[.ca] Blade Itself (ISBN 0575079797)

Very good debut:
Joe Abercrombie's debut is making some noise all over the internet. Understandably, little more was needed to pique my curiosity! I wish to thank Joe for sending me signed copies of both The Blade Itself and Before They Are Hanged when I could not get through with his publicist. The Blade Itself is a throwback to what used to dominate the genre during the 80s before doorstopper fantasy epics took over. As such, it is reminiscent of David Eddings and Raymond E. Feist in their heydays. What does that mean, exactly? Well, The Blade Itself is a character-driven tale that is not comprised of countless storylines. The First Law is a trilogy, so the author has no choice but to keep this story under tight rein. There is also a certain sense of adventure throughout, something that was popularized by the sword and sorcery sub-genre during the 80s. There is a lot to like about Joe Abercrombie's debut. As a throwback fantasy novel, I found it refreshing. It's nice to see the" a The Blade Itself will please some fans, it will fall short with other readers. As he stated in a recent interview, Joe Abercrombie doesn't attach that much importance to worldbuilding. He prefers to let the readers discover his universe and its inhabitants through the eyes of his characters. Don't expect a level of details similiar to what you'd find in a Jordan, Erikson, Martin, or Bakker book. Still, the author provides enough background info to keep things interesting. Characters always make or break a book/series. And nowhere is it more evident than in a self-described character-driven novel. The characterizations found in The Blade Itself are at times very good, but some also leave a little to be desired. Characters like Inquisitor Gokta and Logen Ninefingers are well-done, and they literally carry this tale on their shoulders. Others, like Bayaz and Jezal dan Luthar, are clichéd and somewhat of caricatures. A few are barely introduced, like Ferro and Yulwei, yet are intriguing. One of this book's main facet -- and this is where it might alienate some readers -- is how humorous in tone the story is told. À la David Eddings, the narrative is always written in droll style, making it all but impossible to reach the emotional impact necessary to create powerful scenes. Very similar to J. V. Jones' The Book of Words trilogy and, to a lesser extent, to Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. As I said, I found this approach refreshing. But it's obvious that some readers will be put off by this. Don't let the beginning fool you. As you read on, you realize that, beyond that humorous tone, there is a lot more depth to those plotlines than meets the eye. As a very accessible novel that can potentially please many disparate fantasy fans, I'm persuaded that The Blade Itself will be a success. Much like Sanderson's Elantris was last year. And with Pyr set to release it in North America in 2007, Abercrombie's debut will get an even bigger readership. The author will probably never win any awards. In all likelihood he'll never be held in high esteem by aficionados. What he'll do, however, is sell books. What we have here is another bright new voice in the fantasy genre. And there can never be too many of those! The Blade Itself is a solid debut. I'm curious to see where Abercrombie will be taking this story in the sequel. . . \o...\c

The Blade Itself...a great new fantasy writer has arrived:
A true breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre! This is one of those rare books that is truly hard to put down. As with most fantasy there are elements of magic, unique creatures, love, betrayal, some great battles and some unexpected happenings. It has multiple, intriguing story lines, and a number of interesting characters (both good and evil) that I found difficult not to develop some sense of attachment to. It is fast paced and most chapters leave you itching to read on to find out what is going to happen. The telling of the tale is from several 1st person perspectives, giving you several different view points; this technique works well with this novel as there are many different personality types. The novel is also sprinkled with a lot of witty cynicism (particularly from one character). The only minor negative is that there is no map. This would have been helpful because the story covers a fairly large geographic area. Conclusion: A terrific first book; containing all the ingredients of great fantasy. The story telling has all the quality and suspense of Steven Erikson's 'Malazan Book of The Fallen' series, but maybe without all the exquisite and elaborate details that is one of Erikson's strengths. However, easily worth a rating of 5 Stars. Addendum May, 09/08 *possible character spoiler* Having just finished this trilogy, I'll add this as a final thought... For all their accomplished skill, I don't think either GRRM (Ice and Fire series) or Erikson (Malazan Book of the Fallen series) have ever created an individual character like Sand dan Glokta. Glokta, with his villain-esque persona, is the unforgettable, physically grotesque 'cripple' in this tale; a character whose profession requires him to be the consummate liar (except, excruciatingly, to himself), who has instinctive, self-preserving insight into most 'situations' and provides us, the readers, with regular doses of witty cynicism. There were moments in these novels (involving Glokta) that were so sad and tender that they near moved me to tears (particularly this last book) and others that made me laugh out loud; of all the wonderful characters in this trilogy, it was Sand dan Glokta and his tale that I enjoyed the most. R.Nicholson

Show, don't tell:
Abercrombie's book is really, pretty good. It's not 'can't put down', it's not going to revolutionize the genre, but wow, it's engrossing. The characters are very much 'warts and all', some you hate (and you are meant to) but you still want to read about them. The world expands as the characters encounter it, and is obviously not the focus, but adequately supports them. 'Taint Tolkien, but it's solid.

Promising Debut:
I generally avoid first novels, especially first novels of fantasy fiction. I made an exception in this case, and I'm glad that I did. "The Blade Itself" is dark fantasy with a barbarian, a slick swordsman, a master magician and a twisted torturer as the central characters. That sounds like standard fare. It's not. Each of the charaters is flawed and each elicits his own kind of empathy. The supporting cast is even better. The politically and morally corrupt environment in which the book is set is well drawn. The book has humor, action and biting commentary. It is the first book in a trilogy, so there is a good deal of context setting that should be missing from the later books. It's a good read and should be well higher than 1,800,000 on Amazon's sales list.

A fresh look at an old genre:
Fabulous book. The fantasy genre is glutted with tons and tons of the "same ol' same ol'". That is why it is so refreshing to come across a unique voice with a new slant on things. This book is filled with dark humour, unique characters and was a thoroughly enjoyable read. It is the kind of book that makes you take note of the author and keeps your eyes open for more of their writing. I am a big fan of characters and characterization, and there are plenty of those here. In particular the inquisitor Sand dan Glokta and the barbarian Logen Ninefingers ("the Bloody Nine") are delightful, and there are lots more greats in addition to those two. The barbarian archetype has always been one of my faves, and Logen is fantastic. Imagine a barbarian who's really quite sick of being one. Logen Ninefingers and Naiur ur Skiotha fromt the 'Prince of Nothing' series are two of my top recent additions to 'barbarian lore'. In any case, this book is well worth your time if you enjoy the genre and would like to read something a little different and fresh.