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The Blade Itself
- The First Law: Book One
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
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The Blade Itself
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Summary
Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.
Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain and shallow, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men. And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it.
But as he's discovering, old habits die hard....especially when Bayaz gets involved. An 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 Glokta, Jezal, and Logen a whole lot more difficult....
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What listeners say about The Blade Itself
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Harry McCart
- 28-06-21
You are so lucky! Just a sec and I'll explain.....
Okay, let me presume you are here because you like fantasy and you are looking to start a new series. Perhaps you've heard some of your friends raving about Joe Abercrombie, or you have seen some glowing praise from the critics. However, you have been done this road before. There is so much of it out there. Is this really worth getting and using a precious credit?
Yes. Don't even hesitate my friend.
Everything you heard was right, and then some!
I am not going to detail here about the hysterically dark humour, or Crombie's gorgeous turn-of-phrase. I'm not going to bore you with recounting epic tales, with a myriad of twists and turns. Or even try to convince you that you will meet some of the best realised fantasy characters ever to grace the page. I am not going to patronise you by stating that on top of everything, the narrator is one of the very best voice artists. A man who can evoke a character perfectly with his voice.
Although all of this is true, I am not going to do a review. Simply because I am jealous of you. Yes, jealous that you are about to go on a journey which is most glorious taken on its maiden voyage. You are in for a very rare treat indeed.
Trust me on this, and get this book. You can thank me another day.
You are so lucky!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
- Craig Thorne
- 15-07-19
Awesome
An an awesome start to an awesom trilogy, set in an awesome world full of awesome characters, narrated by an awesome actor and written by an awesome author.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr
- 14-07-19
joe abercrombie.....2nd time round
quality. witty. more entertaining than GOT ....have this series and going back round again. narrator Stephen pacey is a talented fellow
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen S.
- 18-05-19
an all time favorable of mine.
complex characters no good guys and the real villains are hard to spot. one of the rare books that I listen too more than once.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bumblecat
- 06-01-17
excellent book
loved the book. the story sucks you in and leaves you wanting more. the way the performer pronounces grimaced gets a little irritating though.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dawn Greenwood
- 20-04-17
Truly a great start
Great first book now to the second. The performance is masterfully delivered. One of my favorites.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Stanbridge
- 18-05-16
A world of intrigue violence, dark humour, awash
The inquisitor cunning devious with a bent to getting the truth you will love him!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Marko
- 04-01-14
Good fantasy, but missing a few stuff
What did you like best about this story?
The plot itself is really interesting and is what kept me to the book.
Which character – as performed by Steven Pacey – was your favourite?
Performance of the characters is great, but none of the characters struck me as a favorite, because of the story side.
Any additional comments?
The book is good and I recommend it to anyone who wants a good fantasy. The story is great, but the thing I mostly resent to it are the characters. They are not correctly defined, and they do not have a clearly defined personalities.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mr
- 28-11-13
Start of an adventure
What made the experience of listening to The Blade Itself the most enjoyable?
It is read fantastically making the characters immediately recognisable, it is a slow paced book that feels like the start of a larger story, (which it is), rather then a stand alone book. It creates an engaging group of characters who are I enticing and varied.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Nine fingers or the bloody nine. He is a very interesting charictor
Which scene did you most enjoy?
The fencing tournament
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
It begins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M
- 02-08-13
Fantastic characters
Who was your favorite character and why?
San Dan Glokta. The most twisted and likable character. I really enjoyed every part of the story with him in.
What does Steven Pacey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
It was a fantastic story but Steven Pacey made it one of the best series of books I've ever listened to. He's a first class narrator.
Any additional comments?
I listened to the entire first law trilogy. It started of excellent and somehow got better and better in the 2nd and 3rd installments.Not my usual genre but I'm glad I picked it up. I'm a Joe Abercrombie fan now.
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