From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)

Joe Abercrombie

Start date: June 14, 2010

Finish date: July 8, 2010

Discussion: 2010 Reads

Why we're reading this: Our extra pick for the month! Read it if you hate zombies.
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What Members Thought

Jun 14, 2013 Stephanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013reads, audio, fiction, fantasy

Format: Audio (from Audible)
Narrated By: Steven Pacey
Original Publication Year: 2007
Genre(s): Fantasy (Epic)
Series: The First Law (#1)

If I had to sum this book up in one sentence: A brutal, dark book employing multiple perspectives to tell a story of violence and political intrigue with a touch of fantasy that is surprisingly hilarious and often poignant. Of course that really tells you very little but it should evoke a superficial comparison with at least one very popular fantasy series being w Format: Audio (from Audible)
Narrated By: Steven Pacey
Original Publication Year: 2007
Genre(s): Fantasy (Epic)
Series: The First Law (#1)

If I had to sum this book up in one sentence: A brutal, dark book employing multiple perspectives to tell a story of violence and political intrigue with a touch of fantasy that is surprisingly hilarious and often poignant. Of course that really tells you very little but it should evoke a superficial comparison with at least one very popular fantasy series being written (hopefully) today. It did remind me quite forcefully of Game of Thrones but it definitely has its own unique voice and spirit. And (view spoiler).

There are three main perspective characters: Logen Ninefingers a barbaric Northmen who has a reputation for brutal violence, Sandan Glokta a twisted, crippled agent of the inquisition who makes his living investigating (aka torturing) traitors of the Union, and Jezal dan Luthar a spoiled, arrogant young nobleman training for a contest of sword play. Both Logen and Sandan slowly reveal more depth and quickly become intriguing narrators and even Jezal occasionally surprises. There are also a few secondary narrators: Dog Man one of Logen’s former compatriots who keeps the reader informed of what is happening in the North, Major West, a common born soldier of the Union who has risen quite high and Ferro Maljinn who doesn’t appear until midway through and who appears to be a former slave who is obsessed with vengeance. All these characters are being caught up in a world crisis that is just being revealed at the end of this first book in the series. At the center of this crisis is the Arch Mage Bayaz. If this all seems a little confusing it is because a lot happens in the book and it is difficult to summarize succinctly. It is also, I think, most enjoyable to experience the twists and turns with as little warning as possible!

It took me a while to warm up to the book. It’s very masculine and starts off with a few far flung threads that hardly seem related and none of which are terribly enjoyable. Glokta is torturing his way through the merchants of the Union capital city of Adua, Logen is off in the North and goes in search of Bayaz after almost losing his life in a battle with “flatheads”, and Jezal is lazily training for a fencing match between daily bouts of drinking and carousing. There is little to connect them and the characters start off as less than engaging.

However, as the story slowly unfolds and the disparate threads start to become entangled the book became more and more engrossing so that by the end I was anxious to jump right into book two. This building of tension and interest is done really well and with few exceptions the characters become more and more fascinating. Jezal was the only character who didn’t improve upon further acquaintance but his day may be coming. I also really appreciated that though the tone of the book is quite dark it is balanced with a pervasive snarky humor. It remains throughout a very masculine book – there are only two women that feature in the story with any prominence and that prominence is very limited – but this stopped bothering me about a third of the way in as the narrative picks up speed and interest.

The only complaint I had worth mentioning is one that is a frequent problem with multiple perspective books focused on a spread out story. There are going to be certain storylines that just aren’t as interesting and therefore feel like getting through them is a bit of a slog. The time spent with Dog Man and the Northmen was less interesting storyline for me and the chapters spent with these folk, while rare, felt a little unnecessarily long.

The narrator Steven Pacey was also really great. In particular he gave a perfect voice to Glokta who is missing many teeth and who has a particularly sly humor. We also hear Glokta’s thoughts quite a bit, contradicting what he’s saying, and Pacey narrated this in such a way that it was never confusing.

Final verdict is that this is a surprisingly enjoyable book despite its darkness and I think I will be jumping right into book 2
Before They Are Hanged. 4.5 stars ...more

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Oct 27, 2010 Tom rated it really liked it

Shelves: hard-copy

I took an odd (not advised) approach to Joe Abercrombie's world here in reading Best Served Cold and The Heroes BEFORE reading this book, which is the first book of his "First Law" trilogy. So I'm seeing characters here (Black Dow, Bayaz, Bremer van Gorst etc.), already knowing where they will end up further down the road. This both giveth and taketh away... adding an interesting depth to the read, but stealing away some surprises.

I also think my read order here gave me some perspective on Abe I took an odd (not advised) approach to Joe Abercrombie's world here in reading Best Served Cold and The Heroes BEFORE reading this book, which is the first book of his "First Law" trilogy. So I'm seeing characters here (Black Dow, Bayaz, Bremer van Gorst etc.), already knowing where they will end up further down the road. This both giveth and taketh away... adding an interesting depth to the read, but stealing away some surprises.

I also think my read order here gave me some perspective on Abercrombie's unique "voice." This book seems tamer than either Best Served Cold or The Heroes. Maybe my perspective is skewed, again, by my knowledge going into the read (this was Abercrombie's first big hit); but it seems like the signature Abercrombie-gritty-action-violence is toned down a bit. Maybe because he was trying to break softly into the genre? It's still present... this is not a cuddly-Hobbit-type fantasy for pre-teens by any stretch... but it's not front and center either. Court intrigue and character interplay are where the plot turns... violence less so.

We follow a few different protagonists, obviously all heading on a collision course... or maybe a "collusion" course? In any event, there are a lot of character pieces moving on the board. Very GRR Martin-ish in this way. And similarly to GRR, these characters are all shades of grey... some sympathetic, but none clearly "heroes" and none clearly "villains"... well... maybe with the exception of Arch Lector Sult. That guy is just a complete A-hole. But all act with motivations, desires, grievances, history, misconceptions, etc.

Perhaps the most sympathetic is Logen Nine-Fingers, who, after separating from his countrymen and nearly dying, tries to set aside the reputation of being a right bastard. He's thoughtful and introspective... until the blood lust comes on, of course. Then all bets are off. Runner-up for most-sympathetic is probably Inquisitor Glotka, a man broken by torture who has now become a torturer himself. Bitter and cynical, choking on the irony of his life; but also realistic and driven - he's the "police investigator" of the story, I suppose.

Not sure of the explanation for the wizard Bayaz's long life - or maybe time-jumping? Or what exactly the Shanka are invading from the north... are they truly animal/other/alien? Or is that just straight-up racism from the northerner perspective? I guess I'll find out in the next two volumes. ...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Tanvir Muntasim rated it really liked it

At last, a writer to keep us occupied while GRRM huffs and puffs his way to the next book! No disrespect to Abercrombie, but his dark fantasy with its dosages of cynical humour is the perfect way to get over the unrelenting gloom of Song of Ice and Fire series, the hottest fantasy series running now, and Abercrombie has found his own unique voice in the sub genre of dark fantasy full of deeply flawed characters. Focus on characters rather than an alternate world keeps this interesting and devoid ...more

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Jan 18, 2025 Neil rated it it was amazing

I was instantly sucked in with the outstanding characters. Had a hard time finding a plot in the middle. Was fully invested by the end and ready for the ride ahead.

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