The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Blurb:
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.
Review:
“You can never have too many knives.”
The Blade Itself is a gritty character study in depravity and anti-heroism with dark, grim humor that had me cackling in the twisted recesses of my soul. When a book is as hyped as The Blade Itself, it’s easy for the read to misstep from the beginning. Your expectations are astronomical, and no book written by a human is going to meet your standard. Luckily, Joe Abercrombie is no mere mortal. He is: Lord Grimdark.
From the very first page, I became woven into the lives of these characters. I had heard coming into this book that many people finished The Blade Itself, looked around the room, and pondered aloud, “But what just happened? Did anything happen at all?” And I completely agree, this is an extremely character driven book. But Abercrombie is so good at writing characters that are multi-dimensional with their own unique voices, that he is able to masterfully pull off a novel that is so dependent on character infused storytelling, rather than being pulled along by the carthorse of plot. Now that’s not to say that there is NO plot. There are hints at a grander world and story that is hiding surreptitiously behind the curtain like an accidental lover evading morning discovery. And I am certainly intrigued at where the story is going from here. But can I really make a good guess what the next book is going to be about? No, not really. And I’m okay with that and will be starting it post-haste to find out!
Glokta. Beautifully toothless Glokta. The sadistic dentist you don’t want in your life. His meanderings throughout this book are wonderful. His internal monologue was fascinating to read; the ultimate fall from grace into a life of pain and torture. As his teeth were fashioned so that none met up with their opposite, his life is a series of inconsistencies and oddities that spark fervent interest in his POV chapters. He’s the cruel torturer that forces confessions from people; yet he was transformed into that person by undergoing the same type of torture at the hands of another. A man who destroys lives but is willing to help watch over a friend’s sister after a misunderstanding is cleared up. His depth is endless and his hatred for stairs will never be satiated.
Ninefingers. Logen. The Bloody Nine. Oh, our hulking brute of a Northman is deadly and broody in the best of ways. He’s dangerous. He talks to the spirits. And by the end of the book, we find that he may not be the simple soldier that he seemed to be at the beginning of the story. His view of the world is mesmerizing and hilarious.
Jezal. The lovesick nobleman who is ashamed and dumbfounded by his infatuation but makes up for it in good blood and confidence. His confidence and deep-seated self-loathing are the perfect juxtaposition for his confused entry and victory in the Contest. While desiring honor and glory in battle but chaffing at the opportunity to accompany Bayaz, Jezal is confused enough to potentially be dangerous in the future.
One of my favorite aspects of this story is seeing different characters through other people’s eyes. Since you dive so deeply into the psyche and mannerisms and thoughts of each character while you’re in their POV, it is jarringly refreshing when that character is then viewed from a different character’s POV, often in a much more negative light. For example, Logen seems like such a cool, dangerous character that is ready to cause mayhem. But then when Jezal sees him, you witness him as a blundering oaf of a barbarian who is constantly in culture shock. My guess is the Bloody Nine doesn’t care a hill of beans what either one of them thinks at the end of the day.
The Blade Itself lived up to all my expectations. It was grim and gritty and character driven. I’m invested in all the POVs and can’t wait to read and learn more about this world and delve into the mysteries that Bayaz seems to be trying to re-awaken. It is easy to see why The First Law is in many people’s list of favorite series and I fully expect it’ll crack into my top tier by the end.
“Body found floating by the docks...”
