A review by selendrea
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

adventurous dark funny 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

4.25

The First Law series is my husband's favorite fantasy series, so I decided to pick up his 10th anniversary copy of The Blade Itself, and I was not disappointed! The characterization and humor woven throughout kept the reading experience enjoyable. The main characters are so rich and complex - Logen and Glokta particularly stood out, and each were a joy to read about for different reasons. Other characters may be loathsome, but still added so much to the layers upon layers in this novel.

Abercrombie is skilled at world building and remarkably describing combat scenes. However, in this first novel, Abercrombie does not necessarily shine when writing female characters. Ardee had a lot of potential, but I was so disappointed to see t
hat she was essentially relegated to an abuse victim that advances the characters of West and Jezal, but not necessarily herself.
Ferro is cool, but at the moment, she feel very one-dimensional.

Like many others, I do believe this novel was a bit too long. I think Abercrombie could have cut some fluff around the politics of the Agriont and focused on a tighter story with the main characters. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see where the characters go and how they grow in the next books!
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