A review by loganjana
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

As a standalone, this book is nothing but a character study, and the characters don't have much growth considering it's five hundred pages long. Five hundred pages of exposition for a story I am frankly not overly interested in continuing. Logen is this book's saving grace, as is the juxtaposition between him and Glokta. I am perhaps giving it the benefit of the doubt with rating, assuming it's all worth it down the line. Given all that, is a fascinating exercise in character- and (arguably) world-building. Unfortunately, I could write an essay on the seeming afterthought of the relatively flat female character(s). Again, I've been told this gets better. We'll see.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings