The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (The First Law: Book 1)

9/10

I was up until half five yesterday morning reading intensely to finish off this story. I didn’t write the review then as it would have been a tired, mumbled mess with little to no eloquence and it wouldn’t have included any cool sounding words. Let’s see how I get on now after a good night's sleep…

Prior to reading this, I had completed Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea trilogy and enjoyed it a lot. Where that was classic story focused fantasy with twists aplenty, this is best described as a macabre, dark and twisted character study of morally questionable individuals. This narrative takes place in a world that seems to be brimming with a blood-splattered past, interesting races and a heightened amount of warmongering aggression between the countries and factions. There is a lot going on in Abercrombie’s world yet, it is a shame that the two versions of this book that I have didn’t include any maps. I did get a little confused trying to compose a mental map of the world and distinguish where the action was taking place.

The greatest accomplishment achieved by Abercrombie here is the characters he has created. The four main individuals are:
Jezal: A vain, selfish nobleman and talented fencer.
Logan: An infamous warrior.
Glokta: A tortured and crippled torturer.
Bayaz: A mage whose motives are mystical.

I will not go into any real details about them, how they intertwine, their opinions shared in monologues regarding the others (if they meet that is) but it is a pleasure to read about these characters that are, on paper at least, completely unlikeable. There are times that these characters surprised me with their thoughts. Glokta’s internal opinions are darkly humorous yet tortuous when relating to his past, and the womaniser and dashing swordsman Jezal actually having some weird emotions for only one lady are two fine examples. The players’ interactions had a Tarantino-like quality.

This book was a slow burner for me. It has many great qualities but whilst reading I occasionally had an internal dilemma about whether I should put it down and pick up something with more action. Two or three amazing set pieces excluded (such as a fencing contest and Logan’s old gang’s antics), it doesn’t really include many all out adrenaline fueling segments. Towards the end, however; reading this was quite intense hence why I was up until stupid o’clock to finish the story. I reflect that this book's main agenda was probably for the reader to get to know the characters because this is done extremely well. At the finale, the seams are brimming with reported conflicts and a bizarre proposed mission that the characters find out are their fates and destinies moving forward. To conclude, I have to admit that Before they are Hanged is set up phenomenally well and I am looking forward to shortly jump back into Abercrombie’s world.
James Tivendale, 8.3/10

The Blade Itself is the first book written by Joe Abercrombie, published in May of 2006 and the first in the First Law trilogy. And if you’re looking for something to stun you out of a reading slump, then this is the book to go for.

When I go about looking for new books to read, whether I’m just window shopping or whether I need a new book, I tend to resort to Amazon. I look up something I know I liked, then look at the similar items and what other people bought bits of the page. That is how I came across Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself. The selling point was down in the reviews part of the page;

The Blade Itself ... is reminiscent of two other recent debuts by young authors: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

Now any regular FBR readers will know that I loved both those books, and so it was an easy decision to purchase The Blade Itself.

The reviewer goes on to say that The Blade Itself “...is distinctly the least well-written and -imagined of the three,” and once again I think the reviewer has got it right on the nose. Now, let’s be fair here, The Name of the Wind is the epitome of flawless writing, and Scott Lynch isn’t too far behind either. So to be the least well written of these three is like being the bronze medallist in the 100 meter sprint at the Olympics.

Still pretty damn good.

The book splits between five or six viewpoints, and for the majority each gets its own chapter to shine in before jumping off to another. There’s a barbarian, an interrogator, a fop, a manic, a hunter and a soldier. Abercrombie, for the most part, weaves between these viewpoints well, and the only time that the viewpoints start clumping together within a chapter is when the characters similarly clump together in the story.

Easily the most impressive aspect of this book is the changeup in writing style that each character is awarded. Logen Ninefingers, the barbarian and Dogman both have very gritty, earthy and uncultured styles, with contractions and bad verbage all over the place. Jezal Luthar, the fop, is pretentious while Sand dan Glokta, the interrogator, is littered with the thoughts of the character, a technique that Abercrombie uses almost exclusively for this character.

Being able to pull this off as well as he does show Abercrombie’s abilities. And maybe the focus on this aspect of his writing is what pulled the thread out of the storytelling. It is a little unfocused, with several small parts of the book seemingly unhelpful in the grand scheme of the book. I enjoyed them. They play to my desire to get lost in the lives of others. But others will and have criticised the unfocused nature of these diversions.

This book is very much going to live in its trilogy, as there is much that is left unsaid and only hinted at that will need to be picked up books two and three. But now that all three books are out, as well as one standalone book that is set in the universe, and another on the way in March 2011, you’ll have lots ahead if you liked what you found.
Joshua S Hill, 8.5/10

The Blade Itself is the first in a trilogy of books from up and comer Joe Abercrombie. Being new to the fantasy genre I was unsure what to expect, however, I need not have worried as from the first chapter I was intrigued and by the second I was hooked. Abercrombie is a true story teller and allows you to get to know the characters and actually care what happens to them. I think The Blade Itself will have a broad appeal as the fantastical is woven subtly at first, allowing you to be drawn into the beautifully twisting plots that run parallel with the three main characters before switching up a gear as the characters start to come together.

The story begins with Logan Nine Fingers a bloody and ruthless mercenary who has since deserted his post as champion of Bethod, a bloodthirsty warmonger who has now proclaimed himself King of the North. Logan is now content with keeping himself alive, having to fight off not only Bethod's henchmen but the horde of Shanka, a race of cruel and relentless creatures, that are sweeping through the North lands. From there we move to the South and Adua, seat of the Union and home to the rich and favoured, those of noble bloodlines who are born to high ranking careers and ladies of leisure who fan themselves in the ornate gardens of the city. Adua is also home to the Union's Army, which Jezal dan Luthar is it's current brightest star. Vain and shallow, Luthar's focus on gambling and drinking is overshadowed only by the impending fencing tournament and the glory it will bring him if he wins, until of course his friend's sister arrives. Adua is also home to Inquisitor Glokta who himself was once the army's brightest star, however, 2 years of unrelenting torture at the hands of the enemy put paid to this and upon his most uncelebrated return to his home he himself, now a crippled and scarred finds himself in the position of torturer for the Union's own Inquisition. A bitter man and with good reason.

"All things come to an end but some only lie still, forgotten ....There was a cold feeling in Logan's stomach, a feeling he hadn't felt for a long time. 'No' he whispered. 'I'm free of you'. But it was too late. Too late..."
The Blade Itself: The Tools we Have

Now war is looming again and it is this that brings Bayaz, The First of the Magi to Adua to claim his place on the Closed Council and to start a chain of events that, begrudgingly, throws these characters together.

Abercrombie pulls no punches in his description of bloody battles, yet he is never over gratuitous. The humour in the book is at times laugh out loud and there is certainly enough of the unexplained to keep you guessing and wanting more. There is nothing superfluous in this book, no plot that ends in a damp squib, everything is there for a reason. I found myself putting this book down towards the end, not because I became bored but simply because it was so good I didn't want to finish it! Luckily I now have the second book in the trilogy to look forward to reading. I would recommend this book to diehard fantasy readers and those reading fantasy for the first time alike as it is simply a damn fine read.
Amanda White, 8.7/10

Critical acclaim for Joe Abercrombie and The Blade Itself

An admirably hard, fast and unpretentious read - SFX

An incredibly accomplished first book - Emerald City

Great characters, sparky dialogue, and action packed plot. From the opening scene that is literally a cliffhanger you know you are in for a cheeky, vivid, exhilarating ride - Starburst