The Blade Itself Book Review

My second book review of 2019 and the Letter A in my A-Z Reading Challenge is The Blade Itself  by Joe Abercrombie.

Joe Abercrombie was born in Lancaster, England on December 31st 1974.  While in college in Manchester, he started writing an epic trilogy based around the misadventures of a thinking man's barbarian known as Logen Ninefingers.  It wasn't until 2002 when he returned to Logen Ninefingers after abandoning it years earlier.  In 2004, the first book in the trilogy The Blade Itself was completed.  Sadly it wasn't until 2005 that it was picked up by an agent after multiple failures to be picked up previously.  The sequels in The First Law Trilogy were published in 2007 and 2008.  Joe Abercrombie has also released three standalone novels set in The First Law world.  Along with that he has another series known as the Shattered Sea Series.

The Blade Itself is a multiple Point of View grim dark fantasy.  The story follows the interweaving stories of six characters. Three of these are Main Point of View Characters and the other three are Secondary Point of View Characters.  The three main point of views are:

Logen Ninefingers who is a barbarian who believes his luck has finally run out and death's icy grip is on the horizon.

Jezal dan Luthar who is a vain, selfish nobleman who is only thinking about an upcoming fencing tournament and what winning that will mean for his stature in the world.

Sand dan Glokta who is a former champion swordsman and dashing war hero, who was captured and tortured by the enemy.  Ironically that is exactly the job he has been awarded by the King as an Inquisitor whose job it is to deal with treason cases by using torture to get confessions from prisoners.

Minor Point Of Views include The Dogman who is a member of Logen Ninefingers crew, who believes that Logen is infact dead and he believes the same for his crew. Collem West is the best friend and sparring partner of Jezal dan Luthar in preparation for the fencing tournament.  The penultimate minor character is Bayaz who is The First of the Magi and he encounters Logen when he sends his apprentice  Malacus Quai to bring Logen to meet Bayaz.  They then go on a journey so Bayaz can finally take his place on the closed council as he is First of the Magi.  The final minor Point of View is Maljinn Ferro who is an escaped slave who preys on soldiers without mercy.  She lives in the desert with the dregs of society.

This book is most definitely  a slow burner, that could be because Joe Abercrombie is introducing us to his abundance of characters. Do not get me wrong that is not a negative point towards this book because the characters are so well fleshed out.

At the finale of this book, the seams are bursting with reported conflicts and a bizarre proposed mission that the characters find out are their destinies moving forward.

In conclusion, the sequel to The Blade Itself is set up well and I look forward to meeting these characters again in Before They Are Hanged.

Star Rating: 4 Stars