Eat any good books lately?

[Potato]

Speaking of “The First Law” I just finished The Blade Itself. I have to say, it was really good. Humor in the fantasy genre normally falls pretty flat for me and is often actually quite dreadful (looking at you Sanderson) but I got a laugh from almost every page of this book. Glokta was the star of the show but I enjoyed all of the POVs and honestly even the supporting cast was full of memorable characters. 

The world building was kept to a minimum and Abercrombie was really good at giving the reader just enough to give these characters a living world to make their way through and keep their motivations, hopes and fears relatable. No info dumps or pages and pages of lore, instead we are treated to “a day in the life” of these characters. The setting and world is actually fairly unimportant until about halfway through and by then the reader has picked up just enough through the lenses of Logan, Glokta, Jezel and Dogman that when something actually happens in the book it’s all relevant and the importance of plot points such as entering the House of the Maker have real weight. 

The plot itself was super light, not that much of import happens, and the ending was basically “thanks for reading the intro, hope you enjoy the story ahead,” but even that felt intentional. 

Could have used more interesting female characters… i think that is my only real criticism; though, Ardee is great and her budding romance with Jezel was well done. 

Great book overall and I’m excited to start the second. Hoping to finish the trilogy by the time the next Stormlight Archive book drops.

I really need to give Abercrombie another go. I read The First Law and wasn't impressed enough to go for the second book.