• The Blade Itself

  • The First Law: Book One
  • By: Joe Abercrombie
  • Narrated by: Steven Pacey
  • Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (9,092 ratings)

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The Blade Itself  By  cover art

The Blade Itself

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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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

What listeners say about The Blade Itself

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    6,036
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    2,187
  • 3 Stars
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Performance
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Story
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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Best narration ive heard

The book in itself is amazing. But the narration is what Really sells it. The attention to detail for each charecter is unpresidented.

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Simply fantastic!

The story is really well written, intriguing and good. The charachters history are slowly coming to life and they have a good arc. I think that the narrator deserve as much praise i can possibly give. Fantastic!

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Worth listening over and over again

Well, this is a grimdark masterpiece.
I listened again to The First Law with neverending joy. I'm not much of a re-reader but this has been a blast.
A slow burner that focuses on sowing seeds (pun intended) for the great books later on.
The only critique would be the lack of a proper plot, so not a title for those used to chosen ones on a path to greatness.
Joe Abercrombie character work is the best in the business.
Stephen Pacey spoiled my enjoyment of other narrators. He has range, depth, class and sarcasm. From battles scenes to delicate monologues.
A must read for Grimdark fans

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Best character development you can find

Amazing performance, great story. The characters are so well developed I wouldn’t mind reading a book on them locked in a room talking about life. This is as good as it gets. Great job all around.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This is an absolute must have for fantasy lovers

If you like mature fantasy with almost non-stop action and intrigue, do yourself a favour and get this one

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brilliance on all fronts

Joe has truly written a great story and Steven Lacey is probably one of the best if not the best narrators perfectly capturing each scene. I've listened to the whole series twice already and in a couple years I have no doubt I'll want to listen to it again!

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Second time even better

Second time reading the series. The reading is superb, the story and characters fresh and interesting and compelling. An all time favorite of mine.

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Amazing……

Can’t recommend enough.
Fantastic writing, combined with perfect pacing.
The reader does a fantastic job, letting you get lost in the story!

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an amazing trilogy

I found this book by chance a good while back, and I have listened to every book in the series. definitivly a must read for fantasy lovers

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gritty, dark, and well written

A good written book. It is very very dark at some points, so it is not for everyone.

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