A review by skippen
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

2.0

There is a lot to like in here regards to character work, but it came down to being just ok because it just meanders pointlessly for about 90% of the book. It is not like Robn Hobb or Tad Williams where we are getting massive world-building or subtle character development. 500 pages of The Blade Itself just reads like a very long prologue tangentially attached to a overall plot. If it weren't for Glokta's storyline, the only semblance of an arc of a pending story, I would have DNF'd it. The last 1/4 or so, it picks up greatly, and it helps a lot. There is solid work on a plot, some great character moments, but too little too late. Most of this book just feeling pointless. I will continue due to what others have said, and the fact it finally got more focused at the end, but this book could have easily been cut in half, and nothing would have been lost. The characters save it.