Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Blade Itself

The book is written very well...but it's just not my cup of tea. I am very uninterested in Logen and his plot with the wizard. I LOVE Glokta, ok? I almost want to keep reading just for Glokta's sake, but my husband has read this whole series and told me

that Glokta never gets a romance plotline and that he ends up in a friendship-based marriage.

Ambercrombie... give the people what they want. 🤨 We want Glokta to f**k. When he had that dream

where he killed annoying Jezal and licked his blood off of Ardee's face

I was like 🥵🥵🥵. THAT is the book I want.

Also. I TRULY hate Jezal 🙄🙄🙄

To summarize: Abercrombie is a coward and won't let Glokta f**k.

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da3m0nic's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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mnkeemagick's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was something of an adventure for me as well as the characters.

Having seen some reviews depicting Abercrombie's characterization as one dimensional and stereotypical, I must admit that when first reading the book I began to wonder much the same myself. It seemed initially to be a bunch of base archetypes just doing stuff without much regard to plot. But being someone who is loathe to not finish a story once started, I continued on and feel now that these choices may be more intentional than they appear at first glance.

Abercrombie's stories seem to idle slowly, reveling in simply living within the world without unnecessary rushing of time lines for the sake of plot points or story length. I feel the story is offering a slow burn for the sake of realistic stakes and a more in depth character arc through a fuller experience of their various starting points.

It's refreshing to see characters dealing with more aspects of a personal reality if im honest. One of our main protagonists being an aging war monger trying to be better yet still fighting is all the more believable, in my eyes, when he fights more than one person and actually gets injured. His bloody transgressions in his youth not only haunt the fringes of his mind, but actively form his decision processes and, as shown later, are not entirely gone and are genuinely terrible to behold both for himself and the audience.

There's a subtle play on nuance throughout that I find interesting. Shifting situations just enough to subvert expectations for the genre without beating you over the head with the idea that that's what he's doing. Characters developing slowly and with caution as information is presented or withheld, experience had, and while their initial bases feel like archetypes, they are developing more like people than like characters. Even with the mysterious nature surrounding the interweaving of our characters, allowing it to just be left in mystery, while some may find it frustrating, feels to me to be angling a better build for a better payoff down the line.

So while one might argue that this entire book would be the composition of another book's building toward action, I'm glad to have somethin to work toward. Abercrombie's style may not be for everyone, but I enjoy it and can't wait to dig in further to see if my ideas are correct in that this is a story we'll earned rather than a story simply told.

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tweedlesmart's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.0

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acogna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

If Sand dan Glokta has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Sand dan Glokta has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Sand dan Glokta has only one fan then that is me. If Sand dan Glokta has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Sand dan Glokta, then I am against the world.

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ripxw's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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nerdkitten's review

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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

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