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The Blade Itself

The First Law: Book One

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The Blade Itself

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain and shallow, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men. And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it.

But as he's discovering, old habits die hard....especially when Bayaz gets involved. An 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 Glokta, Jezal, and Logen a whole lot more difficult....

©2010 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group Fantasy Fiction Scary Thought-Provoking Emotionally Gripping Combat Sports

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All stars
Most relevant
Okay, let me presume you are here because you like fantasy and you are looking to start a new series. Perhaps you've heard some of your friends raving about Joe Abercrombie, or you have seen some glowing praise from the critics. However, you have been done this road before. There is so much of it out there. Is this really worth getting and using a precious credit?

Yes. Don't even hesitate my friend.

Everything you heard was right, and then some!

I am not going to detail here about the hysterically dark humour, or Crombie's gorgeous turn-of-phrase. I'm not going to bore you with recounting epic tales, with a myriad of twists and turns. Or even try to convince you that you will meet some of the best realised fantasy characters ever to grace the page. I am not going to patronise you by stating that on top of everything, the narrator is one of the very best voice artists. A man who can evoke a character perfectly with his voice.

Although all of this is true, I am not going to do a review. Simply because I am jealous of you. Yes, jealous that you are about to go on a journey which is most glorious taken on its maiden voyage. You are in for a very rare treat indeed.

Trust me on this, and get this book. You can thank me another day.

You are so lucky!

You are so lucky! Just a sec and I'll explain.....

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'The Blade Itself' is a top drawer fantasy novel which shows Joe Abercrombie's skill in story telling. It keeps the reader interested till the very last page and leaves you with hungering for more. The main characters are complex individuals, each with a past that has shaped and damaged them, each full of intrigue and depth. They are not the heroes you are falling for but they are fighters that you look up to.

Steven Pacey's narration is superb and it is only fair to give him a 5 star plus. Looking back I wish he narrated some of the other fantasy series, he is that good. It is satisfying to know that one person can become so many different characters and do it so well.
This book is full of charisma and I look forward to seeing how the action develops in the rest of the series.

Medieval fantasy in a superb yarn!

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The first in the series - if you don't want to read the next instalment - you are really hard to please - excellent book and narration. My only gripe - I've finished the whole saga and feel bereft! :(

Excellent!

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Steven paceys narration is just on another level. The way glokta has a lisp but when he is thinking it’s gone is just genius. And I found myself laughing out loud at his descriptions of battle , his timing and tone are just impeccable . The book too is just fantastic !

Best narration ever !!

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I've listened to plenty of audio books I like to rate them but not to do reviews as they are good what I call a time passer while doing automatic things that dont require full concentration but not that good I want to say something... except in this case the value of a book is the story teller...Steven Pacey is a good narrator but Joe Abercrombie has written an excellent story... I've come to the end of this 22 hour book wanting more what's going to happen to Glokta, Logen Ninefingers,First of the Magi, and so many more.. which shows that this book has mind hooks for this reason I'm getting book 2 Before They Are Hanged in the hope this doesnt turn out to be dissapointing as some series.
Thank you Steven Pacey for the attenntion/detail/effort you place in narrating this book.
Thank you Joe Abercrombie for such excellent characters and story line

the value of a book is the story for me it's 5*

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