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zwinchester's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
groovygroves's review against another edition
5.0
What a simply brilliant book. A fantastic start to the First Law trilogy. I can not wait to start the second book. Abercrombie has created a wonderful world full of intriguing characters and complex plots.
Easy five star rating.
Easy five star rating.
iterdei's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written set up for an epic. Especially how the author uses slightly different writing styles to distinguish the various POV characters is incredibly well done. 4.5/5
machiavelli_311's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say that he’s happy
Say one thing about Machiavelli, say he’s happy he read The Blade Itself!
So folks have recommended Joe Abercrombie to me for a while, and this was my first entry, and what an entry it was! Amazing character depth, fun to follow, and built for so much more in the future books.
Truly the highlight of this book are the amazing characters, from the Named Men (Dogman, Threetrees, Black Dow) to the main characters of Logan, Jezal, Glokta, Bayaz and Farro, you just get introduced to them and want so much more… the world is built through there eyes, there ongoing, and like I said feel like we are building up these characters to put them in motion. I guess I will see…
The plot starts out a touch slowly, but builds through the book as you bounce across our main POV characters, learning more as they interact. Jezal Luthar has already begun a character being torn between societal norms of the nobility and expectations versus what he wants to do. Should he do it or not because of his name ? Is he a spoiled rich kid and will he stay that way?
Sand dan Glokta, the Inquisitor- the best at getting answers, but has a grizzled past that may have started somewhat similarly to Luthar? How did he become a cripple? Is he good or bad? We see some of both…
Bayaz - the First of the Magi - how much magic does he have? What all can he do? He’s seen and knows a ton! What else can he do, does he know, is he trying to achieve?
Logan Ninefingers - the Bloody Nine… can he leave that behind? He wants to… but he lost his crew… now what’s he doing besides following Bayaz? He’s seen some stuff… and knows Bethod maybe better than most, who is now the King of the North….
Ferro - who is she? What is she? Other than a bad@$$?
All this and more… can’t wait to spend more time with these characters and what they head off to do…
I feel like the world building itself was maybe a little thin, since the character build was so dense, but feel like we have started the pieces moving now to gain more here. You definitely feel like you are just scratching the surface, as so much has been hinted at…
Magic too, you know it’s there, with Bayaz and Yulwei (who hinted at more magi), but still don’t know what or how.
Bottom line, I feel like this book did a lot of work for things to come. I expect it will be on my re-read list after I finish the series and learn more, but man what a great story and great characters and I am super excited to read more from Lord Grimdark!
Highly recommended! 5-stars
Say one thing about Machiavelli, say he’s happy he read The Blade Itself!
So folks have recommended Joe Abercrombie to me for a while, and this was my first entry, and what an entry it was! Amazing character depth, fun to follow, and built for so much more in the future books.
Truly the highlight of this book are the amazing characters, from the Named Men (Dogman, Threetrees, Black Dow) to the main characters of Logan, Jezal, Glokta, Bayaz and Farro, you just get introduced to them and want so much more… the world is built through there eyes, there ongoing, and like I said feel like we are building up these characters to put them in motion. I guess I will see…
The plot starts out a touch slowly, but builds through the book as you bounce across our main POV characters, learning more as they interact. Jezal Luthar has already begun a character being torn between societal norms of the nobility and expectations versus what he wants to do. Should he do it or not because of his name ? Is he a spoiled rich kid and will he stay that way?
Sand dan Glokta, the Inquisitor- the best at getting answers, but has a grizzled past that may have started somewhat similarly to Luthar? How did he become a cripple? Is he good or bad? We see some of both…
Bayaz - the First of the Magi - how much magic does he have? What all can he do? He’s seen and knows a ton! What else can he do, does he know, is he trying to achieve?
Logan Ninefingers - the Bloody Nine… can he leave that behind? He wants to… but he lost his crew… now what’s he doing besides following Bayaz? He’s seen some stuff… and knows Bethod maybe better than most, who is now the King of the North….
Ferro - who is she? What is she? Other than a bad@$$?
All this and more… can’t wait to spend more time with these characters and what they head off to do…
I feel like the world building itself was maybe a little thin, since the character build was so dense, but feel like we have started the pieces moving now to gain more here. You definitely feel like you are just scratching the surface, as so much has been hinted at…
Magic too, you know it’s there, with Bayaz and Yulwei (who hinted at more magi), but still don’t know what or how.
Bottom line, I feel like this book did a lot of work for things to come. I expect it will be on my re-read list after I finish the series and learn more, but man what a great story and great characters and I am super excited to read more from Lord Grimdark!
Highly recommended! 5-stars
rrw21's review against another edition
The writing was quite repetitive. It had the feel of those black and white detective movies or the original Star Trek tv shows, where there’s a staccato dialogue with people repeating the same lines, slightly differently, for presumed dramatic effect. There’s definitely folks who would love this style of writing, but it felt like subjecting myself to the reader’s version of nails in a chalk board.
wamainon's review against another edition
4.0
Incredibly interesting characters (so flawed, but so likeable), intriguing plots, not too violent but definitely not too light, good pace, good writing, good action. You end up rooting for the oddest people. There's a lot of potential and I really hope the next two books deliver.
labratgrl's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
raggedyman1342's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
priceratops's review against another edition
5.0
This was way more fun than I thought it would be. Funny, gory, intriguing…. All good stuff. I really like Abercrombie’s writing style. This is fantasy without really feeling like fantasy. He forgoes the stuffy reliance on Medieval sensibilities and gives a more modern-feeling prose. Though it still takes place in a sword and sorcery age. Looking forward to the next book in the series.