Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, March 15 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Tuesday, March 14. Order within 21 hrs 47 mins

Only 1 left in stock - order soon

[{"displayPrice":"$24.81","priceAmount":24.81,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"81","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"WL9b04fbnyAWHr8PZ75zWg34mSejEhfm9iV2TpQZR6bA7PqNJJ5f9pc8xPOha4wtObbpnNEhLKCeGGfQ7NQkmJUzvSnr9JLAaqyaCKzYZMOecz1iIXLSWJih0I6r3H1TRmnat4ScyX7cmtcktrM9bLNrouhw8FBGKSDDOWzSbIQe%2F3NHm2nCbm1idrYsJGDj","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$8.71","priceAmount":8.71,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"71","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"yuxreSyCPFbZUsOWgd5owycQEInpFG0rZtxmfLvpxr8kZ%2BsCkgeEQAxlBLd5PBrj%2B6Jrg0bdmoOjz1iVeR6rycYAD5zD73yUyRj4Or1QzE8cSZbvKHD2zlF9e%2FrBKBWkvBaMKakE6reRsxfme%2Fs%2BQdIPz9uG6dL4Oxm2VzkQn2pZoAy0nxzpofNCwgcLRu7d","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$24.81 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

Willows Book Store

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Gift options

Add at checkout

Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

Willows Book Store

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Gift options

Add at checkout

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, March 15 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon. Order within 21 hrs 47 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by -OnTimeBooks-

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$24.01
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: books4seasons

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Joe Abercrombie

The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One) Paperback – September 6, 2007

by Joe Abercrombie (Author)

11,381 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The First Law Trilogy

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$21.27

$17.18

$10.98

Paperback

"Please retry"

$12.99

$12.00

$3.79

Paperback, September 30, 2007

$24.81

$10.63

$2.52

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$35.66

$29.25

—

Kindle
$9.99 Read with Our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
$21.27

7 Used from $10.98 8 New from $17.18
Paperback
$24.81

38 Used from $2.52 4 New from $10.63 1 Collectible from $60.00
Audio CD
$35.66

2 New from $29.25

Enhance your purchase

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.

Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.

Book 1 of 3

The First Law Trilogy
Print length

536 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pyr
Publication date

September 6, 2007
Dimensions

6 x 1.42 x 8.98 inches
ISBN-10

159102594X
ISBN-13

978-1591025948
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Joe Abercrombie Paperback
$24.81
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Willows Book Store and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 15
by Joe Abercrombie Paperback
$12.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 15
by Joe Abercrombie Paperback
$15.17
Only 3 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Mar 15

Joe Abercrombie
8,415
Paperback
28 offers from $9.10
Joe Abercrombie
7,176
Paperback
62 offers from $7.44
Joe Abercrombie
275
Paperback
3 offers from $31.37
Joe Abercrombie
9,230
Hardcover
Editors' pickBest Science Fiction & Fantasy
58 offers from $9.57
Scott Lynch
12,095
Mass Market Paperback
91 offers from $1.99
Joe Abercrombie
4,995
Paperback
46 offers from $25.99

Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

Once you’ve got a task to do, it’s better to do it than to live with the fear of it.
Highlighted by 1,513 Kindle readers
But some things have to be done. It’s better to do them, than to live with the fear of them.
Highlighted by 1,223 Kindle readers
The great wage secret wars for power and wealth, and they call it government.
Highlighted by 926 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British newcomer Abercrombie fills his muddled sword-and-sorcery series opener with black humor and reluctant heroes. Logen Ninefingers, a barbarian on the run from an ex-employer who's now king of the North, finds his loyalties complicated when he switches sides and becomes a valuable source of intel to the beleaguered Union. Glokta, a torture victim turned torturer, gets roped into securing the Union's position against both the invading Northmen and the incompetent Union king and council, and ruthlessly wields his skills in attempts to weed out traitors. Foppish Jezal, a preternaturally excellent swordsman, manages to win the contest to become the Union champion, thanks to a little help from Bayaz, a mage with his own agenda. The workmanlike plot, marred by repetitive writing and an excess of torture and pain, is given over to introducing the mostly unlikable characters, only to send them off on separate paths in preparation for the next volume's adventures. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"...is a fantasy novel full of enough ironic and slightly self-deprecating humor and Scorcese-esque violence to make the average hipper than thou non-fantasy reader want to learn more about the genre (my favorite kind to convert), yet filled with enough touchstones to make your average Tolkien weaned fantasy reader quite happy indeed...just one of the great characters in a rogues gallery of fantasy archetypes with a twist, Inquisitor Glokta is one of the finest examples of a sympathetically drawn antagonist I have seen in a very long time, in a book of any genre, and some of his inner dialogue is absolutely quote-worthy...if the rest of the series is as much fun as the first bit, Pyr can gladly have my $10.... This book is highly recommended by BBT Magazine!" -- Blood Blade & Thruster Magazine, August 2007

"If you're fond of bloodless, turgid fantasy with characters as thin as newspaper and as boring as plaster saints, Joe Abercrombie is really going to ruin your day. A long career for this guy would be a gift to our genre." -- Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora

"[A] highly readable fantasy that isn't going to scare off mainstream readers or newcomers to the genre....a whole banquet of violent action and intrigue." -- SFX.com

"Critics compare Abercrombie to Dickens, but come on - Dickens was never so entertaining. This intricate story just flows, carrying along barbarian fighters with real courage (and real injuries), spoiled nobles with redeeming potential, mages with disconcerting agendas... plus the most sympathetic torturer ever. The First Law trilogy: an adventure whose characters grow in tough, surprising, satisfying ways, in a gritty, exotic world that is sometimes awful, and always fascinates. Expect fast, funny dialog, and one hell of a rush." -- John Meaney, author of Paradox and Bone Song

"You'd never guess that The Blade Itself is Joe Abercrombie's debut novel. He writes like a natural. There are great characters, sparky dialogue, an action-packed plot, and from the very first words ('The End') and an opening scene that is literally a cliffhanger, you know you are in for a cheeky, vivid, exhilarating ride." -- Starburst (5 star review)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pyr; Reprint edition (September 6, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 536 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 159102594X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591025948
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.01 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.42 x 8.98 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,631,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15,510 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #16,266 in Family Saga Fiction
- #29,503 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
11,381 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Joe Abercrombie

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Joe Abercrombie is a freelance film editor, who works on documentaries and live music events. He lives and works in Bath. THE BLADE ITSELF, his debut novel, is the first novel of The First Law trilogy, followed by BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED and LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS. His new stand-alone bestseller is BEST SERVED COLD.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

11,381 global ratings

5 star		64%
4 star		27%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Johnathan Breeland

Characters characters characters

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

Look I don't need to write a long review there's over 9,000 reviews already here so if you need to know how good this book is you can read other reviews, I'm here to say though there's not anybody in the fantasy game writing books right now that writes characters as Grimm and brutal as Joe Abercrombie. He put you inside of the Mind of all of them,he uses PTSD, he uses Mental Health and turns the fantasy world upside down and makes it something his own.In this book Lies some of the best character scenes ever written if you're looking for a happy ending or some lovely Heroes that are saving the princesses this is not that book what happens in this book is close to the real world and what really could happen to us if we were all just crappy people trying to survive in a brutal world can't wait to find out more about the eaters, so go and read it now you know you want to

Helpful

joe

Better than I'd hoped

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 26, 2023

Verified Purchase

I'd seen a YouTube video saying this series was exceptional. I didn't quite get the hype the first 20-30 pages. Then I was sucked into the world and enthralled by the characters, so much so that I stayed awake till about 5 am and finished the first book in one sitting. Unfortunately I'm a disabled vet on a limited budget and will have to wait a few weeks till my book budget is replenished before continuing the series.

On the whole it's a rough harsh world filled with both experienced people who had the potential to be heroes before they were broken in some way and a cynical youth verging on the edge of uselessness and while the great struggle is not revealed in the first book it's strongly hinted at that these flawed people must somehow save the world at some future point.

I really enjoyed this first installment and hope the rest of the series doesn't fall off in quality.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Good for fans of GoT

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

Hilariously, I read THE BLADE ITSELF alongside SUMMER OF THE UNICORN, and while both are fantasy novels, just look at those covers and guess who the targeted audience for each is. Yeah, I thought so. Now imagine THE BLADE ITSELF with a hero (let's go with Bayaz) and a heroine (Ferro?) clad in scanty clothes, miming sexual positions around a sword plunged into the middle of a scenic wood populated by deer...and Shanka.

This NEEDS to happen!

My first encounter with this author was with his book, HALF A KING, which I thought was okay. It felt a lot like a blend of Robert Louis Stevenson and George R. R. Martin, and while I thought the story was interesting, the pacing was terrible. The ending, especially, dragged like nobody's business, and I had to force myself to read the book in time for my book club.

I actually owned books 2 and 3 in The First Law series for about five, six years now, but never started them because I was lacking a book 1. Recently, it went on sale for $1.99 and I one-clicked that switch immediately, because at last, my collection was complete (mwa-ha-ha). When my friend Mary agreed to do a buddy read with me, knowing her penchant for fantasy I thought this would be a winner. Plus, my brain gets super lazy when it sees a page count that exceeds 500. Buddy reads are a super handy tool for corralling lazy brains into reading long books - two birds, one stone! Let it be so!

Now I have finished THE BLADE ITSELF, and I find myself in the same position as I was after I finished HALF A KING. The story was good, and the characters were complex, but the pacing was awful. The beginning was so tedious that I remember thinking to myself, "I wonder how much Mary will hate me if I put this book down slowly and pick up a bodice ripper instead?" (Spoiler: Probably not at all, Mary is super cool.) But I have a modicum of honor, so I forced myself to keep reading and the book (very gradually) got better as other characters entered the fray.

I'm not sure how to summarize the book except to say that it's a lot like GAME OF THRONES, in the sense that it is about a kingdom that has been plagued by war in the past and has a new threat looming on the horizon. This kingdom is called Angland and the threat is coming from the North. The main characters are Logen (a barbarian soldier); Bayaz, a bald-headed, legendary magician; Glokta, a promising soldier who was tortured horrendously and now leads inquisitions involving torture himself; Jezal, a spoiled rich boy soldier, and the fantasy equivalent of a whiny frat boy; and Ferro, an escaped slave who is deadly and desperate to escape, even if it means her own death.

This book really, really wants to be the next GAME OF THRONES, but I don't think it succeeded very well - at least not in the ways it wanted to. Like GoT, I definitely was interested in some characters more than others, to the point where I'd skim if I'd see certain characters' names (I see you Ferro and Logen). Also, this book suffers from a problem a lot of other fantasy novels written by men have - it doesn't have that many fleshed out female characters. Yes, yes, I know about Ardee and Ferro, but Ferro really didn't feel very complicated to me, she felt like a dude's idea of a "tough girl": personality-less, merciless, and utterly anti-feminine. And then Ardee was kind of the classical manipulative b*tch with daddy issues. I didn't really appreciate that, as a woman.

The last time I brought this up about a fantasy novel, I actually had some dude come onto my review and mansplain fantasy to me. Did I not know that women are not the intended audiences of fantasy novels, he asked, mansplainingly, because that is not the "domain" of women. Or something like that. I forget the exact words. LOL, maybe the problem isn't that women aren't interested in fantasy; maybe the problem is that we don't see ourselves reflected in any of the characters, so we have to stick with books that have titles like SUMMER OF THE UNICORN (which, incidentally, is not a bad book, and is certainly a much better book than anything written by Heinlein, who is as trashy as all-get-out and yet, bizarrely, his work is regarded as literary by some - wtf?).

My favorite characters to read about were probably Bayaz and Jezal. I felt sorry for Glokta, but all his obscene gum-licking and his constant gripes about stairs (LOL, but seriously, I think every time his narrative was mentioned, he talked about the stairs at least once) made him feel a bit one-note. The scenes where he shone were the torture scenes (which are graphic and disgusting - you have been warned) and the scenes where he seems vulnerable, like when his past comes up or when he softens a bit towards Ardee and West. I found that touching. Logen was boring, but he wasn't a bad character. Ferro was irritating, for the reasons I outlined earlier. The best scenes in this book were probably the journey into the tower and the sword-fighting duels; Abercrombie is good at writing sword fights.

Did I enjoy this book? Yeah, more or less. I'd read books 2 and 3 since I already own them, but I don't think I liked this book enough that I'd rush out and buy the sequels if I didn't own them already. It wasn't bad, though, and the world-building grows on you as you read. I hear that books 2 and 3 really gain steam and become darker yet, so I guess I'll have to wait and see what Abercrombie comes up with next.

2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars

21 people found this helpful

Helpful

C.T.

An amazingly deep bit of grimdark fantasy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

The Blade Itself is the first volume of the First Law Trilogy, a collection of low fantasy novels which helped bring the concept of grimdark to mainstream attention. While very few authors willingly admit to writing grimdark, this trilogy is generally one you can point to and say, "This is what the genre is supposed to be about." For those who want to avoid the question of what grimdark means in regards to this novel, I'll instead say The Blade Itself is an excellent, easy-to-follow novel with vividly-realized characters engaged in a variety of interesting interactions. The actual plot, a budding war between three nations, is less engaging than simply watching the novel's protagonists stumble into each other's narratives.

If I were to summarize the appeal of Joe Abercrombie's style, it would be that he creates extremely memorable personalities. There's Sand dan Glokta, a once-handsome and dashing swordsman who has been mutilated to the point of being a cariacture of his former self. Now an Inquisitor, he uses his intimate first-hand knowledge of torture to break the Empire's enemies. There's Logen Nine-Fingers, a barbarian on the run from his former king who is a great deal less boistrous than the majority of his archetype. Jezal dan Luthar, a arrogant spoiled nobleman who struggles with his attraction to Ardee West, a charmingly foul-mouthed woman much-below his station. I could go on but almost every character in the book vividly leaps off the page and has a fascinating story to tell.

Indeed, as mentioned, the best part of this book isn't the main plot: the upcoming invasion of the Union by the North's new monarch as well as a revanchist-based invasion from the South. Nor the secret plot of cannibalistic wizards to do something nefarious. No, the best part of the book is just getting into the heads of these oddballs and experiencing their world through their perspectives. We experience life in the Union through the viewpoints of multiple characters from vastly different socio-economic positions and nationalities.

For example, possibly my favorite subplot in the story is Inquisitor Glokta investigating the Guild of Mercers for tax evasion despite the fact they're probably doing more to prop up the economy than anyone else, so destroying them benefits no one but a section of the political elite. Dealing with Glokta's attempts to be an "honest" Inquisitor at the corrupt highest levels of government really resonated with me. My next favorite plotline? The budding romance of Jezal and Ardee despite the fact neither of them is a particularly "special" character. They're just two mostly-ordinary people with some normal relationship difficulties living in a fantastic world.

My favorite character? I think that's probably Logen Ninefingers. The book pokes a little fun at the kind of epic archetype Conan the Barbarian has become when it sticks him in a theatrical costume meant to invoke the sort of cultural icon he's become. Logen is more like the original Conan in that he's an exceptionally intelligent, somewhat somber man who just so happens to come from a culture without much in the way of amenities.

The book does a good job of making it clear Logen isn't a particularly heroic fellow, quite the opposite really, but you get the impression he's sick of killing too. I have my suspicions we're also going to find out his relationship with the newly-crowned King Bethod are a lot more complex than the rather one-sided portrayal everyone but Logen seems to treat them as.

Indeed, no one is particularly noble and, indeed, everyone is kind of a bastard given the right sort of pressures. No one is especially villainous, either, with the mysterious Eaters being the closest thing which comes to it. This is a world where the invading hordes are coming because they were invaded, themselves, a few generations back and they have long memories. Inquisitor Glokta does monstrous things because that's how interrogations are done in the Empire and it's about the only trade left to a man who has been ruined in every other respect. We understand how each character reached their present point of view and the narrative dares us to sympathize with everyone from foppish dandies to psychotic ex-slaves on pointless missions of vengeance.

For me, what makes Abercrombie's books so good is they're very grounded. There's no 'thees' or 'thous' with the fantastical elements rather subdued. They're there, certainly, but the characters talk in a manner easily understood with a minimum of anachronisms. They care about money, position, the respect of their peers, sex, and the aches in their bodies. It's not so much grimdark but authenticity which sells the narrative and that's worth its weight in gold.

I heartily recommend The Blade Itself to fantasy fans who want fantasy fiction which feels like it takes place in a vivid world with people you might be able to meet on the street. Admittedly, said street is a very dark and dangerous-looking one full of bars and strip clubs, but those are the kind of places adventures happen.

10/10

22 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

David James

Great story let down by a terrible ebook

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

I really do like the story but the one stars is for the specific Kindle ebook format. There are numerous formatting mistakes throughout the book: paragraph breaks randomly breaking up sentences, missing line breaks when a new character speaks, a few spelling mistakes, one section where some words were missing and a new sentence began straight after. It's unacceptable that a major publisher can put out an ebook like this with little to no proofreading. It's like they just copied and pasted a rough draft into some basic ebook crafting software and called it a day.

33 people found this helpful

Kenneth J. McDonald

Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

This trilogy is in my opinion one of the finest fantasy novel series ever written. This was one of Joe Abercrombie's first efforts and is by far his finest achievement. The story is beautifully written and packed with dark humour and rich characters. I was sorry to come to the end of the book when I first read it four years ago and equally impressed when I re-read the series recently. I must say that I added the audible narration for the second reading and the narrator really brought the book to life. The unique nature of this story is that there are not clear good guys and bad guys. All the main players are flawed and seem capable of dark deeds. I should mention that Abercrombie manages to turn a crippled and disfigured torturer into an almost likeable hero. The dialogue just crackles with dark humour and the descriptions of the fight and war scenes is truly inspired. This series is a must read for fantasy fiction fans.

15 people found this helpful

Neil OKeefe

Just as brilliant on the second reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

A while ago I read an article about the best fantasy novels that had yet to be made into films. The Blade Itself was up there behind Game of Thrones. Well Thrones went quite well and if anyone applies the right amount of funds and skill to put this on the big or small screen they might well have a winner.

I say might because the real appeal of the book is the characters and not a one of them has much in the way of positive virtues. Whether a man or woman they are often dark violent cruel unhinged stupid driven and indifferent. Sometimes all of the above. Joe Abercrombie's skill is to make them compelling, and by wrapping them in the folds of dark humour that pervade the story you cannot fail to love them. Maybe.

This is an epic that twists and turns, rushes up on you, twists you around and leaves you breathless. It's smart, horrific, endlessly inventive and cinematic in its vision. I absolutely loved it.

Joe Abercrombie is a stone cold genius.

38 people found this helpful

Tommye (The Fantasy Review)

A Gritty, Political Fantasy Book With Amazing Characters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 30, 2022

Verified Purchase

I’ve been watching book reviews, hauls, TBRs and more on BookTube for over 8 years now. I first heard of The Blade Itself and Joe Abercrombie 4 years ago, around the time fantasy book review content creators such as Daniel Greene, Murphy Napier and Elliot Brooks started putting out their videos.

After 4 years of ignoring everyone’s advice and insistence that The First Law trilogy (and everything else) by Joe Abercrombie is worth reading, I finally started reading The Blade Itself. I should have read it sooner.

Everyone Talks About the Characters

And there’s a reason for that. Actually, I think there’s a second, but I’ll get to that. Jezal, Glokta and Logen are all incredible characters. Their points of view feel completely different, to the extent that you know who you’re following even without being told.

Jezal is an arrogant, selfish nobleman who I hated from the start and still don’t like him. That’s the point! Just because I don’t like him doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy his scenes. Seeing the world through his eyes was interesting, especially when he seemed to have conflicting opinions on people and things, his arrogance and self-righteousness coming into conflict with friendships (kind of) and the world around him.

Glokta, once a great swordsman, now a crippled torturer, is bitter and in constant agony. I think this character might have been the most difficult to write. He finds himself, as an inquisitor, embroiled in political schemes that were very entertaining to read and genuinely surprising at times.

Finally, the last main point of view character is Logen. What I find interesting about Logen is that he doesn’t want anything. That is to say, he wants to not know anything, and will just follow his companions along, making sure they don’t die. As someone who has done both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in writing, it was surprising to see a character with no impact on the plot of the book, yet it still worked. I couldn’t stop reading until the end of his scenes, all because his character was so well written, rather than being hooked on the plot.

There is Little to No Plot

Sure, there is a narrative, but it isn’t what you might expect. The Blade Itself is almost like a set up for the next 2 books, introducing us fantastically to the world, the characters and mysteries to uncover.

This is why I think everyone (including me) mainly talks about Joe Abercrombie’s characters in book reviews for The Blade Itself - what else is there to talk about?

This sounds like a negative, but it’s not. If you only want a fantasy book that has epic battle scenes, dragons, elves and constant excitement, this might not be your favourite book. (But, from what I’ve heard of the trilogy, you could think of it as a 1500-2000-page epic fantasy book and get your fill of battle later on.)

The narrative is political. It’s full of mysteries, backstabbing, literal stabbing… And from the little we see of other countries/continents, Joe Abercrombie successfully shows that this is a sprawling world with vibrant cultures and dangerous, incoming threats. This is just the kind of book I was after, and it’s been on my TBR pile for over 4 years!

Final Thoughts on The Blade Itself

Everyone who raves about this book is right. If you loved A Song of Ice and Fire and don’t mind your fantasy books a little dark with only a dash of magical elements, this is definitely a series you should pick up.

2 people found this helpful

Peter - The Reading Desk

A breath-taking story of wonderful characters.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

The “Blade Itself” is the first of the First Law Trilogy, which is an epic supernatural fantasy adventure. It can’t be helped being compared to the Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series in its depth of detail, its roll-call of wonderful characters, hidden plots and agendas, and fantasy dimensions. The world of Joe Abercrombie it told in superb detail, where multiple cultures are warring and untrustworthy of the other, but what is the darker menace to come, and who will come to the fore.

The plot has loads of twists and turns with characters that are wonderfully capable, dangerously incompetent, and where we see unlikely heroes and unseen traitors. The characters are developed throughout, with this book focused on the history that has led the nations and characters to this place, at this time, and with these ambitions. The storyline delivers through multiple threads each with their own set of characters. The narration doesn’t shy away from the brutality of conflict and torture but I wouldn’t say gratuitously. Battles must be fought and Logan Ninefingers will be at the heart of it. Traitors must be found and Glokta the inquisitor will hunt them. Bayaz the First of the Magi knows what’s at stake and must stop it.

11 people found this helpful

See all reviews

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust