Ελληνικά
Title: The Blade Itself (First Law Book 1)
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Publisher: Orion Books
Year: 2006
If fantasy literature for you means clean-cut lines between good and evil, classic heroes who fight for their ideals and opponents who represent the worst values of life then The Blade Itself is not for you. The same goes for wanting to read about gorgeous elves and evil dragons, lost treasures and easy moral choices.
If you want a complex world however, where the boundaries of values and ideals are anything but transparent and on many occasions there are no painless choices, a world where there are no heroes but most people promote their own interests and plans, then it is worthwhile to spend some time with the first volume of the First Law trilogy.
I admit that The Blade Itself caught me unaware. Despite the fact that it is Abercrombie’s first release the characters are well-rounded, with personalities and opinions. The writing style even changes depending on the point of view of the narrative so that we can empathize with each character. The barbarian Logen Ninefingers with his bloodstained past and his bestial Bloody Nine alter ego, the spoiled and arrogant nobleman Jezal dan Luthar, the tormented and crippled inquisitor Glokta and the mysterious mage Bayaz are but few of the characters that the reader meets.
The dark world of the book is characterize by kingdoms on the brink of war, decadence and violence. The newly established kingdom of the North attacks the decadent Union while the new emperor of Gurkhul is also preparing for war. The universe is deep but not tiring and events always have a cause even if it is not immediately apparent. Abercrombie gives us clues about the world’s lore slowly so that it fits the narrative and doesn’t turn the novel into a thesaurus of another Earth.
A quite interesting book that not only makes us read it but also unable to wait for the second part of the trilogy.
