Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

14 reviews

wyabook234's review

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Trafficking, Child death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: War, Misogyny, and Child abuse

bluejayreads's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

3.75

I didn’t pick this book up entirely by choice. For Valentine’s Day, my local library did a “blind date with a book” promotion where they wrapped the books up in paper and just put a few facts about them on the front. I love the concept (I appreciate anything that gets me to try new things), so I knew I had to try one. Eventually I picked this one, and here’s all I knew about it until I got home from the library and opened the wrapping: 

 

This is where the blind date with a book concept really comes in handy, because I had actually looked at this book on the shelf previously and decided it didn’t look interesting. The back cover introduced way too many characters and not enough plot, and it seemed like it was going to be very unclear what was actually going on and maybe a little dull. But since I had been convinced to check it out, I figured I might as well read it. 

First of all, Joe Abercrombie is clearly a very good writer. This book was extremely well-written, and despite how many things are going on, it’s balanced well, and though the place is slow, it never gets dull. I did not find myself eager and enthusiastic about reading this story as fast as possible, but I also never considered putting it down. It seems strange to call a book full of as much death, violence, and bloodshed a pleasant reading experience, but it was – not slow or dense enough to lose interest, not enthralling enough to get me truly invested in anything that happened or anyone involved, no protagonists I disliked but also none I really loved. (Actually, while they were perfectly fine to read about, every protagonist was a terrible person in their own way.) I had quite a good time reading but didn’t get emotionally involved. It was the violent fantasy version of casual reading. 

But then I finished it. And my husband asked if I liked it. And I realized how difficult of a question that actually was to answer. Because, as previously mentioned, I did have a good time reading it. And there were lots of really interesting aspects. Glokta’s experience of existing in a disabled person in a world that’s built for able-bodied people was intense and quite well-done. Bayaz’s wizardly shenanigans were entertaining and I liked that the history of the magic system was part of the story. And though it was violent, the violence never felt excessive or overdone, except in a way that made it clear that violence is always a tragedy, despite how the people who benefit from it may try to reframe it. So for that, it was good. 

But then we come to the struggle that I really have no idea what was going on, plot-wise. There are a lot of point-of-view characters. There’s Logen, Jezal, and Glokta, as mentioned on the back cover. Despite being on the back cover, Bayaz isn’t a point of view character. There’s also the Dogman, a member of Logen’s old warrior band. And there’s Farro, who doesn’t get introduced until a third of the way throught the book, and who is 98% rage by volume, mostly feral, and whose primary goal in life is to commit as much murder as possible, with or without provocation. So there’s a lot of people running around doing things. But none of those things really coalesce into a plot. Glokta is doing his job; Jezal is shirking swordsmanship training and falling in love; Logen is tagging along after Bayaz, who definitely has plans but isn’t sharing them; the Dogman is traveling with the warrior band; and Farro is trying her best to commit a lot of murder, but is mostly being guided to somewhere by a magical old guy who also has plans but isn’t sharing them. There’s also two brewing wars, some internal politics driven by people who definitely have goals (but again, no indication as to what those are beyond “I want power”), a subplot with a swordsmanship contest that didn’t seem to have a point, and mostly just a lot of little things happening with no overarching plot or even protagonist goals. Farro’s story didn’t even meet up with any of the other characters until the last few chapters. And almost everybody felt like they were wandering through the story with no real goals or interest in doing much beyond live their lives. The only primary character who seems to have any sort of motivation or goal that could drive a plot is Bayaz – and as I said, he’s not telling. 

This whole book really felt more like the setup than a story in and of itself – which is a very strange choice, considering that this book is over 500 pages long and there’s only two more books in the trilogy. (Although there are a bunch of standalone books, a second trilogy, and some short stories in the same world, so who knows what the thought process was here.) At the very end, something happened that felt like the inciting incident of an actual plot. So perhaps things will actually happen in the next book. I’m on the fence about reading it, though. On one hand, The Blade Itself was a perfectly fine read. On the other, it wasn’t any better than “perfectly fine”, and if the next book is anywhere close to this length, that’s an awful lot of pages to commit to when the story doesn’t even have an identifiable plot yet. I don’t regret the time reading this one, if for nothing else than exposure to something I wouldn’t have voluntarily picked up otherwise. But I don’t think I’ll be voluntarily seeking out book two, either. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Violence, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Domestic abuse, Classism, Sexism, War, Torture, Vomit, and Gore

Minor: Excrement, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Body horror, Slavery, Cannibalism, and Rape

Animal injury, physical abuse (one scene, plus mentions of it happening in the past), unreality

cooperqueen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Torture, and War

Moderate: Child death

carlack7's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It took me to about 40% to really start to enjoy reading this book. But once I got acquainted with the characters, and stopped trying to figure out who is "good" or "bad" and realized they might all be a mix, the book really picked up!
I read the first book to appease my husband, but I will continue to read the trilogy because I want to know what happens to each of the characters! I think I'm honestly interested in finding out what happens in each of the storylines!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Gore, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury

sydnieblair's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Cursing, Death, and Torture

Moderate: Xenophobia, Slavery, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Child death and Cannibalism

nerdkitten's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Animal death, Alcohol, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Deportation, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, Vomit, Xenophobia, Excrement, Fatphobia, War, and Body shaming

Minor: Slavery, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Grief, Police brutality, Child abuse, and Genocide

arian_dragonelf's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gore, Murder, Classism, Blood, Cursing, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death

Minor: Physical abuse

strawberrypinch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Torture, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Child death, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Colonisation, Cursing, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, War, Xenophobia, Confinement, Death, Excrement, and Vomit

triforception's review

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The slowest of slow burns, this book feels like an extended intro to the sequel, which I must admit I’m very much looking forward to. If you come in expecting a fast-pace, Salvatore-esque fantasy, you’ll likely be disappointed - The Blade Itself is about introducing its characters, and in that regard it serves its purpose admirably.
Logen begins the story quite boring and stock, but as we learn more about him and see him interact with the wider world and other characters, he gains a lot more of his own shape. Luthar never really won me over, but I began to accept him quite a lot more when it became clear that the author wasn’t necessarily on his side either. Glotka is flat out amazing, an extremely well-realized character, the best of the bunch. A faster pace would certainly have been nice, as well as an earlier introduction to some of the later narrators

Ferro and the Dogman, especially

as they add some variety and diversity to the cast.

If you’re willing to read this book for what it is, an extended introduction and establishment of characters for the main story, I think you can have a wonderful time with The Blade Itself. There’s a lot beneath the surface of an otherwise normal low-fantasy story that hints at complex characters ripe for the developing, a truly dark and somewhat horrific mythology and magic system, and some very fulfilling intrigue in the next books.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Death, Child death, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual assault

atalea's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Body horror

Minor: Slavery