The workmanlike plot, marred by repetitive writing and an excess of torture and pain, is given over to introducing the mostly unlikable characters, only to send them off on separate paths in preparation for the next volume's adventures.Consignment Set - This is a matching numbered set, each signed and numbered on the limitaion page. Foppish Jezal, a preternaturally excellent swordsman, manages to win the contest to become the Union champion, thanks to a little help from Bayaz, a mage with his own agenda. Glokta, a torture victim turned torturer, gets roped into securing the Union's position against both the invading Northmen and the incompetent Union king and council, and ruthlessly wields his skills in attempts to weed out traitors. Logen Ninefingers, a barbarian on the run from an ex-employer who's now king of the North, finds his loyalties complicated when he switches sides and becomes a valuable source of intel to the beleaguered Union.

Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.īritish newcomer Abercrombie fills his muddled sword-and-sorcery series opener with black humor and reluctant heroes. 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. 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. 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.Įnter the wizard, Bayaz. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules. 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.

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. Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie.

Joe abercrombie the blade itself series