A Promise Built on Rock-Solid Foundations

Abercrombie. Somehow it’s a name that puts me in mind of a purveyor of fine goods which is apt really because that’s exactly what this author is. His opener to the series builds a solid base for the remainder of the series to come. Characters are varied and deep, introduced without fanfare and explored in detail. The writing style is tight, direct and simple, not a word is wasted and where a simple one suffices it usually takes precedent over its more flowery synonyms.

It’s written from multiple points of view; the dashing but shallow and stupid noble swordsman, the near cliché arch-mage Bayaz with of course a bad temper and eccentric character, his hopelessly inept assistant and the murderous Logen Ninefingers himself. They and others are all good characters and the world and its machinations promise much too. Fortunately with this being a long book and there being a lot of scene setting we have Steven Pacey to breathe dramatic life into it all as narrator. He is a fine voice actor and oozes characteristics like sarcasm, bitterness and more positive ones too.

The undoubted star of the whole show is the bitter and twisted wreck of an ex-fencing champion; Inquisitor Glokta! He’s a nasty piece of work, make no mistake but seeing things from his point of view imbues understanding. His constant pain and carping about things like stairs are a reader’s joy. He’s a miserable, broken man that wields much power in his role as torturer but yet has crippling weaknesses and a healthy paranoia about his own life chances. He’s clearly going to be a highlight of the series.

So for me, the only likely complaint anyone would have is that there is a lot of time spent for not a huge rate of plot development. Personally, I enjoyed the characters so much that the time flew by. The author has made a huge promise for the rest of the series with this opening book. It’s a very solid foundation so I expect something special to follow!

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12 people found this helpful

Great Part 1 to a trilogy expertly narrated

I have nearly 24 audio books under my belt and thought nothing would surpass Rob Inglis' version of Lord of The Rings until I listened to a sample of this book by Steven Pacey.



Wow, Steven really has put his all into character customisation excellently narrated with characters that seem to come alive. This combined with what is a clever character driven plot makes for one of my top listens so far on Audible. I'm nearly at the end of Part 1 and already have Part 2 and 3 waiting to be heard. I can't wait! I've noticed that Pacey has also done Joe's other works and will be downloading them as well as soon as I get the credits. Top story top narrator and a worthy listen.

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Outstanding!!!

With rich characters and an in depth story, this book is an instant classic. Joe Abercrombie manages to bring the real life kind of substance and flavour to his characters that is sadly lacking in a lot of other formulaic novels of this genre. There is no black or white, the main protagonists have both flaws and humour that make them jump from the page or speaker. You may find yourself looking for excuses to spend time alone just to listen some more.

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Highly recommend this brilliant book

Absolutely loved this book. The writing is genius, and characters so detailed and funny. Amazing writer. Also the narrator brought it all to life stupendously. His delivery and perfect character voices remained consistent and varied bringing out the comedy and drama perfectly. All round brilliant.

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one of the best audio books I've ever discovered.

A modern masterpiece of narration and story. a must listen... I cannot wait to get into book 2...

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Awesome reading

I regret and don’t regret not reading it earlier. The narration is the best I ever experienced. The writing is witty, clever and lively. No dead beat in the whole volume. Only wish I would not binge on it.

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You can never have too many blades.

The first law is you get this book. The second law is you get the rest of the trilogy. The third law... Well there isn't a third law but there are more books set in the same universe that it am now eager to listen to.
At first I picked this up thinking it would be like another Game of Thrones or similar. It then took me a while to realise this is something else. I mean of all the characters you can put as one of the main cast you pick a torturer, and find out what is going on in his head.
As well as this saying the narrator Steven Pacey is perfect is an understatement, especially when you can imagine him narrating your own chain of thought in the style of the author.
This one might not be for those who want the straight forward expic Lord of the Rings style story, and you need the trilogy to see how the everything fits together, but it is definitely not one to be ignored.

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Loved it

Amazing story and the narrator is out of this world simply godlike performance. More I need more.

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Top notch fantasy

This was a hell of a journey, and it’s just the beginning too! Certainly one of the better fantasy books I had the pleasure to experience! The plot was lively and well paced - with a wide variety of colourful characters from different backgrounds and with different convictions there was not a single boring chapter!

Great sense of humour of the author was carefully counterbalanced with grim harshness of the world the characters inhabit - for every good laugh I’ve had there was a harsh battle or a heart-wrenching loss.

All in all, a wild yet well paced emotional rollercoaster that had me “on the edge of my seat” a lot of the time, yet never felt overwhelming.

Ah and of course the voice acting is most splendid! Steven Pacey does a terrific job of bringing the characters to life with a stunning variety of distinct and memorable voices. Most of the time I could tell who’s speaking before it was announced.

Very good listen, would recommend.

P.S. the book is not its without flaws, however I can’t hold any of it against the author considering all the upsides.

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Great start

This a a really good book very well read. I plan on listening to the rest as this book is only the beginning.

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