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

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.

"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!

Abercrombie is indeed the GOAT at character voice

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

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'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.

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 just started the audiobook yesterday and did an 8 hour binge of part 1 lol

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.

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!

Oh please do book by book reviews, the next books are so great!

I just discovered your chanel and really love the content you have been posting! Nice job!!

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!

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.

I've just taken notes and I hope to read this next quarter of this year. Thanks, Bookborn! 🥰🤓😍

"Everyone loves Sand dan Glokta" *Me whose favourite is Jezal*

Great review! Glokta I one of my favourite characters, so well realised!

I can't wait for your reviews of the rest of First Law and the rest of Abercrombie's books :)

You’ve gotta be realistic about these things.

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.

Your channel came up on my recommendations and I am glad. Great review and glad another content creator loves First Law 😬

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.

Agree 100% about character voice. Really great. That’s probably why it works so well as an audiobook too.

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.

This absolutely sounds like my kind of book lol. Can’t wait to read it. Great review! God bless you!

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.

Yes, omg the character voice! It is so true! He is world class for sure!

I’m about to finish The Shadow Casket. Next book I will read is The Blade Itself. Very excited!

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.

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

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

Thanks for the review, I've been wanting to check this series out!

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

Been looking for something to read once I finish Rythm of War. Think I might give this one a shot, thanks for the review :)

Your my favorite booktuber now. Awsome.

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.

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've been debating whether to try this series, with much the same reservations you had. I might give it a go now!

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.

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?

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.

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 love the Mystbuster complaint. :-)

Thank you, you've convinced me to go and re-read this and the rest of the trilogy.

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 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!

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.

The first chapter from Before They Are Hanged is a previous pov character in the blade itself

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.

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.

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!

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)

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

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.

I’ve been wanting to read this for so long!

👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

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.

Good chance this will be the next book I pick up!

By Luthar you mean Jezal right? If so. Same

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

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.

Personally the best grimdark comes from Abercombrie. The First Law was enjoyable and its related books were quite good.

I don’t… or should I say, “I thought” Logen had more of a Banner/Hulk thing going than a possession thing going on.

You really get your point across well, very articulate but to the point. You ever thought of a career in sales?

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.

At this point anything Bookborn likes, I read!!

How much do I have to donate to add some Wheel of Time to that bookshelf?

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.

Yeah that no hope thing kicks in.. in 'best served cold' standalone book..😂😂

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 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.

You should check out BLACKDOG by K. V. Johansen. ;-)

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 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

My boy Glokta is just the most likable character ever created. Don't @ me 😂

Gokta

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).

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 love what you are saying, but the autofocus is really distracting. It shifts from you to the bookshelf.

I thought The Blade It’s Self was hilarious.

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

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

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.

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.

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

"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.