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

great story

very interesting story with strong and smart players can't wait to listen to the other ones

Finally,more adult fantasy!

I cannot say enough about this series...except I want more! I am a big fan of Robert Jordan and GRRM and was beginning to despair that the rest were all for "young adults." Joe Abercrombie doesn't hold back. I was swept up in a world that was realistic and fantastic at the same time. Some people complain about the language but the use of "foul language" keeps you rooted in the world. This is a dark and gritty tale meant for adults. This is a must read for GRRM fans! You'll find yourself loving and hating characters at the same time much like you do in A Song of Ice and Fire! Narration was excellent!

Great characters and great story

This author is well known to have no real good guys or bad guys but real people. I enjoy all his books.

Fantastic reading of a dark story

Steven Pacey has dozens of voices, making the many different characters easy to recognize. I thought his lisping inquisitor was perfectly creepy. I read somewhere in the Audible reviews that nobody is completely good or bad in this book, all have shades of grey and that is what I like about this story. Even the aforementioned inquisitor has sometimes that didn't make me hate him completely.
The Blade Itself is rough and adventurous and blood flows (more so than magic). It's funny too, at times. We see the characters through the eyes of others, making them round and complete and interesting. It took a while for the different story lines to come together, a bit too long for my liking, but all in all? Brilliant. Didn't wait for my credit for part two, but downloaded it immediately after this was finished.

Powerful storytelling

This is a fantasy genre tale but I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys fiction with grit and gravitas. The plot conflicts are engaging. The characters are diverse, with intricate motivations and personality traits. Nothing about them is cliched and the author doesn't expect you take anything at face value. This is one of those rare 'in media res' stories that perfectly combines forward progression of plot with discoveries of history that date further and further back in time.

In addition, the prose is rich.

I'd also like to give a special hat tip to the narrator. His cadence and timbre are incredible, his acting is genuine, and his range is phenomenal. I had trouble believing the entire production was voiced by one person, he'd created distinct character voices that well.

Finally, I'll mention that this book is the first in a long series, making it quite the bargain.

Highly highly recommended.

Excellent and long listen

As with the other reviewers here I found this an excellent value and even though it is almost 25hours long I was left wanting more. Buying the other two books now. If you like George R.R. Martin or other gritty Fantasy series then this is definately for you. Wonderful fight descriptions and the world is well imagined.

Best narration I've ever heard (great story too)

As other reviewers have noted, Steven Pacey does a simply epic job of narrating this series. Probably my favorite narration ever.

The story is quite good as well. It is fairly slow paced, but the author is so good at creating interesting characters that it didn't really bother me.

Overall a very good book, and a great example of how awesome audiobooks can be with the right narrator.

Excellent

I feel compelled to express how impressed I am with Abercrombie. He is a great author and I intend to hear/read all he offers. However, I feel it even more important to give props to Mr. Pacey, the narrator.

I have attempted to listen to books that I know are good or even great, only to stop in frustration at bad narration. I will only put myself through so much of that. The narration hear is truly amazing. Character voices distinct and unique without going over the top. Inflection and pacing is perfect. Best example is his rendering of the character Glokta. It almost makes the novel. I could be wrong, but I don't remember in the text of the book that Glokta had a lisp. Missing teeth, yes, but I don't remember the mention of a lisp. The narrator decided to add/include this to the character. Brilliant.

Don't get me wrong. The author is incredible too. Just hear the books. Do yourself a favor.

awesome reading

best reading performance encountered on audible so far! Steven pacey really adds another dimension to the story.

Well done.

A bit slow start, but I'm okay with that for an epic fantasy novel. Fun story with a rpg feel.