The Blade Itself (The First Law Trilogy, 1)

The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie.

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, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar 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 Glokta 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.

Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.

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560 pages

Average rating: 6.72

25 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

HarboredInPages
Jul 28, 2024
10/10 stars
I am impressed. I want more. I will be reading all the Joe Abercrombie. Greedy, greedy, me. I feel that in previous books I've only dipped my toe into the murky uncertain water... with The Blade Itself I've just taken a running jump into it... and I've found the depths invigorating! Pha!!! No romantasy for me! Grim dark worlds, filled with morally grey characters, political machinations, and impending war!
The Nerdy Narrative
Jul 19, 2024
10/10 stars
I'll be honest - there is no plot. None.

HOWEVER - this book was the most enjoyable freaking read of my year so far. I had the best time - I chuckled and laughed the whole way through....and it's a grim dark book! I felt like I should feel bad about enjoying the dark nature of the characters, but I'm sorry, I just loved them. ALL of them. Abercrombie knows how to bring a character to life.

I also got the distinct feeling the author had a good time making fun of some familiar well-used fantasy tropes. I belly-laughed at several of these instances until I decided this book was The Office of fantasy books.

This one book had me putting every book Abercrombie has published on my TBR and I already have book 2 in this trilogy sitting next to me ready to go but I HAVE to know what happens next!
Solid Snake
Nov 01, 2023
8/10 stars
A fantastic read & introduction to Abercrombie's First Law World. If you are a fan of George R R Martin, then Joe Abercrombie should be on your radar. The characters are wonderfully despicable, pitiful, evil, and intriguing, set against an ever fascinating fantasy world, where trechory, magic mystify you and the characters, setting up a journey of discovery for both the characters and you as the reader. You will not want to put this down, i didn't. It become one of those books, thats not just a book your reading at the moment, but one that your now making more time and excuses to sink into it. If you start, and have doubt's, as there can be alot thrown at you early on, at least give it the fifty page rule, and allow the pace, settings and characters to form. (Currently 4/5 the way through the sequelof this trilogy when writing this review)

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