A review by josiah17
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

adventurous dark 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

5.0

Edit 8/10/24: I've gone back and forth with rating this 4.5 or 5 stars, but I'm firmly leaving it at 5 stars this time. I think about First Law too much. I love it, and this book is fantastic even though there's hardly a plot.

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This was great. The prose is wonderfully readable and fluid. The book starts very character focused with extremely well realized characters. Every POV is engaging. The plot is not the most captivating, but that doesn't matter when you write characters and dialogue like Abercrombie can. However, the plot does pick up near the end and there's a sense of direction for where this story is headed. And I'm very intrigued. 

I also love the world Abercrombie has crafted here. It subtlety mysterious, and it feels vast and grand in scope, which is always something I want to feel when immersed in a fantasy world. 

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of Abercrombie's works in the First Law universe. He's instantly a new favorite author. 
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