The more you have, the more you have to lose. With all he loves on the line and nowhere to turn, Danny realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice: How far will he go to protect his future from his past?Ī debut novel thats drawn comparison to Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and Quentin Tarantino, The Blade Itself is the story of a good man held hostage by circumstance a riveting exploration of class, identity, and the demons that shape us, where every effort to do the right thing leads to terrifying consequences and one inevitable conclusion: Having served his time without dropping Dannys name, his old friend believes hes owed major payback-and hes willing to do anything to get it. This balance is also honed by its audiobook narrator, Steven Pacey. The prison-hardened Evan is barely recognizable. The Blade Itself knows it’s the very first book in a trilogy and is restrained by pairing every intense event, from fight scenes to intense strides in intrigue and conspiracy, with one of release and reassurance that everyone is going to be, in some shape or form, OK. Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is. Until he spots his old partner staring him down in a smoky barroom mirror. Tell us, how often do we get to see a torturer as a main PoV in epic fantasy now. Included in this cast we have a crippled torturer as a main character. Abercrombie gives us a cast of characters that that have even more attitude than we dono easy feat. Hes built a new world for himself: a legitimate career, a long-term girlfriend, and a clean conscience. THE BLADE ITSELF is a refreshing first novel in what we would call a dark fantasy trilogy.

Years later, Danny doesnt think about his past. Then a job went desperately wrong, and in the roar of a gun blast, everything changed. Danny Carter and his best friend, Evan, earned theirs knocking over pawnshops and liquor stores, living from score to score, never thinking of tomorrow. On the South Side of Chicago, youre only as strong as your reputation. How far would you go to protect everything you love?

The blade itself book review