An assured debut into a crowded genre, this novel is bleaker and wittier than many sword and sorcery tales. The characters are deeper than their rather hackneyed occupations would suggest: a barbrian, a soldier duellist, a wizard, and a torturer could so easily be caricatures or cyphers. The combination is pacy and engrossing. ( )

The Blade Itself is the first book of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy. As with many trilogies, the first book of the series is used to introduce us to its variation of the typical fantasy cast. We have the savage barbarian with the dark past, the nobleman with no sense of altruism, the bitter and twisted Inquisitor, the beautiful feisty commoner, the inept apprentice, the cynical intellectual and, as always, the mysterious magus to drive the plot forward.
This is not traditional fantasy - there are no damsels in distress or knights in shining armour. Yet that's what underpins the appeal of this story - the characters are painstakingly real, even if they're not "heroes" by strict definition. The warriors are warriors - foul tempered and ruthless, covered in scars, with missing teeth – not handsome and genteel. Even though there is not a single character who remains entirely likeable by the end of the book, every one of them has become a real person whose fate is something you care about - even if what you really want is to see them get some sense knocked into them.
The very fact that one of the main characters is crippled demonstrates something that much fantasy seems to lack: this is a world with consequences - a wave of a magic wand won't heal every body and soul. The characters aren't questing to save the world or defeat evil; they're struggling to live their own lives amidst fascinating plot and conflict.
This is Abercrombie’s first novel, and he’s done an outstanding job. I’ve read a clutch of first novels in this ilk over recent months eg The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch) and The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss). The skill of these new authors bodes well for those of us who are addicted to new worlds and flights of fantasy.
I’m off to order the rest of the trilogy. ( )

#1 in The First Law fantasy trilogy. Set in a world beset by war and utterly devoid of magic, this book tells the story of several very different characters. Loren Ninefingers, an aptly named mercenary who has survived many wars, battles and skirmishes; Sand dan Glokta, a former fencing champion turned Inquisitor, a master of torture after his eight-year experience in an enemy prison leave him crippled and disfigured both physically and emotionally; Jezal dan Luthar, a young nobleman of privilege who has yet to see war and who is hoping to win the upcoming summer fencing Contest. Several other peripheral characters come into play as well, and the world is about to see Magic and all the myths and legends that were thought to be just children’s stories come back to life as Bayaz, the First of the Magi, makes himself known as the country is thrown into war from two directions. The king is a puppet, his heir a worthless fop, and his advisors plot and scheme to gain control of the government.

A multi-layered tale, well-written and interesting to read. While this had many of the elements of your ‘classic’ fantasy tale, it was decidedly darker than some, but all the better for it, I thought—me not being a big fan of knights in shining armor and all that rot. I like a world where the lines between good and evil are more realistically drawn, blurred and gray in many places, much like our own world. The characters were well-fleshed, imperfect and varied, and it will be interesting to follow their stories into the next book, which I thankfully have here already. Well-done! A+ ( )

Welcome to a world of contempt and petty squabbles. In this rather dark fantasy world everyone seems to be fighting for themselves alone. Be it in the cold north were the barbaric northmen wage endless feuds against each other till one rises above all and takes the war south or in the union where the closed council members vie over power while the king becomes more and more senile.

It's a a refreshingly realistic and brutal approach to fantasy that shows off many of the darker sides of men and what he is capable of. Machiavelli would probably have loved this. ( )

This one is not easily categorized. It is fantasy-- but it reads like a historical novel about a different world. It's about war and politics and Inquisition. Magic and power happens in little side threads. SO it's not because of the occasional Zap-Boom-Pow, that you will read this series-- it's about the Inquisitor: Glokta.

Unloveable, Unpleasant, Ugly, Ill-used and Vengeful. He is still the most Principled of all the players in this saga. You will be amazed at how deeply you will care how this ugly, unpleasant husk of a man picks his way between Kings, Nobles, Warriors and Mages as the world changes around him. ( )