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  • The Blade Itself

  • The First Law: Book One
  • By: Joe Abercrombie
  • Narrated by: Steven Pacey
  • Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (8,514 ratings)
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The Blade Itself cover art

The Blade Itself

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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Summary

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

What listeners say about The Blade Itself

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Possibly My Favourite Listen So Far...

After "Name of the Wind" and "Wise Man's Fear" I thought I'd possibly heard the best I could in the Fantasy genre (so towards the end of WMF I started to get a little sad about what would come next.)

Having since listened to a lot of other good audiobooks - this trilogy (I am nearly at the end of the third book) is brilliant. The story (stories really) are involved and detailed, the characters flawed but engaging - and often very funny. It's such a pleasure to read (listen) to books where I don't find myself questioning the things that happen ("how would he manage that?" "she'd never say that" "how could that work") - the story just unfolds, the characters stay true to their short comings - even as they grow in places. Events are portrayed effortlessly.

All of this is made twice as good by a fantastic performance from Steven Pacey. His reading is such a pleasure to listen to. A large cast, each with distinctive (and similar where appropriate) voices that completely bring the characters to life.

As I come towards the end of the third book (Last Argument of Kings) I am starting to wonder what comes next in my "audiobook life"...

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148 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book, superbly narrated

I very much enjoyed this book.

I dont read such Mediaeval fantasy series as a rule. I would guess that the fantasy backdrop, the structure of the plot and the nature of the characters are not that original.

But this book has three splendid things going for it. First it is very well written - sharp, pacy prose, very well drawn characters, and clever and interesting dialogue, all spiced with plenty of sardonic humour; second, although there is some pretty good action the narrative is very much plot and character driven, - lots of threads to a satisfyingly complicated plot, and you want to know what happens to the people in the story, both goodies and baddies; and third and most important is the narrator Stephen Pacey. I listened to the (free) Audible podcast where he explained that he liked reading audiobooks as he got to play all the characters! Well, he certainly earns his money on this book; expertly paced and varied narration and the huge range of characters is brilliantly drawn and brought to convincing life. He turns what is already a very good book into a great one. If there was an Oscar for narrators he should definitely be on the short list.

This is part 1 of a trilogy and I am looking forward to parts 2 and 3 - also narrated by Stephen Pacey.

A five star listen without a doubt.

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93 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Be warned... herein lies addiction...

and the purchasing of all three books in quick succession.
I was browsing round for something new to listen to and I was intrigued by the glowing reviews.
One download and 30 minutes later I was hooked. Two weeks later I'm downloading book three.

An excellent story, well written and superbly narrated. I cannot fault Steven Pacey in his work. A fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.

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44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A well writen, gritty piece of Fantasy fiction.

Great piece of fiction that is strongly focused around the characters and their stories.
The Fantasy element of this story is not the focus, but does creep into the story as you progress.
I like the way the characters flaws are displayed and the internal conflicts that the main characters experience.
There is also not just one main character, but many, with interwove stories and plots. (Thus the trilogy)

This Fantasy Fiction story is also written from a fresh perspective that feels more real than fantasy, and all the violence, colourful language and intertwining plots make for an Gritty entertaining adventure....and there are 2 more books to follow! Can't wait to start the next book.

PS. The Narrator Steven Pacey is Brilliant. He really does a fantastic job with accents, and dramatization.
The reason I listen to fiction books, (apart from the hands free experience) is because of such narrators that add so much more to an great story.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I am still alive!

Imagine Dumas and Stendhal were thrown into a dungeon and told to knock out something post-Tolkien with beefed-up sordid realism and judicious dashes of cheek and swearing. Their jailers, Robert E Howard and Raymond Chandler, may add a few bon mots should they feel inclined; and, while they're at it, they should also reanimate Arthur C Clarke for a wonderfully strange segment in the middle. Fortunately we have Joe Abercrombie, so you don't have to.

To describe the plot may make it seem like many other fantasy fictions out there, but it isn't. It's not the stuff of doom and gloom either. Bayaz the affable wide boy magus, but woe betide you if you disrupt his bath time, has a cunning plan, the ramifications of which presumably play out over the trilogy. To this end he draws in diverse characters to the capital city of the Union (itself about to enter a war on two fronts). Our adventurers are already on the hop before they are drawn in, and, in some cases, beset by hazards both human and somewhat beyond. And it's the somewhat beyond that interests Bayaz. There are numerous intertwining threads beyond this though that reach out across Abercrombie's world. The characters are skillfully drawn---so much so, that the novel could be regarded as fantasy's The Wire.

Mr Abercrombie, perhaps tapping into his skills as a film editor, brings a seemingly effortless pace to proceedings. There is a sense of reality too: the protagonists seldom leave confrontations unscathed, and even use of magic has a price.

Which brings us to Steven Pacey. His narration is extraordinarily good. The book has a huge cast, and Mr Pacey imbues each and every one of it, including female characters, with a recognisable and believable voice (so much so, I began to wonder if he had smuggled Sean Locke and Pete Postlethwaite, and many more, into the recording sessions). Yes, Mr Pacey deserves an audio-Oscar (and a proper one too).

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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A slow start, but it gets better....

I need to review this trilogy in a oner....

Initially, I found the first book too slow. Too much scene setting and character building for me - I needed more action and kept waiting for it all to come together. However, having completed the trilogy, I now understand why the first book was like it was - and it certainly has its place.

Great second book - all good action and great pace.

Third book, I think, is the best of the trilogy - plenty of pace and the story peaks, as expected, BUT, it ends with too many loose ends. Whilst I get why it ended like it did, I needed more.....I was left feeling as though there needs to be a 4th book where the wrongs can be righted and the bad get their come-uppance.

I'm a massive fan of epic fantasies, and this is just that. It's got loads of action, lots of battle scenes, and plenty of blood and swearing. Not really a "girlie" book (although I have to caveat that with an "I'm a girl and thoroughly enjoyed it" statement). All the characters are well developed, and fairly complex. Interesting how my feelings towards each of them changed as the story progressed and I got to know them better. Is it bizarre that my favourite characters turned out be a torturer and a schizophrenic killer???

If you're a fan of epics, and have a reasonably strong stomach, then this is highly recommended.
But if you start with book one, be prepared to go through all three, and then still feel like you haven't got to the end...

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow.

I bought this one in a sale on the site since I'd run out of audiobooks and it was a while until my next credit came through. I was not in the least disappointed and will definitely be getting the other books in the trilogy. Abercrombie's interesting and well-characterised world is vividly brought to life by Steven Pacey's fantastic narration. With one exception (Captain Luthar, who I disliked strongly throughout the entire book) the protagonists are all interesting, well-formed and sympathetic, and it's a skilled author indeed who can make a torturer into a complex and likeable character. If you like fantasy, check this out. You're unlikely to regret it.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

This is an exciting story with many twists. The characters are beautifully written and totally engrossing.

The reading is perfect.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Superbly written and superbly narrated. A far more intelligent and witty fantasy story than the standard fare; those seeking dwarves, elves or magic rings might be wise to look elsewhere (though there is a smattering of sorcery). I can't recommend it highly enough. Great stuff.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Promise Built on Rock-Solid Foundations

Abercrombie. Somehow it’s a name that puts me in mind of a purveyor of fine goods which is apt really because that’s exactly what this author is. His opener to the series builds a solid base for the remainder of the series to come. Characters are varied and deep, introduced without fanfare and explored in detail. The writing style is tight, direct and simple, not a word is wasted and where a simple one suffices it usually takes precedent over its more flowery synonyms.

It’s written from multiple points of view; the dashing but shallow and stupid noble swordsman, the near cliché arch-mage Bayaz with of course a bad temper and eccentric character, his hopelessly inept assistant and the murderous Logen Ninefingers himself. They and others are all good characters and the world and its machinations promise much too. Fortunately with this being a long book and there being a lot of scene setting we have Steven Pacey to breathe dramatic life into it all as narrator. He is a fine voice actor and oozes characteristics like sarcasm, bitterness and more positive ones too.

The undoubted star of the whole show is the bitter and twisted wreck of an ex-fencing champion; Inquisitor Glokta! He’s a nasty piece of work, make no mistake but seeing things from his point of view imbues understanding. His constant pain and carping about things like stairs are a reader’s joy. He’s a miserable, broken man that wields much power in his role as torturer but yet has crippling weaknesses and a healthy paranoia about his own life chances. He’s clearly going to be a highlight of the series.

So for me, the only likely complaint anyone would have is that there is a lot of time spent for not a huge rate of plot development. Personally, I enjoyed the characters so much that the time flew by. The author has made a huge promise for the rest of the series with this opening book. It’s a very solid foundation so I expect something special to follow!

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12 people found this helpful