The Blade Itself by Joe AbercrombieMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This gritty light fantasy is reminiscent of a Game of Thrones in tone and perhaps even more critical of power and power brokers.
I found myself being really addicted to this story despite not having any characters with pure/spotless personas. There were few "heros" per se and unlike the Kingkiller Chronicle or Gentleman Bastards series, there isn't a central character to focus on. Instead, the world portrayed is built up from different vantage points portraying the heiarchical and sometimes violent region called the Union and its growing border disputes.
Sand dan Glokta to me is the most interesting character in the story, as he is different from any character I have ever seen in a fantasy story. The dashing and wealthy character and expert swordsman who gets captured and tortured, lends him to bitterness and completely incapacitates him leading him to put more weight on his mind than his body. Without spoiling anything, I find his motivations to be super genuine given what has happened to his body.
There are wizards in this story, but magic isn't super defined or aggressively powerful. Furthermore they are so removed from the world that most people dont even believe they exist.
I am definitely excited to read the next one as its exciting to find another fantasy story done in a refreshingly different style.
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