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The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Jul. 17th, 2017 11:28 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught up in one feud too many he’s about to become a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but bad songs and dead friends.
Jezal dan Luthar, paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than winning glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glotka, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box.. But then he hates everyone. Cutting treason out of the heart of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendships – and his latest trail of corpses could lead straight to the rotten heart of government … if he can just stay alive long enough to follow it …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Joe Abercrombie’s debut fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) cleverly twists the genre’s conventions (the quest, wizards, dashing swordsmen and berserker barbarians) and makes them his own, Glotka is an excellent anti-hero with a lot of promise and the world building is strong but the wide cast and multiple plot strands gave this book a set-up feel and, regrettably, the female characters lack the nuance of their male counterparts.
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught up in one feud too many he’s about to become a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but bad songs and dead friends.
Jezal dan Luthar, paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than winning glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glotka, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box.. But then he hates everyone. Cutting treason out of the heart of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendships – and his latest trail of corpses could lead straight to the rotten heart of government … if he can just stay alive long enough to follow it …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Joe Abercrombie’s debut fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) cleverly twists the genre’s conventions (the quest, wizards, dashing swordsmen and berserker barbarians) and makes them his own, Glotka is an excellent anti-hero with a lot of promise and the world building is strong but the wide cast and multiple plot strands gave this book a set-up feel and, regrettably, the female characters lack the nuance of their male counterparts.
