The Blade Itself

The First Law: Book One

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The Blade Itself

Written by: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

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About this listen

'Delightfully twisted and evil' GUARDIAN

'Highly recommended ... seek it out' Joe Hill

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it. But as he's discovering, old habits die really, really hard indeed...

...especially when Bayaz gets involved. 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 Glotka, Jezal and Logen a whole lot more difficult...©2006 Joe Abercrombie

Joe AbercrombieSteven PaceyOrion Publishing Group LimitedThe First Law Trilogy

Epic

Epic Fantasy

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Royalty

Combat Sports

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What the critics say

Highly recommended - a funny, finely-wrought, terrifically energetic work of high fantasy. Seek it out (Joe Hill)

Twisty plotting and gallows humour.

I might not end up marrying this book, but I'm certainly infatuated with it right at the moment. It's delicious, the characters sharply drawn and their motivations believable, the clash of cultures (always particularly difficult for an author to pull off) believable as well. (Lilith Saintcrow)

There is a gritty edge to his world and an awareness of the human cost of violence that is very contemporary

Delightfully twisted and evil

The Blade Itself is a page-turner powered by a combination of fast-paced action and juicy doses of cynicism. Perhaps more remarkable, however, is the way Abercrombie sets the scene

There's a fat vein of cynicism and dark humour throughout. The action scenes are fast-paced and the violence takes its toll both mentally and physically. A great start to a long journey

You'd never guess that The Blade Itself is Joe Abercrombie's debut novel. He writes like a natural. There are great characters, sparky dialogue, an action-packed plot, and from the very first words and an opening scene that is literally a cliff-hanger, you know you are in for a cheeky, vivid, exhilarating ride

An admirably hard, fast and unpretentious read from debut author Joe Abercrombie. Packs a mean punch in the bloodthirsty mayhem and mystery departments. Crammed full of torture, vengeance and bad behaviour, it's a lively tale of savagery vs. civilisation. The Blade Itself may not reinvent the wheel, but it does serve up a whole banquet of violent action and intrigue

The star of the show is doubtlessly Inquisitor Glotka for simply being one of the most wonderfully bitter and cynical characters I've come across. With a very funny and clever internal monologue going on during every conversation he has, Glotka's as miserable and nasty at the end as he was to start with and, especially in a heroic fantasy novel, it works perfectly

The books are good, really good. They pulled me in. Well-developed world. Unique, compelling characters. I like them so much that when I got to the end of the second book and found out the third book wasn't
going to be out in the US for another three months, I experienced a fit of rage, then a fit of depression, then I ate some lunch and had a bit of a lay down

Abercrombie writes dark, adult fantasy, by which I mean there's a lot of stabbing in it, and after people stab each other they sometimes have sex with each other. His tone is morbid and funny and hard-boiled, not wholly dissimilar to that of Iain Banks . . . And like George R.R. Martin Abercrombie has the will and the cruelty to actually kill and maim his characters . . . Volumetrically speaking, it's hard to think of another fantasy novel in which this much blood gets spilled

"Put together a terrific cast of characters ... add in magic, war, plots within plots and you have a positive feast for the ears." 20 August 2010 (Kati Nicholl)

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This is my favorite fantasy novel series ever. I've read got's five times. This is just as good if not better and Joe is consistently putting out new books! I'm so excited for you to come into this series with fresh eyes.. I'm jealous in fact. I cant say how much enjoyment I've gotten out of these books and recommend it to anyone who will listen. just... great .. that is all.