The Blade Itself

The First Law: Book One

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain and shallow, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men. And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it.

But as he's discovering, old habits die hard....especially when Bayaz gets involved. An 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 Glokta, Jezal, and Logen a whole lot more difficult....

©2010 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group

Awesomely Entertaining Characters

My favorite character is Glokter. His sarcasm is the best! All the other characters have such entertaining personalities as well. This book had so much of what I love.
I think though if there would be anything I would change would be cuss words. The F bomb was used a little too much.
This is my second time to listen to the series and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great characters & strong writing but what plot?

In a way I agree with both the fans and the detractors here. It IS a well-written fantasy novel, and the characters are great, if it takes a while to warm to them. But good lord would it kill Joe Abercrombie to get to the point a little quicker?

This novel is almost a series of vignettes and the connections between threads and characters are unexplained, even when they eventually start meeting up. What is the broader thrust of this story? Where is it going? What forces are at play bringing these people together? Clearly SOMETHING is happening that threatens them and the empire, but Joe Abercrombie has little interest in telling the reader anything about this threat. It's not even done in a purposefully mysterious way either, it's simply left out.

The characters are very well drawn, and it's hard not to like Logan and the wonderfully horrible Glokta. But I cared very little about anyone else, or what happened to them.

I struggled to get through this first volume simply because I found being left in the dark for so long quite tedious. It picks up towards the end, but for a book of this length that's a lot of listening to get through before things start getting interesting.

I will try the next book, and I think the quality of the writing makes the effort worth it, but this isn't an instantly-hooked book, not for me at least.

Narrator is excellent, if a little theatrical.

Great entertainment while doing chores or driving

Steven Pacey's ability to create over 20 unique characters with individual accents is amazing! However, Pacey's narration rate is a bit slow, so I needed to be doing something while listening to stay focused--otherwise I'd give the recording a perfect score. Abercrombie's plot is well laid, characters are dynamic and memorable, and action scenes are beautifully vivid/bloody. Keep in mind that Abercrombie is establishing the foundation of a complex story, so despite the slow plot development at times, it's well worth the investment of time to learn about the politics and numerous character factions. Although I know I could read it myself much faster, I can't wait to hear book two because Pacey's characterizations are that fabulous. My house will be spotless and I'll need new tires because I can't stop listening to the story!

Very good

Awesome characters. Great development. Compelling story. I'm looking forward to listening to the next one!

Of Course

Joe Abercrombie and Anthony Ryan are the two best fantasy writers alive. This lead off installment to the series will have you hooked, and the performance is perfect.

Stellar

Any additional comments?

I'm a huge fan of this genre. This is one of the best series i've read. It's graphic and adult themed which is essential in telling such a story.

Total Enjoyment

Where does The Blade Itself rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to numerous audiobooks - this one would be in the top 5.

What about Steven Pacey’s performance did you like?

Loved Steven Pacey's performance - he can separate characters with apparent ease - his voice never sounds forced.

Any additional comments?

I started this series after reading Game of Thrones series and have enjoyed it every bit as much - if not a little more!

Dark and Twisted Fantasy With a Sense of Humor

Any additional comments?

The Blade Itself is dark, melodramatic, and a great deal of fun. This is not your typical epic, go on a quest and save the world kind of fantasy. Instead we are thrust into a world of morally ambiguous anti-heroes – a disfigured torturer, an arrogant nobleman, and an infamous warrior with a checkered past who all cross paths and eventually find their fates align in the shadow of an impending war. There is intrigue, drama, a great deal of action, lots of twisted humor, and plenty to enjoy in this first entry of Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy. Steven Pacey is one of the top two or three fantasy narrators working today. This is an audiobook series that no true fantasy fan should be without. Even if you've read the series (as I have), get the audiobook and read it again.

Best narration ever

Which scene was your favorite?

Ah my old enemy......

Any additional comments?

This has to be the best narration I have ever heard, the storey is great the characters are so real but what makes this one of best is the narration. This is winner on all counts, value for credit, believable magic not overused, believable flawed characters, engaging storey and did I mention the best narration. And to top it off there are two more in the series as well as two side novels. Win win win

Marvellous Performance

Best voice actor I’ve heard. You’d swear the cast included Derek Jacobi, Peter Jurasik and Michael Caine.