The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

Mar 15, 2011 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-modern

I’m going to do something that's a little disrespectful and start this review by talking about another fantasy series that I’ve enjoyed: A Song of Ice and Fire. That series rules. It has everything I’ve wanted in a series since Tolkien but there’s one thing to be said about it, neither good or bad, that is a big part of its impact: it is dark, very very dark. The darkness comes, as it should in all quality fiction, not necessarily from the actual bad things that happen to good people, but from t I’m going to do something that's a little disrespectful and start this review by talking about another fantasy series that I’ve enjoyed: A Song of Ice and Fire. That series rules. It has everything I’ve wanted in a series since Tolkien but there’s one thing to be said about it, neither good or bad, that is a big part of its impact: it is dark, very very dark. The darkness comes, as it should in all quality fiction, not necessarily from the actual bad things that happen to good people, but from the depth of the characterizations themselves. Bad things happen to very real, very well-characterized, and truly understandable people, and so those bad things are made all the more upsetting, all the more hard to read.

So that’s where The Blade Itself comes in. It is a funny thing for me, reading the reviews. Everyone goes on about how bloody it is, how graphic and hardcore, etc etc. How it is a part of the “George R.R. Martin tradition”. Of course there is truth to that: much blood is spilled, incredibly tragic things happen, and hell, one of its central characters (in fact, its best character) is a torturer with an awfully painful past. But what I rarely see mentioned is the wonderful lightness of tone that makes the novel such a pleasure to read. For all its tragedies and darkness, the tone is amusing, light-hearted, comic, and never in awe of the various mysteries depicted. I laughed out loud many times. It is also a surprisingly tender novel. That comment may be hard for lovers of this book to read. But The Blade does not demonize any of its characters, it allows all of them (even Black Dow!) their moments of decency and kindness, it views all of them in such a cheerful, upbeat way, that never did I feel a sense of bleak heaviness at the tragedies displayed. Those tragedies are shown to be a part of life, for some, and although they are impactful, the characters are not beaten completely down by their pasts. It is not a sentimental novel, but it is a very sweet-tempered one. The down side to this is that, at times, the characters and situations have a vibe to them that is almost close to being a sitcom. The upside is that it is wall-to-wall pleasure and at the end of the novel, I felt uplifted, rather than weighted down. It is a wonderful antidote to the compelling but grueling Song of Ice and Fire. A kind of tonic. The novel is a breezy delight and I am really looking forward to the rest of the series.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention: the author knows how to write action sequences. They were truly exciting, even cinematic in the clarity of what was happening. Often fights are confusing affairs in fantasy, but that is not the case here. The whole novel had a brisk yet cinematic feel to it. I choose Matthew MacFayden to play Inquisitor Glotka!
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Mar 15, 2009 Sandi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2009

I usually prefer stand-alone books, or series that take place with the same characters or setting but don't leave you hanging at the end of the book. The kind of SF&F series that I like include The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, The Company by Kage Baker, and Charles deLint's Newford stories. I have to say that The Blade Itself isn't like any of these. It's also not like series that go on and on without end. It doesn't meander like The Lord of the Rings or take ten volumes and counting like Song ...more

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May 13, 2011 Hirondelle (not getting notifications) added it

Shelves: fantasy, i-quit, meh

I seem to be in a mood for fantasy novels, so digging up all those very popular books I have been stockpiling for ages, this was next.

And it is no-go. I gave it a 100+ pages and while nothing about this is horrible, the eight deadly words come to mind: I do not care what happens to these people. Not a bit.

It seems to be a mostly political intrigue book - I love those, so I was biased to like it. The 3 main characters are flawed (euphemism, actually they are creeps), perhaps realistic (though the ...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Nicky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I read this trilogy a few years ago, around the same time as I read Scott Lynch, and I was totally excited about the new voices in fantasy at the time. I remembered that much, and also that this was very much “grimdark” and gritty and portrayed a not-so-pleasant world. But I knew I’d have to reread it, at least for my own personal satisfaction, before I finally get round to other works in the same world. With the vague memories I have of the first time I read this trilogy, it’s apparent just fro ...more

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May 05, 2008 Terence rated it liked it

Shelves: speculative-fiction

Another author in the tradition of Glen Cook & Steven Erikson: There is no Good nor Evil, just people, and even the most heinous Dark Lord had a mother.

Of course, the danger in such a book is that you wind up with utterly unlikable characters and no one to root for. Afterall, you may not have liked Aragorn but you knew that his side was Good; it happens that I've liked most of the characters in Erikson's work but I couldn't condone many of their actions. It's my 2nd gripe with Robert Jordan's Wh ...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Nicky rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I wasn't sure what I was expecting from this book: more traditional fantasy, maybe. I've enjoyed reading it -- it's certainly funnier than I was expecting. I have no idea where it's going (beyond the spoilers my mum's given out!) but I'm looking forward to reading the next two books. ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Lori rated it really liked it

I have several books from the library that I've been waiting for but I have to continue this series. The characters are solid gray, which is the only time I like that color! Not black or white, still likable with all their flaws. Onwards! ...more

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May 08, 2011 Suz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, book-club, kindle, gritty, trilogy-sigh

I think this is easily one of the best fantasy books I've read in a while.

Nice cast of characters with lots of fleshing and grey areas. Plenty of action, and plenty of big picture moments along with little picture stuff to flesh you the characters. There are fantastic heroes and antiheroes and plenty to love/hate about just about every character.

I can't wait to read the rest of the story.

I've been told that the trilogy reads better as one big book, and I'm inclined to believe that assessment - ...more

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Aug 25, 2008 This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For rated it liked it

Shelves: high-fantasy, fantasy, fiction

An interesting book, it's rather unusual in that there is very little plot, per se, and instead it is mostly an introduction to a large number of flawed characters and maneuvering them into place relative to each other. That's not to say there is no plot, it's just that the plot is clearly secondary to the characters. One assumes the plot will become more prominent in later books, although one does have to wonder.

The characters are also rather unusual, the author eschewing most of the common fan ...more

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Mar 31, 2014 Daniel Roy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sf, fantasy, abandoned

The Blade Itself is a promising fantasy epic torpedoed by serious flaws. It owes a lot to A Song of Ice and Fire's gritty realism—a fact which Abercrombie himself readily acknowledges—but alas, it proves that it is not so much the formula as George R.R. Martin's ability as a writer that made Game of Thrones such an smashing success.

The Blade Itself follows three POV characters: Logen "Ninfingers," a smart barbarian renegade; Jezal, a young military officer training for an important fencing tourn The Blade Itself is a promising fantasy epic torpedoed by serious flaws. It owes a lot to A Song of Ice and Fire's gritty realism—a fact which Abercrombie himself readily acknowledges—but alas, it proves that it is not so much the formula as George R.R. Martin's ability as a writer that made Game of Thrones such an smashing success.

The Blade Itself follows three POV characters: Logen "Ninfingers," a smart barbarian renegade; Jezal, a young military officer training for an important fencing tournament; and Sand dan Glokta, a former soldier turned torturer. Out of the three, Glokta was by far the most interesting. I loved the depiction of Logen, but he spends a lot of the novel not really knowing what he's doing or why; and Jezal was just a whiny character whose motivation beyond lusting after his friend's sister remained a mystery to me.

Glokta is at once the most controversial and interesting of the characters. He was an officer in the army who fell into the hands of the enemy and emerged a broken man. He is crippled by the torture he endured, a fact which the book hammers home every turn. This, in itself, is a novelty of the fantasy genre, although it's easy to see the "big shadow" cast by a certain Tyrion all the way to the Union.

The Blade Itself, being a gritty, realistic fantasy, has plenty of violence, of course. Truth be told, though, I found it boring and repetitive. Most of the violence in the book concerns Glokta, who, as a torturer, tortures a lot of people while simultaneously detailing the violence that was made to him. There isn't a lot of psychological finesse to it; he pulls fingernails and threatens irreparable bodily harm to his victims, who are more or less innocent. There is no great controversy here, no dark and twisted psychological exploration. Just people suffering at the hands of the inquisitor and his admittedly cool lieutenants.

What ultimately led me to abandon this book halfway through (despite having made it a whopping 300 pages in) is twofold. First, the prose isn't all that good. Character motivations and reactions are pretty on the nose. Jezal's love story, rather than redeem him, just gives him one more layer of clichéd characterization to contend with. Second, the characters, despite evolving in a "realistic" fantasy world, were pretty black and white. You'll find none of the shades of gray that make, say, Tywin Lannister so compelling. The king is a fat, useless slob to the end; the barbarian ruler is ruthless, proud, and strong. There's some nuance to Logen, but he's an island of complexity in a sea of sameness.

And so, after 300 pages, I just found myself not caring very much for any of these characters. I'm sure they face morally ambiguous situations and resolve them in surprisingly pragmatic ways... But as tantalizing as this might sound, I'm just gonna move on to better-written books with more tantalizing characterization. ...more

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Aug 12, 2012 John Montagne rated it really liked it

It had been awhile since I read a fantasy novel which had me eagerly turning the pages, this one did it. I found myself intrigued by the characters - all save one. The wise and seemingly lucky barbarian, the crafty wizard, a self-centered nobleman, and a host of other characters. In fact, I have to give credit to the author for introducing so many characters yet keeping the story coherent - the character development was so good that it seems there are many main characters. It was only Glokta, th ...more

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