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The Blade Itself

by Joe Abercrombie

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: First Law (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
7,4352371,212 (4.04)187
The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie. Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian -- leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules. Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it. Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald 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 Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult. Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.… (more)
Recently added byRini55, private library, tredegartrafalgar, NathanaelHastings, igalaudet, persephone.k
  1. 245
    A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (MyriadBooks, Navarone, martlet)
  2. 50
    The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (ghilbrae)
  3. 40
    The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (KittyFiend)
  4. 20
    Diplomat of Uram by Richard R. Matthews (Emily_Hartman)
  5. 21
    Devices and Desires by K. J. Parker (Sedorner)
    Sedorner: While The Engineer Trilogy is nowhere near as bloody as The First Law trilogy, it's just as dark, deep and "realistic".
  6. 32
    Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (majkia)
    majkia: an equally dark landscape with complex characters
  7. 10
    Ships from the West by Paul Kearney (caimanjosh)
    caimanjosh: Both of these series feature great characterization, good writing, and a bare-knuckle, realistic approach to fantasy, as opposed to much of the high fantasy work out there.
  8. 00
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» See also 187 mentions

English (217)  German (6)  Spanish (3)  Catalan (2)  Italian (1)  Dutch (1)  Finnish (1)  Swedish (1)  All languages (232)
Showing 1-5 of 217 (next | show all)
Wish the audio was synced, but loved it. I can't think why it took me so long to get to this one, but it's good enough to immediately go purchase #2. I thought it would be darker that it was (glad it wasn't).

Glokta is a new favorite character. He's not a good guy in the traditional sense (understate much?) and a physically revolting character. As a shallow American, I struggle with both and as a reader, I am fascinated with both.

I'm looking forward to this series making me feel even more uncomfortable. ( )
  jazzbird61 | Feb 29, 2024 |
The plot was slower than I expected, and yet I was surprised at how quickly I breezed through this! Its a very...info-dump-free fantasy story. The backstories of characters or the lore where not explained, i did not know what was happening or who I should be rooting for half the time, i had a very poor idea of where things are...you kinda have to figure these things out little by (very) little and just trust that it all makes sense...by the end of it, I felt like this whole first book is just a massive prologue for the trilogy. and in spite all that, i loved this book and its characters! ^_^ I cant wait to find out what happens to them! ( )
  riida | Feb 28, 2024 |
En fantasy bok satt i en annen verden på en tid uten moderne teknologi. Første bok i en trilogi, og inneholder dermed mye world-building, men også mye action og brutale scener. Mye vittig dialog, og til tider ganske blunt språk.
Mange godt skrevet karakterer som man blir godt knyttet til tross grå moral. Det skifter POV for hvert kapittel som kan virke forstyrrende i lesingen, men samtidig er det er virkemiddel for å formidle flere perspektiver på ulike steder og fungerer godt til oppbygning av verdenen.
I denne boken er plottens mål uklart eller vagt meste parten av tiden, og det var ingen endelse/plot twist siden den bygger opp til neste bok. Dermed gir jeg ikke boken 5 stjerner, men det var likevel en fornøyelse å lese den. ( )
  vivolvo | Feb 26, 2024 |
I mostly liked it. It's one of those epic fantasy series with multiple POV characters. Things I liked: there were a lot of good scenes, especially the action scenes; the world building was interesting, and I liked the politics in the capital. Things I didn't like: it leans too much on being the first book of an epic series, so this book mainly introduces the characters and their motivations and only at the end of the book has the "adventuring party" finally gotten together (presumably for adventures in later volumes). I also found most of the POV characters to be unlikeable jerks; I understand the author is trying to make them more complex than generic fantasy archetypes, but I found it hard to root for the characters to succeed. ( )
  yaj70 | Jan 22, 2024 |
This book has really interesting characters that I'm looking forward to learning more about. The story itself is just getting started, and there are many little mysteries that are waiting to unfold. I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series, but am going to take a break before starting them. ( )
  PurplOttr | Dec 1, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 217 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (20 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Joe Abercrombieprimary authorall editionscalculated
Borchardt, KirstenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
García Bercero, BorjaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pacey, StevenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ruth, GregCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
"The blade itself incites to deeds of violence" - Homer
Dedication
For the Four Readers

You know who you are
First words
Logen plunged through the trees, bare feet slipping and sliding on the wet earth, the slush, the wet pine needles, breath rasping in his chest, blood thumping in his head. He stumbled and sprawled onto his side, nearly cut his chest open with his own axe, lay there panting, peering through the shadowy forest.
Quotations
‘Has it ever occurred to you, Master Ninefingers, that a sword is different from other weapons? Axes and maces and so forth are lethal enough: but they hang on the belt like dumb brutes.' He ran an eye over the hilt, plain cold metal scored with faint grooves for a good grip, glinting in the torchlight. 'But a sword ... a sword has a voice.'
'Eh?'
'Sheathed it has little to say, to be sure, but you need only put your hand on the hilt and it begins to whisper in your enemy's ear.' He wrapped his fingers tightly round the grip. 'A gentle warning. A word of caution: Do you hear it?'
Logen nodded slowly. 'Now,' murmured Bayaz, 'compare it to the sword half drawn.' A foot length of metal hissed out of the sheath, a single silver letter shining near the hilt. The blade itself was dull, but its edge had a cold and frosty glint. 'It speaks louder, does it not? It hisses a dire threat. It makes a deadly promise. Do you hear it?'
Logen nodded again, his 'eye fastened on that glittering edge. ‘Now compare it to the sword full drawn.' Bayaz whipped the long blade from its sheath with a faint ringing sound, brought it up so that the point hovered inches from Logen's face. 'It shouts now, does it not? It screams defiance! It bellows a challenge! Do you hear it?’
'Mmm,' said Logen; leaning back and staring slightly cross-eyed at the shining point of the' sword.
Bayaz let it drop and slid it gently back into its scabbard, something to Logen's relief. 'Yes, a sword has a voice. Axes and maces and so forth are lethal enough, but a sword is a subtle weapon, and suited to a subtle man. …’ p. 144
Men don’t fence for their King, or for their families, of for the exercise either … They fence for the recognition, for the glory. They fence for their own advancement. They fence for themselves. p. 174
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Wikipedia in English (1)

The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie. Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian -- leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules. Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it. Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald 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 Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult. Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.

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