Book of the Month Preview: ‘The Blade Itself’ by Joe Abercrombie
Did you finish your 2025 reading goal?
Well, it’s time to start organizing for 2026!
Our BOOK OF THE MONTH for January is The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.
This is the first book in the First Law series by Joe Abercrombie, and if our book club is a fan, we’ll continue the series!
Join our book club today and help us vote for our 2026 books.
The MBC community always has fun discussions in the Discord and an in-depth analysis during our live book chat on Twitch!
Joe Abercrombie was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and the University of Manchester, where he studied psychology. He moved into television production before taking up a career as a freelance film editor. During a break between jobs, he began writing The Blade Itself in 2002, completing it in 2004.
It was published by Gollancz in 2006 and was followed by two other books in The First Law trilogy, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings. He currently lives and works in London with his wife and daughter. In early 2008, Joe Abercrombie was one of the contributors to the BBC Worlds of Fantasy series, alongside other contributors such as Michael Moorcock, Terry Pratchett and China Mieville.
The bLADE ITSELF
BY jOE aBERCROMBIE
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.
Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.
Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.
Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.
What The Blade itself Offers
challenging traditional fantasy heroism
power struggles
betrayal
harsh realities of violence and war
Join Our Book Chat
Join us for an in-depth discussion of The Blade Itself on Thursday, January 8th and Thursday, January 15th, on Twitch from 5-7 p.m. PT.
What did you think about The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie? Let us know in the comments below, or join our Discord today!
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