The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie

Any of you read Best Served Cold yet? I loved it too. It's not exactly part of the set but it's from the same world with a character who was mentioned in the first trilogy. Another book full of surprises and characters who aren't what you'd expect, and events that make you scream, 'Oh NO YOU DIDN'T!' when actually, oh yes he did. Huge fan, hope he's writing more.
 
:eek:

Anyways, I read them a couple of months ago...time for a re-read I think
 
Oh great! Will surly be putting in an order as soon as it has been published.

Is it ready yet? :)
 
I'm halfway through The Blade Itself and have to say I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to reading the next two in the series. I like the way it's written - gritty, adult humour, good characters - but think it lacks a little depth/description in the world it's set in. Or is this described in more detail as I read more of the story?
 
The world isn't the focus of the books - the characters are. It's their depth that really make the story excellent.
 
Of course the world isn't the focuss, it is merely something on which the characters can stand while they catch our interest. But I too found physical detail insufficient for my complete understanding of the plot. I don't think there is necessarily a need for a great deal more in the way of description of the various countries but a map would have been helpful if only to give me an idea of distances and thus travel times etc.
 
There are speculative maps out there, Cayleb. I'm not sure, but I don't think any of them approach being authorised.



(And Congratulations!)
 
Thank you, Ursa Major. I was not aware of any "amateur" attempts at maps and I am not sure that anything like that will really help. To much chance of mistakes creeping in I suspect, for me to be confident in using it.

Thanks for the congratulations also. First grandson after two grand-daughters and probably the last grandchild. Nice to have a complete set though.
 
J-WO said:
Er... well, good...

{Stares at laptop screen in stunned disbelief}
Click to expand...

I did laugh out loud at this post, J-WO... what are the chances??

Kinda reminded me of the (overused, in the end) bit where Woody Allen would pull the 'expert' or the guy who'd written the bit they were arguing about, out of the cinema queue, to prove his point.

He must lurk sooo quietly, the metaphoric shock will have us all jumpy until his next post. 11 posts in 4 years, that is sreious economy of writing... I've just started The Blade itself, so I'll refrain from comment...
 
I am about 50 pages in and really enjoying it, the character intro are great and they also feel more human like with flaws and traits altogether. I like his style and can't wait to see the story pick up. When does the story pick up by the way?
 
On the map issue, I don't mind not seeing one that much. Quite often I find the maps a bit difficult to make out, and when they're too close to the spine some bits can't be seen. I've got an idea in my mind about the Circle Sea and where the various continents are, and that's good enough for me.

[Not the same, as I have no agent let alone publisher, but for The Lord of Exiles I've not got a map].
 
Just finished The Blade Itself and started Before They Are Hanged.

Very impressed with the first one although I've noticed there is very little or no description as to how some of the characters look. An example is Major West - I re-read his introduction at the first card game and there's no real description of how he is supposed to look. Guess you're supposed to use your imagination!
 
See, maps never work for me. I can't make sense of them until after I've read the book, where I think "ohhh, that makes sense.' or 'Hmp. I thought things were in different places. Meh'

It doesn't really change anything for me. I don't care if exact travel times are plausible, and whatnot. Heck, half the time, I don't even read descriptions carefully. In my mind, Major West is Major West. I don't care what he looks like. In fact, even if he were described, I'd likely forget. The thing that matters is that I know his personality, his temperament.
Only time when appearance is important to me is when it influences the reactions of other characters. Glokta, for instance. (Who happens to be my favourite character)
 
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