The story is set in a fictional land, simply called as The Circle Of the world. It is an archipelago of sorts, but is mapped with a very medieval sensibility. Just as Britain is in the centre of our Earth (longitude wise), a similar empire known as “The Union” has the effrontery to assume that they are at the centre of the known world. The story is told through the perspective of three main characters: Sand Dan Glokta, Logen NineFingers and Jezal Dan Luthar. There are also other characters that form bridges in the storytelling – Captain West, Ferro Maljinn and The Dogman.
Trouble is brewing in The Circle of the World, the Union Empire is led by a King who has grown old and fat and has no control over any matters of state. The Nation is effectively administered by the King's inner council of advisors, a bunch of political players all playing their own little games and scheming behind each other’s backs. Inquisitor Sand Dan Glokta is a part of the King's Inquisition and performs his duties of torturing interrogating people suspected of fraud or treason towards his King with an unstoppable efficiency. Of course he is happy with his job; he relishes it in fact, for torture is all he knows anyway.
In the North, the self appointed leader of the Barbarians, King Bethod has set his sights on taking what rightfully belongs to his people – Angland, from Union control. Logen Ninefingers is a warrior with a terrifying reputation. He is among the few people in the North who have resisted Bethod’s rise to power, and knows that things aren’t as what they seem. Bethod is meddling with strange unearthly powers, and needs to be stopped. He teams up with a mage called Bayaz to warn the Union about this threat from the North. While towards the south, a young emperor is set on taking on the Union and amasses an army at the gates of Dagoska, a Union city in the south.
Jezal dan Luthar is a young nobleman in the capital city of the Union: Adua. He is a self absorbed, narcissistic young man who thinks that Wars are won by trotting around in a magnificent horse, wearing gleaming armour and giving encouraging speeches of honour and glory. He is on a collision course with reality as he prepares for a military campaign in Angland.
Of course, these aren’t the only forces at work here. The land is full of relics from the past, the forgotten art of magic is brought to the forefront as the scheming mage Bayaz enters the fray and starts forming a team of individuals to fight an ancient, malign force that is stirring in the land.
There are a couple of reasons why I liked Abercrombie’s work to such a great extent:
The Plot:
The plot hooks you in IMMEDIATELY, it has a vice grip and doesn’t let you go. It doesn’t meander around matters of inconsequence, each and every scene (even the slower ones) are there for a reason, be it to establish a major plotpoint or to build a certain aspect of a character. Every scene/chapter is central to how the story unfolds. Besides, you will not miss anything. The book is hard to put down once you are through the first few chapters. The story is told through a total of six perspectives. Each of these arcs are distinct as the characters themselves. The shift in perspective with each chapter isn’t annoying, as is the case with several books. It is actually quite refreshing, as the story is told through six different filters, giving several flavours to the tale. Abercrombie weaves the storylines of these six characters perfectly to tell the story. You never lose sight of any of the characters.
The Characters:
Abercrombie has a cast of characters who, as you might have figured out from the earlier description, all conform to certain Epic Fantasy tropes (The sardonic executioner, the barbarian with a dark side, the wise all Knowing mage etc...). But through some strange alchemy, he introduces a human element to each of them. Let me be more precise, each character, be it the lowly foot soldier or the Legendary mage, are treated equally. He adds certain nuances, or ticks into each character which may be as mundane as a certain type of laughter, or a persistent itch. But they serve their purpose which is to add depth and conflict to the characters. This becomes more apparent as you continue reading, to the point where you are perfectly comfortable in the shoes of a Ruthless Barbarian, or those of a cynical, twisted interrogator.
Fantasy and Reality:
Unlike A Game Of Thrones, The Blade Itself contains several elements of high fantasy. Magic plays a central role in the story and the land has a rich mythology of god’s, magicians and the like. There are places, dungeons where time stands still and the world of magic and reality overlap...It really has everything you could want in a high fantasy novel - pure unadulterated fantasy. There isn’t an overly edgy or gritty feel to this book like GRRM’s novels do. But it is peppered with an absolute realism w.r.t the manner in which the characters react to their surroundings. The combat scenes especially are of note. They describe perfectly what it is like to be involved in a skirmish- utter chaos and confusion. It isn’t easy to stick a knife into a person – there is a fundamental clumsiness that, the least experienced characters display when confronted with such a situation. All in all, this blend of fantasy and reality serves its purpose and makes for a very engaging read.
For those of you who are new to reading sci-fi & fantasy, and do not know you way around these books: fret not, because there is sufficient exposition provided to explain and make you aware of the situation at hand. Once you are through the first 6 or 7 chapters, you should be well equipped to breeze through the rest of the book.
I would especially recommend this book to fans of A Game Of Thrones (both the TV show and the books). This is of a similar flavour as that of George RR Martin’s masterpiece and will serve as a perfect accompaniment to the TV show. Overall, I gotta say this is one of the most engaging books I have read recently, and, even if you are not a fan of the Fantasy genre, you will love this book.
Why?
Cause it is BRILLIANT!!
PS – Things get even better. This is the first part of a trilogy called The First Law. I can assure you that the sequels get progressively better. Please pick this up and start reading it immediately!
In the North, the self appointed leader of the Barbarians, King Bethod has set his sights on taking what rightfully belongs to his people – Angland, from Union control. Logen Ninefingers is a warrior with a terrifying reputation. He is among the few people in the North who have resisted Bethod’s rise to power, and knows that things aren’t as what they seem. Bethod is meddling with strange unearthly powers, and needs to be stopped. He teams up with a mage called Bayaz to warn the Union about this threat from the North. While towards the south, a young emperor is set on taking on the Union and amasses an army at the gates of Dagoska, a Union city in the south.
Jezal dan Luthar is a young nobleman in the capital city of the Union: Adua. He is a self absorbed, narcissistic young man who thinks that Wars are won by trotting around in a magnificent horse, wearing gleaming armour and giving encouraging speeches of honour and glory. He is on a collision course with reality as he prepares for a military campaign in Angland.
Of course, these aren’t the only forces at work here. The land is full of relics from the past, the forgotten art of magic is brought to the forefront as the scheming mage Bayaz enters the fray and starts forming a team of individuals to fight an ancient, malign force that is stirring in the land.
There are a couple of reasons why I liked Abercrombie’s work to such a great extent:
The Plot:
The plot hooks you in IMMEDIATELY, it has a vice grip and doesn’t let you go. It doesn’t meander around matters of inconsequence, each and every scene (even the slower ones) are there for a reason, be it to establish a major plotpoint or to build a certain aspect of a character. Every scene/chapter is central to how the story unfolds. Besides, you will not miss anything. The book is hard to put down once you are through the first few chapters. The story is told through a total of six perspectives. Each of these arcs are distinct as the characters themselves. The shift in perspective with each chapter isn’t annoying, as is the case with several books. It is actually quite refreshing, as the story is told through six different filters, giving several flavours to the tale. Abercrombie weaves the storylines of these six characters perfectly to tell the story. You never lose sight of any of the characters.
The Characters:
Abercrombie has a cast of characters who, as you might have figured out from the earlier description, all conform to certain Epic Fantasy tropes (The sardonic executioner, the barbarian with a dark side, the wise all Knowing mage etc...). But through some strange alchemy, he introduces a human element to each of them. Let me be more precise, each character, be it the lowly foot soldier or the Legendary mage, are treated equally. He adds certain nuances, or ticks into each character which may be as mundane as a certain type of laughter, or a persistent itch. But they serve their purpose which is to add depth and conflict to the characters. This becomes more apparent as you continue reading, to the point where you are perfectly comfortable in the shoes of a Ruthless Barbarian, or those of a cynical, twisted interrogator.
Fantasy and Reality:
Unlike A Game Of Thrones, The Blade Itself contains several elements of high fantasy. Magic plays a central role in the story and the land has a rich mythology of god’s, magicians and the like. There are places, dungeons where time stands still and the world of magic and reality overlap...It really has everything you could want in a high fantasy novel - pure unadulterated fantasy. There isn’t an overly edgy or gritty feel to this book like GRRM’s novels do. But it is peppered with an absolute realism w.r.t the manner in which the characters react to their surroundings. The combat scenes especially are of note. They describe perfectly what it is like to be involved in a skirmish- utter chaos and confusion. It isn’t easy to stick a knife into a person – there is a fundamental clumsiness that, the least experienced characters display when confronted with such a situation. All in all, this blend of fantasy and reality serves its purpose and makes for a very engaging read.
For those of you who are new to reading sci-fi & fantasy, and do not know you way around these books: fret not, because there is sufficient exposition provided to explain and make you aware of the situation at hand. Once you are through the first 6 or 7 chapters, you should be well equipped to breeze through the rest of the book.
I would especially recommend this book to fans of A Game Of Thrones (both the TV show and the books). This is of a similar flavour as that of George RR Martin’s masterpiece and will serve as a perfect accompaniment to the TV show. Overall, I gotta say this is one of the most engaging books I have read recently, and, even if you are not a fan of the Fantasy genre, you will love this book.
Why?
Cause it is BRILLIANT!!
PS – Things get even better. This is the first part of a trilogy called The First Law. I can assure you that the sequels get progressively better. Please pick this up and start reading it immediately!
Nice work in reviewing a relatively less well known novel (atleast here)!
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