Fantasy

The Blade Itself

The Blade Itself

  • Downloads：6590
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-13 14:53:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joe Abercrombie
  • ISBN：0575079797
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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 Captain Jezal dan Luthar， dashing officer， and paragon of selfishness， 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。

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Reviews

Kendall ，

Excellent first book in the series。 The pace was a little slow， but the time was taken to provide a well written introduction to this world and these characters。 Dark and gruesome， but highly enjoyable。 I can't wait to keep reading and see how these stories develop。 Excellent first book in the series。 The pace was a little slow， but the time was taken to provide a well written introduction to this world and these characters。 Dark and gruesome， but highly enjoyable。 I can't wait to keep reading and see how these stories develop。 。。。more

Peter Toth ，

I am thoroughly surprised how much I enjoyed this book now。 I do remember reading the whole trilogy a while ago， but was not looking back with fond memories。 I may have become a more mature fantasy reader， or not :） All-in-all， there virtually nothing happens in the whole book， we only get to know the characters， but in the end I realized I did not mind the slow start。 The whole book was itself a giant exposé to introduce Glokta， Logen， Jezal， Bayaz and a host of other characters， which I really I am thoroughly surprised how much I enjoyed this book now。 I do remember reading the whole trilogy a while ago， but was not looking back with fond memories。 I may have become a more mature fantasy reader， or not :） All-in-all， there virtually nothing happens in the whole book， we only get to know the characters， but in the end I realized I did not mind the slow start。 The whole book was itself a giant exposé to introduce Glokta， Logen， Jezal， Bayaz and a host of other characters， which I really enjoyed looking back。 Everyone says Joe is writing amazing characters， and I see the beginnings of this in this book， I will surely be able to reflect more once finished with the other 2 books and the 3 standalones and the 2 available instalments from his second trilogy。 The genre is also called grimdark for a reason， this is a tough， bloody， violent， brutish world along with its characters and the stakes in the game。 Certainly not a read for those expecting gentle touches or soft dialogue。 。。。more

CJ Mann ，

Say one thing for The Blade Itself， Say that it was a fun read！The Blade Itself gets a solid 4-Stars from me。 I finally dove into this series after serious recommendations from many。 I thoroughly enjoyed this series opener， and there’s quite a bit to praise here。 I’ve read a decent chunk of fantasy and while this book is better than most， it didn’t present something entirely new， and at least for me didn’t provide that special pop to give it 5-Stars。 However， with that said I can tell that there Say one thing for The Blade Itself， Say that it was a fun read！The Blade Itself gets a solid 4-Stars from me。 I finally dove into this series after serious recommendations from many。 I thoroughly enjoyed this series opener， and there’s quite a bit to praise here。 I’ve read a decent chunk of fantasy and while this book is better than most， it didn’t present something entirely new， and at least for me didn’t provide that special pop to give it 5-Stars。 However， with that said I can tell that there’s something special with this series and it appears that it only gets better with each installment and I’m excited to find out the veracity of that myself。 What I really enjoyed about The Blade ItselfSubtle Fantasy。。。。 yes there’s Magic and impossible cities with impossible buildings and extra-human abilities in characters but it’s all just there barely above the surface， like a shark’s fin。 Subtle fantasy elements keeps a book breathing some realistic elements while also dialing back on the cheesy， over-the-top， or overly serious nature that a lot of Fantasy falls victim too。 Great names。。。。 are there weird fantasy names？ Why， yes of course。 However， there are also great and funny and very descriptive names。 I greatly prefer this in Fantasy; it’s much easier to remember secondary and tertiary characters in large series when they have such descriptive names。 Malazan Book of the Fallen utilizes this very well and I am very happy to see great descriptive names so far in The First Law Series。 （Ninefingers， Ferro （means steel in several Latin-based languages）， Dogman， the Weakest， Grim， etc）。Utilizing Tropes。。。。 I tend to only stick through a Fantasy Series if it takes some tropes and turns them on their heads。 The Blade Itself has some annoying and common tropes which is maybe what also keeps me from giving it 5-stars， but also turns several on their head which keeps it a solid 4-star book in my opinion。 I’m trying to keep this spoiler-free so I don’t want to dive too much into this。 I see that a few tropes are being set up to be turned around and used in interesting ways so I hope that is fulfilled as the series goes。 Lastly， what really made me give this book 4-stars instead of 3 。。。 A shift in Scale of Perspective。 What I mean by that is the book starts off with a character， seemingly well educated， civilized and well traveled albeit exceptionally violent who is fighting savages （the dark savages bit really bugged me in the beginning and so I’m glad this got turned on it’s head and was addressed within the book itself later on）。 But then it opens up and we learn that this character is the savage by the greater world’s standards。 That may seem a little spoilery but it’s a small element which occurs early in the first book of a decently large series。 All in all， The Blade Itself is a very solid book， and it looks like it could be a very solid series and one that I’ll be glad to have read。 。。。more

Dermot Smyth ，

Really enjoyable if you like this style。 Game of thrones with a bit more humour would be my description and every character is horrible in the best ways。

Keyla Damaer ，

In a grim dark world， where hunger， blood， and pain to various degrees are prevalent， a mysterious mage returns to Adua to claim his place on the Closed Council， putting together all the other characters of the novel， Sand dan Glokta， the crippled interrogator， Jezal Luthar， the dandy rich fencer， Logen， the ruthless mercenary， and others。 Each one has its own POV， an approach that I personally love in worldbuilding。 Skimming other reviews on various sites， I see these are the characters everyon In a grim dark world， where hunger， blood， and pain to various degrees are prevalent， a mysterious mage returns to Adua to claim his place on the Closed Council， putting together all the other characters of the novel， Sand dan Glokta， the crippled interrogator， Jezal Luthar， the dandy rich fencer， Logen， the ruthless mercenary， and others。 Each one has its own POV， an approach that I personally love in worldbuilding。 Skimming other reviews on various sites， I see these are the characters everyone mentions。 Among them， Glokta is definitely the one who limped into my heart with his dark， witty humour。 A tormented soul， but aren't those the best ones？ I was surprised by the fact that no one mentions Ferro in their reviews， the only woman with a POV。 Ferro， the former slave who escaped her captives now lives only for one reason: revenge。 The author doesn't dedicate many chapters to her story， but I believe， or perhaps it's just a hope， that she'll be more central in the rest of the trilogy。There's also another woman in the story， Ardee， but she has no POV。 We only see her through the others’ eyes。 His brother， Major West， vain Jezal who for once behaves like the gentleman he’s not， and Glokta， of course。As you can imagine by now， I loved this book。 The characters are all unique and reach out to the reader with their unmistakable voice。 The only part that really really bored me was Logan’s last chapter。 It was like it would never end—as a matter of fact， I think it's the longest chapter of the book—and I’m sure some readers loved it for that same reason。 Sorry， but I can’t tell more because 。。。 spoilers。That said， there are a few things that I didn’t like。First， the formatting quality。 I purchased my copy on Amazon， so the issue may be limited to their edition。 Many times， I found myself having to read back entire paragraphs to understand what was happening。 There are many scene breaks in the middle of the scene exactly where they aren't supposed to be。 One would expect that an author with a publishing house at their back would have decent formatting。 Alas， that was not the case with my copy。 Shit happens。On top of these， there’s a scene where West and Jezal names are misplaced and some typos throughout the book。 These aren’t as relevant as the scene breaks that shouldn’t be there and that made my read-through harder than it should have been。Formatting aside， if you want to read something that goes along the lines of A Song of Ice and Fire without too many names to remember and better-developed characters—not to mention the fact that there no need to wait for twenty years to read the end。。。 if that ever happens—then go for it。 I made the mistake to purchase only book one and then risk spending too much for the rest of the trilogy。 。。。more

Casey ，

I contemplated giving this up three or four times， but it finally got interesting at about page 400。 I'll be reading the next book ASAP。 I contemplated giving this up three or four times， but it finally got interesting at about page 400。 I'll be reading the next book ASAP。 。。。more

Emma ，

I saw a lot of reference to ASOIAF in reviews before reading this。 Which is one reason it sat on my TBR shelf for so long as I found ASOIAF hard going at times。I'm so glad I finally picked it up， and I can't wait to read more！While I agree in part that there are some similarities， I found The Blade Itself a far more enjoyable read。 The characters were more engaging， with a much better balance between politics and action。 It was easy to immerse myself in the story， understanding each character an I saw a lot of reference to ASOIAF in reviews before reading this。 Which is one reason it sat on my TBR shelf for so long as I found ASOIAF hard going at times。I'm so glad I finally picked it up， and I can't wait to read more！While I agree in part that there are some similarities， I found The Blade Itself a far more enjoyable read。 The characters were more engaging， with a much better balance between politics and action。 It was easy to immerse myself in the story， understanding each character and their journey。 I feel this is building up to more action and turmoil in the books that follow！ 。。。more

Angeli ，

DNF @ 16%。 Not my type of book。 I tried。 I really did。

Bernardo Ortega sosa ，

Impresionante y violento。 Cínico y oscuro。 Magistralmente narrado。

Craig Tyler ，

3。5 stars

Lexie Joo ，

Wouldn't continue if there weren't the promises that the plot is going to progress in the two later books。 Still enjoyed the character， but overall the plot is nonexistent。 Wouldn't continue if there weren't the promises that the plot is going to progress in the two later books。 Still enjoyed the character， but overall the plot is nonexistent。 。。。more

Rene Dupre ，

Kind of a slow start。 Lots of characters - some I liked， some I didn't。 First of a trilogy。 Not sure it was enough to keep my interest。 Kind of a slow start。 Lots of characters - some I liked， some I didn't。 First of a trilogy。 Not sure it was enough to keep my interest。 。。。more

Greg K ，

I similar feel to Martin's A song of fire and ice。 Though in my opinion the writing style of Abercrombie fits me better than Martin's。 I similar feel to Martin's A song of fire and ice。 Though in my opinion the writing style of Abercrombie fits me better than Martin's。 。。。more

Ronron08 ，

I absolutely LOVE this book， I love the plot and everything about this！！ I highly recommend it。 It is the perfect gift for yourself to read and re-read。 I want you to know， there is a competition happening this April on the NovelStar app， I hope you can consider joining。 https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 If you have more stories like this， you can also publish them there 🙂 I absolutely LOVE this book， I love the plot and everything about this！！ I highly recommend it。 It is the perfect gift for yourself to read and re-read。 I want you to know， there is a competition happening this April on the NovelStar app， I hope you can consider joining。 https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 If you have more stories like this， you can also publish them there 🙂 。。。more

Joseph ，

“Discretion is what I’m all about， chief， ask anyone。 Discrete。 That’s me。 Known for it。”

Adam ，

3。5*

Elizabeth ，

And interesting cast of characters but not really pulling me in。 This book is all intro so far which is a lot of get through without much plot development。 And his writing of Ardee and romance is 。。。 odd

Joshua Mantilla ，

‌The story is powerful; I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Christy ，

3。5 ⭐I have to be totally honest and say that the audiobook narrator's accent drove me nuts until the very end。 He did a wonderful job in so many ways but every time grimace was pronounced grimACE and clerk pronounced clArk， it just pulled me out of the story。 I look forward to reading the next book in print。 3。5 ⭐I have to be totally honest and say that the audiobook narrator's accent drove me nuts until the very end。 He did a wonderful job in so many ways but every time grimace was pronounced grimACE and clerk pronounced clArk， it just pulled me out of the story。 I look forward to reading the next book in print。 。。。more

Doug ，

Dark， but funny about it。 This was a pleasure to read， full of interesting worldbuilding， lots of gore， and some incredible characters。

ania （theanxiousgal） ，

4。5/5 starsThis was my first grimdark fantasy book and it was awesome。 This a very character-driven story so if you are not used to it it's going to be a little weird， but it is great if it's well done。 The writing style was great， with details and graphic descriptions but not boring， it became a little slow at some parts but it was because we were focusing on the development of the character and his/her reaction to many things。I rooted for all the characters， if they all fought each other I wou 4。5/5 starsThis was my first grimdark fantasy book and it was awesome。 This a very character-driven story so if you are not used to it it's going to be a little weird， but it is great if it's well done。 The writing style was great， with details and graphic descriptions but not boring， it became a little slow at some parts but it was because we were focusing on the development of the character and his/her reaction to many things。I rooted for all the characters， if they all fought each other I would want them all to win tbh。Glokta and Logen were my favourites。 Glokta's internal monologues were very funny and interesting， he provided us with a different perspective and a different way of seeing life since he is well an unusual character。 He is so broken and I was frustrated with him many times but I understood the reason for his actions（kinda）。Logen was a total surprise， he grew in me with the passing of the pages and in the end， he totally surprised me in an awesome and crazy way， I want to know more about that soon。This book focuses more on the political intrigue and the relations between all the characters， we get to meet the important people in all the "countries" or whatever， we get to understand the power dynamics and we get to know the characters' motivations （or lack of them）。Overall great beginning of a trilogy and I will continue very soon。 。。。more

Deb ，

Book one of the trilogy took me on a character driven ride filled with murderous conspiracies， heroes， who all have their villainous sides， broken friendships， flesh eaters and magic。 This book is dark， wickedly funny and unpredictable -- Can't wait to start book two！ Book one of the trilogy took me on a character driven ride filled with murderous conspiracies， heroes， who all have their villainous sides， broken friendships， flesh eaters and magic。 This book is dark， wickedly funny and unpredictable -- Can't wait to start book two！ 。。。more

Kevin Carey ，

3。5 Stars- Where to begin？ I really enjoyed this first book in the First Law trilogy。 I’m not going to lie， the world building at the start of the book slowed the momentum for me a bit。 I don’t mind world building but it was almost like the author expected us to have some prior knowledge of this land which left me wondering if this was actually the first book。 After that the story settles and things move a bit more swiftly。 The character work is excellent and the dialogue sharp。 There’s a dark h 3。5 Stars- Where to begin？ I really enjoyed this first book in the First Law trilogy。 I’m not going to lie， the world building at the start of the book slowed the momentum for me a bit。 I don’t mind world building but it was almost like the author expected us to have some prior knowledge of this land which left me wondering if this was actually the first book。 After that the story settles and things move a bit more swiftly。 The character work is excellent and the dialogue sharp。 There’s a dark humor that runs throughout this novel that I really enjoyed。 Plus the action is excellent。 Graphic and unapologetic。 I particularly loved seeing characters through the eyes of other main characters。 It really impacts the perception of a character like Logen when you hear someone else describe him。 I will say， the ending didn’t feel like an ending。 I kind of expected another chapter despite knowing the book was over。 But I guess that’s a solid mark for how much I was enjoying the story。 Not ready to say goodbye。 。。。more

Marte ，

Very good， but definitely more of a prelude to a much bigger story。 “History is littered with dead good men。” The First Law-trilogy is such a staple within the fantasy community that I just always assumed it was the work of a well-established author。 But no。 This was Abercrombie’s debutSo， clearly， he’s been killing it from the very beginning。 The Blade Itself was everything I was told it would be; brutal， gritty and filled with some of the darkest and most interesting characters the Very good， but definitely more of a prelude to a much bigger story。 “History is littered with dead good men。” The First Law-trilogy is such a staple within the fantasy community that I just always assumed it was the work of a well-established author。 But no。 This was Abercrombie’s debutSo， clearly， he’s been killing it from the very beginning。 The Blade Itself was everything I was told it would be; brutal， gritty and filled with some of the darkest and most interesting characters the genre has ever seen。 I now get why people can’t stop babbling on and on about Glokta。 I also now understand why people refer to The First Law as one big book split into three。 Because The Blade Itself doesn’t really follow the typical three-act-structure; not having much of a rise in action nor a clear resolution。 If anything， this book is the first act。 So， as a first-time reading experience it’s not satisfying enough to warrant a full five stars。 However - after I’ve finished the trilogy and I can consider this as just one part of a bigger story - chances are I’ll come back and give it that last star。 。。。more

Kyle Armstrong ，

Great Read！An amazing set up for the next two books。 I can't wait to get started。 I enjoy Abercrombie's ability to build a variety of different characters and cultures。 This book has it all - swords， magic， romance， and politics。 Bravo。 Great Read！An amazing set up for the next two books。 I can't wait to get started。 I enjoy Abercrombie's ability to build a variety of different characters and cultures。 This book has it all - swords， magic， romance， and politics。 Bravo。 。。。more

Robert Karban ，

Wow， this is one of the best books I've read in a long while。 What an incredible start to the trilogy。This might just be the best set up and introduction of characters I've come across。 For human beings that are so flawed， and at times terribly horrific， Abercrombie sure does a great job of making you like and root for them from the get go， especially the deliciously twisted Glokta and the big brute of a man Logen。The success of this is down to the writing style。 It is fantastic， the dialogue ma Wow， this is one of the best books I've read in a long while。 What an incredible start to the trilogy。This might just be the best set up and introduction of characters I've come across。 For human beings that are so flawed， and at times terribly horrific， Abercrombie sure does a great job of making you like and root for them from the get go， especially the deliciously twisted Glokta and the big brute of a man Logen。The success of this is down to the writing style。 It is fantastic， the dialogue majestic and lyrical。 You truly feel like you are in this world， next to these people， living and breathing every word with them。But what really makes this book so special is the characters。 They are all so wonderfully unique and memorable in their own way。 I already rate Glokta， Logen and Bayaz up there with some of the best characters in fiction， and it's only the first book of the trilogy。 A special mention has to be given to Glokta。 I have a great fondness for him and his hilariously dry and sarcastic inner monologues。 Huge kudos have to go Joe Abercrombie。 It takes truly great writing and storytelling to make you feel like you've known these bunch of misfits all your life， like they are old friends。I often ask myself， why do I read？。。。 Well to quote the tormented yet witty Glokta himself "why do I do this， why？"。。。 I do this to stumble upon great books like The Blade Itself， to get lost within great new worlds and go on enthralling new journeys。 That's why。 。。。more

James Loone ，

"The more you learn， the more you realise how little you know。" The Blade Itself is 500+ pages but not all that much actually happens。 This book is incredibly character-driven， so by the end the passage of time and story hasn't really moved forward all that much -- it's a good thing， then， that we are introduced to a set of such hugely interesting and compelling characters throughout， ranging from a depressed， crippled torturer to a jolly， legendary， mythical wizard -- I can't wait to spend m "The more you learn， the more you realise how little you know。" The Blade Itself is 500+ pages but not all that much actually happens。 This book is incredibly character-driven， so by the end the passage of time and story hasn't really moved forward all that much -- it's a good thing， then， that we are introduced to a set of such hugely interesting and compelling characters throughout， ranging from a depressed， crippled torturer to a jolly， legendary， mythical wizard -- I can't wait to spend more time with this cast， Glokta especially。Seeing as the focus is so squarely put on the characters there isn't really that much world-building， and because of that I haven't found myself all that invested in this universe just yet， something I hope we hear more about in the future now the characters are so well established。The book isn't quite a dark and gritty as I was hoping and expecting， and after reading so much about it being so and it being one of the main selling points， I was a little let down by that。 All of that being said， I had a really good time with this， and although it will probably be a little while before I check out the next entry， I am looking forward to finally getting round to it when I do。 。。。more

Brandon Sipe ，

Grimy， dark， and intense。 There's no fear of darkness or death in this book。 The characters are well-written， convicted， and deeply flawed。 Jezel is （infuriatingly） full of himself， Glokta is broken， Logan is conflicted and trying to put his past behind him。 This book sets things up very well and gives us a hint of the mysteries to come。 Grimy， dark， and intense。 There's no fear of darkness or death in this book。 The characters are well-written， convicted， and deeply flawed。 Jezel is （infuriatingly） full of himself， Glokta is broken， Logan is conflicted and trying to put his past behind him。 This book sets things up very well and gives us a hint of the mysteries to come。 。。。more

Emilija ，

dnf at 50%。 will try again another time。

David ，

Great book！ I was putting it on hold for too long， as I prefer high fantasy more， but I guess I change my mind。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Blade Itself

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Blade Itself&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Blade Itself&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0