The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)

Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. 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 Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Savage, 2008-11-19
While I admit that the characters are entertaining, the pace lively, and the style impressive; this books greatest achievement is its sheer savagery. For the scenes of Glotka torturing, the northmen rampaging, and best of all Logen's battle sequence, this book is worth your $15. This is the sort of book that makes you want to beat your chest with fury when you turn the final pages. The only fight sequence that compares in my opinion is The Mountain vs The Viper from Storm of Swords. Good Job Joe!


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Intriguing and attention holding, 2008-11-16
I picked up this book and found it hard to put down. It seems that Joe Abercrombie is good at making fight scenes in a book real in the mind. Some of the characters are ruthless and some are kind-hearted, but all are fascinating. Even the baddies don't seem so bad when we hear their thoughts and see what they've gone through, but we still want them to go down (but at least maybe take one or two people with them). The book is fun and I would recommend it to anyone. I didn't buy it, but rather have checked it out from my local library due to the fact that I'm too poor right now to buy books :).


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great...best hard driving new fantasy out there, 2008-11-12
In short you can not go wrong with the First Law Series. Fianly a series that stays on a good track with out many pages of world building.


1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

the most stupid sentence that I've read, 2008-11-11
This book has one of the most stupid sentence I have read in a book . Jezal say in page 68 "he couldn't afford to be seen walking.. with a fat girl on his arm. I't could ruin his reputation".

As a fat girl I thanks mister Abercrombie ,because I not going to buy the other two books , perhaps if a fat girl like me read his books could ruin his reputation .






0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A Gritty, Bloody, and Character Driven Fantasy, 2008-10-31
This is a strong entry into the fantasy genre. Abercrombie's character driven narrative excels. This book has plenty of blood and gritty realism. Abercrombie is a polished writer and has created some very interesting (and flawed) characters that feel like real people. Abercrombie also does a great job of world building and leaves you chomping at the bit to read the next installment. To top it off, the pacing of the book is strong. An excellent read, and a must read for any fantasy fan. Highly recommended.

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