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 use of storyline with fantasy

Just the right amount of mix. Magic, bloodshed, creepy characters, and mystery. I look forward to see where this can go.

Good first book for the series

The Blade Itself is a good start to The First Law series. There are lots of interesting characters and plenty of interesting story elements. The narrator does a fantastic job. He creates a voice and attitude for each charactor. He is very versatile and makes it a very enjoable listen.

Very slow start. The story recovers toward the end

Great narrator. The book is unfortunately a long buildup for the final few chapters of the book. Don't get me wrong, the final third of the book is awesome. I just got so bored I considered cutting my losses on this book and just skip this series. I'm glad I didn't though. The characters are all unique and interesting but nothing really happens during the time you get to know them.

You have to be realistic

I love the character of Logan 9 fingers aka. the bloody nine a man with issues just trying to make the best of it

This Guy Could make the TV Guide sound Good!!

This is an incredible series. It's filled with so many distinct and interesting characters, all of whom have real depth. Nine Fingers: Rough Diamond, Nice Guy, and Uncontrollable Psychopath. Inquisitor Gloktor: Once a Charming Handsome Hero who suffered unspeakable torture at the enemy's hands, now a bitter, twisted torturer himself. He is Charming and yet Merciless, Poetic and yet Monstrous. Even as he makes you shudder, you're cheering for him. The book is filled with vivid deep characters and with a mediocre narrator they could all blend in to one. Steven Pacey however is a brilliant narrator. Every character has a distinctive voice and is instantly recognizable. Pacey takes a complex and multi layered story and makes it live. You are totally transported and Pacey makes the book sound like a cast of hundreds. I read this book about a year ago and even now I think I could pick the characters out by the voices Pacey gave them. The book is great but Pacey is brilliant!!

Inquisitor Glokta.. Toothless Torturer with Heart!

Whyyyyy do I do this? ....I've coined that phrase. I love this trilogy. It was a compelling read. The Characters are unique and likable in all there human nastiness. I wish there was a fourth in the series though, I didnt want it to end. Glocta has become one of my favorite characters along with Icky Solomon from the Potato Factory. Slimy, intersting, yucky, but lovable.

WOW.

This book is explosive, outstanding, and hilarious. The reader is one of the best narrators I have ever listen too. So good, I heard it twice.

Funny, Interesting and Much More

This book is honestly worth the read just to get to the chapter "The Bloody Nine"! You will laugh, you will cry and you might even yell or shout out a bit

EXTRAORDINARY.

EXTRAORDINARY.
I loved the finishing too. down to earth writing and makes you feel like you are the character.

What can i say?

well what can i say?

after favorite books like way of kings and mistborne of Brandon Sanderson i'we search for books that hit me the same way.

i stumbled onto The blade it self without knowing anything about it and it blown me away in its world and characters.

the end of this book gave me goosebumps for 5 minutes and i think im in love with Logan 9 fingers 😄

the performance of Steven pacey is 110%

starting og next book ASAP 👌