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

Am I screaming or laughing?

*How do I tell the difference?*

This is a review for all 3 books of the First Law Trilogy:
*The First Law, it is forbidden to touch The Other Side direct.*

*The blade itself incites to deeds of violence*- attributed to The Odyssey by Homer

Book 1 is the best, introducing the 6 main characters: Glotka, Logan, West, Luthar, Bayaz, and Ferro Maljinn.
Each is totally memorable; their personalities change, grow, mature into something quite different over the course of the trilogy….or perhaps they are slowly revealed to be who they really are down deep where we could not see initially.
My favorite is always Glotka, miserable, nasty, crippled from years of being a POW but with the most amusing and clever internal monologues carried on continuously with himself; he develops slowly over the course of the 3 novels, evolving into something like a hero.
*Given the opportunity to torture any one man, any one at all, he would surely have chosen the inventor of steps*

*We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged*- Heinrich Heine

Book 2, the adventure for each character is begun; all difficult, bloody, violent and well told:
Bayaz, Ferro, Logan and Luthar on a quest to the ends of the world; Glotka to defend a city under siege and West to lead a dysfunctional army into war.
Wonderful, engrossing stories that again contribute to the characters development and eventually lead them all together for book 3.
*Big men, small men, thin men, fat men, clever men, stupid men, they all respond the same to a fist in the guts. One minute you think you're the most powerful man in the world. The next you can't even breathe by yourself.*

*The last argument of kings*- reportedly inscribed on Louis XIV ‘s cannons

Book 3, most of the story lines are wrapped up neatly and satisfyingly.
In my opinion, the weakest of the 3 books with excessive violence and destruction (through which I frequently fast forwarded); Glotka’s asides were no longer as clever or amusing; Luthar talked far too much and said little; and Bayaz’s true nature was not what I expected at ALL.
*What is it about power, that it has to be higher up that everyone else? Can a man not be powerful on the ground floor?*

These are extraordinary books, well thought out, well written, intelligent and thought provoking.
There is much graphic violence, swearing and sex in all 3….not necessarily adding to the stories.
The reader was amazing, developing a voice for every character so distinct I could usually identify who was speaking before being told.
I highly recommend this trilogy; you can just zip through the violence if needed.

I used * rather than quotes; for whatever reason, some reviews are uploading with odd errors…..such as "Am I screaming or laughing? How do I tell the difference?&quot (I asked Audible to delete my review with errors)

Excellent first book good series

Joe Abercrombie gives us a gritty fantasy novel with multi-dimensional characters that develop through the book. There is some torture and coarse language in this book and lots of blood. I can't say enough good things about the narrator. Every single character has a voice perfectly matched to their character and is instantly recognizable. The other two books in the trilogy are good as well, but I think I liked the promise of the first book more than I liked the series as a whole. I was disappointed in the directions the third book took especially, but I've listened to the part of the first book when the bloody nine is introduced several times and I get chills every time!

Joe Abercrombie Will Kill Everything You Love

Authors like Joe Abercrombie and George RR Martin write the kind of books that force you to keep reading, while the ups and downs of morally complex and interesting characters slowly leach away your faith in humanity.
While not every character in his books dies or necessarily comes to a bad end, Joe Abercrombie knows that his characters exist in a world without the ease and comfort we see in our own world. His characters exist in a world where redemption is not the end of every story and hope, love, and faith are not the answers to all of life's problems.
If Mr. Abercrombie wrote "Winnie the Pooh" Christopher Robin would be an orphan seeking revenge for the burning of the 100 Acre Wood, only to discover once he had his revenge he has become worse than the men he killed, blood would soak his hands and drench his dreams, and we would love him.

Building for the next book

The book was very well written and the narrator did a good job of distinguishing the voices and distinguishing inner monologue from dialogue. This book had some sparse action and if you offeneded by course language it may not be for you but this book is a great build up for the next one in the series.

Delightful

I have purchased and borrowed a great many fantasy titles over the years. The majority, either
spoken or written, were rubbish...trite plots, one dimensional characterization, often, near copies of older, far better originals. In spoken versions, all too frequently, the reader(s) overdramatize, never varying the pace,and/or go well beyond their range and abilities to vocalize, perhaps to make up
for the trash they have to read, and make a bad thing worse. This seems the case with so
many "series" fantasy novels, that I mostly stay away from them. This one is an honest to goodness
exception.
I like long books. The price Audible put on "The Blade Itself" and its over 20 hour length convinced
me to get it, all other factors included i.e. good reviews, decent preview. The book was everything
good fantasy should be...original plot, characters who act and think like real people, violence, sex, action, intrigue all in reasonable doses and with excellent pacing and a very liberal sprinkling of
genuine humor...a bit "black", I'll admit...throughout. I have not actually read the author before
listening to this, so I really can't assign a percentage of credit for how well this work was done to
the narrator, Steven Pacey. But his reading of "The Blade Itself" was pure delight...right up there
with Jim Dale and John Lee (at his best). If the rest of the series is as good, well... one can only hope.

BUY THESE BOOKS!!!!!

Hard to earn my 5 star & it is well deserved! Stephen Pacy is an amazing reader with the grittiest tale. I only want to know more about This place. GOOD NEWS. Joe Abercrombie has written over a dozen books now. READ THEM ALL!!!! Seriously, Mr. Abercrombie didn't pay me for this review. I just like this book that much!!!!!!!!!!

Wait for it

Starts a little slow but it will hook you in the end. I will get the next two follow ups.

Love it love it

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

This is among one of the best that I have listened to. The others would be The Dresden series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Blade Itself?

I love the part where they all travel into the west to find...nothing. But I do like how Jezal becomes a better man and Logen tries to become someone else than "The Bloody Nine" Overall, hands down though my favorite character is Glockta. Damaged goods? Yes. But funny.

What does Steven Pacey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is a master reader.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is epic story with lotsa swords and blood but also funny and insightful.

A Compelling Story

For most of this novel, I wasn't sure if I liked it. But the characters and the narration were compelling and I find myself looking forward to listening to the next book.

A great series openner and immensely solid novel

A remarkably solid and gripping story, with just enough light and fantasy. if you have ever played a d&d campaign made up of disparate characters and steeped intrigue and adventure, this book will make you feel right at home.

The characters are colorful, diverse and consistent, and though some are not especially likeable, they never cease to entertain.

The story itself feels a lot like what might happen if other high fantasy series (read: Wheel of Time) were a little more grounded and believable, though there are enough glimpses of magic and adventure to keep it from being a dipressing experience (read: ASOI&F).

All in all, it was a gripping novel, difficult to put down, and exceptionally well performed, with great moments of world building in between.

If not for a somewhat unsatisfying ending, which does little to tie up all the loose ends and is plainly just a launching point for the next book, this would be a 5 star experience. As it stands, its compelling narative and cast, combined with Pacey's versatile voice, have made sure I will be going into the next book of the series, optimistic about the prospect.

It's inability to stand on its own aside, The Blade Itself is a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to dig into a new fantasy series.

4 stars