The Blade Itself by Joe AbercrombieMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the most fun I've had reading a book in some time.
Excellent pacing throughout. With several complex POV characters, all flawed but sympathetic in different ways, I was entertained all the way through. I didn't find myself wishing we stayed with this one or that one. (Not much, anyway.) They're all fun, their stories engrossing, and when they start to draw together it only gets better.
Set in a sort of compact pseudo-Europe, medieval in feel, with numerous fantasy elements, it is a familiar environment, but the setting is uncommonly well done. It feels more real than most fantasy books in the same vein, with events that feel more likely to actually be happening. That gives the story more immediacy and impact than many other books of this sort.
From the start, I enjoyed the author's direct, engaging prose. It's not fancy or ornamented, exactly; just smooth and vivid. Usually I find that to be a bad sign; noticeably good prose usually (so it seems) leads to long boring stretches of beautiful description or lovingly detailed backstory. (Or, conversely, good story-telling is too often matched with dull language. IMO.) Nope. Neither problem. The story gallops along, engrossing and rewarding, making an excellent match for the language.
Anyway, everybody said this was a good book in a good series by a good author, and I find that, so far, they are entirely correct.
Recommended.
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