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  • 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 (9,127 ratings)

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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
  • 5 Stars
    6,064
  • 4 Stars
    2,193
  • 3 Stars
    602
  • 2 Stars
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    4,978
  • 4 Stars
    1,898
  • 3 Stars
    565
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    92

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great character development !

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

Story started slow but the characters are amazing. The narrator was brilliant.

What did you like best about this story?

Narration & character development.

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

Absolutely brilliant narrative, the each character had it own distinct identity. It seemed like there was more than one person portraying characters.

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

No

Any additional comments?

Great listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story brilliant performance!!!!!

A narrator can make or break a story, Steven Pacey does a masterful job!!! I had almost given up with sci-fi after "the wheel of time" and other books, this one does not disapoint!!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Series

What made the experience of listening to The Blade Itself the most enjoyable?

The narrator is fantastic and I listen to a lot of audio books and his range of voices is truly amazing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Logan 9 fingers. Just a very interesting character and very likeable.

Which scene was your favorite?

Hard to say.

Any additional comments?

THe book started out a bit disturbing but it then became extremely interesting. Keep through it and you will find that you are excited to go on to the next book in the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best!

loved every second of this series. Amazing narration and the story lunches right into the action!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This trilogy summed up is Absolutely the best.

10 stars across the board. working on my 3rd read through. They out shine every other book I've read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Devious

loved the book. just the right amount of subtlety, magic and brute savagery. could have done without the swearing but it was all in character. would highly recommended the book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing narrator

Top shelf stuff. Even if I wasn’t into the story I would still buy everything with his name on it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great work, overall.

This is a great book and the narration is amazing.

the characters are all deeply flawed and feel real, and the flow of the story is gripping the entire time.

The narrator does a splendid job of it all. it truly is a pleasure to listen to.

Totally recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Book 1 of my favorite series

Dark, funny, philosophical, brutally violent and poetic. The gold standard in chemistry between a voice actor and material. Steven Pacey's reading is so iconic that Joe Abercrombie said Pacey's voice for Farrow is now Farrow's voice in his head.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The beginning of an excellent series

I've never enjoyed audiobooks more than I did listening through the whole series of Ambercrombie's books, narrated by Steven Pacey. Abercrombie's writing is excellent, but to me it is really Pacey's performance that makes this series really outstanding.

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