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The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)

Joe Abercrombie

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* February - March Groupreads - Anthologies
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What Members Thought

Aug 27, 2012 Darren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Starts out sloppy, honestly, and the swordfighting scenes are rubbish. "Jab jab jab" Ugh. I still cringe. Those early fumbling steps, though... once Abercrombie finds his stride... They're not forgotten. Rather they remain, to show how far a strong writer can go despite early fumbling.

This is sword & sorcery in the tradition of Howard. Concerned with the nature of Man, and also man versus woman; with the savage versus the civilized, class entitlement versus inherent worth, the known versus the w ...more

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Mar 21, 2020 Andrew Weston rated it it was amazing

It’s not often I pick up a book and start reading, only to catch myself on repeated occasions grinning – in a deliciously evil way – from ear to ear. That’s exactly what happened when I delved into my first ever Joe Abercrombie novel: The Blade Itself.
And why?
Because it has perfect balance. THAT’s why. Think “Conan the Barbarian” meets “Game of Thrones” in a gloriously epic production directed by Quentin Tarantino, and you’ll get an idea of what’s in store. It’s bloody; it’s brutal; it’s breatht ...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Emily Randolph-Epstein rated it it was amazing

I was really excited to read this book. For years now, I've heard such good things about Joe Abercrombie, about how I have to read The First Law. It took me a while to get around to it. What finally sparked me to read this book was Abercrombie's contribution to George R.R. Martin's Rogues anthology, (which is fantastic by the way).

I love Abercrombie's characters. They're real and surprising. I love how you think you know a character and then you see that character through somebody else's eyes an ...more

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