The Blade Itself

I went into reading this book really excited but that excitement faded by about page 400. I kept trying to give it more of a chance to improve in the quality of writing and world building but seriously it’s about as angsty and edgy as your first DND character. That being said it’s a fine low fantasy book. Logen is just a male Mary Sue, never having a plan for any situation but always making it out of said situations just because he’s so cool and dark, gritty, etc. etc. If you’re looking to turn your brain off this is fine, if you’re looking to think? You’re not gonna be googling any words with this book.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie It is one of my new favorite fantasy books. The Story is perfect blend of adventure with some history of the world the characters are in.

Impressed! I truly enjoyed this series. Logen and Glokta... I want to read about them all day, every day! I want to know every detail of everything they've ever done and thought. Say one thing about Logen Ninefingers, say he interests me. Is that not a well-written character?

The characters have gripped me so hard in this book and I can't put it down. If you liked game of thrones then this is a book for you. Gritty. Gory. Dark. Funny. I loved it!

I bought this book after several recommended it to me. I was not dissapointed, for any of you who have an itch for gritty dark fantasy in the same vein as George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones", this is for you. Expect loads of violence. It takes awhile to get there but when it does it hits hard.

I picked up the books THE BLADE ITSELF and BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED several months ago and I have to tell you, I miss the characters from these books more than I miss a lot of people I've known. I poured through the books in pretty short order. I found the pacing was fast, the story was highly entertaining, and the settings were vivid and believable. Then, like most books I've read, I set them aside and moved on to something else. But unlike most other books, these keep creeping back into my thoughts on almost a daily basis. Joe Abercrombie wrote these books from the perspective of several different and fascinating characters, each with their own set of issues and problems. All the characters in the book are fully realized, complex individuals that are an absolute pleasure to love or hate, as you see fit. Even the most minor of characters are uniquely written and entertaining; many of them will make you squirm in your seat and all will make you want to turn to the next page. There's Logan Ninefingers, the northern barbarian who is one of the most likable and grounded of people, except of course when turns into a berserker, known and feared far and wide as "The Bloody Nine." San Dan Glotka is a complex, cunning and dangerous ex-officer of the Army who was captured by the enemy, brutally tortured for years, and left a cripple. His total cynicism and contempt has him seeing conspiracies and assassins around every corner, and makes him the perfect inquisitor for the Union! And There's Bayaz; the impossibly old first mage with tremendous powers, who gathers a group of disparate individuals together to further his own private agenda. Not only is he the center one of the major story arcs, but he supplies this fascinating world with a rich and compelling back story that rivals Middle Earth in complexity and wonder. I could go on with many more biographies, but my point is made. The story is very good on all counts. Set against the backdrop of impending war on two fronts, the books wind through perilous journeys, doomed battles, ill-fated love affairs, political and economic intrigue, tournaments for glory, and thousand year old rivalries between the world's remaining mages. But in the end, it's the characters that you will remember. As I said in the beginning, hardly a day goes by that I don't ponder the fate of the Dogman, Ferro, Jezal, and Colonel West. I highly recommend both books and I cannot wait to get my hands on the third installment, LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS. Joe Abercrombie is an author to watch.