My favourite is Sand dan Glotka, a former knight/fencing champion. As seems to be the rule rather the exception in fantasy these days, we have multiple protagonists. What is my story now, I wonder?īut let’s talk about the characters.
It’s good, but there is precious little about The Blade Itself which feels, to me, unique.Īlso, it’s a struggle to say that this book tackles any complex themes, and the title set me up to expect them.Įvery man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be. The Blade Itself reads like some scenes from A Game of Thrones, mixed with the wry tone of The Broken Empire, plus a little of J.V. Or at least make a show of combining the same old tropes in a new way. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but for me, a high rating book has to feel distinct. I do see why it is popular, but I don’t think this book does much any fantasy fan won’t have seen before. To be honest, The Blade Itself avoids most of the common pitfalls of the genre, and it doesn’t read as though Abercrombie is trying too hard. Also, the fantasy elements sit in that sweet spot of being interesting without overindulging the writer. The world-building is inoffensive, the characters have some flesh, and it sets up the rest of the trilogy without losing a good pace to the dirge of exposition. The blade itself incites to deeds of violence – The Odyssey, Homer Classical references are (in my world) always a win, and this one goes the extra mile by actually fitting the tone of the book, rather than existing because it sounds cool. Fantasy offers up so many daft, wet titles that I’ve gotten used to overlooking them, but I particularly liked this one. As with most books in this genre, it is violent and short on moral fibre. It shelves under grimdark – gritty, with a ‘characters I care about might actually die’ vibe. The Blade Itself is the first in a fantasy trilogy. Did you like this book, Deanna? Yes, I suppose I did.
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