Glokta, it turns out, was once a handsome war hero who was crippled by years of being tortured in Gurkish prisons and who turned to the only thing he’s good at any more: torturing others. Sure, Logen is an accomplished, brutal warrior, but he’s also tired of fighting and lonely for friends and family long dead. There’s Logen Ninefingers, known throughout the North for his prowess in battle Sand dan Glokta, a twisted torturer Jezal dan Luthar, a handsome, charming army officer and Bayaz, First of the Magi, the powerful order of wizards that helped form the Union countless generations ago.īut as the story unwinds, the characters take on new levels of complexity. The Blade Itself is the first book of the epic fantasy trilogy, the First Law, by British author Joe Abercrombie.Īt first, the cast of characters seems pretty stereotypical for fantasy.
The Union finds itself pulled in two directions, and it will only take a hero to save the day… or will it? They break their also-tenuous peace with the Union by attempting to annex its stronghold in the South, the city of Dagoska. The Gurkish Empire, a southern kingdom heavily reminiscent of ancient Middle-Eastern empires, sees the perfect opportunity to strike. The northernmost territory of the Union, a kingdom similar to Europe (or perhaps just a larger England), Angland has served as a tenuous barrier between the civilized Union and the wild tribes of the North, now held loosely under the control of Bethod, their self-proclaimed King. 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. 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. British newcomer Abercrombie fills his muddled sword-and-sorcery series opener with black humor and reluctant heroes.
0 kommentar(er)
