One of the things I love about Glotka is how easily I can picture him from the POV of the people he intimidates. How many times we've seen the sinister torturer/jailer/dark figure who is just creepy, mysterious and dangerous? But now we're getting a look at his perspective.
Say one thing for the First Law series, say that it is an awesome series. Abercrombie writing improves over the series. I have read all of his books twice and he is one of my favorite authors.
The Fist Law trilogy is great. It's the only grimdark series that I have read and actually liked. The one thing I loved about the series was the humor. I would chuckle throughout my reading of the series. For some reason when I pictured the book in my head it was always in an animated way. I think it is the only series I imagine this way. It seems that everyone hates Jezal but I loved him from the beginning. I would always laugh at the thoughts he had about himself and how stuck up he was. He was such a goof
Oh man Jezal is def a love to hate. I hate him but he's hilarious. Like he's SO over the top self involved (although, let's be realistic, there are people out there like that...)
Have you ever read any of Brent weeks two series'? Idk if those are Grim Dark to the level of Joe Abercrombie but I loved The Night Angel and am working through Lightbringer now. I love how he just grabs you right from the beginning. They're very fast paced and everything that happens seems to have a very logical reason for it. Weeks is like a puppeteer for your emotions!
Lots of great points here and I definitely agree about Abercrombie's prose. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the internal thoughts of the characters, ESPECIALLY Glokta. I absolutely loved his internal thoughts compared to what he would say/do with those around him. Umbridge is in fact one of the most insufferable villains in a book ever. She is such a well-written and hateful human.
So glad you enjoyed it! I always struggle to explain why and how, despite definitely being grimdark, Abercrombie’s books somehow aren’t that dark or grim to read, but you’re right it’s because it’s realistic rather than gratuitous
"The commentary... About our fears as a whole of interacting or talking with people who have gone through extreme trauma and how we just kinda want to push them aside and we don't want to deal with them because it makes us personally uncomfortable." True! Sooo true!
also yes, sometimes the gravity on PoV characters in First Law seems to be a bit weaker. Long falls have a habit of not killing people, you didn't imagine it. Although I don't think Logen was high enough up to hit terminal velocity.
Steven Pacey is just brilliant as a narrator. Just finished the third (audio-) book and his narration of Glokta will be stuck in my head for a while. But three dark books in a row are enough, so I started The Eye of the World, where dark is reserved for dark Lords, as it should be. :D
Yea dude i wasn't sure i wanted to get into this one because grim dark hurts me sometimes lol. I loved logans crew they were my favorite because of the dark comedy they brought to the table. Each character was awesome. Loved how Three trees is always telling them to wait for the signal but seems to fail to tell them what signal is and they all usually act on their own anyways. Also when one of their own died they just all went for vengeance and it was heart breaking that the one selfless dude among them gets destroyed.
I'm also in love with the northmen cast dogman, hardened Grimm, the thunderhead Tul, three trees, and black dow. And the weakest :( All wonderfuly done characters in there own right. Stick with these books and author they'll not disappoint.
Glad you liked it. I too feel like the dark parts of grim dark are often exaggerated. At least when it comes to the blade itself. Like you, I haven’t read the rest of the series yet.
Having read through First Law it is neither super grim nor dark. Well yes, in the sense that all the characters are reprehensible human beings berefet of the milk of human kindness. But not in the Game of Thrones gore/assault/incest way. Abercombie goes by the handle LordGrimdark so it may be a marketing thing.
Without any spoilers, or particulars at all, several of the things you mentioned wanting to see, or things that you don't like, do make sense. And I love this trilogy, so please do a series review!
Ok I'm going to do it! I'm particularly interested if the ending is going to make or break grimdark for me. If it ends really depressingly I don't know if I'll like it. I'll have to see...
look after reading just Blade Itself I wouldn't have understood you. Now that I've read the entire series, my poor baby Jezal 🥲 you're so valid for him being your fav
Just a note towards the end. Logen isn't possesed by a spirit, he just tapped into a sort of berserker rage, like Northmen of old were told to have. Realistically is likely a huge adrenaline rush, but as far as I've read it didn't seem like something too supernatural, like an external entity entering his body.
You should read Best Served Cold next. It's a standalone set between book 1 & 2 of First Law but with different characters and one of Abercrombie's best books.
What I love about the series is the way he plays with what makes a good man. Nine fingers and glotka both are in their own way extremely evil people, yet both have their good qualities. To ardee glotka is a good man, to say quai logen is a good man, but to others both are evil. As to login being possessed, I tend to think he is in full control of it, based on some stuff that happens later, but it's not entirely clear.
Great that you liked this book so much on its own - I merely liked it at first and only grew to love it in retrospect after I got through the rest of the series. You have a great journey ahead of you with the rest of the books in the First Law world!
I think it helps that it's just so NEW to me. I've never done grimdark so it felt fresh and different, and a lot of what I've been reading lately just hasn't felt that way.
@@Bookborn That makes sense! It actually might’ve been my first grimdark too! My issue initially was that it was so character-driven and not as focused on worldbuilding/fantastical elements or plot, but I enjoyed it enough to continue. No spoilers, but by the end of the series I was totally on board with Abercrombie was doing and ready to devour everything else set in the Circle of the World. I definitely consider the First Law trilogy as a single three-volume story rather than a true trilogy because each book isn’t super satisfying on its own. At this point though, even if Abercrombie isn’t my absolute favorite author, he has perhaps my absolute favorite writing style - those super tight POVs and cinematic scene structures (almost always “in the moment” rather than summaries) are everything.
He's one of the most interesting characters I've read in fantasy. The idea of the war hero who didn't die but also isn't beautiful any more is just...chef's kiss.
I read all the First Law books last year. I thought they were great. The first three books are really just one long story, so keep that in mind when people start complaining about the lack of plot. The prose is amazing. You're absolutely right about being able to tell who is talking without the dialogue tags. But honestly, looking back on the books, I think of the amazing characters and the comedy. I feel like a lot people are always talking about how grimdark the First Law is, but for me, I'll always enjoy the comedy. Thinking of Glokta with every other tooth pulled out, and the top and bottom being offset, singing how much he loves to eat porridge with honey or how much he hates stairs. The narrator for the audio books is great. He adds a lot to the story with his voices. A lot of people are split on his best stand alone book. I personally liked, Best Served Cold the best. Best Served Cold is a revenge story, Heroes is a war story, and Red Country is a western. I hope you enjoy the rest of the trilogy. Don't rush it though, just take it all in and you'll enjoy so much more.
That's so funny, that's how I've been describing the plot to people! I said it feels like one book split into three. It doesn't bother me, especially now that I'm expecting it. According to my comment section, everyone is loving Best Served Cold and telling me I need to read it next.
I haven't finished The blade itself yet but I did have some difficulties with the grimdark elements. Something about the tortured scenes and Glokta just being in constant pain is hard for me to read
I never saw the Bloody Nine as a possession thing. Came across as having multiple personalities to me. Then again I didn't come across the possession theory until after I'd finished the trilogy.
I think because I had just read some Stormlight, I was thinking that direction. I'm really glad it didn't end up being that. I felt Logen was SO much more compelling with his actual storyline.
I love this series so much so far. I just finished Before They are Hanged, and I won’t spoil anything, but I can tell you there’s not any sexual assault portrayed. Characters might talk in passing earshot of raping and stuff, but it isn’t shown. I just barely started Last Argument though, so we’ll see. Also, the “event” with Logen at the end tells me the Bloody Nine may be an Alter (diss-ID), and it’s possible the alter may have extreme amounts of adrenaline, but that’s just a guess. It could be similar to the “Thrill” that Dalinar was possessed by. We also know he can talk to spirits, so who knows. He may have a power we don’t know about.
Yeah I already got to the passing rape comments which I don't consider graphic; it's not like they were portrayed as a good thing or anything! I'm halfway through so I'm excited to get to the end. I agreee, so far it sounds like "the thrill"...but I'm hoping it's something else!
I just finished the first book. Love your review. I was super excited to see your comments on Abercrombies Charente writing. Just yesterday I was texting a friend about the book and was super excited about it and I literally said that I never read anyone who writes each character with such unique voices. Honestly from the very beginning I loved how gloktas thoughts where written just dripping with cynicism. Loved your review!
I didn't think Half A King was that great when I finished it but for some reason around a year later I re-read it and liked it a lot and ended up enjoying the trilogy. Now I've caught up on Abercrombie up to A Little Hatred. Hope you enjoy the rest of the trilogy.
Great video, completely agree, Abercrombie is so good it transcends genre. Lots of people who don't enjoy grimdark get hooked on the first law. Don't sleep on the standalone books that take place after first law, there are as good as the whole trilogy
@@Bookborn Yeah, then there is The Heroes and Red Country. Each story is separate with some minor connections, but a chronological order. All 3 of them are good but Best Served Cold is the best. And the only with a focus on a female protagonist
You can technically fall from a greater height into water if the water is a fast moving river because it breaks it's own surface tension constantly. That said... he falls from very high up.
I think Abercrombie will continue to surprise you in a good way - he has a flair to how he brings you into the darkness 😉 Hope you enjoy the series, do tell us!
So glad you enjoyed it. Abercrombie is one of my favourite authors and he just continues to improve as he writes (and I can't wait for the new book in September)
In the part where Logen fell from the cliff, you might have a point there that he's a special person meaning he's a Names Man so maybe he has magical abilities that made him stronger than others. Just starting with Before They Are Hanged btw
I have been avoiding grimdark fantasy for thr exact same reasons as you. So I really appreciated this review, and feel more confident in reading this book that it won't be too much for me. I would be curious to see how the other books in the trilogy are in the same regard
I think I'll for sure do another video when I finish the trilogy! I'm glad to know there are other people like me who just hate that graphic sort of stuff haha
@@Bookborn I actually had a friend in college who was worried that his favorite book series might be too much for friends, so he bought paperback copies and went over any parts that he thought we wouldn't be comfortable reading and it actually was really nice to be able to read books I normally wouldn't have picked up.
@@s.r.dragonreads4915 I love this so much. In high school I used to go over with a pen sometimes on parts I didn't like in books lol. I need that in my life still tbh
So question without looking it up, isnt there a way to hit water without it being like pavement? Ive always heard if you fall far to stiffen straight with your toes pointed down and as they enter kinda make banana shape it.
Yes there is a way to make it way better! Breaking the surface with your feet helps a ton; the most dangerous is belly. It's been a hot minute since I read Blade Itself but I remember thinking it sounded like he went flat down lol.
With Logen's psychy and the fight near the end of the book, you just have to keep in mind going forward that nothing is black and white. The choices Logen makes and his own accountability are not always clear-cut, but it also helps to later read Red Country and one of the chapters from Abercrombie's First Law short story book(Sharp Edges or something like that) that goes into Logen's past. I don't want to give anything away, but I think once you get the total perspective of everything he goes through and does, you will be pleased by your opinion of his accountability and how it is conveyed!
@@Bookborn He's actually only got one short chapter in that novella! You should probably read all of First Law first, but if you want to read the entire novella and not just Logen's chapter, you might also want to read all 3 stand-alone novels, not just Red Country haha. The novella mostly just expands on various characters, big and small. It's fun haha.
Actually, you kind of need to read the other 2 stand-alones before Red Country now that I think of it. There are reasons, but I don't want to spoil anything!
@@33jamesds OH, okay, so the novella is for a lot of characters and should be completed after I read everything else in the First Law set. This is good info.
The thing with the First Law books are that they just keep getting better and better. The first 3 books are very good. The books after are even better. His characters are just fantastic.
Oh this was interesting, thanks for your thoughts! I am very much like you in the sense that I find graphic violence in fantasy, particularly sexual violence, hard to digest (whether there is a purpose to it or not). Because of this, like yourself, I have avoided this series and others. So I appreciate your critique. Might add this to my TBR and give it a go after all! Cheers.
Oh absolutely. I wasn't sure at the end of The Blade Itself, but by the end of the trilogy it clearly isn't possession. Which I liked a lot - it made his character super interesting.
Logens character is similar to a dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde. It does it better than any other imo. Glokta is by far the standout. When I first started reading the book. I had no love for the character and then found myself saying wtf how do i care about this man so much and how has this pseudo villain been written so compellingly. As to be the standout in a already greatly written cast? Logens character is special though. Theres an argument to be had at the transition to the bloodynine I understand but I found it super exciting and very unpredictable. Say one this for the first law. It's not just a great book it's a fantastic trilogy.
The trilogy definitely works very well together as a whole, and I think that's because it doesn't necessarily have super strong delineations of plot between all three books. Abercrombie just is SO good at writing character and character voice that it's hard not to get involved and feel for the characters...even when technically they suck lol
I liked the first book of the Trilogy enough to read the rest, but by the end of it I had decided that Grim Dark is not my area of interest. Abecrombie hooked me in the beginning with Glokta with the description of him going down the stairs and the pain he experiences. In general, authors always seem to think going up stairs is harder for people with joint/pain issues, it's not, it's down that's much much worse. That detail that he got right was just one piece in a really well written character that made me want to read more. But I can appreciate how something is written and still not want to read it. I want some hope in my world.
This is what I'm most interested in. I'm loving it right now but I have a feeling the ending is what is going to make or break it for me in terms of Grimdark readability.
Reading The Blade Itself was weird for me... There was nothing *wrong* with it per se and I enjoyed it whenever I picked it up, but the plot just... didn't interest me really I guess. I didn't feel the normal desire I do for just... one... more... chapter. Like I finished Rhythm of War in like a week because I couldn't put it down while The Blade Itself took me weeks if not months to finish. The characters were of course strong, but I didn't love them enough to get excited to read more about them going about their lives without the plot pushing the pace more I think. I haven't picked up Before They Hanged yet and am struggling with whether I should haha.
So I stand by that there isn't much plot lol. I mean there IS a plot, but it's not the typical fantasy plot where there are multiple mini climaxes/arcs before an overall story arc. It reminds me strongly of LOTR in that it feels like one book split into three rather than three separate entities. I have patience for that sort of stuff, but it def isn't a page turner like Sanderson.
Minor spoiler: I've always seen the Logan/Bloody-Nine thing as: The Bloody-Nine psycho persona is his true self (not a daemon possession) and his Logan is just a pretension because he partly wants redemption and feels regret. I think this because of all the clues we get for Logan being an unreliable narrator throughout the series.
I waited until I was far enough in the third book to read this haha. I've only got about 200 pages left and I think you're right. After the first book I misunderstood it to be something else, but I do think they are both him and it's a coping mechanism.
Loved the character work. Many multi layered characters. I did feel like the book had no real central plot/conflict. All set up. Hopefully the 2nd book makes it worth it
lol this is so funny because my entire life I've always joked that I'd be the worst sales person on the planet. I have huge social anxiety and the thought of trying to sell someone something makes me die inside.
Ahhhh finally you got to it! *high 5* .. goes to watch the video :) The First Law is utterly fantastic, if creepy-cartoony. ed: I think the deal is .. its a hard world, a more primitive place in many areas; but the people are not grim or evil or mean, they're just realistic and struggling through, and in fact.. noble, and interesting, and hardy. Logan has a dark past, but he's really an interesting ... hero? now-hero-was-bad? Glokta is an exercise in making a torturer (a tortured soul, no less) a really wonderful interesting charismatic intelligent character. The grim is a backdrop, and not what its about. And this man knows how to write a fight scene :O Logan Ninefingers is one of the best characters around. Glokta too.. all of them :O Luther is pretty interesting, the things that happen around him, over the next couple books; I forget the great low-born soldier, who has the sister who comes to visit; all good characters. The sister goes thruogh tough times like all of them, but another character you have to respect. .. Very inciteful commentary you have regarding Abercrombie's character-voice. Nailed it.
Were you the one who sent it to me 👀 Anyway I totally agree with you! The setting is dark, and the characters are dark, but not unredeemably dark. Well maybe Glokta but I still find him fascinating lol. West took me by SUCH surprise at the end of the book like a gut punch; I was like West is the only perfectly good one of the bunch and then it was like HAHA NOPE
@@Bookborn I think thats one of the hallmarks of Grimdark is 'grey' -so many Epic Fantasy have those idealized charactersd; the good, and the bad; or maybe morally grey. But grimdark is ralistically grey.. they're good, and also bad, and the bad might not even be evil.. it might just be opposing forces, or opposing cultures, so each party mnay see the other as dark when they're not, etc. Its 'realistic' to some context of realism. I really liked West, and his sister was pretty interesting; even the side characters, Gloktas helper guys .. the knife guy etc, were a little fleshed out and interesting I think I was one of the guys pushing it on you, for sure :) Glad you liked it. I found them _gripping_ Malazan is quite good, but huge of course. I should make a list of the grimdaks I've read.. the ones claiming to be grimdark, and those I'd say I'd place there myself; some are a little more grimmer or meaner than others, but overall.. they seem, just more character driven, with more complex emotions, and some of those emotions are nasty.. but not necessarily evil etc Sorry, writing quick while doing something
@@skeezixcodejedi I'm def of the camp that just because something is darker or grittier doesn't make it better or more complex; but I think the grayness of the characters makes them super interesting. West isn't the most interesting but I like the idea of his character, and def like his sister a lot. I'm considering trying Malazan again...Idk though...
@@Bookborn Malazan I've read the first.. 4 of them I think? Need to get back to them. The first is a little jarring (on purpose), and is his first book .. but you get a good feal for how it works; definately a little much with the army guys, if you're not into the war side. That series seems to get better as they go .. and the one, third book I think though IO'd have to check, I really really came to adore. Some of those characters were amazing, but they're definately not 'character driven' so much as the grim dark Iv'e read so far. Erikson just isn't that kind of author.. he's got such wide 'epic' characters, some alien, multiple planes of existance, some essentially gods... its about the crazy huge scale stories, and interesting charactyers.. but he just isn't the author to bring them so much depth of personality
@@skeezixcodejedi I read the first one almost a decade ago now. IT was good but it was just SO much and SO confusing and I didn't really feel the need to go on. I wonder if I'd enjoy it more now. I was pretty early in on my adult fantasy journey back then, and I've read so much more now I think I'd appreciate it more.
I'll read it after Guard Guard Which I'll read after one of Backman's books Which is my next book, now that I finished Voice of War, idk if you heard of that one, it's a self pub thing, kinda cool and colorful
@@Bookborn L O L I'm excited for Backman! I read a non-fantasy every 5 books or so last one was ... "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven and I LOVED it! Amazing execution of a great idea. It's worth all the hype.
@@urigatt6815 I'll have to look into it! I try to take breaks and read non-fiction and just regular fiction now and again, and I haven't done it enough yet this year.
@@Bookborn Oh that'll be awesome!! It has a very strong opening: "Is today a good day to die?" is the first sentence and the depiction of mental disorders is damn powerful about 50% of it is romance tho. Nothing erotic, but still. You've been warned :)
There is a lot of violence and torture. I honestly skim a lot of it because I'm pretty sensitive to violence. If torture is something that really bothers you, I wouldn't read this book personally.
I'm about halfway through the second one and still really enjoying it. Depending on how this goes will probably influence whether I check out other grimdark
Great review , thank you though surprised no mention of how funny this book is, it really does have hilarious exchanges and dark humour. Looking forward to your review of the series, please don't pass on 'Best served cold' a fantastic book from with a female perspective.
I didn't think about it much but you're right; I actually chuckled out loud a few times. His humor definitely lands, especially with Glokta. Also, I have Best Served Cold sitting on my nightstand!
Lots of people who've read wider in grimdark than me say that First Law is the series for people who don't like grimdark Also, I don't think I've ever seen Abercrombie glory in sexual assault. There's plenty of detailed sex (sometimes more than my ace self wants) but it's pretty much all consensual. I can only think of one scene (in the whole trilogy and the standalones) where it starts consensual and then goes somewhere dark but the one who took it there is called out for it immediately and actually reproaches themself. I think Abercrombie just respects women too much to use that gimmick. BTW, while the original trilogy is overwhelmingly male, the second trilogy (which I've just started) has a lot of female POV characters.
I'm only one hundred pages into the third book right now but I've noticed the same thing and have appreciated it SO MUCH. Like it's a little bit in Ferro's backstory (but is not shown at all) and then there's the one scene with the prince that again had zero graphicness. And in both cases, they served the plot and weren't just some background worldbuilding. I've appreciated that all sex scenes so far have been consensual. It honestly does make my esteem for Abercrombie go up a lot.
What made me DNF it was the lack of plot, seriously, I was boredddd. But I loved his prose and his way with characters so I gave him a second chance with A Little Hatred and I f... loved it. He has grown as a writer inmensely since First Law.
It definitely doesn't have a lot of plot. It reminds me of LOTR in that it's like one long story split into three books, rather than the typical three-act story structure.
@@Bookborn Yep but I believe that it´s more than a structure problem, I think it´s lack of character´s motivation and outside conflict, clear goal, and a lot of meandering. People says that it´s a character driven book, but I believe that phrase doesn´t makes sense, character drives plot, what they do, what they decide, what they react to, that´s plot. And like you said, it´s exactly like Eye of the World, although Jordan´s book does focus a bit more on events and character´s decisions, so it doesn´t look too ´´boring´´.
@@henryalpizar7670 I have to wait until the end of the series for judgement, but right now I get the criticism. So far it feels like a window into a moment in time rather than a super directive plot.
@@Bookborn Of course, and I don´t want to sound like a hater or something, and I get that a lot (a lottt) of people love this series, and I´m just one of the few that doesn´t. I hope you like it, because if you don´t, reading an 1600 page series it´s not gonna be pleasent .
@@henryalpizar7670 Eh I don't like a lot of popular things. It happens, and I don't love this enough to be defensive about it so I'm fine with your dislike 😂
@@Bookborn I'll read it soon! I'm currently reading a lot of books and then I have a lot of buddy reads planed. But I'm looking forward to it! Would you say it's a good introduction to adult fantasy? I haven't read much in it.
@@bb_reads Nah, this wouldn't be my recommendation for intro to adult fantasy. It's a specific subgenre and also actually doesn't have *that* much magic. I'd say Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss...any of those sorts of popular ones!
@@Bookborn ok thank you! I’ve also been wanting to read mistborn for a while but I’m kind of scared to enter the universe. There are so many books so it’s intimidating. They’re also really long. The longest book I’ve read is 916 pages and those books are way longer... But I might start with a novella soon. :)
@@bb_reads Well Mistborn is much shorter! Maybe only 300-400 pages per book. Those books are considered a bridge between YA and Adult. And it's completely stand alone! Even though there is a universe at large, you do NOT need to know anything about it at all. It comes later, if you are interested.
I know it was...a v. good moment haha. In the end there was four instances of sexual assault, although I mean that very broadly (and literally mentioning everything)... --spoilers below for the entire series-- You have the obvious Prince situation where West kills him lol. Then you have Black Dow mentioning it as a joke like "i'll make a girl do what I want" and Dogman reprimanding him. Ferro was clearly raped in her backstory, but it's not shown; just her talking about being sold. And then finally Jezel's wife; in fairness, Jezel didn't KNOW that his wife was coerced, but it's technically sexual assault as she wasn't willing.
@@Bookborn yeah..my friends said that the ending to first law is hard to get through but it wasnt like that for me..but best served cold was much harder for me because i was reading them back to back..and i stopped for bit after best served cold..
I just skimmed it because it was disgusting...😆 I didn't know you could do that. Would of skimmed parts of "IN THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURER" by GENE WOLF when I was younger.
Too many books would be closed off to me if I wasn't allowed to skim the gory stuff because I get grossed out so easily lol. I'm really good and just lightly skimming the one or two paragraphs that have too much and jumping back in when it's important 😂
Ehh, the one problem with the realism is how effective the torture was (an inaccuracy that is potentially dangerous). Maybe that disconnect is part of what prevented me from ever “liking” Glokta (he is a fantastic villain and representation of someone being hurt so much that all they can do is hurt others, but I never found him particularly sympathetic).
I guess I meant realistic in terms of how dark the world was, not necessarily the details, if that makes sense. Although I'm not going to pretend I know literally ANYTHING about the efficacy of torture; all I know is it would probably be extremely effective on me lol
@@Bookborn No! I wouldn't have suggested it if it was super gorey per your video, silly! It's high fantasy with splashes of grimdark elements and I think you'd enjoy it :-)
@@Bookborn I would never jest ! 😏😂 But seriously, I think you’ll dig it and it’s a great combination of some of the things I know you already like and some worthwhile grimdark elements.
First law is one of my favourite trilogies of mine of any agenda. Don't want to be to rude also, but this review was a bit painful to listen to, in fact I had to turn off, there was to much talking about what you were expecting in a Grim Dark story and your surprises it didn't follow your expected narrative, than actually focus on the book itself. That might change later in your review but it was challenging enough for me to move on.
The purpose of this review was from the point of view of someone who hadn't read grimdark; a lot of people ignore grimdark because they don't think it will work for them. I'm not trying to be rude but... you could just turn off the video without telling me :)
@@Bookborn I have watched a lot of your other reviews and have thoroughly enjoyed them, more feedback than anything, I found this video challenging as I thought it was a review. A title of the video more along the lines of "How The Blade Itself changed my opinion on Grimdark would be more appropriate".
Time for my unpopular opinion. I disliked it. Could not get on with it at all. I tried reading it just after The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I had also disliked, so I probably wasn't in the best place when starting it, but there was pretty much nothing in it I enjoyed reading. I struggle reading books, or watching shows, where I can't relate to any of the characters, and I could not in these books. I have toyed with giving it another try but haven't been able to work myself up to it so far. My friends loved it though, I have one friend who has the polar opposite views on pretty much all fantasy from me. He hates Rothfuss, Jordan and Sanderson, for example, but loves The Blade Itself and The Lies of Locke Lamora. We recommend books to each other so we know what to avoid if the other likes it!
I thought I might dislike it tbh, I was very surprised I did. I tend to not need to relate to characters, which is probably why I'm okay with it. I've not liked a lot of very popular things...just all depends on our own experiences in life, I think. I'm going to be curious if I'll still like it after I finish the third. I don't know how good I am with uber-depressing endings, so I'm hoping that's not where this is going haha
@@stephenbarrett8861 Afraid not. I'm normally not a big fan of alternative history in fantasy, with a few exceptions, like David Gemmell's Troy trilogy as an example. Are his books good?
@@Bookborn I can't help you there as, needless to say, I didn't read any others beyond the blade itself. To be honest by this stage I have kind of subconsciously merged both it and the Lies of Locke Lamora in my memory, as they were read consecutively and both disliked. I'm not even sure which bits happened in which book any more! In my defence it would have been about a decade ago now.
@@thewhiskybowman if you like beautiful prose the I would recommend him. His Fionavar Tapestry trilogy is a portal story. He wrote it after assisting Christopher Tolkien with compiling the Silmarillion. I think the reason that his other works are usually inspired by historical places and times is that he wanted a way to give depth to his worlds, without spending 50 odd years on it like Tolkien did.
to do a bit of egregiously unprofessional psycoanalisys, Logan seems to have trauma triggered Psycotic breaks. the only real magical part about him is that he is a spirit medium, in a nicer world he would have made a great sooth sayer.
I like your videos and I think you have a lot of valid points... but I really, really can not stand your up speak, it's so jarring, it's like you are asking me a question every sentence...sorry
I'm sorry, that's just how I speak. I'm saying this in the nicest way possible but: in the future, it's probably best practice not to tell someone you dislike something fundamental about themselves that they can't change. It's...pretty hurtful. I truly want to know: what was the purpose of this comment?
"Everything I've heard about the genre . . . " Oh, neat. A young 'un finds out that people that don't like things, lie about them to discourage others from experiencing, judging and thinking for themselves. Now, chica, turn that skeptical eye towards the rest of the world.
Wait...what?? First...I'm not as young as I look lol. Second, I never heard negative things about the genre, just things that I didn't think I'd personally like - like extreme violence, sexual assault, and anti-heroes. It has nothing to do with "not thinking for myself" and just listening to what other's said about it. How is it wrong to think "hey I don't want to participate in this thing" ESPECIALLY when it's just ENTERTAINMENT?
One of the things I love about Glotka is how easily I can picture him from the POV of the people he intimidates. How many times we've seen the sinister torturer/jailer/dark figure who is just creepy, mysterious and dangerous? But now we're getting a look at his perspective.
You’ve gotta be realistic about these things.
Say one thing for the First Law series, say that it is an awesome series. Abercrombie writing improves over the series. I have read all of his books twice and he is one of my favorite authors.
The writing is really great, especially when it comes to his characters. I'm really enjoying it so far.
Say one thing for Jim Ave, say that he is man with good taste.
The Fist Law trilogy is great. It's the only grimdark series that I have read and actually liked. The one thing I loved about the series was the humor. I would chuckle throughout my reading of the series. For some reason when I pictured the book in my head it was always in an animated way. I think it is the only series I imagine this way.
It seems that everyone hates Jezal but I loved him from the beginning. I would always laugh at the thoughts he had about himself and how stuck up he was. He was such a goof
Oh man Jezal is def a love to hate. I hate him but he's hilarious. Like he's SO over the top self involved (although, let's be realistic, there are people out there like that...)
Have you ever read any of Brent weeks two series'? Idk if those are Grim Dark to the level of Joe Abercrombie but I loved The Night Angel and am working through Lightbringer now. I love how he just grabs you right from the beginning. They're very fast paced and everything that happens seems to have a very logical reason for it. Weeks is like a puppeteer for your emotions!
I also pictured it to be animated, especially because it seems the Northman are comically huge
Lots of great points here and I definitely agree about Abercrombie's prose. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the internal thoughts of the characters, ESPECIALLY Glokta. I absolutely loved his internal thoughts compared to what he would say/do with those around him.
Umbridge is in fact one of the most insufferable villains in a book ever. She is such a well-written and hateful human.
I totally agree about Glokta's internal dialogue, it's very relatable tbh
So glad you enjoyed it! I always struggle to explain why and how, despite definitely being grimdark, Abercrombie’s books somehow aren’t that dark or grim to read, but you’re right it’s because it’s realistic rather than gratuitous
Yeah it's not like punching you with every chapter and going over the top. I was so pleasantly surprised!
@@Bookborn as Logen would say, you have to be realistic 😜
"The commentary... About our fears as a whole of interacting or talking with people who have gone through extreme trauma and how we just kinda want to push them aside and we don't want to deal with them because it makes us personally uncomfortable."
True! Sooo true!
YES! Abercrombie does it so well.
Abercrombie is indeed the GOAT at character voice
Agreed.
also yes, sometimes the gravity on PoV characters in First Law seems to be a bit weaker. Long falls have a habit of not killing people, you didn't imagine it.
Although I don't think Logen was high enough up to hit terminal velocity.
I just started the audiobook yesterday and did an 8 hour binge of part 1 lol
lol it weirdly sucks you in!
Steven Pacey is just brilliant as a narrator. Just finished the third (audio-) book and his narration of Glokta will be stuck in my head for a while. But three dark books in a row are enough, so I started The Eye of the World, where dark is reserved for dark Lords, as it should be. :D
Daaamn! I wanna read this book thid year still. Good to know the audiobook is this good!
Me too! Well, I only did 4 hours, but still 😀
Glad you enjoyed it. I had the exact opposite experience with that audiobook. The narrator turned me off badly.
I love this series! Glokta is just an amazing character. I hate what he does but at the same time I understand and applaud him doing it. Amazing!
I can't even say I understand him but man is he just a great person to read from perspective wise
Yea dude i wasn't sure i wanted to get into this one because grim dark hurts me sometimes lol. I loved logans crew they were my favorite because of the dark comedy they brought to the table. Each character was awesome. Loved how Three trees is always telling them to wait for the signal but seems to fail to tell them what signal is and they all usually act on their own anyways. Also when one of their own died they just all went for vengeance and it was heart breaking that the one selfless dude among them gets destroyed.
I'm also in love with the northmen cast dogman, hardened Grimm, the thunderhead Tul, three trees, and black dow. And the weakest :( All wonderfuly done characters in there own right. Stick with these books and author they'll not disappoint.
The Weakest 😭😭 I think I cared most about them as a group. I rooted for them so much!
Glad you liked it. I too feel like the dark parts of grim dark are often exaggerated. At least when it comes to the blade itself. Like you, I haven’t read the rest of the series yet.
Yeah I'll be curious to see if it holds up...people are claiming it won't lol
Having read through First Law it is neither super grim nor dark. Well yes, in the sense that all the characters are reprehensible human beings berefet of the milk of human kindness. But not in the Game of Thrones gore/assault/incest way. Abercombie goes by the handle LordGrimdark so it may be a marketing thing.
After all, you have to be realistic about these things.
Oh please do book by book reviews, the next books are so great!
Just finished books 2! Because of my filming schedule I'll probably just do a video on both book 2 and 3 together. I already have thoughts lol
Without any spoilers, or particulars at all, several of the things you mentioned wanting to see, or things that you don't like, do make sense. And I love this trilogy, so please do a series review!
Ok I'm going to do it! I'm particularly interested if the ending is going to make or break grimdark for me. If it ends really depressingly I don't know if I'll like it. I'll have to see...
"Everyone loves Sand dan Glokta"
*Me whose favourite is Jezal*
look after reading just Blade Itself I wouldn't have understood you. Now that I've read the entire series, my poor baby Jezal 🥲 you're so valid for him being your fav
I just discovered your chanel and really love the content you have been posting! Nice job!!
Thanks for the support!
Just a note towards the end. Logen isn't possesed by a spirit, he just tapped into a sort of berserker rage, like Northmen of old were told to have. Realistically is likely a huge adrenaline rush, but as far as I've read it didn't seem like something too supernatural, like an external entity entering his body.
Yeah I mean I realized that when I read the other two books lol! Was just theorizing here :)
You should read Best Served Cold next. It's a standalone set between book 1 & 2 of First Law but with different characters and one of Abercrombie's best books.
I've heard a LOT about Best Served Cold! If I like how this series ends I'll def be reading more
What I love about the series is the way he plays with what makes a good man. Nine fingers and glotka both are in their own way extremely evil people, yet both have their good qualities. To ardee glotka is a good man, to say quai logen is a good man, but to others both are evil. As to login being possessed, I tend to think he is in full control of it, based on some stuff that happens later, but it's not entirely clear.
Great that you liked this book so much on its own - I merely liked it at first and only grew to love it in retrospect after I got through the rest of the series. You have a great journey ahead of you with the rest of the books in the First Law world!
I think it helps that it's just so NEW to me. I've never done grimdark so it felt fresh and different, and a lot of what I've been reading lately just hasn't felt that way.
@@Bookborn That makes sense! It actually might’ve been my first grimdark too! My issue initially was that it was so character-driven and not as focused on worldbuilding/fantastical elements or plot, but I enjoyed it enough to continue. No spoilers, but by the end of the series I was totally on board with Abercrombie was doing and ready to devour everything else set in the Circle of the World. I definitely consider the First Law trilogy as a single three-volume story rather than a true trilogy because each book isn’t super satisfying on its own. At this point though, even if Abercrombie isn’t my absolute favorite author, he has perhaps my absolute favorite writing style - those super tight POVs and cinematic scene structures (almost always “in the moment” rather than summaries) are everything.
Your channel came up on my recommendations and I am glad. Great review and glad another content creator loves First Law 😬
I'm almost done with the third...Still liking it!
@@Bookborn it gets better and better from there as well. Happy reading 😃
Great review! Glokta I one of my favourite characters, so well realised!
He's one of the most interesting characters I've read in fantasy. The idea of the war hero who didn't die but also isn't beautiful any more is just...chef's kiss.
I read all the First Law books last year. I thought they were great. The first three books are really just one long story, so keep that in mind when people start complaining about the lack of plot. The prose is amazing. You're absolutely right about being able to tell who is talking without the dialogue tags. But honestly, looking back on the books, I think of the amazing characters and the comedy. I feel like a lot people are always talking about how grimdark the First Law is, but for me, I'll always enjoy the comedy. Thinking of Glokta with every other tooth pulled out, and the top and bottom being offset, singing how much he loves to eat porridge with honey or how much he hates stairs.
The narrator for the audio books is great. He adds a lot to the story with his voices. A lot of people are split on his best stand alone book. I personally liked, Best Served Cold the best. Best Served Cold is a revenge story, Heroes is a war story, and Red Country is a western. I hope you enjoy the rest of the trilogy. Don't rush it though, just take it all in and you'll enjoy so much more.
That's so funny, that's how I've been describing the plot to people! I said it feels like one book split into three. It doesn't bother me, especially now that I'm expecting it.
According to my comment section, everyone is loving Best Served Cold and telling me I need to read it next.
I haven't finished The blade itself yet but I did have some difficulties with the grimdark elements. Something about the tortured scenes and Glokta just being in constant pain is hard for me to read
I have to lightly read/skim all the torture scenes haha. They are too gruesome for me.
I never saw the Bloody Nine as a possession thing. Came across as having multiple personalities to me. Then again I didn't come across the possession theory until after I'd finished the trilogy.
I think because I had just read some Stormlight, I was thinking that direction. I'm really glad it didn't end up being that. I felt Logen was SO much more compelling with his actual storyline.
I love this series so much so far. I just finished Before They are Hanged, and I won’t spoil anything, but I can tell you there’s not any sexual assault portrayed. Characters might talk in passing earshot of raping and stuff, but it isn’t shown. I just barely started Last Argument though, so we’ll see. Also, the “event” with Logen at the end tells me the Bloody Nine may be an Alter (diss-ID), and it’s possible the alter may have extreme amounts of adrenaline, but that’s just a guess. It could be similar to the “Thrill” that Dalinar was possessed by. We also know he can talk to spirits, so who knows. He may have a power we don’t know about.
Yeah I already got to the passing rape comments which I don't consider graphic; it's not like they were portrayed as a good thing or anything! I'm halfway through so I'm excited to get to the end. I agreee, so far it sounds like "the thrill"...but I'm hoping it's something else!
I just finished the first book. Love your review. I was super excited to see your comments on Abercrombies Charente writing. Just yesterday I was texting a friend about the book and was super excited about it and I literally said that I never read anyone who writes each character with such unique voices.
Honestly from the very beginning I loved how gloktas thoughts where written just dripping with cynicism.
Loved your review!
I've just taken notes and I hope to read this next quarter of this year. Thanks, Bookborn! 🥰🤓😍
I hope you like it!
I didn't think Half A King was that great when I finished it but for some reason around a year later I re-read it and liked it a lot and ended up enjoying the trilogy. Now I've caught up on Abercrombie up to A Little Hatred. Hope you enjoy the rest of the trilogy.
I wonder if I'd feel differently about it now after I've read other abercrombie!
Great video, completely agree, Abercrombie is so good it transcends genre. Lots of people who don't enjoy grimdark get hooked on the first law.
Don't sleep on the standalone books that take place after first law, there are as good as the whole trilogy
Is that Best Served Cold? Everyone has been saying that one is great.
@@Bookborn Yeah, then there is The Heroes and Red Country. Each story is separate with some minor connections, but a chronological order. All 3 of them are good but Best Served Cold is the best.
And the only with a focus on a female protagonist
Agree 100% about character voice. Really great. That’s probably why it works so well as an audiobook too.
Never even thought about the audio book implications!
You can technically fall from a greater height into water if the water is a fast moving river because it breaks it's own surface tension constantly. That said... he falls from very high up.
I think Abercrombie will continue to surprise you in a good way - he has a flair to how he brings you into the darkness 😉
Hope you enjoy the series, do tell us!
Almost done with book 2 and am excited to start book 3!
So glad you enjoyed it. Abercrombie is one of my favourite authors and he just continues to improve as he writes (and I can't wait for the new book in September)
Responding as I'm watching. You have to rewatch this after you finish the trilogy lol
lol oh no. Is that because I'm going to eat my words on the gratuitous nature? lol
@@Bookborn hmm I think that a bit of both
In the part where Logen fell from the cliff, you might have a point there that he's a special person meaning he's a Names Man so maybe he has magical abilities that made him stronger than others. Just starting with Before They Are Hanged btw
I'm halfway through hanged and still can't tell you if that's the case. Like I said, it's a petty thing. So many authors do things like that lol
I have been avoiding grimdark fantasy for thr exact same reasons as you. So I really appreciated this review, and feel more confident in reading this book that it won't be too much for me. I would be curious to see how the other books in the trilogy are in the same regard
I think I'll for sure do another video when I finish the trilogy! I'm glad to know there are other people like me who just hate that graphic sort of stuff haha
@@Bookborn I actually had a friend in college who was worried that his favorite book series might be too much for friends, so he bought paperback copies and went over any parts that he thought we wouldn't be comfortable reading and it actually was really nice to be able to read books I normally wouldn't have picked up.
@@s.r.dragonreads4915 I love this so much. In high school I used to go over with a pen sometimes on parts I didn't like in books lol. I need that in my life still tbh
Been looking for something to read once I finish Rythm of War. Think I might give this one a shot, thanks for the review :)
It's def very different than Sanderson but I've been enjoying it so far, just finished book 2!
So question without looking it up, isnt there a way to hit water without it being like pavement? Ive always heard if you fall far to stiffen straight with your toes pointed down and as they enter kinda make banana shape it.
Yes there is a way to make it way better! Breaking the surface with your feet helps a ton; the most dangerous is belly. It's been a hot minute since I read Blade Itself but I remember thinking it sounded like he went flat down lol.
The first chapter from Before They Are Hanged is a previous pov character in the blade itself
I can't wait for your reviews of the rest of First Law and the rest of Abercrombie's books :)
Just finished the third book, it's coming very soon :)
Yes, omg the character voice! It is so true! He is world class for sure!
With Logen's psychy and the fight near the end of the book, you just have to keep in mind going forward that nothing is black and white. The choices Logen makes and his own accountability are not always clear-cut, but it also helps to later read Red Country and one of the chapters from Abercrombie's First Law short story book(Sharp Edges or something like that) that goes into Logen's past. I don't want to give anything away, but I think once you get the total perspective of everything he goes through and does, you will be pleased by your opinion of his accountability and how it is conveyed!
This is good to know, I didn't even realize there was a novella from Logen's perspective. Should that be read after First Law is completely done?
@@Bookborn He's actually only got one short chapter in that novella! You should probably read all of First Law first, but if you want to read the entire novella and not just Logen's chapter, you might also want to read all 3 stand-alone novels, not just Red Country haha. The novella mostly just expands on various characters, big and small. It's fun haha.
Actually, you kind of need to read the other 2 stand-alones before Red Country now that I think of it. There are reasons, but I don't want to spoil anything!
@@33jamesds OH, okay, so the novella is for a lot of characters and should be completed after I read everything else in the First Law set. This is good info.
The thing with the First Law books are that they just keep getting better and better. The first 3 books are very good. The books after are even better. His characters are just fantastic.
I'm loving the third book so far. It's had some GREAT moments. But I'm only like 200 pages in so I'm a little nervous how it'll end up lol
Oh this was interesting, thanks for your thoughts! I am very much like you in the sense that I find graphic violence in fantasy, particularly sexual violence, hard to digest (whether there is a purpose to it or not). Because of this, like yourself, I have avoided this series and others. So I appreciate your critique. Might add this to my TBR and give it a go after all! Cheers.
I'll let you know after I finish the series if there is any iffy stuff! It matters to me and I like to warn others, since I like to be warned.
I’m about to finish The Shadow Casket. Next book I will read is The Blade Itself. Very excited!
I don’t… or should I say, “I thought” Logen had more of a Banner/Hulk thing going than a possession thing going on.
Oh absolutely. I wasn't sure at the end of The Blade Itself, but by the end of the trilogy it clearly isn't possession. Which I liked a lot - it made his character super interesting.
Logens character is similar to a dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde. It does it better than any other imo. Glokta is by far the standout. When I first started reading the book. I had no love for the character and then found myself saying wtf how do i care about this man so much and how has this pseudo villain been written so compellingly. As to be the standout in a already greatly written cast? Logens character is special though. Theres an argument to be had at the transition to the bloodynine I understand but I found it super exciting and very unpredictable. Say one this for the first law. It's not just a great book it's a fantastic trilogy.
The trilogy definitely works very well together as a whole, and I think that's because it doesn't necessarily have super strong delineations of plot between all three books. Abercrombie just is SO good at writing character and character voice that it's hard not to get involved and feel for the characters...even when technically they suck lol
I liked the first book of the Trilogy enough to read the rest, but by the end of it I had decided that Grim Dark is not my area of interest. Abecrombie hooked me in the beginning with Glokta with the description of him going down the stairs and the pain he experiences. In general, authors always seem to think going up stairs is harder for people with joint/pain issues, it's not, it's down that's much much worse. That detail that he got right was just one piece in a really well written character that made me want to read more. But I can appreciate how something is written and still not want to read it. I want some hope in my world.
This is what I'm most interested in. I'm loving it right now but I have a feeling the ending is what is going to make or break it for me in terms of Grimdark readability.
Reading The Blade Itself was weird for me... There was nothing *wrong* with it per se and I enjoyed it whenever I picked it up, but the plot just... didn't interest me really I guess. I didn't feel the normal desire I do for just... one... more... chapter. Like I finished Rhythm of War in like a week because I couldn't put it down while The Blade Itself took me weeks if not months to finish. The characters were of course strong, but I didn't love them enough to get excited to read more about them going about their lives without the plot pushing the pace more I think. I haven't picked up Before They Hanged yet and am struggling with whether I should haha.
So I stand by that there isn't much plot lol. I mean there IS a plot, but it's not the typical fantasy plot where there are multiple mini climaxes/arcs before an overall story arc. It reminds me strongly of LOTR in that it feels like one book split into three rather than three separate entities. I have patience for that sort of stuff, but it def isn't a page turner like Sanderson.
Minor spoiler:
I've always seen the Logan/Bloody-Nine thing as: The Bloody-Nine psycho persona is his true self (not a daemon possession) and his Logan is just a pretension because he partly wants redemption and feels regret. I think this because of all the clues we get for Logan being an unreliable narrator throughout the series.
I waited until I was far enough in the third book to read this haha. I've only got about 200 pages left and I think you're right. After the first book I misunderstood it to be something else, but I do think they are both him and it's a coping mechanism.
Loved the character work. Many multi layered characters. I did feel like the book had no real central plot/conflict. All set up. Hopefully the 2nd book makes it worth it
I think Major west was such a good character. He seems like the one likeable good guy character until he isn’t
You really get your point across well, very articulate but to the point. You ever thought of a career in sales?
lol this is so funny because my entire life I've always joked that I'd be the worst sales person on the planet. I have huge social anxiety and the thought of trying to sell someone something makes me die inside.
This absolutely sounds like my kind of book lol. Can’t wait to read it.
Great review! God bless you!
I hope you enjoy it when you get around to it!
I love the Mystbuster complaint. :-)
Thank you, you've convinced me to go and re-read this and the rest of the trilogy.
It's just so good. It's a series you definitely notice more and more about after the fact.
I've been debating whether to try this series, with much the same reservations you had. I might give it a go now!
Can't speak for the other's yet but the first was really good and not crazy intense.
By Luthar you mean Jezal right? If so. Same
Yes! Luthar is his last name but for some reason I just remember that name easier in my mind than Jezal.
Your my favorite booktuber now. Awsome.
Wow, thank you!
Ahhhh finally you got to it! *high 5* .. goes to watch the video :) The First Law is utterly fantastic, if creepy-cartoony.
ed: I think the deal is .. its a hard world, a more primitive place in many areas; but the people are not grim or evil or mean, they're just realistic and struggling through, and in fact.. noble, and interesting, and hardy. Logan has a dark past, but he's really an interesting ... hero? now-hero-was-bad? Glokta is an exercise in making a torturer (a tortured soul, no less) a really wonderful interesting charismatic intelligent character. The grim is a backdrop, and not what its about.
And this man knows how to write a fight scene :O
Logan Ninefingers is one of the best characters around. Glokta too.. all of them :O
Luther is pretty interesting, the things that happen around him, over the next couple books; I forget the great low-born soldier, who has the sister who comes to visit; all good characters. The sister goes thruogh tough times like all of them, but another character you have to respect.
.. Very inciteful commentary you have regarding Abercrombie's character-voice. Nailed it.
Were you the one who sent it to me 👀 Anyway I totally agree with you! The setting is dark, and the characters are dark, but not unredeemably dark. Well maybe Glokta but I still find him fascinating lol. West took me by SUCH surprise at the end of the book like a gut punch; I was like West is the only perfectly good one of the bunch and then it was like HAHA NOPE
@@Bookborn I think thats one of the hallmarks of Grimdark is 'grey' -so many Epic Fantasy have those idealized charactersd; the good, and the bad; or maybe morally grey. But grimdark is ralistically grey.. they're good, and also bad, and the bad might not even be evil.. it might just be opposing forces, or opposing cultures, so each party mnay see the other as dark when they're not, etc. Its 'realistic' to some context of realism.
I really liked West, and his sister was pretty interesting; even the side characters, Gloktas helper guys .. the knife guy etc, were a little fleshed out and interesting
I think I was one of the guys pushing it on you, for sure :) Glad you liked it. I found them _gripping_
Malazan is quite good, but huge of course.
I should make a list of the grimdaks I've read.. the ones claiming to be grimdark, and those I'd say I'd place there myself; some are a little more grimmer or meaner than others, but overall.. they seem, just more character driven, with more complex emotions, and some of those emotions are nasty.. but not necessarily evil etc
Sorry, writing quick while doing something
@@skeezixcodejedi I'm def of the camp that just because something is darker or grittier doesn't make it better or more complex; but I think the grayness of the characters makes them super interesting.
West isn't the most interesting but I like the idea of his character, and def like his sister a lot.
I'm considering trying Malazan again...Idk though...
@@Bookborn Malazan I've read the first.. 4 of them I think? Need to get back to them. The first is a little jarring (on purpose), and is his first book .. but you get a good feal for how it works; definately a little much with the army guys, if you're not into the war side. That series seems to get better as they go .. and the one, third book I think though IO'd have to check, I really really came to adore. Some of those characters were amazing, but they're definately not 'character driven' so much as the grim dark Iv'e read so far. Erikson just isn't that kind of author.. he's got such wide 'epic' characters, some alien, multiple planes of existance, some essentially gods... its about the crazy huge scale stories, and interesting charactyers.. but he just isn't the author to bring them so much depth of personality
@@skeezixcodejedi I read the first one almost a decade ago now. IT was good but it was just SO much and SO confusing and I didn't really feel the need to go on. I wonder if I'd enjoy it more now. I was pretty early in on my adult fantasy journey back then, and I've read so much more now I think I'd appreciate it more.
I'll read it after Guard Guard
Which I'll read after one of Backman's books
Which is my next book, now that I finished Voice of War, idk if you heard of that one, it's a self pub thing, kinda cool and colorful
Voice of War? Weird...not into indie books ;)
I'll be interested to see what you think of Backman! I only read AP but I really loved it.
@@Bookborn L O L
I'm excited for Backman! I read a non-fantasy every 5 books or so
last one was ...
"All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
and I LOVED it! Amazing execution of a great idea. It's worth all the hype.
@@urigatt6815 I'll have to look into it! I try to take breaks and read non-fiction and just regular fiction now and again, and I haven't done it enough yet this year.
@@Bookborn Oh that'll be awesome!!
It has a very strong opening: "Is today a good day to die?" is the first sentence
and the depiction of mental disorders is damn powerful
about 50% of it is romance tho. Nothing erotic, but still. You've been warned :)
I want to read this but I'm kind of afraid. I'm not so good with handling violence, especialy torture. Is there excesive torture in this book?
There is a lot of violence and torture. I honestly skim a lot of it because I'm pretty sensitive to violence. If torture is something that really bothers you, I wouldn't read this book personally.
Personally the best grimdark comes from Abercombrie. The First Law was enjoyable and its related books were quite good.
I'm about halfway through the second one and still really enjoying it. Depending on how this goes will probably influence whether I check out other grimdark
Great review , thank you though surprised no mention of how funny this book is, it really does have hilarious exchanges and dark humour. Looking forward to your review of the series, please don't pass on 'Best served cold' a fantastic book from with a female perspective.
I didn't think about it much but you're right; I actually chuckled out loud a few times. His humor definitely lands, especially with Glokta. Also, I have Best Served Cold sitting on my nightstand!
Thanks for the review, I've been wanting to check this series out!
Do it! I'm just about to start number 3 and it's been really good so far.
Lots of people who've read wider in grimdark than me say that First Law is the series for people who don't like grimdark
Also, I don't think I've ever seen Abercrombie glory in sexual assault. There's plenty of detailed sex (sometimes more than my ace self wants) but it's pretty much all consensual.
I can only think of one scene (in the whole trilogy and the standalones) where it starts consensual and then goes somewhere dark but the one who took it there is called out for it immediately and actually reproaches themself.
I think Abercrombie just respects women too much to use that gimmick.
BTW, while the original trilogy is overwhelmingly male, the second trilogy (which I've just started) has a lot of female POV characters.
I'm only one hundred pages into the third book right now but I've noticed the same thing and have appreciated it SO MUCH. Like it's a little bit in Ferro's backstory (but is not shown at all) and then there's the one scene with the prince that again had zero graphicness. And in both cases, they served the plot and weren't just some background worldbuilding. I've appreciated that all sex scenes so far have been consensual. It honestly does make my esteem for Abercrombie go up a lot.
At this point anything Bookborn likes, I read!!
WHAT A COMPLIMENT 😭 Thank you!
What made me DNF it was the lack of plot, seriously, I was boredddd. But I loved his prose and his way with characters so I gave him a second chance with A Little Hatred and I f... loved it. He has grown as a writer inmensely since First Law.
It definitely doesn't have a lot of plot. It reminds me of LOTR in that it's like one long story split into three books, rather than the typical three-act story structure.
@@Bookborn Yep but I believe that it´s more than a structure problem, I think it´s lack of character´s motivation and outside conflict, clear goal, and a lot of meandering. People says that it´s a character driven book, but I believe that phrase doesn´t makes sense, character drives plot, what they do, what they decide, what they react to, that´s plot. And like you said, it´s exactly like Eye of the World, although Jordan´s book does focus a bit more on events and character´s decisions, so it doesn´t look too ´´boring´´.
@@henryalpizar7670 I have to wait until the end of the series for judgement, but right now I get the criticism. So far it feels like a window into a moment in time rather than a super directive plot.
@@Bookborn Of course, and I don´t want to sound like a hater or something, and I get that a lot (a lottt) of people love this series, and I´m just one of the few that doesn´t. I hope you like it, because if you don´t, reading an 1600 page series it´s not gonna be pleasent .
@@henryalpizar7670 Eh I don't like a lot of popular things. It happens, and I don't love this enough to be defensive about it so I'm fine with your dislike 😂
Good chance this will be the next book I pick up!
I’ve been wanting to read this for so long!
Do it! Although...I can only speak for the first one currently haha
@@Bookborn I'll read it soon! I'm currently reading a lot of books and then I have a lot of buddy reads planed. But I'm looking forward to it! Would you say it's a good introduction to adult fantasy? I haven't read much in it.
@@bb_reads Nah, this wouldn't be my recommendation for intro to adult fantasy. It's a specific subgenre and also actually doesn't have *that* much magic. I'd say Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss...any of those sorts of popular ones!
@@Bookborn ok thank you! I’ve also been wanting to read mistborn for a while but I’m kind of scared to enter the universe. There are so many books so it’s intimidating. They’re also really long. The longest book I’ve read is 916 pages and those books are way longer... But I might start with a novella soon. :)
@@bb_reads Well Mistborn is much shorter! Maybe only 300-400 pages per book. Those books are considered a bridge between YA and Adult. And it's completely stand alone! Even though there is a universe at large, you do NOT need to know anything about it at all. It comes later, if you are interested.
I can only think of an attempted sexual assault in the first law but let's just say it doesn't go well for the assailant
I know it was...a v. good moment haha. In the end there was four instances of sexual assault, although I mean that very broadly (and literally mentioning everything)...
--spoilers below for the entire series--
You have the obvious Prince situation where West kills him lol. Then you have Black Dow mentioning it as a joke like "i'll make a girl do what I want" and Dogman reprimanding him. Ferro was clearly raped in her backstory, but it's not shown; just her talking about being sold. And then finally Jezel's wife; in fairness, Jezel didn't KNOW that his wife was coerced, but it's technically sexual assault as she wasn't willing.
Yeah that no hope thing kicks in.. in 'best served cold' standalone book..😂😂
haha oh no....everyone has been saying they love it though and recommending that I read it after First Law!
@@Bookborn yeah..my friends said that the ending to first law is hard to get through but it wasnt like that for me..but best served cold was much harder for me because i was reading them back to back..and i stopped for bit after best served cold..
My boy Glokta is just the most likable character ever created. Don't @ me 😂
lol I AM GOING TO AT YOU. I love Glokta to pieces, he's def the best viewpoint character...but likeable....I'm concerned 😂
I love what you are saying, but the autofocus is really distracting. It shifts from you to the bookshelf.
I was having a lot of trouble with my camera this vid!
👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
How much do I have to donate to add some Wheel of Time to that bookshelf?
I have every single Wheel of Time on that bookshelf! Maybe just isn't showing up in this vid :)
@@Bookborn Of course I then watch another video of yours about Wheel of Time and feel silly. Tai'shar Bookborn
really does feel less like he's making stuff up that dark, but instead pointing out the dark shit we are already standing under
I just skimmed it because it was disgusting...😆 I didn't know you could do that. Would of skimmed parts of "IN THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURER" by GENE WOLF when I was younger.
Too many books would be closed off to me if I wasn't allowed to skim the gory stuff because I get grossed out so easily lol. I'm really good and just lightly skimming the one or two paragraphs that have too much and jumping back in when it's important 😂
It's not just grim for the sake of being grim.
Ehh, the one problem with the realism is how effective the torture was (an inaccuracy that is potentially dangerous). Maybe that disconnect is part of what prevented me from ever “liking” Glokta (he is a fantastic villain and representation of someone being hurt so much that all they can do is hurt others, but I never found him particularly sympathetic).
I guess I meant realistic in terms of how dark the world was, not necessarily the details, if that makes sense. Although I'm not going to pretend I know literally ANYTHING about the efficacy of torture; all I know is it would probably be extremely effective on me lol
You should check out BLACKDOG by K. V. Johansen. ;-)
Oh no is that one super gorey or something
@@Bookborn No! I wouldn't have suggested it if it was super gorey per your video, silly! It's high fantasy with splashes of grimdark elements and I think you'd enjoy it :-)
@@WickedGoodBooks OH sounds good! You winked after so I wasn't sure if it was in jest or not lol
@@Bookborn I would never jest ! 😏😂 But seriously, I think you’ll dig it and it’s a great combination of some of the things I know you already like and some worthwhile grimdark elements.
3:02 “I liked that it was realistic grim not over the top grim”
Well, you DO have to be realistic about these things…
"Rothfus has better prose than Abercrombie" some hot takes here folks
Did I say that in this video?
Gokta
First law is one of my favourite trilogies of mine of any agenda.
Don't want to be to rude also, but this review was a bit painful to listen to, in fact I had to turn off, there was to much talking about what you were expecting in a Grim Dark story and your surprises it didn't follow your expected narrative, than actually focus on the book itself.
That might change later in your review but it was challenging enough for me to move on.
The purpose of this review was from the point of view of someone who hadn't read grimdark; a lot of people ignore grimdark because they don't think it will work for them. I'm not trying to be rude but... you could just turn off the video without telling me :)
@@Bookborn I have watched a lot of your other reviews and have thoroughly enjoyed them, more feedback than anything, I found this video challenging as I thought it was a review. A title of the video more along the lines of "How The Blade Itself changed my opinion on Grimdark would be more appropriate".
Time for my unpopular opinion. I disliked it. Could not get on with it at all. I tried reading it just after The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I had also disliked, so I probably wasn't in the best place when starting it, but there was pretty much nothing in it I enjoyed reading. I struggle reading books, or watching shows, where I can't relate to any of the characters, and I could not in these books. I have toyed with giving it another try but haven't been able to work myself up to it so far. My friends loved it though, I have one friend who has the polar opposite views on pretty much all fantasy from me. He hates Rothfuss, Jordan and Sanderson, for example, but loves The Blade Itself and The Lies of Locke Lamora. We recommend books to each other so we know what to avoid if the other likes it!
I thought I might dislike it tbh, I was very surprised I did. I tend to not need to relate to characters, which is probably why I'm okay with it. I've not liked a lot of very popular things...just all depends on our own experiences in life, I think. I'm going to be curious if I'll still like it after I finish the third. I don't know how good I am with uber-depressing endings, so I'm hoping that's not where this is going haha
Have you read any Guy Kay?
@@stephenbarrett8861 Afraid not. I'm normally not a big fan of alternative history in fantasy, with a few exceptions, like David Gemmell's Troy trilogy as an example.
Are his books good?
@@Bookborn I can't help you there as, needless to say, I didn't read any others beyond the blade itself.
To be honest by this stage I have kind of subconsciously merged both it and the Lies of Locke Lamora in my memory, as they were read consecutively and both disliked. I'm not even sure which bits happened in which book any more! In my defence it would have been about a decade ago now.
@@thewhiskybowman if you like beautiful prose the I would recommend him. His Fionavar Tapestry trilogy is a portal story. He wrote it after assisting Christopher Tolkien with compiling the Silmarillion. I think the reason that his other works are usually inspired by historical places and times is that he wanted a way to give depth to his worlds, without spending 50 odd years on it like Tolkien did.
to do a bit of egregiously unprofessional psycoanalisys, Logan seems to have trauma triggered Psycotic breaks. the only real magical part about him is that he is a spirit medium, in a nicer world he would have made a great sooth sayer.
When you started to talk about logan... :D I just bursted into tears laughing... Just wait. The fact, that you think you know him... :D
OK I'M EXCITED
I thought The Blade It’s Self was hilarious.
Me too. There is some extremely funny stuff in every book.
I like your videos and I think you have a lot of valid points... but I really, really can not stand your up speak, it's so jarring, it's like you are asking me a question every sentence...sorry
I'm sorry, that's just how I speak. I'm saying this in the nicest way possible but: in the future, it's probably best practice not to tell someone you dislike something fundamental about themselves that they can't change. It's...pretty hurtful. I truly want to know: what was the purpose of this comment?
"Everything I've heard about the genre . . . " Oh, neat. A young 'un finds out that people that don't like things, lie about them to discourage others from experiencing, judging and thinking for themselves. Now, chica, turn that skeptical eye towards the rest of the world.
Wait...what?? First...I'm not as young as I look lol. Second, I never heard negative things about the genre, just things that I didn't think I'd personally like - like extreme violence, sexual assault, and anti-heroes. It has nothing to do with "not thinking for myself" and just listening to what other's said about it. How is it wrong to think "hey I don't want to participate in this thing" ESPECIALLY when it's just ENTERTAINMENT?