Scan barcode
in_love_with_bookish's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is definitely a unique experience for me as a fantasy reader and I really enjoyed it. I’ve been meaning to read this book for some time but I kept putting it off until now. I’m glad I finally decided to discover Joe Abercrombie's The First Law World as it was a very rewarding experience from start to finish.
Every man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be. What is my story now, I wonder?
This is not a plot-driven book, it focuses heavily on the characters and It works as a very long introduction to the fantastical world of the story and its multiple players. Right from the first chapter, the author brilliantly sets the tone of the rest of the book in a way that makes it clear what to expect going forward.
As I said, there isn’t a lot going on plot-wise. We get to know a lot of characters, some of their motivations, and learn about the history and the lore of the world and we don't have big events happening in the story. The book is slow-paced and It takes its sweet time setting everything and everyone for the next book but It did so well I didn’t mind at all.
Once you've got a task to do, it's better to do it than live with the fear of it
There is clearly a lot of scheming and plotting to happen with a lot of characters, It lends an air of mystery to the book but also a sense of dread. As we know the characters more and more, It’s clear they’re up to no good which makes the stakes higher with more tension and suspense.
I also loved the writing style so much, I was really engaged in the story and I kept flipping the pages because I just wanted to read more. Abercrombie’s writing just works for me so well and I was captivated by it from the get-go.
Of course, the most fascinating aspect of the book is the characters themselves. The character work that’s done in this book is extraordinary. I love that we don’t have a clear understanding of where the characters fit. It was challenging for me to figure out how I feel about them considering who they are and what they’ve done in the past and what they continue to do in the present but I also can’t help but be drawn to them because they are really well written. There is a charm to them that makes them really interesting. The more you know, the more appalled you become but also the more intrigued and invested.
The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. Still, the struggle itself is worthwhile. Knowledge is the root of power, after all.
But As much as I love the way the characters are written and how deep we delve into their stories, I still feel we didn’t see a lot of development from them. They really don’t change that much. I also think the female characters are severely sidelined in the book, and even with the one female character that’s clearly important to the story, Sometimes she felt like an afterthought.
The Blade Itself is a promising first book set in a world on the brink of many bloody wars with characters that don’t mind getting their hands dripping with blood. I think we’re in for a very gruesome yet wonderful ride. I’ll definitely be picking up the second book as soon as possible.
Everything frightens me, and it's well that it does. Fear is a good friend to the hunted, it's kept me alive this long. The dead are fearless, and I don't care to join them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Slavery
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is nasty and brilliant and I loved it.
The perfect example of how to do a grim dark fantasy novel: dark and also funny as hell.
The Blade Itself follows three main POVs (with some other minor ones sprinkled throughout): Logen, Jezal, and Glotka.
Logen is a warrior who formerly fought for the newly declared King of the North, Bethod. Now he’s on the run from Bethod’s men and dealing with the creatures encroaching on the North known as the Shanka. As he finds himself wandering, he’s drawn to the First of the Magi...the mysterious man known as Bayaz.
Jezal is a pretentious prick. And everyone knows it except for him. He is a fencing prodigy and is training for the big tournament where he’s expected to win for the Union. His balance is thrown off however, when his good friends Major West’s sister Ardee arrives and begins to challenge everything he thought he knew.
Glotka is an Inquisitor. And he’s very good at asking questions. Having survived his own torture as a prisoner of war, Glotka is familiar with how to make someone talk...with the right instruments of course. When he’s tasked with uncovering a mystery in the Union, Glotka and his two Practicals must follow the clues to its bloody end, no matter how many twisted bodies they have to leave in their wake.
Joe Abercrombie is absolutely masterful with his character work. Each character has such a distinct voice (this was helped by the stellar audiobook whose narrator literally crafted a unique voice for *every* character), and this was one of the few books where almost every character on the page felt fully fleshed out and realized. I felt like I had truly stepped into a fully formed world and was excited with every single chapter that I read.
This is primarily a character-driven book, but that doesn’t mean it has a plot. The plot unfolds slowly and steadily; there wasn’t a single moment where I wasn’t invested in what was going to happen next. I would go on long drives just to fit in another chapter, or two, or three.
And yes this book is obviously setting the stage for what is to come in the next two books but the setup was enjoyable as hell. I’m so impressed with this book and so invested in these characters and this story. These characters are all pretty much various shades of awful, terrible people...but they are so relentlessly entertaining to read about that I was rooting for them even so. I cannot wait to see where Abercrombie takes these characters and their stories next!
*quick note as to why I gave this 4.5 stars instead of a full 5: so because these characters are bad people, and we’re in their heads for their POV chapters, it can be uncomfortable at times. Something that I did notice happen quite a number of times was the way that fat characters were described. It made me very uncomfortable to see these characters all be shamed for their weight, how much they ate, and other terrible stereotypes about fat people. Now I believe this is because of the CHARACTERS’ prejudices and their descriptions and NOT the author’s. But it happened enough times to make me uncomfortable. I really hope that in the rest of the series there might be other POVs that aren’t so harsh in their judgment of these characters and it will be able to reinforce that it was just these few characters’ prejudices and not the author’s.*
The perfect example of how to do a grim dark fantasy novel: dark and also funny as hell.
The Blade Itself follows three main POVs (with some other minor ones sprinkled throughout): Logen, Jezal, and Glotka.
Logen is a warrior who formerly fought for the newly declared King of the North, Bethod. Now he’s on the run from Bethod’s men and dealing with the creatures encroaching on the North known as the Shanka. As he finds himself wandering, he’s drawn to the First of the Magi...the mysterious man known as Bayaz.
Jezal is a pretentious prick. And everyone knows it except for him. He is a fencing prodigy and is training for the big tournament where he’s expected to win for the Union. His balance is thrown off however, when his good friends Major West’s sister Ardee arrives and begins to challenge everything he thought he knew.
Glotka is an Inquisitor. And he’s very good at asking questions. Having survived his own torture as a prisoner of war, Glotka is familiar with how to make someone talk...with the right instruments of course. When he’s tasked with uncovering a mystery in the Union, Glotka and his two Practicals must follow the clues to its bloody end, no matter how many twisted bodies they have to leave in their wake.
Joe Abercrombie is absolutely masterful with his character work. Each character has such a distinct voice (this was helped by the stellar audiobook whose narrator literally crafted a unique voice for *every* character), and this was one of the few books where almost every character on the page felt fully fleshed out and realized. I felt like I had truly stepped into a fully formed world and was excited with every single chapter that I read.
This is primarily a character-driven book, but that doesn’t mean it has a plot. The plot unfolds slowly and steadily; there wasn’t a single moment where I wasn’t invested in what was going to happen next. I would go on long drives just to fit in another chapter, or two, or three.
And yes this book is obviously setting the stage for what is to come in the next two books but the setup was enjoyable as hell. I’m so impressed with this book and so invested in these characters and this story. These characters are all pretty much various shades of awful, terrible people...but they are so relentlessly entertaining to read about that I was rooting for them even so. I cannot wait to see where Abercrombie takes these characters and their stories next!
*quick note as to why I gave this 4.5 stars instead of a full 5: so because these characters are bad people, and we’re in their heads for their POV chapters, it can be uncomfortable at times. Something that I did notice happen quite a number of times was the way that fat characters were described. It made me very uncomfortable to see these characters all be shamed for their weight, how much they ate, and other terrible stereotypes about fat people. Now I believe this is because of the CHARACTERS’ prejudices and their descriptions and NOT the author’s. But it happened enough times to make me uncomfortable. I really hope that in the rest of the series there might be other POVs that aren’t so harsh in their judgment of these characters and it will be able to reinforce that it was just these few characters’ prejudices and not the author’s.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism, Cannibalism, Child death, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
podanotherjessi's review
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is not nearly as devoid of plot as so many claim, which is definitely a point in the book's favor. But it's still primarily character driven for the first 2/3 or more of the book, so when you don't really latch onto the characters, it's hard to be invested. There was really only one plot line that kept me interested, so until the rest of the stories started converging with that one, I was really uncertain how I felt. Now that I've finished, I know I liked it, but I'm not sure of much beyond that. I will definitely be continuing the series though because I am very curious to see where it all leads.
Characters: 8
Plot: 6
Setting: 7
General Appeal: 7
Writing Style: 9
Originality: 8
Ending: 7
Characters: 8
Plot: 6
Setting: 7
General Appeal: 7
Writing Style: 9
Originality: 8
Ending: 7
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism
More...