
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie is a dark fantasy novel that delves into a world filled with political intrigue, impending war, and morally ambiguous characters. Set in a medieval-like world, the story follows multiple characters such as Logen Ninefingers, Inquisitor Glokta, and Captain Luthar, each with their own unique perspectives and motivations. The plot weaves together their stories as they navigate through a world on the brink of change, with war looming and alliances shifting. Abercrombie's writing style is characterized by its gritty realism, grounded characters, and a focus on the inner thoughts and struggles of the protagonists.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic violence, torture, and dark themes throughout the narrative.
From The Publisher:
The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie.
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. 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 Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.
Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.
Ratings (283)
Incredible (85) | |
Loved It (97) | |
Liked It (53) | |
It Was OK (25) | |
Did Not Like (17) | |
Hated It (6) |
Reader Stats (589):
Read It (286) | |
Currently Reading (9) | |
Want To Read (230) | |
Did Not Finish (8) | |
Not Interested (56) |
19 comment(s)
It took me a while to get into it but got pretty decent by the end. But the biggest problem with this book is it spends the entire time just introducing you to the characters and doesn't give you enough plot to end in a cliffhanger or have any idea where the 2nd book will be going.
Arguably my favourite display of good writing in all my years of reading.
Just… absolutely superb.
Thank you Joe.
The characters were so interesting! Extremely flawed but still very likeable
Fantastic characters and plot lines.
I really tried and I really wanted to like this book - I will write this as to not have any spoilers, but the gist of this book, that I got out of it, is this:
The chapters jump between three characters, not a bad thing, happens a lot in Fantasy, and I expect it - the three characters are, an "Inquisitor" whose job it is to interrogate information out of people and is generally not a likable character - the second is an ex-assassin, on the run from a guy that kicked him out instead of killing him, and he hooks up with a mage that is a complete a-hole and an apprentice which is too stupid and too unbelievable to be an apprentice - and then, and guard that fences - a lot - like every chapter about him he is either training, fencing, or talking about fencing, and all that I can think is WHO CARES?!?
also, after about a third of the book has passed, we get 2 more characters added, whose stories connect even less than the first three, and are even less likable - but rule of thumb is that you do not add major players that late in a novel - I got to page 400 of 502 and quit, because I was skipping entire chapters of the fencing guy, and oh boy do we get details about fencing - and politics - Fantasy Politics is so much fun, that I scheduled a root canal to come down from THAT high - I know that this is supposed to be a great book by a great novel, but is my copy bad or something - did an eight year old write my version and I was the lucky Willy Wonka winner for bad fantasy - I don't know and I don't care - this was horrible and I would never recommend this to anyone for any reason ever.
Oh, add what is the first law, because in 80% of the book, you never find out - so, again, who cares?
*****4.5*****
I loveeeed it. I had added it to my TBR as many of my GR friends recommended it. It is a 5 star book but I gave 4.5 for a
cliffhanger which left me unsatisfied :(
“The blade itself incites to deeds of violence”
A world brimming with war and a past with blood spill among countries with many different races. The story focuses on 4 main characters who live in a different area but converge their paths by the end of the book.
Logen NineFingers - A Barbarian from North.
Sand dan Glokta - A best fencer once but crippled torturer now.
Jezal dan Luthar - A snob and a Fencer.
Bayaz, the first of Magi - A wizard.
I loved Glokta, he lives in utmost pain and yet has the wit to think these sarcastic humorous little thoughts in his head which made me snort almost every time.
Bayaz and Logen are still a mystery to me, as I could not dissect their true motives.
Jezal, a son of a minor Lord, who wants fame but not hardwork.
“Hurray', shouted Glokta. 'Porridge again!'He looked over at the motionless Practical. 'Porridge and honey, better than money, everything's funny, with porridge and honey!”
“What a place. Glokta stifled a smile. It reminds me of myself, in a way. We both were magnificent once, and we both have our best days far behind us.”
Fantastical world with strong characters. Many twists and turns kept me going, admirably fast for a dark fantasy. Looking forward to read the next book :)
Happy Reading!!
Hmm characters but noooo plot
Aunque la trilogia son 3 libros, estos libros no son auto-contenidos. Hay que leerse los tres o ninguno.
El primer libro da la sensacion de ser una introducion. Es parecido a la comunidad del anillo, aprendemos como es el mundo y los personajes principales pero nadie para alli, el libro es realmente el señor de los anillos y hay que leerlo todo.
Aqui igual, si estas pensando en leer esto, son 1600 paginas, no lo puedes dejar por la mitad. Animo.
The genius of this book. The characters are so vivid. The setting jumps off of the page. Not usually a fan of fantasy but Joe Abercrombie made me read everything he’s written in this series.
Humor. World building. Characters. Perfection
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