/
I enjoy reading Epic Fantasy, but lately I was hitting really slow paced and boring books in that genre. I was recommended to take a look at The First Law saga. The promise was really good characters. If there si something I love about a book is special characters that I will remember for a long time. Joe Abercrombie delivers a bunch of them that has made the reading of the first book a truly great experience.
This book is basically a big character presentation. We have Logen, the warrior from the North with too many enemies and few friends. Jezal, the arrogant swordman who wants as much as possible with as much little effort as possible. Glokta, the cripple who wants to show that he is still very capable of great things. Ferro, the “dagger-happy” woman from a dangerous land. And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, a great magic user with a quest in mind: gathering all the others to embark for a dangerous mission.
Even though the book is in the thicker side, there is not much story development. It’s just the first stones for a good looking foundation. We have several side stories, being the main ones Glokta’s investigations and Jezal’s Contest for best swordman of the Union. Both of them very enjoyable and fun to read. When those threads end, the story is all about getting them together to meet each other. Beyond that, the rest are just glances to the political situation of the Union’s neighbours: the war against Bethod in the North, the brewing trouble with Gurkhul, the unstable situation in the Old Empire… I bet those stories will get a much more relevant role in the next books.
This book is not meant to hook you up with the story. The story is also good, don’t get me wrong; but the main asset of this first part are the characters. I have loved their company most of the time. Maybe the weakest link in that aspect is Ferro, but she doesn’t have as many chapters as the rest of them. Logen has made my blood very cold. He seemed such a good-hearted guy… but in the end… when he becomes the Bloody-Nine for a brief moment… I’m still digesting it!! Glokta is grumpy, but it’s obvious he is a good guy. At first I wanted to see him fail his tasks, but little by little has grown on me and now I’m worried about his new assignment.
My favourite is Jezal. Since the first moment I met him, I knew he was my kind of character! Arrogant, too sure of himself; but more often than not he is proven a fool. Gladly for him, his luck knows no bounds, which makes his ego a really fat creature. I love his biased look at everything that happens to him. I’m going to enjoy so much when he is thrown from the high horse he is riding… Of all the members of Bayaz’s crew, Jezal’s part is the most unclear. Why do they need him? His only skill is just fencing and we know he is not the best at it… Too bad no one has told Jezal about it!! Some of my favourite scenes with him are: the self-worship in front of the mirror, his ego burst during the final match of the Contest when Bayaz was buffing him, his kind of cute declaration of love and everytime he throws a tantrum behaving like a spoiled kid.
We don’t have many details about Bayaz’s quest. I guess that is going to be the main course of the next book. It looks interesting with such strange band of heroes. The worst part of my devotion towards them is that, if some of them die, I’m not going to recover any time soon.
So, yeah, I love the book! I can’t wait to read the next one, so I will try to grab it before the end of the year. That date is approaching fast, so I don’t know if I will make it.
No storyline
Joe Abercrombie writes a mean dark/epic fantasy. I think everyone can agree with that. This was the first book by Abercrombie that I read, and I was hooked from the first page–since then, I’ve read everything he’s written and loved them all. He’s a very talented writer.
The First Law series, of which this is the first book, is very detailed–a huge feeling world with diverse cultures. The book introduces a number of memorable characters: Logan Ninefingers–a Northman with a mysterious past (and what could be better?), Sand dan Glokta–a broken and jaded torturer, Jethel dan Luther–a pampered aristocrat, Ferro Maljinn-a ferocious escaped slave, and Bayaz–the enigmatic First of the Magi. It’s an unlikely cast, but they compliment each other’s strengths and they come together to save the world…or at least the parts of it Bayaz cares about.
If you haven’t read Abercrombie yet, start here.
*Hold the blade, Inquisitor! I will tell the truth! I have found a new favorite author. His name be Abercrombie.*
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Danger brews in the violent North. Dive into a bloodbath of fully realized characters, see a figure of the past stomp into the political arena and hold the flickering candle high to a cast of characters with dark shadows clinging close.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Wit; unique character voices; a different spin on the typical epic fantasy; lively pacing;
CONS: Agh! Knife in the eye! I can’t see the plot. Where’d it go? Oh, wait. Eye is fine, the plot is hiding behind Glokta’s darkly tormented soul. Hiding right next to a cast of secondary characters overshadowed by Jezal’s ego and cowering from Logen’s dark past.
BOTTOM LINE: Exquisitely realized characters dominate this violent epic that shakes its steels at convention and will have you immersed.
In the Union city of Adua, where the Master Maker’s house towers above like an ominous dark cloud, all is fine and all is as it should be. The populace is kept in line by the ruthless Inquisition, the king is a slothly dullard, and the nobles flit about in their finery, finding purpose in a society of refinement as shallow as a pool of blood, while others mix intrigue and play at the games of power. But there is a danger brewing and a threat to the North, and the First of the Magi must come back into the world to set things right.
Meet a cast of characters with blood on their hands, but deep of thought. Meet a noble of breeding and refinement as shallow and proud as they come. And walk in the shoes of a military hero of common birth that must prove himself to his peers at every turn.
There is no map and there is no glossary in The Blade Itself and, frankly, I didn’t find the absence lacking. Character is the focus here. Abercrombie attacks the pages of The Blade Itself with character. And what beautifully interesting characters they are. Logen is a man of scarred practicality, Glokta is a man of mutilated sensibility, Jezal has never had cause to look further to the future than his mirror, and Bayaz is a man of mystery and wisdom we can only hope to understand. Even the everyman, Major West, is captivating as we see his own struggles.
Character is so much the focus that the plot takes a back seat. There is a greater conflict, a greater battle brewing, but with each character they are so strongly realized that, like life, each are their own worst enemies. In a way this is brilliant and I find it hard to point to a book that does character better. But we can all grow fond and comfortable with form and it is hard to see the plot.
Blood and gore spatter the page, much like the cover. If the gritty realism threatens your stomach, be warned. Abercrombie didn’t earn his nickname of Lord Grimdark for nothing. But it is not senseless. The author puts purpose into every page.
The setting of the story is beautifully realized through the unique eyes of each character. Captured with a modern sensibility, the world is thriving with detail. But if you cringe at the word “pants” or “shirt” in your medieval fantasy, you might want to proceed with caution, or maybe (instead) it is high time to deliberate whether it really matters for a book written for a modern reader. It’s not like anyone in the book is standing in line for an iPhone 6.
For the exquisite characters, for the clever wit and the surprise twist that suddenly made sense out of a major plotline, I give 4 very bloody swords out of 5 and if you didn’t already know: Abercrombie is certainly a dangerous new(ish) threat in publishing.
Read more of my reviews on my blog at http://www.CliftonH.com and about my own writer’s journey.
Why do I love this book so much? I am going to try to break that down. Joe Abercrombie did such a fabulous job with this book. I’m going to also try to give a non spoiler review.
“The Blade Itself” is the first book in the “First Law” series by Joe Abercrombie. This book has been put into the category of Grim Dark, fantasy. “Grim Dark”, fantasy has scenes of graphic violence or gruesome horror or just fantasy of a more gritty nature. While it definitely had scenes of gruesome violence, nothing appeared to be put into the story just be more gory. Everything was brilliantly woven together with master storytelling.
I started off very quickly liking several characters and feeling for them sympathetically to just loving them. “Logan Nine Fingers” or “The Bloody Nine” is a character that seems to have no luck at all.
But Sand Dan Glokta has had worse luck. But this character with his tragic life is an honest character. He’s honest about his sadism as well.
There are contrasting characters that are torn apart by the divide between rich and poor, common and noble.There are so many funny moments in this book. Honest moments that really make the characters endearing. At one point later in the book I actually teared up a little. And it could be that I was having a lot of introspective thoughts anyway but the scene was just too sad and believable. These characters that were fighting in a hopeless struggle to survive and not get killed by their enemies became not characters in a book but my friends somehow.
I’ve read Brandon Sanderson and I love his work too. But Joe Abercrombie is my new favorite author now. That’s where I put him. And like Sanderson something Abercrombie does well is weaving side plots together. The ending really came together but also created more questions for the sequel.
You have multiple villains in this book. Two groups that are opposing each other, The King of the North and The Union and devious other parties that are mysteriously at work possibly even more threatening. And there are several mysteries that spring up in this book, The First of The Magi, The House of The Maker. This book even has a sports side story to it. An awkward love interest.
I give “The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie” five stars! The highest marks I can give. I highly recommend you read it or listen to it on audible.
I read this a long time ago and it was really good ,if you like this genre.
Logan Ninefingers is a superb character and this is his infamous debut. This book made me fall in love with Joe Abercrombie’s work, its raw and real with deep and flawed characters you can root for even if they are killers.
Not going to lie, Joe Abercrombie is one of my favorites of all time. This series inspired me to write, and 9 books in, I still hope to reach his level some day. If you’re looking for big action, relatable and flawed characters, read anything this author slings out. Time well spent. Thanks for writing Joe!
Really liked the first few chapters, but it was a chore to finish. I enjoyed the tone, and the general mission statement of portraying cynical and amusingly chickenshit versions of stock fantasy characters, but the story as a whole ended up kind of shapeless. Basically, it does a good job of putting interesting characters in interesting situations, and then does a bad job of having them make interesting decisions in response to those situations, or of making any kind of a larger point out of how they interact with one another. Maybe the trilogy as a whole gets moving eventually, but my patience is about spent.
Best character I’ve ever read.
A fantastic and gritty series.
The one that started it all! Abercrombie writes in a gutsy style that pulls no punches. Violent, sexy and entertaining as hell, if you like your fantasy with a little Quentin Tartantino mixed in, this is a great place to begin.
As a bit of a fantasy nut, I’ve found myself reading a lot of pretty average novels. On stumbling across Joe Abercrombie, as a result of some ambiguous Google search, I was properly stoked!
It had felt like forever since I’d read a novel with such brilliant characters in. I’ve (sadly) read everything he’s written now and, for me, the characters surpass the actual plot itself in terms of interest – not that the plot isn’t compelling. The good old Dogman, the schizophrenic murdering legend that is Logan Ninefingers, the wizard Bayaz who is so arrogant you’d like nothing better than to kick him in the fork and – my favourite – the unpredictable nutter Black Dow all make phenomenal reading.
Just read everything you can get your hands on from this guy.
Character driven, as all of his books are, but not as good as others in this series..
The term “grimdark” has been tossed about in recent years as a new subgenre of fantasy. After reading The Blade Itself I now know exactly what the term means. You are never sure if these characters in this story are going to make it to the end of the book, or even to the end of the next chapter. But these people don’t die easily. They are made to suffer, and suffer, and suffer some more. Mr. Abercrombie has a great talent for turning common fantasy tropes on their head to create something new and unusual. The prose are often dark and gritty, but also funny in places and highly entertaining. The perfect balance of levity and despair. I look forward to reading more of Mr. Abercrombie’s books.
Joe Abercrombie’s books are such fun. The Blade Itself was delightfully twisted with an eclectic mix of characters, a fast-paced plot and tons of action. The book has everything fans of Fantasy, and Action & Adventure require, with the bonus of witty dialogue and sharp, ironic humor. The first book in a terrific series.