Blade Itself : Collector's Tenth Anniversary Limited Edition

Fun read with a grim grin.

I took a punt on buying the first book of The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie based upon the favourable reviews, not least from George RR Martin who said he was "terrific" - if the author of the utterly brilliant Game of Thrones saga is giving plaudits to another author of the same genre, he must be doing something right!Having just completed the book, I was not disappointed - great, deep characters, some gritty violence and solid, believable and engaging plot line. There is also a good dose of black humour, not too much so as to make it comical, but enough to solicit a grim laugh - I genuinely laughed out loud at a few points reading the novel. Sardonic is probably the best description, a trait that is fairly prevalent with many of the characters, in particular Glokta (my favourite) who is one of the best characters I have come across in a book for years - a torturer, who has himself been tortured to the point of being rendered a cripple. His back story (along with the other main protagonists) slowly unwinds and really keeps you wanting to find out more about why he, and everyone else, became the people they are. Excellent.Its very hard to not compare to GOT, it reads in a similar way, and has the same kind of "feel", but is very much independent and absolutely a novel of it's own merit - they are comparable yes, but this is absolutely not a GOT rip-off. An interesting style that Abercrombie has is he puts his characters thoughts (as well as their dialogue) into prose, this is a really nice touch and gives the characters real depth as you get an insight into each of their psyches.I could blab on loads about the plot but I wont - if you are reading this, then you are looking to see if this is worth a read - it most definitely is and I've not enjoyed a book as much as this for a long time - so much so that as soon as I finished this I ordered the 2nd and 3rd books in the trilogy immediately upon putting it down.Really, really good read - dark, violent, intelligent, humorous and relatable - if you like adult fantasy novels, you'll absolutely love this, guaranteed

Great book. Memorable characters, full of violence, gore, action, and reflection. There is a little lack of plot but that time is invested in the characters like Inquisitor Glotka. Make yourselves a favor and buy this book.

It's good, likeable characters, loathsome antagonists , and a story that introduces the world and its politics as well as different stages of development for the characters and the world as it progresses.

Je ne connaissais pas cet auteur mais j'ai eu une très bonne surprise avec ce premier livre d'une série de trois.Abercrombie a un style agréable, direct et il parvient à nous faire aimer des personnages pas vraiment sympathiques. J'ai en particulier apprécié l'humour plein d'ironie de certains personnages.Il y a quelques scènes qui sont tout de même un peu difficiles ou qui pourraient eventuellement ne pas convenir à un jeune public. Je situerais la moyenne d'âge à 14 ans comme étant le meilleur âge pour commencer, suivant la tolérance des enfants ou des parents (bien entendu).Bref, un auteur à 'surveiller' je dirais parce que si la suite est aussi prometteuse alors il doit totalement figurer dans votre liste à lire.