The Blade Itself
Ratings856
Average rating4.1
Warning, this is not a review, just some musings
I am late to the party with Joe Abercrombie. I don't know why, but I am. I wasn't going to write a review of this book. My intention was to just put up some stars and direct you to the much more accomplished reviews that are about this book.
However, I changed my mind and thought I would put some thoughts down on paper.
When it comes to Joe Abercrombie, and the amount of stars this bloke receives on review sites, he could literally throw them up in the sky and create his own universe. I mean the general consensus is that Abercrombie is such a good writer he could write a story that would convince a donkey it's a horse.
So needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations for this book. I expected this to be a masterclass in grimdark writing (I think you can see where this is going, can't you. There seems to be an unwritten ‘but' here doesn't there. However, before you all start howling at me that I don't know what the hell I am talking about, give me a minute!)
So, the book starts with Logan fighting a Shanka, or a flathead as they are also known. I am reading this. I think this is not a bad start, I haven't got a clue what a Shanka is, but I will go along with it and see where it goes.
The point of view then moves to Inquisitor Glotka. A member of the kings inquisition who is very good at his job of torturing people and has a severe dislike of stairs. His no.1 greatest enemy. Partway through his torture session, he suddenly has a job appraisal with his boss who gives him a secret mission
I've got to say, there's nothing grabbing me here. You know, it's just not doing it for me at all.
After Glotka, there's the introduction of another character, Jenkal. Now the book throws me because all of a sudden in my head it changes to a William Thackery type setting and reminds me of Vanity Fair.
Ok, we have a nifty bit of world building going on here. The barbarian north and Thackery's London.
Still a bit unsure about it to be honest with you , but I think I will plough on because this book is supposed to be like goldust.
Well, a few things happen in the first book and it keeps changing pov between these three characters. Logan is quite good, Glotka constantly tells you what is going on in his head and then there's Jezal, who, to be quite honest is a bit of a dick.
So for this first part, I an generally plodding along with the book, thinking ‘I might just give this a miss because its brilliance seems to be passing me by and I am not getting the hype at all. I mean seriously, I was thinking of ditching this book. It seemed to me there was no plot and it seemed to be just moving form POV to POV.
However, something weird started happening, in that I was laughing along with the prose. There seems to be some pretty dark humour running all the way through this book.
And then when Bayaz does his magic thing and starts blowing up the forest, the same way that Gandalf never would, I start to get really in to it. Then, I cannot put the book down and all of a sudden the pacing goes through the roof and I have finished it.
So, if you are just starting with Abercrombie, don't be put off. Stick with it, the payoff is ace. If you want a review, there are loads, with Petrik being the most notable, but other reviewers are available.
I'm generally interested in variations on fantasy more so than the traditional High Fantasy. I tend to categorize all of High Fantasy as the same story over and over about chosen ones, quests, rings, swords, good vs. evil, and so on.
The Blade Itself is an adult version of fantasy, though it does take place in a world of Kings, Princes, and wizards. The story focuses on three jaded characters (as opposed to heroic young adults) trying to survive a brutal world where different kingdoms are constantly at war, struggling for power, not to mention internal politics that can get someone killed easily should they cross the wrong people.
The three characters whose POVs we see are not the power players but rather those who must survive in a dystopian world. They may not be likable, heroic guys, yet their struggles make them relatable. Even the spoiled rich kid gains a little depth as he figures out there may be something he wants from life besides drinking and gambling.
I prefer series where each book has a resolution; the plot of The Blade Itself isn't resolved by the end. But I enjoyed this so much that I will continue with the other two books.
4.5 stars!
This book was amazing! Very less gore and torture than advertised. The beginning was a bit slow but once all the characters were introduced, not only did the story pick up but it was humourous is a unique way and enjoyable.
And as always, the best part was near the end when all the characters met and chaos ensued
Amazing. I grabbed this book on a whim and then read everything Abercrombie has written over the next week or two. Dark, bloody, violent and messed up, but you won't be able to put it down. I tend to start a new book the moment I put the last one down, and one story often bleeds into the next in my mind. Not this one (or anything by Abercrombie). These books stuck with me, and I couldn't be happier as a reader.
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.
Glokta was the only one pushing me to finish the book! But unfortunately this wasn't my cup of tea! I'm all here for character-driven books, but I must say I only really enjoyed Glokta's PoV and the rest of the book was a transition until his part!
Not sure if I will continue!
I'm about a third of the way through and there's not a single complex female character. There are too many books to read for me to waste my time on this one. I've read a recent interview by Abercrombie in which he addresses the poor writing of his female characters in his earlier books. From the interview, it seems he has course-corrected. I may pick up a few of his more recent works to see if I find them any more interesting.
Glokta was the only one pushing me to finish the book! But unfortunately this wasn't my cup of tea! I'm all here for character-driven books, but I must say I only really enjoyed Glokta's PoV and the rest of the book was a transition until his part!
Not sure if I will continue!
Every chapter will leave you wanting to read what happens next. Characters like Glokta and Ninefingers will have you wanting to know what happens to them as the story progresses.
Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself is a character-driven fantasy that subverts traditional genre tropes with flawed protagonists, political intrigue, and sharp, darkly humorous dialogue. Set in a world of shifting alliances and looming conflict, the novel follows three main characters: Logen Ninefingers, a battle-worn barbarian trying to outrun his past; Jezal dan Luthar, a self-absorbed noble more interested in vanity than valor; and Inquisitor Glokta, a former war hero turned ruthless interrogator, now navigating the dangerous world of politics and espionage. Their fates slowly converge under the guidance of Bayaz, a mysterious and powerful mage with his own hidden agenda.
Rather than a traditional fantasy story with a clear overarching quest, The Blade Itself is more focused on its characters and the intricate power struggles they become entangled in. The world Abercrombie builds is rich and detailed, with a dry wit underlying even its darker moments. There is certainly violence, cynicism, and moral ambiguity, but I found myself expecting even more grimness and brutality given Abercrombie’s reputation as a quintessential modern grimdark writer. While the book leans into the messiness of war and power, it balances this with a surprising amount of humor and character-driven storytelling.
Despite its strengths, my experience with The Blade Itself was initially frustrating. I had attempted to read the book twice before and struggled to get past the halfway point. The beginning is slow and, at times, disorienting, with frequent shifts in perspective and little clarity on how the characters or their stories connect. The narrative seemed to lack a clear direction, making it difficult to stay engaged.
However, determined to give it another chance, I persisted. And once I crossed the halfway mark, everything began to fall into place. The characters became more compelling, their interactions more meaningful, and the overarching story started to take shape. By the final quarter of the book, I was fully invested, and upon finishing, I was eager to continue the series.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why the first half was such a struggle—whether due to pacing, structure, or the sheer amount of setup required for such a complex world. However, in retrospect, I am glad I gave it another attempt. If you are willing to push through the slower opening, The Blade Itself offers a rewarding and immersive experience, setting the stage for what promises to be an engaging and unpredictable trilogy.
Contains spoilers
Revisiting this series for the first time was fun. The characters are what brought me back to this series. Abercrombie has a great way of introducing a character as a trope or caricature and then slowly adding more depth. He seems to want to try and balance all his characters just at the point where you can both love then and hate them; then continue to add more and more complications to the character. Whether it works will be up to the reader but there are enough POV's that the book has a good chance to grab you.
I am more neutral on the worldbuilding. I really like the trope of people powerful enough that their personal squabbles have become myths and twisted through time. The Magi really embody this, with every past slight having been magnified over the years. I did not really like the five continents setup each with one culture. It is walked back some as the people in each region are shown to have differences but still not my favorite setup and just felt really artificial. Obviously there is a reason for that but that is not known at the start the book and even after the reveal feels a bit clunky.
While the character interactions are great, the book is very much a setup for the rest of the series rather then standing on its own. Not necessarily a bad thing but for a long book it would have been nice to have a stronger plot for this book. The POV's that have more to do, Glokta and Dogman, are the more interesting stories to follow. The Bayaz plotline POV's suffer from the characters not having much agency and just following along not knowing what is going on. This is less severe on a reread as a lot of foreshadowing and ironic statements are made but on a first read-through it could be frustrating. Of all the POV's Ferro, is probably the most short changed she is introduced late and not given much of anything to do or characters to interact with until the last third. On the use of torture in the book; it is obviously used a lot and is mainly seen to be used to get people to confess to some made up charges. Though it is shown that the info extracted was useful and true. It is a bit easier to believe when the people are almost comically guilty. It doesn't really show the Glokta getting false information, dead ends or picking up innocent people. I think I'll keep an eye on how often torture "works perfectly" in the series as I continue my read.
Świetnie napisane postacie. Całość była super ale nie czułem żadnego celu. Bardziej jakbym poprostu śledził postacie które mają jakiś cel wyznaczony przez kogoś innego, a cel ten nie był konkretnie związany z fabułą. Dopiero ostanich 10% książki wątki niektórych postaci zaczęły się łączyć i niby jakiś cel się ujawnił, ale nie do końca rozumiem jaki. Gdyby nie to to bym dał 5 na 5. Może jak kiedy jeszcze raz przeczytam.
Its is an amazing introduction to this world. I felt somehow that the magic is not explained that much but it still intrigues me. The characters are interesting and the action scenes are great.
This was my second attempt at this book and I found the audiobook was definitely the way to go for me. Steven Pacey's narration was next level and the huge range of voices/accents he was able to add for the many characters was just so good to listen to, I especially liked his voice for Glokta!
Most people I've heard review this book comment on the character work and I have to agree. The plot itself is quite slow and long, however the thing which really kept me invested was the characters.
I'm really not sure where this series is going to go, amazingly I've avoided spoilers, but I'm looking forward to continuing soon.
The Blade Itself was a novel that, for me, was incredibly easy to read. The three main viewpoint characters are so interesting, unique, and well written. Even in series like “A Song of Ice and Fire”, I don’t always look forward to spending time with certain characters. This book didn’t have that issue. I was very invested in the lives these people were living.
The action is incredibly written, especially in the back half of the book. Bloody, nasty, and awesome. The magic system is interesting. The plot fed me just enough to keep me engaged and excited to read the next book in the trilogy.
This wasn’t a problem for me but I can see it being a problem for some, this is the first book of a trilogy and it does feel as such. This isn’t meant to be a stand alone novel. There isn’t a huge climax in this book but it sets up the chess board beautifully.
The Blade itself is one of those books that you simply can't put down regardless of if you want too or not. I thuroughly enjoyed every second I had with this book and it's incredible story. The biggest highlight for me though was the characters, RARELY have I ever come across a more diverse, interesting and funny cast of characters who grew on me like these did. My best Inquisitor boy, Logan 9-Fingers, even the shitty pretty boy character grew on me! That rarely happens!!
Again would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in a dark fantasy with loveable characters and a very interesting story. Can't wait to read the other two books in the series!
Interesante y entretenido, aunque se siente como una introducción nada más, la mayor parte de la trama no avanza mucho a lo largo del libro, pero lo compensa con buenos personajes.
You know how we have “TV adaptations” of books and video games nowadays? Well, The Blade Itself is like a book adaptation of an action-adventure video game, and it sucks.
Abercrombie subverts nothing. The characters are unoriginal, no better developed than mere archetypes. The world feels like a shallow reflection of our own, since the author probably inundated himself with too much TV and video games to be able to create a truly original setting. The plotline is so bad, that this book is making me consider anger management.
Oh, and this is “dark?” I'm sorry, did you go from reading F. Scott Fitzgerald or Jane Austen to foray into fantasy, and you're surprised that people have to make difficult decisions in life? Because that's the only possible way you might consider this excuse of a book “dark.”
The core problem is that Abercrombie never gave me a reason to care. Why is your story better than the others, sir? Are your characters original and insightful, with unique stories and worldviews? No. Instead, we get “haughty, noble womanizer who falls in love with commoner,” “interrogator who was once famous swordsman,” and “barbarian who beats up a ton of people.” Wow. And how about the plot? “There's a big war coming, and both sides are actually proxies for larger forces! Long-preparing evil has made its move and we have to defeat it!” Delightful, truly.
Maybe Steven Erikson just spoiled all other fantasy for me, but The Blade Itself is just trash.
I don't know if all modern fantasy and sci-fi series are written in this manner but this is the second first-book-in-a-series I've read in which nothing substantial happens. It only sets up the world and the characters. How do sequels to these books get green lit? Do authors nowadays receive three book deals in advance so they know they can take their time. But how can they be sure people would be interested in the sequels if the first book doesn't have a hook.
The world is interesting enough but there isn't much meat on the bones in terms of story. You don't feel a sense of urgency in any of the three main storylines. Yeah, there is a war brewing in the North. And the wizard is gathering a ragtag team for a mission. But that's kind of it. The book ends with the team being formed with no mention of what their objective is.
It is competently written and the author is well versed in writing action scenes. But I could've done without a few of them if it would've meant we would get a some glimpse into the overarching plot and what our protagonists were getting themselves into.
Good:
The book does a decent enough job of setting up a scenario that makes the reader want to continue on with the next one. Logen Ninefingers is a highlight viewpoint that engages right from the start and Inquisitor Glokta isn't quite as immediately engaging but does eventually hook you into caring.
Bad:
Throughout a good portion of the plot a few of the character plot-lines leave you just wanting to skip forward to the others (namely Glokta and Jezal). The Logen Ninefingers viewpoint chapters carry a good portion of the beginning of the book. World-building was a bit of a weak point as well. At least in this first book the setting is quite run-of-the-mill. The historical setting is a bit more intriguing but not quite so developed so far.
Ugly:
Not too much that really offends in my eyes.
TITLE The Blade Itself
AUTHOR Joe Abercrombie
Genre Fantasy
Subgenre Grimdark
—
Emotional Impact 6.25
Characters 7.75
Plot 5.75
Worldbuilding / Magic System 6.5
Dialogue / Prose 8
Official Rating 6.61
Goodreads Rating 3
Date Started 2/25/2024
Date Finished 5/16/2024
—
NOTES Huge reading slump of 3 months but it wasn't this books fault. Nothing really happens but the characters and how he writes them is stellar...will revisit the series soon. Jezal and Glokta are real cool!
TITLE The Blade Itself
AUTHOR Joe Abercrombie
Genre Fantasy
Subgenre Grimdark
—
Emotional Impact 6.25
Characters 7.75
Plot 5.75
Worldbuilding / Magic System 6.5
Dialogue / Prose 8
Official Rating 6.61
Goodreads Rating 3
Date Started 2/25/2024
Date Finished 5/16/2024
—
NOTES Huge reading slump of 3 months but it wasn't this books fault. Nothing really happens but the characters and how he writes them is stellar...will revisit the series soon. Jezal and Glokta are real cool!