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thepurplebookwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Potentially mildly unpopular opinion incoming: The Blade Itself was just fine... to reasonably good in places. 😆 It was good enough, at least, that I'll read the rest of the trilogy (and also drawing pairs up nicely with audiobooks so there's that lmao).
Prose and narration:
It was... fine. I didn't notice anything particularly noteworthy about it, good or bad, so that's that. I agree with the reader consensus that Steven Pacey does a really good job narrating this story. However: he did way too many different accents across different geographical areas, in the sense that it made the world-building feel even worse than it was.
World-building:
Speaking of which: the world-building was garbage, sorry not sorry. Just generic as fuck 'fantasylandia' stuff that left me without any real sense of place or culture (or magic really). I'm aware The Blade Itself is the first book in a trilogy, but even still... what there was, in terms of world-building, was very poor for the first entry in a fantasy series. And yes, I'm aware world-building isn't supposed to be First Law's forte. In fact, that's the reason I'd initially decided not to read it, but damn my ex and his recommendations I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Theming:
Nothing of substance to report so far.
Character work:
Okay, so this is supposedly First Law's selling point. I'm not a character-driven reader, but once gain damn my ex and his recommendations I guess, and also I can still enjoy good character work in fiction, if I can connect to it somehow. What I got in The Blade Itself was, well, just fine, to reasonably good. But it certainly didn't blow my mind or anything, though with this specific aspect I will give the series the benefit of the doubt until... let's say I'm through with book two.
I guess I found Glokta somewhat interesting (a disfigured character with chronic pain, alright, though he also felt like a less engaging attempt at a Tyrion Lannister-type character), and I kind of liked Bayaz (Gandalf with extra spice), because... wise old wizards with sass appeal to me for whatever reason. Jezal can get fucked. Logen and his experience of cultural clash (such as it was) offered a bit of comic relief, but otherwise didn't really make me feel anything. And Ferro was... ugh. I'm sorry, I just couldn't with her French accent, it was so cringe to me. 😠Oh, actually I kinda liked the West siblings as well – too bad they were secondary characters!
Seriously though, I can't help but think: "yeah, no, ASOIAF did it better, even if I only consider A Game of Thrones". 😅
Plot and pacing:
Okay, so... no offence, but once I figured out the premise of The Blade Itself essentially functions as 'The Fellowship of the Ring but edgy subverted grimdark' (and honestly it wasn't even that dark), it felt too obvious to me. Like it was laid on a little too thickly, in a way? And I didn't particularly vibe with that. But it wasn't bad either, so eh, whatever. The pacing, however... just, why was this book 650 pages? The Blade Itself conceptually works as a take, of sorts, on Fellowship, sure, but practically speaking it feels like one giant prologue. Set-up, of this kind, that near exclusively focuses on characters – most of which I didn't truly care about – does not agree with my brain, let me tell ya'.
And then, it did that thing wherein stories bumble forward at a snail's leisurely pace, only to end up going: "fuck it, YOLO", in their penultimate and/or final segments. Wow, that escalated quickly... struck again. But I will say this: whilst I didn't find Abercrombie's writing particularly funny – despite many fan's assertions that First Law is often very freaking funny indeed – that last segment featured a scene that was so absurdly 'extra' with its violence, it had me in stitches.
Moderate: Violence and Torture
bitter_critter's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There is a decently thick line between characters that are morally bad or questionable and characters that are just unlikeable. I found Logen and the Dogman kind of interesting but every other character whose POV we can read was boring and flat.
Maybe it's something you would like and could connect to, but this fell flat for me.
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Ableism, and Slavery
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Blood, and Child abuse
isabellyboo's review against another edition
Wasn't enjoying it
Graphic: War, Sexism, Violence, and Torture
downtowndaly's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Misogyny
alexkendall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Blood, Gore, Death, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Bullying, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Alcoholism, and Classism
the_night_reader_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, War, Sexism, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Torture, Excrement, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Blood, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Murder, and Medical trauma
samuelhayler's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
jos400's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Cannibalism
albon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Physical abuse
sydnieblair's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Cursing, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Xenophobia, Slavery, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Child death and Cannibalism