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

Thrilling ordeal

Abercrombie uses this book to assemble his cast of characters, and a fascinating and irresistible crew they are. Flawed, idiosyncratic, dangerous and often quite funny when they least mean to be, they have been dragged kicking and screaming into his tale and, by the end of the book, he has them all moving reluctantly in the same direction. The wonder is that, while we know the "real" story has not even begun yet, he has already ushered us through a harrowing and thrilling ordeal filled with brilliant detail. Simultaneously, along the way, he has introduced us to a fully imagined world which is remarkably convincing. And as several other reviewers have remarked, not the least of the attraction is that the characters we meet are complex and unlikely heroes.
I bought this audiobook because I so enjoyed "Best Served Cold," by the same author. I was slightly apprehensive because a part of the attraction of that book was the narrator, Michael Page, who did a superb job. I was a bit sad that he was not the narrator for this one as well. To my amazement I found that Steven Pacey was at least Page's equal and perhaps even a demi-shade better. This is a wonderful marriage of great writing and great reading.
I am going to have to delay reading the second and third books in this series because I am loathe to have the whole thing end. Anticipation will heighten the experience, I think. In any event, Abercrombie is now among my very favorite authors of this genre.

Just a great a book....

This is just a great book and an excellent begining to a promising triology. All the elements are here...excellently written, superb narration, multidimensional characters, a large world, magic, violence, romance, war, and politics. Sometimes funny, always engaging and thoroughly enjoyable…sucks you in and pins you there as you ride along with the story. Easily on par with Mistborn, A Song of Fire and Ice and The Wheel of Time. Can't wait to hear books 2 and 3.

Great Adult Book

I'm not sure what the negative review was about, this book is certainly gritty and dark but the characters are interesting and much more believable than the norm for a fiction book. I have read fiction from everyone for many years now running the gambit from sci-fi/fantasy to thrillers and this is an entertaining story how ever definitely for adults not young readers. If you like a good story with engaging characters then you will probably like this book. If you are offended by harsh language or violence this book is not for you. The greatest endorsement I can give it is that I bought the second book instead of waiting for credits for three more days! Enough said!

A Great Listen - even if you aren't into syfy

I tried this audiobook because of the reviews and the sample clip, and it exceeded my expectations. I especially liked the narrator, Steven Pacey - his Glokta voice reminded me of Boris Karloff with a lisp - whose narration is simply superb! I enjoyed this book so much that I bought the other two in the series and am now listening to the second book. I am also buying the hard copy so I can see the spelling of people and places. I really appreciate the audible reader feedback and the sample clips. This series was well worth the money and the listening time!

Say one thing about Joe Abercrombie ...

... say he knows how to write a villain.

I almost did not finish this book. I shocked myself when I devoured the entire trilogy and still wanted more.

Joe Abercrombie's style is gritty, unabashed, and vivid. I knew this going into the series, and yet, it still shocked me. The shock was so severe, I almost stopped listening about an hour into the first book. But I like a challenge, and I don't like to give up, so I plowed forward. The other motivator was Abercrombie's wit. His humor is dry and sharp and subtle (though sometimes less-so).

My first impressions were also tarnished by the voice given to Glokta. He lisps. It makes sense why ... but I found him difficult to understand and annoyed that a main character would be such a challenge to listen to. But as other characters were introduced, and Glokta's personality became clearer, I appreciated his lisp. It gave his character an extraordinary amount of depth that would have been missing based on the writing alone.

This book (and the entire series) is character-driven. There isn't a clear plot or goal established by the end of the first book, and even after completing the series, I'd describe the plot as thin. But, oh, these characters. They are villains. All of them. There is no clear delineation of who can be trusted and who cannot, except that it seems pretty clear letting your guard down around any of them will get you killed. I found myself loving and hating each of these characters. I was intrigued by them, annoyed by them, disgusted by them and utterly fascinated to the very end.

Some scenes were difficult to listen to. The torture scenes were tough while driving to work in the morning and I found myself cringing or closing my eyes at inopportune moments. But the battle scenes are epic and the gory details make them exciting and suspenseful.

It's hard to give a full review of just this book, without taking into account the entire series. But, I'll say this. Many themes are started in this book that are carried throughout the series. And the humor, suspense, and action of the first novel only improve as the series continues. I think Glokta's character is the best-written and has the most depth, but they all lend something unique to the story.

Be prepared for grittiness, irreverence, cursing, and violence. Joe Abercrombie pulls no punches and censors his characters for no man. And it would be an utter shame if he did. Anyone who appreciates multi-dimensional characters that themselves carry the story even in the absence of clear plot direction, will love The Blade Itself.

Finished very strong

Of all the fantasy books I've read this one took the longest to "get into." It just didn't seem to have any pace or direction for at least 1/3 of the book. But then, then things started to get interesting. The ground work I had muddled over for the first 1/3'rd of the book began to pay off big. So much so that I have rarely felt so attached to characters. Was it the best way to build the foundation of the book? No. Was it very effective? Yes. If you're willing to muddle through the first 1/3'rd of the book knowing there is going to be a big pay-off then this is the book for you. Just be warned it does take a while.

I give the first part of this book a 3 and the last part a 5. The next few books should be great now that the ground work is done.

AWESOME

Having heard so many so so narrators its a pleasure to finally listen to someone that does a phenomenal job, if you like stories that dont follow the normal good vs evil then this is def for you

but wow the narrator just awesome

Awesome! But where is Book 2?

Amazing performance and story, but no book 2 on audible? I shouldn’t have to check if a decade old sequel is on here. Real disappointing.

Evocative Fantasy

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

This audiobook is easily in the top 5 of books I have listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

Abercrombie has a knack of putting believable dialogue into the mouths of incredible characters which is made even better by Steven Pacey's amazing ability to bring them to life.

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

Mr Pacey has chosen voices that match the characters perfectly, I especially like the Arch-Lector and Closed Council arrogance when compared to the common soldiery.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Logan describes the death of his family and recalls frequently "as my father used to say..." Great character development, and excellent stuff!

very good

Enjoyed this book a lot.. Can't wait to hear the next book in the series.