The Blade Itself
The First Law: Book One
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Narrated by:
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Steven Pacey
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By:
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Joe Abercrombie
About this listen
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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Books 1, 2, and the prequel novella of the Fate's Forsaken series. The series follows the adventures of Kael: a young man who is thrust from his home in the Unforgivable Mountains and onto a hero's path. The journey is long, the battles are fierce - nearly all of his companions are outlaws. And Kael's rotten bad luck seems to make everything worse. This is his story.
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Fantasy with light romance
- By Skipper on 09-23-15
By: Shae Ford
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The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
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Great Middle Entry
- By Casey on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
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The Great Game
- Praetorian, Book 1
- By: SJA Turney
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Promoted to the elite Praetorian Guard in the thick of battle, a young legionary is thrust into a seedy world of imperial politics and corruption. Tasked with uncovering a plot against the newly crowned Emperor Commodus, his mission takes him from the cold Danubian border all the way to the heart of Rome, the villa of the Emperor’s scheming sister, and the great Colosseum. What seems a straightforward, if terrifying, assignment soon descends into Machiavellian treachery and peril as everything in which young Rufinus trusts and believes is called into question....
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COULDN'T KEEP MY INTEREST
- By peter on 12-05-18
By: SJA Turney
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The Palace Job
- Rogues of the Republic, Book 1
- By: Patrick Weekes
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Loch is seeking revenge. It would help if she wasn’t in jail. The plan: To steal a priceless elven manuscript that once belonged to her family, but is now in the hands of the most powerful man in the Republic. To do so, Loch - former soldier, former prisoner, and current fugitive - must assemble a crack team of magical misfits that includes a cynical illusionist, a shape shifting unicorn, a repentant death priestess, a talking magical war hammer, and a lad with seemingly no skills.
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Awful narration
- By 9littlebees on 12-18-15
By: Patrick Weekes
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The Hammer and the Blade
- A Tale of Egil and Nix
- By: Paul S. Kemp
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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So here’s the plan: Kill the demon, steal the treasure, and retire to a life of luxury! It sounds easy when put like that. However, most unfortunately for warrior-priest Egil and sneak thief Nix, when the demon they kill turns out to have worshippers in high places, retirement is not an option. A wonderfully fast-paced fantasy adventure redolent of the classic tales of swords and sorcery, from New York Times best-selling author Paul S. Kemp.
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4 stars standard sword and sorcery fantasy
- By Adnan on 07-21-12
By: Paul S. Kemp
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Cry Havoc
- Jack Frey, Book 1
- By: Mike Morris
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
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They say when the demons come, you either fight or you die.The Black Dogs know this all too well. For three hundred years, the warrior priests have sacrificed their lives to keep the island nation of Abios safe from the flesh-eating Nostros, while the rest of the world fell under the demons' savagery. However, an armada now stands poised to invade mankind's last bastion.
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truly evil enemies
- By VJG on 02-01-18
By: Mike Morris
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The Anubis Gates
- By: Tim Powers
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
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When Brendan Doyle is flown from America to London to give a lecture on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, little does he expect that he will soon be traveling through time and meeting the poet himself. But Brendan could do without being stranded penniless in the teeming, thieving London of 1810.
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Yesterday… All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away
- By Doug D. Eigsti on 06-21-16
By: Tim Powers
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Iron Axe
- The Books of Blood and Iron, Book 1
- By: Steven Harper
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In this brand new series from the author of the Clockwork Empire series, a hopeless outcast must answer Death's call and embark on an epic adventure... Although Danr's mother was human, his father was one of the hated Stane, a troll from the mountains. Now Danr has nothing to look forward to but a life of disapproval and mistrust, answering to "Trollboy" and condemned to hard labor on a farm. Until, without warning, strange creatures come down from the mountains to attack the village.
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I DON'T WANT YOU TO FOLLOW ME,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-22-17
By: Steven Harper
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The Book of Kells
- By: R. A. MacAvoy
- Narrated by: Alan Robertson
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
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A contemporary man, John Thornburn (a meek, non-violent and unpredictable artist) and woman, Derval (his tough, confrontational, strong and warrior-like lover) time travel to ancient Ireland to avenge a Viking attack. Packed with fascinating details of historical time and place in Irish history and delicately balanced on the border between realism and fantasy, the story centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary but entirely real Book of Kells.
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The Book of Irish Fantasy
- By S. Wells on 12-10-12
By: R. A. MacAvoy
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Shadow Magic
- By: Joshua Khan
- Narrated by: Ramon de Ocampo
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Thorn, an outlaw's son, wasn't supposed to be a slave. He's been sold to Tyburn, an executioner, and they're headed to Castle Gloom in Gehenna, the land of the undead, where Thorn will probably be fed to a vampire. Lilith Shadow wasn't supposed to be ruler of Gehenna. But following the murder of her family, young Lily became the last surviving member of House Shadow, a long line of dark sorcerers. Her country is surrounded by enemies, and the only way she can save it is by embracing her heritage and practicing the magic of the undead.
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Great first book!
- By Bob Zelm on 03-31-20
By: Joshua Khan
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Royal Bastards
- By: Andrew Shvarts
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At 16 Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family.
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Reading is not the same as the physical copy
- By Annelle Powell on 07-09-18
By: Andrew Shvarts
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Tower of the Forgotten
- The Tainted Cabal Prequel Novella
- By: Mitchell Hogan
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Niklaus, master swordsman, has not aged a day since being chosen by his mercurial goddess. A slave to her will, he moves from one cryptic mission to the next in the hope of ascending to become her equal. But even a man who has lived for centuries can sometimes find himself out of his depth. When Niklaus is sent to kill a sorcerer of the Tainted Cabal, overconfidence leads to a fatal mistake, and neither experience nor skill with a blade can prevail against the forces unleashed against him.
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What's Next?
- By James on 06-04-17
By: Mitchell Hogan
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A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt. Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters to vampires....
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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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- David
- 11-09-10
Thrilling ordeal
Abercrombie uses this book to assemble his cast of characters, and a fascinating and irresistible crew they are. Flawed, idiosyncratic, dangerous and often quite funny when they least mean to be, they have been dragged kicking and screaming into his tale and, by the end of the book, he has them all moving reluctantly in the same direction. The wonder is that, while we know the "real" story has not even begun yet, he has already ushered us through a harrowing and thrilling ordeal filled with brilliant detail. Simultaneously, along the way, he has introduced us to a fully imagined world which is remarkably convincing. And as several other reviewers have remarked, not the least of the attraction is that the characters we meet are complex and unlikely heroes.
I bought this audiobook because I so enjoyed "Best Served Cold," by the same author. I was slightly apprehensive because a part of the attraction of that book was the narrator, Michael Page, who did a superb job. I was a bit sad that he was not the narrator for this one as well. To my amazement I found that Steven Pacey was at least Page's equal and perhaps even a demi-shade better. This is a wonderful marriage of great writing and great reading.
I am going to have to delay reading the second and third books in this series because I am loathe to have the whole thing end. Anticipation will heighten the experience, I think. In any event, Abercrombie is now among my very favorite authors of this genre.
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27 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Marlene Monacoli
- 09-02-10
Just a great a book....
This is just a great book and an excellent begining to a promising triology. All the elements are here...excellently written, superb narration, multidimensional characters, a large world, magic, violence, romance, war, and politics. Sometimes funny, always engaging and thoroughly enjoyable…sucks you in and pins you there as you ride along with the story. Easily on par with Mistborn, A Song of Fire and Ice and The Wheel of Time. Can't wait to hear books 2 and 3.
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22 people found this helpful
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Overall
- GGodman
- 09-23-10
Great Adult Book
I'm not sure what the negative review was about, this book is certainly gritty and dark but the characters are interesting and much more believable than the norm for a fiction book. I have read fiction from everyone for many years now running the gambit from sci-fi/fantasy to thrillers and this is an entertaining story how ever definitely for adults not young readers. If you like a good story with engaging characters then you will probably like this book. If you are offended by harsh language or violence this book is not for you. The greatest endorsement I can give it is that I bought the second book instead of waiting for credits for three more days! Enough said!
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Marcheta
- 09-16-10
A Great Listen - even if you aren't into syfy
I tried this audiobook because of the reviews and the sample clip, and it exceeded my expectations. I especially liked the narrator, Steven Pacey - his Glokta voice reminded me of Boris Karloff with a lisp - whose narration is simply superb! I enjoyed this book so much that I bought the other two in the series and am now listening to the second book. I am also buying the hard copy so I can see the spelling of people and places. I really appreciate the audible reader feedback and the sample clips. This series was well worth the money and the listening time!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Stephanie
- 06-08-14
Say one thing about Joe Abercrombie ...
... say he knows how to write a villain.
I almost did not finish this book. I shocked myself when I devoured the entire trilogy and still wanted more.
Joe Abercrombie's style is gritty, unabashed, and vivid. I knew this going into the series, and yet, it still shocked me. The shock was so severe, I almost stopped listening about an hour into the first book. But I like a challenge, and I don't like to give up, so I plowed forward. The other motivator was Abercrombie's wit. His humor is dry and sharp and subtle (though sometimes less-so).
My first impressions were also tarnished by the voice given to Glokta. He lisps. It makes sense why ... but I found him difficult to understand and annoyed that a main character would be such a challenge to listen to. But as other characters were introduced, and Glokta's personality became clearer, I appreciated his lisp. It gave his character an extraordinary amount of depth that would have been missing based on the writing alone.
This book (and the entire series) is character-driven. There isn't a clear plot or goal established by the end of the first book, and even after completing the series, I'd describe the plot as thin. But, oh, these characters. They are villains. All of them. There is no clear delineation of who can be trusted and who cannot, except that it seems pretty clear letting your guard down around any of them will get you killed. I found myself loving and hating each of these characters. I was intrigued by them, annoyed by them, disgusted by them and utterly fascinated to the very end.
Some scenes were difficult to listen to. The torture scenes were tough while driving to work in the morning and I found myself cringing or closing my eyes at inopportune moments. But the battle scenes are epic and the gory details make them exciting and suspenseful.
It's hard to give a full review of just this book, without taking into account the entire series. But, I'll say this. Many themes are started in this book that are carried throughout the series. And the humor, suspense, and action of the first novel only improve as the series continues. I think Glokta's character is the best-written and has the most depth, but they all lend something unique to the story.
Be prepared for grittiness, irreverence, cursing, and violence. Joe Abercrombie pulls no punches and censors his characters for no man. And it would be an utter shame if he did. Anyone who appreciates multi-dimensional characters that themselves carry the story even in the absence of clear plot direction, will love The Blade Itself.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-07-11
Finished very strong
Of all the fantasy books I've read this one took the longest to "get into." It just didn't seem to have any pace or direction for at least 1/3 of the book. But then, then things started to get interesting. The ground work I had muddled over for the first 1/3'rd of the book began to pay off big. So much so that I have rarely felt so attached to characters. Was it the best way to build the foundation of the book? No. Was it very effective? Yes. If you're willing to muddle through the first 1/3'rd of the book knowing there is going to be a big pay-off then this is the book for you. Just be warned it does take a while.
I give the first part of this book a 3 and the last part a 5. The next few books should be great now that the ground work is done.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Matt
- 02-03-11
AWESOME
Having heard so many so so narrators its a pleasure to finally listen to someone that does a phenomenal job, if you like stories that dont follow the normal good vs evil then this is def for you
but wow the narrator just awesome
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- Mitchell Tweedie
- 10-11-17
Awesome! But where is Book 2?
Amazing performance and story, but no book 2 on audible? I shouldn’t have to check if a decade old sequel is on here. Real disappointing.
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- Julian
- 12-11-12
Evocative Fantasy
Where does The Blade Itself rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This audiobook is easily in the top 5 of books I have listened to.
What did you like best about this story?
Abercrombie has a knack of putting believable dialogue into the mouths of incredible characters which is made even better by Steven Pacey's amazing ability to bring them to life.
What does Steven Pacey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Mr Pacey has chosen voices that match the characters perfectly, I especially like the Arch-Lector and Closed Council arrogance when compared to the common soldiery.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When Logan describes the death of his family and recalls frequently "as my father used to say..." Great character development, and excellent stuff!
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- Dug
- 05-08-17
very good
Enjoyed this book a lot.. Can't wait to hear the next book in the series.
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