2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion
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The Blade Itself
. Week 1: More Than 500 Pages
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The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
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This is a good read. It suffers the way a lot of series "firsts" do in that there are multiple plot lines and characters in different locations and it is hard to discern how they are all related. I found myself really looking forward to reading certain characters chapters and less excited about some of the other characters.That said, it all comes together rather well and the writing is good. There's a few unanswered questions so you'll probably be left wanting to read the next one in the series.
Well, finished with it.The story starts out exceptionally slow, and in fact the entire book seems to be about getting to know the characters, as a sort of preamble to the real adventure that presumably happens in the next two books of the trilogy.
This isn't a bad thing as such – I've long held that it's okay if nothing happens in your book as long as it doesn't happen in an interesting fashion, and the character studies of Logen Ninefingers, Jezal dan Luthar and especially Sand dan Glokta are sufficiently entertaining. I look forward to seeing more of their interaction in the future parts of the series. Will they bond as fast friends in the fires of battle? Will they flip out and kill one another out of sheer exasperation? Good thing I've already bought the next part!
You know you're reading dark fantasy, by the way, when the most sympathetic guy in the book is a professional torturer. And somehow, despite all this it manages to be funny. Keeping things light when people are being eviscerated and tortured to death is quite a skill. I look forward to seeing how Abercrombie develops as the series goes on.
Very similar to my feelings when I read this book. It's slow going, but for the purpose of introducing the characters and bringing them together. Really liked reading from Glokta's and Logan's perspectives. Wasn't as impressed by Jezal's perspective and found him boring most times.I'm very interested in finding out more about Bayaz, as well as the Arch Lector, both of whom I believe have a lot of secrets. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more in this series, especially because now that the character, setting, and political background is established, the next books promise to deliver more action, and I loved the action sequences in this book.
It's one of a pile of first parts of fantasy series that I've accumulated over the past few years. Reviews from friends have been mostly positive, though one reliable authority noted that the writer doesn't get really good until his later works.
I'm already a hundred pages into the novel. We don't yet have a plot, but we have a number of interesting characters who I'm sure will be able to come up with one. One of the protagonists is a crippled, sadistic inquisitor. Just so you can tell this isn't Tolkien.