Scan barcode
A review by mikhoest
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'm not usually one to quit a book half-way through and then write a review. Hell, I'm rarely even one to write a review of books I have finished, but this is such an extreme case that I feel like I need it out of my system.
What's going on with this book's reputation? I get how people can enjoy it, but the face-meltingly sizzling praise it gets, compared to what it's like to actually read, confuses the hell out of me.
A lot of people here have pointed that not much is going on. That part is generally accepted. So far so good. The world feels like pretty standard fantasy, which isn't even a problem.
But I'm supposed to believe that the big draw is the characters, and that's where you all lose me. I've heard so much praise from so many sources, claims that they're some of the greatest fictional people ever written and easily the best fantasy have to offer.
And in my opinion, they're not even close. Not unless they all later undergo drastic changes that make them unrecognisable, but I know that won't happen. I know it because I've seen the line "You have to be realistic about these things" quoted by fans, which means that line is something readers latched onto. For some reason, people found value in that. Is it meant to be funny? Profound? I seriously can't tell. To me, it reads like a flavourless, matter of fact line that wasn't meant to stand out at all. I would never have guessed that it was a popular thing to quote.
Coming off books and series like Gentleman Bastards, The Dark Tower, Guns of the Dawn and lesser known, indie works like The Headlock of Destiny, the characters in TBI feel so stiff, dry, boring and one-note. Their conversations come across as stiff and awkward to me. There's a scene where the barbarian guy is sitting on a bench, and some woman joins him. She sits and exchanges one-liners with him for like 30 seconds, then gets up again. What was that about? Granted, it's the worst scene I can recall, but a lot of the book has a touch of that same weirdness, and I don't think it's intentional.
Glokta stands out above the rest, and I like the premise of him, but he still only seems to have one mood. He's always annoyed. For a book this long, that gets really old.
The bar for characters in fantasy is astronomically higher than this. That's my main point, and it confuses the hell out of me that so many people seem to consider this the absolute top of the mountain. Maybe you could consider these people 'above average', since the genre isn't usually that character driven, but I've read way better.
All the book has left is two things: The promise of more exciting things to come, and 'dry, witty humour' that doesn't register as humour or wit. It's just dry.
I think this is just an example of a book's positive reception working against it. I might have pushed through if the praise hadn't raised my expectation so high. On the other hand, I would definitely have forgotten everything about it afterward. Now, at least, it has earned a place in my memory.
I wonder if I'd enjoyed it more had everyone tried to sell me on the awkwardness of the dialogue. What if this book was praised for being some surreal, dream-like, psychological horror story? I might have kept reading.
Anyway, I know I'm not alone in my disappointment. This isn't that controversial of a take; it's been done. I suppose the message is to be careful in what you recommend, and how you do it. Ask yourself if the thing you love really is a masterpiece, or if it just hits on a lot of things you enjoy. Temper people's expectations a little. It's for the best.
Thanks for reading. This may be a 2-star review, but I hope you have a 5-star day!
What's going on with this book's reputation? I get how people can enjoy it, but the face-meltingly sizzling praise it gets, compared to what it's like to actually read, confuses the hell out of me.
A lot of people here have pointed that not much is going on. That part is generally accepted. So far so good. The world feels like pretty standard fantasy, which isn't even a problem.
But I'm supposed to believe that the big draw is the characters, and that's where you all lose me. I've heard so much praise from so many sources, claims that they're some of the greatest fictional people ever written and easily the best fantasy have to offer.
And in my opinion, they're not even close. Not unless they all later undergo drastic changes that make them unrecognisable, but I know that won't happen. I know it because I've seen the line "You have to be realistic about these things" quoted by fans, which means that line is something readers latched onto. For some reason, people found value in that. Is it meant to be funny? Profound? I seriously can't tell. To me, it reads like a flavourless, matter of fact line that wasn't meant to stand out at all. I would never have guessed that it was a popular thing to quote.
Coming off books and series like Gentleman Bastards, The Dark Tower, Guns of the Dawn and lesser known, indie works like The Headlock of Destiny, the characters in TBI feel so stiff, dry, boring and one-note. Their conversations come across as stiff and awkward to me. There's a scene where the barbarian guy is sitting on a bench, and some woman joins him. She sits and exchanges one-liners with him for like 30 seconds, then gets up again. What was that about? Granted, it's the worst scene I can recall, but a lot of the book has a touch of that same weirdness, and I don't think it's intentional.
Glokta stands out above the rest, and I like the premise of him, but he still only seems to have one mood. He's always annoyed. For a book this long, that gets really old.
The bar for characters in fantasy is astronomically higher than this. That's my main point, and it confuses the hell out of me that so many people seem to consider this the absolute top of the mountain. Maybe you could consider these people 'above average', since the genre isn't usually that character driven, but I've read way better.
All the book has left is two things: The promise of more exciting things to come, and 'dry, witty humour' that doesn't register as humour or wit. It's just dry.
I think this is just an example of a book's positive reception working against it. I might have pushed through if the praise hadn't raised my expectation so high. On the other hand, I would definitely have forgotten everything about it afterward. Now, at least, it has earned a place in my memory.
I wonder if I'd enjoyed it more had everyone tried to sell me on the awkwardness of the dialogue. What if this book was praised for being some surreal, dream-like, psychological horror story? I might have kept reading.
Anyway, I know I'm not alone in my disappointment. This isn't that controversial of a take; it's been done. I suppose the message is to be careful in what you recommend, and how you do it. Ask yourself if the thing you love really is a masterpiece, or if it just hits on a lot of things you enjoy. Temper people's expectations a little. It's for the best.
Thanks for reading. This may be a 2-star review, but I hope you have a 5-star day!