From the Bookshelf of 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]…

The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)

Joe Abercrombie

Discussion: . Week 1: More Than 500 Pages

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. Week 1: More Than 500 Pages

* Week 1: Introduction
By Jessica · 102 posts · 1093 views

last updated Aug 11, 2015 02:06PM

* Week 1: Progress Post
By Jessica · 100 posts · 421 views

last updated Nov 06, 2015 06:29AM

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What Members Thought

Apr 05, 2021 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2021, fiction, our-personal-library, high-fantasy, fantasy, grimdark

Given my taste in books, it’s embarrassing that I haven’t read this until now. Too many books, too little time! But I finally have, and glad I did.

In almost every way, this book was a success for me. I’m excited to get to know more about this world and its mythology/history, and for the most part, I loved the characters. My favorite by far was Glokta - every time I saw that a chapter was from his POV, I cheered inside.

I have two complaints that kept this from being a five star review (well, two ...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Jessica rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-i-couldn-t-finish, fantasy

Meh. I made it halfway through, but nothing was happening. The characters themselves felt less like real people are more like archetypes (Glokta was the only interesting character for me, but I wouldn't call him sympathetic exactly!) It was all rather grim, with unlikable characters and a slightly distressing amount of gore. I get what the author was going for, but I think it's just not my type of fantasy. I don't mind realistic fantasy (love the Song of Ice and Fire, for instance) but I want to ...more

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Nov 03, 2013 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi, humor, adventure, read-2014

I liked this book a lot better than I thought I would. I think I've finally taken a long enough break from some of the best fiction I've ever read to appreciate this author's style of writing. His use of conventional curse words was somewhat off-putting/lazy at first, but the characters grow into it and it becomes more believable.

Also, this book made me laugh. The contrast between the various characters and their respective personalities helped to keep this book fresh and interesting. ...more

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