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  • The Blade Itself

  • The First Law: Book One
  • By: Joe Abercrombie
  • Narrated by: Steven Pacey
  • Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,916 ratings)

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The Blade Itself

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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Publisher's 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....

©2010 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about The Blade Itself

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gritty, violent, dark..... And hilarious. Enjoy

First of all, I have read all of Joe Abercrombie's books and I seem to be obsessed. His style of writing is definitely my cup of tea. It can be violent... Very violent, but also the most honest and the least cliche fantasy you will find today. He turns lots of fantasy themes and ideas on their head and does so with such wit, that you will find yourself grinning throughout. It can also be quite deep at times with its multi dimensional characters and it's cleverly woven plot.
This was my first audio book and Steven Pacey was great. He drew me into the book even further with his versitile range of voices.

Highly recommended.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Sam
  • 25-01-2014

I want more

Who was your favorite character and why?

Glokta. I loved his unspoken sarcasm, and the voice acting was great.

What about Steven Pacey’s performance did you like?

Brought each character to life separately. I rarely had to dissect which character was talking at any point.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me want more!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Loved it, could not have been narrated better. I’m Going straight to the next book. I want more!!!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Kept losing interest.

Struggled to keep my focus on this book. I didn't care much about any of the characters and found it hard to follow.

I will keep the book in my collection and change the review if I listen again and find myself able to follow it better.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Amazing narration and voice differentiation.

Steven Pacey is phenomenal. His character voices are truly so different from one another that at times i swear it was another person. Heat sorry too, but not completely to my taste.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This Audiobook Is Spectacular

Do not hesitate.
Just get it and listen to it.
I do not regret one second that I spent on it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Finally, something to equal the lightbringer series

I’ve loved the series. Just finished the final book in the trilogy and coming back to leave reviews.

After finishing Brent Weeks lightbringer series I really struggled to find something as good. This really delivered and would have to be of the best narrations I’ve heard on Audible. Amazing!

Highly recommend. A great listen.

We’ll worth a listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Steven Pacey Brings the Story to Life

By far the best narrator I've listened to. Story is decent enough - converging story arcs.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dogs bollocks.

That narrator is the dogs bollocks. Each character is amazingly defined by old mates acting. Cracked me up. Good story aswell. Ta

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Ever!! Joe Rocks

If you could sum up The Blade Itself in three words, what would they be?

Action, Fun, Humour and Steven Pacey is bloody a master

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Blade Itself?

Anything with Gloctor and the bloody nine in it

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Anything with Gloctor and the bloody nine in it

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I don't think a movie could do this epic justice

Any additional comments?

More, More, More, Please

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2 people found this helpful

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