This tale took its time, and it was mostly time well used. The blade itself is exactly why i believe in second chances. Coinciding with the announcement of the new ios game infinity blade 2, chair today launched infinity blade. The beginning is good and the end works well, but the middle sections have a whole lot of wheel turning. Why was the book, pale fire, used in the blade runner 2049. The book is a slow burn, which should not be confused with boring.
Marcus sakey is a firsttime author who successfully jumpstarts his first book, the blade itself. With the blade itself, youll find yourself rewinding a lot because so much of the book is boring nonsense youll have to relisten to chapters to catch the one important detail you missed. Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. If you are truly set on getting into this series, id recommend reading a plot summary somewhere and then starting on book 2. I had read elantris, mistborn, a song of ice and fire, and the kingkiller chronicle. Nov 15, 2016 the blade itself was the first kindle book i had ever read with the reading progress turned off. It was first published in may 2006 by gollancz in the uk, with an american edition following from pyr books. In other words, the blade itself felt like a prequel, in the best way possible. The blade itself by joe abercrombie the critiquing chemist. It removes the oftendepressing feeling of how this story can be possibly be wrapped up in the last few pages. The blade itself is the first book of the first law trilogy.
After finishing my second readthrough of the blade itself, im finally ready to share my thoughts on it. Aug 07, 20 welcome to the officially unofficial reread of joe abercrombies the blade itself, and, unless i do something horrifically offensive, eventually the entire first law trilogy. Origin of quote in abercrombies the blade itself science. Rereading joe abercrombies first law trilogy, the blade. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the blade itself the first law trilogy book 1. Fear not joe, some decent director is bound to come along and take up the mantle soon. The first novel in the first law trilogy and debut novel from new york times bestseller joe abercrombie. The second reason why joe abercrombies the blade itself is such an enjoyable book to read is the writing, which reminded me of scott lynchs gentlemen bastard sequence. I say might because the real appeal of the book is the characters and not a one of them has much in the way of positive virtues. The book starts with logen ninefingers fleeing from a group of flatheads, and i was hooked from the getgo. Juxtaposing between the perspectives of several characters it does become a little confusing at times as you try to get to know the characters as well as taking in all the world building. He is caught in murderous conspiracies and old scores, along with captain jezal dan luthar, inquisitor glokta and the wizard bayaz, who all must try to survive the coming war.
It cant be helped to compare the trilogy to the song of ice and fire game of thrones series in its depth of detail, its rollcall of wonderful characters. The blade itself is the first book of the first law trilogy, which is an epic supernatural fantasy adventure. The half a king series wasnt great though if im honest, first book ok, couldnt finish the second. Caught up in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but some bad songs, a few dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. A promising start to a new fantasy series by a new writer. Redemption and other infinity blade products on the official site. The first law trilogy by joe abercrombie goodreads. Sep 08, 2015 the first novel in the first law trilogy and debut fantasy novel from new york times bestseller, joe abercrombie. Googling also finds many mentions of this quote, but i have the johnston and fagles translations of the odyssey and i cannot find the quote. At first glance, the book has a similarity to many other fantasies currently doing the rounds. Ferro, a former slave from the unions rival nation of gurkhul with a grudge against her former owners. The blade itself is the first novel in the first law trilogy and was joe abercrombies first novel. The title of the first book is taken from a quote by homer in the odyssey. They live in great numbers in the darkest corners of the circle of the world, especially the north.
Logen, a barbarian from the north possessed by demons who cause him to go berserk in the heat of battle. He is a full time writer, and occasional freelance film editor, who lives in bath, england with his wife and three children. The blade itself is the first novel in joe abercrombies first law trilogy and features several primary point of view characters including. Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It has been fairly hyped up in my opinion, and that made it an easier choice for the next series for me to dig into. The blade itself by joe abercrombie is the first book in the first law trilogy and it is definitely the first book in a series. The title of the second book references a quote by heinrich heine. The blade itself was the first kindle book i had ever read with the reading progress turned off. The blade itself the first law 1 book summary and study guide. Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian leaving nothing behind him but bad. He does this with a nod to dennis lehanes mystic river, which is never a bad.
Ive seen this series recommended a lot throughout all of the fantasy aficionado groups. Slower pacing can be incredibly effective if all the scenes have great character development and purpose. It cant be helped to compare the trilogy to the song of ice and fire game of thrones series in its depth of detail, its rollcall of wonderful characters, hidden plots and agendas, and fantasy dimensions. The trilogy centers on the fortunes of a variety of characters as they navigate through these and other conflicts.
The final book in the trilogy the last argument of kings will be released in the uk in march 2008, and the second book in the trilogy before they are hanged will be released in the u. Redemption will be available where other digital books are sold beginning september 9th. Well thrones went quite well and if anyone applies the right amount of funds and skill to put this on the big or small screen they might well have a winner. Usually, it is the second book in a series that is at most danger of falling into the rhythms of a chess games, however i didnt find the pacing and posturing in the blade itself irksome in the least as it was helpful in establishing abercrombies new literary. The blade itself does have plenty of typical features of the epic fantasy genre, such as the identityless, orclike shanka overrunning the far north, the evil prophet sending evil cannibal mages on evil missions, and the varied group of people preparing to go on a vital and dangerous quest led by an old wizard. Logen gets separated from his travelling group and each assumes the other died.
Jezal, an arrogant young swordsman fighting for the union kingdom. An apelike creature, with twisted clawlike hands at the end. If youre humour is as black as mine, and you dont mind if a character gets an axe to the head occasionally, then this series is for you. Joe abercrombie is the new york times bestselling author of the heroes, best served cold, red country and the first law trilogy. Welcome to the officially unofficial reread of joe abercrombies the blade itself, and, unless i do something horrifically offensive, eventually the entire first law trilogy.
The king of the northmen and a road between two dentists justin landon wed oct 2, 20 1. It is the story contained within the blade itself, however, that is the star here. May 10, 2012 the blade itself is the first in abercrombies excellent first law trilogy. To say the book is poor mans a song of ice and fire doesnt do it justice. Mar 08, 2007 the blade itself was up there behind game of thrones. Read free book excerpt from the blade itself by marcus sakey, page 1 of 6. The allnew literary adventure delves more deeply into the fantastical fiction of the infinity blade video games, to uncover a world of mystery and intrigue where magic and technology are. The blade itself the first law trilogy book 1 kindle edition by abercrombie, joe. It was published by gollancz in 2006 and was followed by two other books in the first law trilogy he moved into television production before taking up a career as a freelance film editor. The blade itself, joe abercrombies debut novel, is the first book in the first law trilogy. Book one of the first law the blade itself incites to deeds of violence. Jan 04, 2007 marcus sakey is a firsttime author who successfully jumpstarts his first book, the blade itself. The blade itself by joe abercrombie ive seen this series recommended a lot throughout all of the fantasy aficionado groups. Blade itself was one of the rare cases of a dnf for me that i later picked up and devoured on a second attempt.
It cant be helped being compared to the song of ice and fire game of thrones series in its depth of detail, its rollcall of wonderful characters, hidden plots and agendas, and fantasy dimensions. But never mind, blade itself more than makes up for that. The first novel in the first law trilogy and debut fantasy novel from new york times bestseller, joe abercrombie. According to the same book, the baseline test, as we see it in the film, was largely developed by gosling himself in. But carter escapes, and thanks to an ultimatum by karen, his lady love, he gets out of the life. May 04, 2006 the blade itself is the first book of the first law trilogy, which is an epic supernatural fantasy adventure. The king of the northmen and a road between two dentists justin landon wed oct 2. Caught in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarianleaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead. The blade itself the blade itself audiobook, by joe abercrombie. In the first volume of joe abercrombies first law trilogy the title of the first book the blade itself is attributed to a quote from the odyssey by homer the blade itself incites to deeds of violence.
The blade itself takes the hard work of the trilogy by being the setup book, slowly introducing all the characters and their motivations, and bringing them all together for one reason or another. The shanka, or flatheads, are a bestial and wild humanoid race reminiscent of orcs or trolls. The blade itself is the first of the first law trilogy, which is an epic supernatural fantasy adventure. The blade itself takes the hard work of the trilogy by being the setup book, slowly introducing all the characters and their motivations, and bringing them. The blade itself audiobook is one of the best fantasy novels ive had the pleasure to listen to. When i first read this book four years ago, i had very little adult fantasy under my belt. Falling into the category of high or epic fantasy, joe abercrombies the blade itself is the first book in the trilogy the first law. Jun 05, 2019 the blade itself by joe abercrombie my rating.
What did you think of the blade itself first law book 1. The second is in the south between the union and the gurkish empire, who attempt to annex the union city of dagoska. Written by uk author joe abercrombie, the book is a realistic, brutal and bloody look at the fantastic. The blade itself the first law trilogy book 1 kindle. The shanka are something between a man and an animal. The blade itself was up there behind game of thrones. No one likes to shake hands with the man who empties the latrine pits either, but pits have to be emptied all the same. Sep 08, 2015 the blade itself was the first kindle book i had ever read with the reading progress turned off. According to abercrombies blog, the last argument of kings will most likely be released in the. Mar 11, 2008 fear not joe, some decent director is bound to come along and take up the mantle soon. Rereading joe abercrombies first law trilogy, the blade itself. Therere a lot of similarities between the two though, traitorous political struggle, extremely flawed characters, a great evil looming over the land yet people eithe. Logen ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck.
In the book the art and soul of blade runner 2049, actor ryan gosling says the script did not specify what the significance of the nabokov quote in the baseline test was. Honestly, some of the plot and setting fell short for me. It took me a while to get hooked on any of the characters, but once i started to see where abercrombie was going with things around the 50% mark, it really took off. The blade itself, before they are hanged, and last argument of kings. The burglary does indeed go badly, at least for mcgann, who winds up doing hard time in a hard place. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the blade itself. Caught up in one feud too many, hes on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian, leaving nothing behind but some bad songs, a. During a break between jobs he began writing the blade itself in 2002, completing it in 2004. Infamous logen ninefingers has finally run out of luck. Oct 02, 20 rereading joe abercrombies first law trilogy, the blade itself. Jul 21, 2009 the blade itself is the first book of the first law trilogy. They are hostile towards everyone and everything, attacking villages and travellers. The blade itself is the first in abercrombies excellent first law trilogy. Jun 09, 2006 the blade itself by joe abercrombie gollancz.
173 1400 183 304 768 267 766 593 797 1442 868 1025 540 499 307 1362 1442 1434 529 41 453 1387 403 163 55 575 1396 264 1093 1063 760 524 1466 1420 1068 974 1347 662 1014 743