Ive never been able to get into the elf, dwarf and dragon thing. Novels in the first law world best served cold the heroes red country. It cant be helped being compared to the song of ice and fire game of thrones series in its depth of detail, its rollcall of wonderful characters, hidden plots and agendas, and fantasy dimensions. The blade itself is the first novel in the first law trilogy and was joe abercrombies first novel.
His standalone novels best served cold, the heroes and red country are also set in the first law world. The first law books centre on strong characters and how their. Brother to the only man who talks while breathing in, will not affect you too much mr abercrombie. May 10, 2012 the blade itself is the first in abercrombies excellent first law trilogy. Its often forgotten that novels like john fords web of angels 1980 or even philip k.
Oct 17, 2015 the blade itself centres around an ensemble cast who ultimately spend the course of the book all heading towards their meeting at the end of the book. I like them so much that when i got to the end of the second book and found out the third book wasnt. The blade itself ebook by joe abercrombie rakuten kobo. Joe abercrombie is the new york times bestselling author of the heroes, best served cold, red country and the first law trilogy. The blade itself download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The series kicked off by this book subverts and comments on several tropes that. Mar 08, 2007 the blade itself is a pageturner powered by a combination of fastpaced action and juicy doses of cynicism. Except for glokta, nobody will do anything remotely interesting. Nov 22, 2019 links to books i talked about in this video these are affiliate links.
Inquisitor glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see jezal come home in a box. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world. Some of the characters are interesting, particularly logen ninefingers, a magic wielding barbarian and inquisitor glockta, a torturer for the kings inquisition. Join us for a reread of joe abercrombies first law fantasy, including the blade itself, before they are hanged, and the last argument of kings.
Jul 03, 2018 not to be confused with dark fantasy, although there is some overlap, grimdark books are for those of us who want morally grey characters and the inevitably morally grey plot lines that ensue. Regardless, i highly suggest that you just take a chance and try the blade itself. It consists of a trilogy, three standalone novels and a number of novellas set in the same world. Mar 11, 2008 in all seriousness though, this new the blade itself to be directed by the mighty forehead of affleck. He does this with a nod to dennis lehanes mystic river, which is never a bad. In other words, the glossy romantic veneer of many traditional fantasy stories is stripped away, leaving behind violence, cynicism, and bleakness. Goodreads members who liked the blade itself the fir. Logen ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck.
It confirmed what we can suspect looking at our bookshelves books are getting bigger, series are getting longer. Perhaps more remarkable, however, is the way abercrombie sets the scene edge magazine theres a fat vein of cynicism and dark humour throughout. If you like the blade itself you might like similar books last argument of kings, before they are hanged, best served cold, the lies of locke lamora, the heroes. Joe abercrombie 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. Whats the story on the south side of chicago, youre only as strong as your reputation. He is a full time writer, and occasional freelance film editor, who lives in bath, england with his wife and three children. I put it down and switched to another series i had lined up and read those and when i was done there i looked at the 2nd and 3rd book sitting on. Then it started to sway from side to side, blood dribbling down its face.
The blade itself by joe abercrombie is an epic fantasy novel published in 2006. Goodreads members who liked the first law trilogy also liked. Lucky that, but then logen reckoned he was due a little luck. Mar 24, 2010 based on a forum post here i tried the blade itself, loved it, and quickly read all four abercrombie books.
In all seriousness though, this new the blade itself to be directed by the mighty forehead of affleck. Logen, a barbarian from the north possessed by demons who cause him to go berserk in the heat of battle. Links to books i talked about in this video these are affiliate links. Joe abercrombie is a name i came across exploring a best fantasy books list and i thought i would give the trilogy a go. Sep 02, 2010 i would like to apologize to joe if i came out as offensive. It cant be helped to compare the trilogy to the song of ice and fire game of thrones series in its depth of detail, its rollcall of wonderful characters, hidden plots and agendas, and fantasy dimensions. He is a full time writer, and occasional freelance film editor, who lives in bath with his wife and daughters. The blade itself is the first of the first law trilogy, which is an epic supernatural fantasy adventure. Lotr, conan, even dune look like dwarfs next to malazan, wot and even dresden.
It was published by gollancz in 2006 and was followed by two other books in the first law trilogy he moved into television production before taking up a career as a freelance film editor. Jezal, an arrogant young swordsman fighting for the union kingdom. January 25, 2016 january 16, 2016 lindsey 3 comments. Danny carter and his best friend evan earned theirs knocking over pawnshops and liquor stores, living from score to score, never thinking of tomorrowuntil, in the roar of a gun blast, everything changed. The blade itself is a fantasy novel by joe abercrombie. It was first published in may 2006 by gollancz in the uk, with an american edition following from pyr books. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, the blade itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge. The blade itself by joe abercrombie overdrive rakuten. Because of this, many socalled modern fantasies, such as the a song of ice and fire series by george r. Find books like the blade itself from the worlds largest community of readers. Caught up in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but some bad songs, a few dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Not sure why youre getting downvoted, but i find abercrombie to be quite overrated as well. Axes and maces and so forth are lethal enough, but they hang on the belt like dumb brutes.
Therere a lot of similarities between the two though, traitorous political struggle, extremely flawed characters, a great evil looming over the land yet people eithe. The first novel in the first law trilogy and debut fantasy novel from new york times. This book follows the story of four men and how their lives will intertwine with each other. The blade itself book by joe abercrombie thriftbooks. The blade itself is the first book of the first law trilogy, which is an epic supernatural fantasy adventure. Books similar to the first law trilogy the first law trilogy. Abercrombie has released a little hatred, the first book in a new trilogy set in the first law world which is set after the 3rd stand alone. Find books like the first law trilogy from the worlds largest community of readers.
If you are truly set on getting into this series, id recommend reading a plot summary somewhere and then starting on book 2. For the record, i enjoyed the first law books, but have issues with best served cold not with the writing and pacing but with the glamorizing of violence. First law trilogy the blade itself before they are hanged last argument of kings. The blade itself does have plenty of typical features of the epic fantasy genre, such as the identityless, orc like shanka overrunning the far north, the evil prophet sending evil cannibal mages on evil missions, and the varied group of people preparing to go on a vital and dangerous quest led by an old wizard. Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian leaving nothing behind him but bad. The blade itself by joe abercrombie book 1 in the first law grimdark fantasy series, 2006. Nothing seems out of place, no stone is left unturned, and no death or assault will be in vain, neither will the tears shed nor the trauma experienced from those violent acts. Then it dropped like a stone, dragging the axe from logens fingers, thrashing around on the ground at. The blade itself, before they are hanged, and last argument of kings. Six books into abercrombies world the shanka remain completely unexplored. Theres the eversuspicious inquisitor glotka, once a famous swordsman turned torturer for the king after his own torture which crippled him. C fantasy author joe abercrombies first foray into graphic novels, the blade itself, based on his first law series of novels, is a bit of a disappointment. Seven years ago you stood in a dark room over the bleeding body of man writhing. The blade itself audiobook written by joe abercrombie.
Rereading joe abercrombies first law trilogy, the blade itself. This ones the first of the first law trilogy the first law being dont let them get wet. So if you like the black company but wonder what it would be like if the characters were battleloving aristocrats, this is your book. If the op didnt like the first book, im not sure youll like the others. Campbell award and the david gemmell legend awards. During a break between jobs he began writing the blade itself in 2002, completing it in 2004. This is only the first book, but i think he has earned his place on the list. Perhaps more remarkable, however, is the way abercrombie sets the scene, edge magazine theres a fat vein of cynicism and dark humour throughout. The blade itself is both a character study and a way to set the background for what will certainly come in the next two books. Welcome to the officially unofficial reread of joe abercrombies the blade itself, and, unless i do something horrifically offensive, eventually the entire first law trilogy. You have to keep in mind that it fits the mold of a genre book, so dont expect to be reading updike or stegner.
I ordered the 2nd and 3rd books in the trilogy immediately upon putting it down. As far as fantasy novels go, this is a relatively recent one, released in 2006. The blade itself is a rousing new entry in the fantasy genre and book. The first law is a fantasy series written by british author joe abercrombie. I included this novel because it features a hero who 1 has posttraumatic stress disorder and doesnt shy away from that and 2 is explicitly queer, which sadly is still rare in this subgenre. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Mar 12, 2017 fantasy author joe abercrombies first foray into graphic novels, the blade itself, based on his first law series of novels, is a bit of a disappointment. The first law trilogy by joe abercrombie goodreads. The blade itself is the first book in the first law series. It has been fairly hyped up in my opinion, and that made it an easier choice for the next series for me to dig into. Theres not a whole lot more you could ask for in a wonderfullywritten book like this. Both of these series feature great characterization, good writing, and a bareknuckle, realistic approach to fantasy, as opposed to much of the high fantasy work out there. The blade itself has everything i look for these days in a fantasy novel.
The blade itself the first law 1 book summary and study guide. I can see why publishers and authors may see that as a good thing the long series keep reader invested longer but as a reader im a bit tired. With the blade itself, youll find yourself rewinding a lot because so much of the book is boring nonsense youll have to relisten to chapters to catch the one important detail you missed. Logen ninefingers, a barbarian on the run from an exemployer whos now king of the north, finds his loyalties complicated when he switches sides and becomes a valuable source of intel to the beleaguered union. The blade itself is realistic, crafty, violent, and smoothlypaced. Goodreads members who liked the blade itself also liked. The blade itself is the first novel in joe abercrombies first law trilogy and features several primary point of view characters including. The blade itself by joe abercrombie ive seen this series recommended a lot throughout all of the fantasy aficionado groups. The first novel in the first law trilogy and debut fantasy novel from new york times bestseller, joe abercrombie. The ending of the 3rd book is the beginning of the 1st in a sense, the game.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the blade itself. The blade itself is just awful, with most of the characters being boring and flat, and i found the women to be terribly underdeveloped. Writing for the guardian, author jon courtenay grimwood said that for once, the novel comes close to living up to its publishers hype, 11 and strange horizonss siobhan carroll said that fans of characterdriven epics who are willing to take their heroes with a grain of moral. Arguable the series that kickstarted the modern grimdark book trend, the ending of a game of thrones shocked many readers when it killed a viewpoint character that in another fantasy would have been the hero to overcome all difficulties and save the kingdom in peril. It removes the oftendepressing feeling of how this story can be possibly be wrapped up in the last few pages. He collapsed like hed been dropped from a great height. Joe abercrombies debut, the first of a planned trilogy 2nd book is already out in the uk, packs a lot of action in a refreshingly for fantasy readers short space. The blade itself skip to main search results amazon prime. The story features many characters seen in previous first law novels like. I kind of worry that the need for maps is part of a mindset that id like. If you like mystery suspense thrillers, this is almost as good as it gets. British newcomer abercrombie fills his muddled swordandsorcery series opener with black humor and reluctant heroes. Aug 07, 20 welcome to the officially unofficial reread of joe abercrombies the blade itself, and, unless i do something horrifically offensive, eventually the entire first law trilogy.
The action scenes are fastpaced and the violence takes its toll both mentally and. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. To say the book is poor mans a song of ice and fire doesnt do it justice. A pulitzer prize winner, the blade covers toledos news, sports, weather and entertainment scene, including most of northwest ohio and southeast michigan. Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. You are basically given an ending to set up more books set in the world, like it was all. So joe abercrombie is a giant in the fantasy genre, but ive been putting off reading his books for ages. The first law looking for books like abercombies trilogy science. So, now im ready to continue my foray into fantasy. His novels have been shortlisted for the world fantasy awards, british fantasy awards, john w.
Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends. If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through. I always imagined a film or series being called the first law with the subtitle the blade itself or before theyre hanged. If you buy through these links, i get a small percentage of the sale. Blade itself logen ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck.
Unless corrected by the author the map posted by will june 3rdlooks about right to me. Martin or the wheel of time series by robert jordan set up a vast wall of expectations toward this and other newer fantasy books. The blade itself by joe abercrombie world of books. The blade itself is a pageturner powered by a combination of fastpaced action and juicy doses of cynicism. Joe abercrombie is the author of the first law trilogy the blade itself, before they are hanged and last argument of kings. Click download or read online button to get the blade itself book now. This book was the beginning of many joe abercrombie books that ive read. The blade itself was the first kindle book i had ever read with the reading progress turned off. Rereading joe abercrombies first law trilogy, the blade. Everything you need to know about the blade itself movie. It has nothing do with unlikeable antiheroes full of flaws, you simply wont like most of the cast at this point because they are not doing anything remarkable, which makes. First law trilogy the blade itself before they are hanged last argument of kings for more from joe abercrombie, check out. Can some of you recommend books that are similar to abercrombies style. The three volume edition collecting the blade itself, before they are hanged and the last argument of kings.