The Blade Itself

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and the debut novel from New York Times best seller Joe Abercrombie.

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.

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 Glokta 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.

©2015 Joe Abercrombie (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

Exhilarating.... Abercrombie's knack for wit and grit holds your attention throughout, and his eye for character means that there's heart as well as muscle." [ SFX (UK)]

good writing, but nothing happens

it is a good listen, the narration is done well... but there is something missing, a plot.

so long, so little story, and yet...

amazing narration.
Typical of modern fantasy, there are wonderful characters in an interesting world filled with political intrigue; however, the pacing and plot of the story amble a long aimlessly seemingly stumbling to grasp some elements of plot along the way. There is no resolution to the story at any point despite the many hours of narrative. If you're looking for an interesting low-fantasy world and an enjoyable distraction, this book is great. If you're looking for a good story or coherent plot, look elsewhere.

Excellent Start to a Series

Where does The Blade Itself rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This one is up there... I liked the character definition and story line very much and it has me hooked in to getting the next book... and more than likely the third in the series as well.

Any additional comments?

The only thing I believe this book could have done better is in world building. They mention different areas during the different sections of the book but could not get a real feel for where the characters were in the overall scheme of the world.

some of the best voice acting I have ever heard!

some of the best voice acting I've ever heard! Incredible story with Incredible characters! Do yourself a favor and get this book as soon as possible!

Riveting and exciting!

I could not get enough of this book, and will hesitate no longer than writing this review to start the second! Joe Abercrombie paints a world in such detail that it comes to life in the mind's eye, and develops the characters in ways that make it easy to understand where they're coming from, even when you don't want to. Furthermore, Pacey gives such a superb performance! He captures the essence of the characters so perfectly - ALL of the characters from the toothless cripple to the savage north man. 5 star performance hands down!

A fantastic character driven fantasy

Joe Abercrombe creates a vivid and engaging world with a rich cast of characters. His voice throughout the novel is unique and contains a pleasing pinch of humor when appropriate. This is all enhanced by the splendid performance of Steven Pacey who compounds all of Abercrombe's strengths with his impressively diverse voicing talent. I loved the book and am happily about to start the next in the trilogy!

5 Stars Aren't Enough

I keep coming back to this trilogy year after year. I'm an uber driver and listen to audiobooks when I dont have a passenger, so I go through a lot of them, and none compare to The First Law. No other fantasy writer I've encountered can match the humor, psychological insight, or pure poetic turn of phrase that Abercrombie displays here. But what makes this indisputably superior to any other audiobook is Steven Pacey's performance. A few other writers are in Abercrombie's league, but no narrators can compete with Pacey. He brings every line to life. He clearly put in the effort to really understand the story and puts the right inflection into every syllable. This audiobook trilogy is a truly great work of art, and my appreciation of it only grows as I listen to other books, none of which measure up.

As enjoyable as reading

The story and performance were perfect. Just as good as reading it to oneself, but made better with the narrator.

this is a perfect example what can be created

this book is the best example that I've come across so far of what can be created when you mix a brilliant writer with the amazingly talented narrator 👍👍👍👍👍warning after listening to this book you may find all other audio books just not to your standards any longer

Couldn't put it down

I finally got around to listening to this after having it recommended many times. Let me tell you it's so worth it. An absolute masterpiece.