Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

12 reviews

luis_vieira's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gore, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cursing, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Slavery, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Classism, Xenophobia, Confinement, Grief, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abandonment, Cannibalism, Kidnapping, Vomit, War, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Rape, and Sexual content

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

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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

gus717's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Violence

Minor: Alcohol

midnightrose_reads's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Blade, Itself is the first book in the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. There’s several main characters you meet in the story: Logen ‘Ninefingers’ a well known fighter from the North, San Dan Glokta an Inquisitor and torturer,  & Captain Jezal dan Luthar a would be fencing champion. Throw in the wizard Bayaz, First of the Magi and his less than competent assistant, and a woman named Ferro with a strange magical ability and you have a VERY colorful cast of characters!

This first book is incredibly character and world-building focused. Wildly funny at times as well. Can’t wait to continue on with the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, and Child 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

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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

singalana's review

adventurous dark funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, and War

Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Excrement, Animal death, and Toxic relationship

mattitanskane's review

While masterfully written the paint by numbers political fantasy story wasn't able to hold my attention enough to get me invested in a new trilogy. Skimmed through the remaining pages and read a synopsis of the rest of the trilogy online.

I found Logen's character arc compelling and would have enjoyed reading more of it but sadly the story kept introducing more and more characters with increasingly mundane storylines.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture and War

Minor: Sexism, Cursing, Slavery, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

marthadude's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I feel like I can't really review the book on its own merits since it's part of a trilogy, but it's an excellent start to a larger story. It's more character heavy than plot heavy, but the characters are really fascinating. I'm very eager to start on book two and to see where things go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, War, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Blood, Cursing, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Vomit, Physical abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual content

laine37's review

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

2.0

This book very quickly and effectively portrayed characters, such that a reader could get a good grasp on them swiftly. It was impressive and certainly the book's strongest facet. However, the book then doesn't do much with these established characters, they just stumble about through the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, and Alcoholism

apiecalypsejen'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? Yes

5.0

The First Law trilogy is my favourite of the two trilogies that take place in this world. The characters are definitely flawed, each of them in their own way with not one of them being clear or free of some kind of barrier or encumbrance to you calling them your "favourite" without some reluctance or guilt (aside from

possibly Brother Longfoot

). This story sets up the next two books, which means it is a lot of establishing of relationships, characters, and the basis for the

journey/war

that comprises the second book. It's a great story about men in their 20s, and how they can be hardheaded and too arrogant, and where that can take them, as well as has two excellent and deep woman character in Ferro and Ardee. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, Racism, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, War, Violence, Kidnapping, Gore, Genocide, Alcoholism, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Self harm, Physical abuse, Excrement, Drug use, Death, Sexual violence, Vomit, Body horror, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Bullying

Minor: Rape