The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
The First Law series has been on my radar for a long time. It’s one of those Fantasy series that seems to stand out as a favorite amongst Readers.
After completing this, I can absolutely see why.
With a lush, Grimdark Fantasy setting, extremely well-constructed characters, magic and a ton of intrigue, I was fully immersed within this story when I was reading it.
Even when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I had no clue where the story was going, but was perfectly content to sit back and let Abercrombie’s genius wash over me.
In this first book, the main cast of characters is introduced and we watch as the spheres of their worlds begin to merge.
Logen, Bayaz, Glokta and Jezal were all incredibly compelling. Each one of their stories was one that I wanted to know more about. Often, I feel like character work can be uneven; like there are characters you are more drawn to than others. In this case, I loved each and every one of them!
There is a lot of ground work being laid in this novel, but in spite of that, it never felt like a slog. It always felt exciting and important.
I really enjoyed the level of magic that Abercrombie included. It wasn’t overdone, or relied upon too heavily as a plot device, but I feel like we are just scratching the surface of the powers available in this world.
I love how this ended up, with the intrigue higher than ever and it appears we are heading out on a quest. One of my favorite tropes in Fantasy.
I cannot wait to get to the next book!!!
