i read the blade itself for the first time... was it torture? // first law trilogy reading vlog 

The Dogman quickly became my favorite character in the middle of this book.

Loved the vlog style of this video!! We got to relive some excellent moments. Awesome video Torri!!

This was great! I read First Law twice last year (the brain thing, to be sure it 'stuck'), and found what you said about West's character really intriguing. I've always loved the fact that the same words on a page can have such different meanings to readers, based purely on what the reader brings - and this is an example. For me, I love West as a character, and for a large part of this first book found him to be a very two dimensional 'good guy'. Then we get the scene that you mention, where he's violent with Ardee. THAT's the point at which he became a 'real' character to me, but I come from a history of abuse, and don't trust that *anyone* is ever that 'good' and seeing this buried rage in him made him feel like a genuine person. It also, again from my perspective, meant that I had more belief in his *wanting* to do better - he understands that the violence that's a part of him is a 'wrong' thing, and *I think* it the guilt of it that pushes him to drive himself harder - because he doesn't know how else to heal that part of himself. I also took a minute to grow to like Logen yet by the end of The Blade Itself loved him. The split between Logen and The Bloody Nine was a surprise, but a welcome one to me again, personal perspective and stuff, it made his unwillingness to form connections make sense to me. Jezal I just found annoying but that's sort of his purpose, to be the one with all the opportunities and none of the desire to use them. Bayaz intrigued me, and this early on his story seemed fairly formulaic and I wasn't all in on him yet. I adored Ardee from her first appearance, her 'gives no f*cks' attitude endeared her to me greatly! There's nothing more to say about Glokta - he's become the example for Joe Abercrombie's character creation for a reason. Glokta is simply outstanding. There are very few writers (imo) that are skilled enough to make his pov chapters a true joy to read. Anyhoo, that's my two cents.

Enjoyed your video. It takes until the end of book 3 for all the pieces to fit together. Since I'm book 7, it's hard to remember where book 1 ends, because the story all blurs together into one epic tale. But as you point out, Abercrombie's characters make it all worth while. Hope you get there soon.

This series is tough. I'm a plot first guy and I'm still trying to find it after the first two books. The characters are great, but yeah, I need more. At some point I'll break down and read the third book.

Logen is a great character but you know what you are going to get - likely a fight, some light comedy and witty banter. You have no idea what Glokta will do or have done to him and I found him much more interesting. Agreed Ferro is pretty 'standard'. At least Jezel slowly gets less annoying.

Glokta is a top 5 fantasy character. Just casually ignore his profession but he seems like a good time

Welp. *adds to TBR* 😆

Just finished the first book and I enjoyed it reasonably well, but I also felt like I mostly read the longest set of character introductions ever and still without really understanding all of them that well (especially given some key events that unfolded towards the end like West's outburst and Logen revealing that he has a split personality). Something that bothered me a bit, even though my favorite stories are character-dominated, is that most of our protags seem to lack a strong sense of agency so far beyond basic survival. They all seem relatively aimless on their own, more reactive than proacive, and relegated to strict followers in groups. Such seems the case with Logen seeming rather aimless until he encounters Bayaz and seems to almost blindly follow his lead. Ferro is quite a bit more rebellious but still helplessly relegated to a follower by the time she encounters Yulwei and later Bayaz. Glokta, while very cunning, seems to ultimately be a puppet (and knowingly) for the Inquisition and Arch Lector Suit. The Dogman just follows Threetrees' lead. West does seem like he has the potential to become a very independent leader carving his own path, yet I'll have to read the subsequent books to find out. Jezal was actually my favorite character to read about (from his POV or others) even though he's the least interesting and most stereotypical to me. It's because he has the most clearly-defined goals and conflicts I could deduce formed independently through his own volitions. He has ambitions to climb up the ranks but is also lazy and debaucherous in nature, falls in love with the one woman who belittles him and shows no admiration for his noble status (despite admiration and status being his ultimate desire), looks down upon almost everyone but is riddled with self-doubts, etc. He also makes the most independent choice to train hard despite absolutely hating it. Even though his desires are mostly narcissistic in nature, he still has those ambitions to pit his personal desires strongly at odds against the events that unfold. Glokta was my favorite character as well in an absolute sense, and I loved to read his inner reflections whenever the narration was told from his POV. Yet it was Jezal who really engaged me most. I'm hoping we get more of that sense of agency and conflict in each protag in the subsequent books. They're all interesting characters for sure, but I'm not getting the impression yet that most of their motives (beyond basic survival in dangerous situations) are so well-established and conflicting with the events that are unfolding to engage me so much yet in what's happening to them to invest me beyond just learning who they are.

Great take!

What an amazing video! I would want to watch such vlogs for any of the First Law books. And, oh, Tori... I am currently on book 10, and... I'm so happy for what you have in store for you...

My thought reading the book were very similar to yours. Love Ardee! That conversation between Glokta and West might be my favorite scene in the book. Logen eating the flower was adorable 🥹. And i agree that the thing with Logen at the end came out of nowhere. I was so confused

Glad to see Logen (mostly) won you over. Personally he's my favourite character of the trilogy. Honestly, Farro is so one note I almost never think about her outside of a few awesome moments.

Completely great vlog-style book review experience! I appreciate how much time you clearly put into editing, music / sound, videography, etc.. it's noticed! I hope you start Before They Are Hanged (I rated 4 stars) soon because then you are all that much closer to my favorite book in the trilogy, The Last Argument of Kings (easily 5 stars from me, hands down)

Lol The intro😂

"At some point...." hopefully sooner than it took for you to read this one. 😅😂❤

Never heard Abercrombie pronounced like that 😂

"I have never heard anybody say anything about Ferro" I've read the books and I forget about her sometimes 😂 Love this vlog! The intro had me rolling 🤣

I did buy the book but still on my tbr.

Great vlog! I apologize if this is a strange question, but is the your bed frame antique? 😅 The headboard was stunning to look at and it gave off strong fantasy vibes 😂

KITTIES❤❤❤❤❤

This was so much fun Tori! Glokta is awesome! I absolutely loathe Jezal. 😂

I had also started this book knowing/hearing that Glokta was a great character and I was also feeling the resistance about liking his character. I don't like over-hyped things. But he quickly becme my favorite character. I loved Logen as well, probably earlier on than you did, but for similar reasons. On the surface, you can look at this book (and the whole trilogy for that matter) as a semi-typical fantasy. You've got the barbarian type, the wizard type, the side-kick apprentice, the preening swordsman, etc. But there is nothing typical about these characters or this story. I did like Ferro. I do agree that she was a little 2D compared to the others. But given his spectacular ability to write fully fleshed out 3D characters, I did not see Ferro as a failure to be able to write a good character, but rather her flatness or 2D-ness felt far more deliberate and gave me a sense that I needed to watch her. That she was important somehow. Otherwise, why would we be fussing with her POV? Loved the vlog. I always appreciate your insights!

I put off reading these books because of all the hype about the characters and the characters and the characterization of the characters. It just put me off. However, after reading the first trilogy plus one standalone, I can understand and somewhat get on board. I'm down for hearing your opinions of the characters and if the technique(s) used given your writing experience. As a layman I think the characters are very well fleshed out and continue to get more and more layered through the trilogy. Thanks for the video!

What a fantastic vlog! It was fun watching this. I completely agree with what you said about West and Logen. My thoughts on characters changed throughout the trilogy.

Been looking forward to this vlog and you did not disappoint!! I love this vlog style video, you give the best updates 🤩 Sounds like we had a very similar reading experience, I remember having the exact same reactions to things as you did. And totally feel you on experiencing all the mixed emotions about Glokta hahah. Also, Ardee is the freaking best and I honestly wish we would've gotten some of her POV chapters. Very curious to see how you'll feel about the next two books, I have a feeling you are gonna really appreciate some of the character choices and plot directions. Bayaz is also just fascinating, I am always glued to the page when he makes an appearance. So, how many times is book 2 gonna appear on the monthly TBR? Hahha, hope you can get to it sooner rather than later. Enjoy the wild ride!

Enjoyed this. I only started reading Abercrombie recently, and I think Id go along with everything you’ve said. The Blade is pretty much a character study, but also an attempt to subvert tropes - that becomes more apparent as the series continues. I suspect joe wrote a lot of this with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. Don’t know what others think, but I felt a large part of the second book was a massive piss take on a very familiar classic fantasy

POVs and they meet!!! Yes! I'm getting that in The Dragon's Path (Dagger & Coin)... add that to your list! You're making me want to reread the whole 2 series. 😅

Superb video Tori. The vlog format is great and a very interesting review. I enjoyed hearing your views and insights.

Excellent video, Tori! I fully agree with all of your opinions and analysis. I'll add that Ferro was one of my favorite characters (after Glokta). Overall this was a four-star read for me (five stars for characters, three stars for other elements of the book).

Bahhh!! Tori, this is so fun to watch.