The Blade Itself

I recently finished The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie, and it was a slog. I kept seeing recommendations, kept giving it chances, and it did not pay off. There are two more in the trilogy? Great. I’ll read the synopses.

Were there blades? There were. A singular blade? Sometimes? But no Excalibur or Sting. There wasn’t a character I rooted for. I’m supposed to root for Logen, but he’s no Darrow or Kvothe. I don’t root for Sand; I don’t know what he wants. Will the Merry Men meet back up with Robin? Yeah, in the future books, or they’ll keep passing each other like Korben and Zorg, and the Merry Men will be picked off one by one, and Robin will be indirectly responsible for some of that just for some irony. Great. Don’t care. Bayaz does magic. Rarely, because there’s a cost? What’s the cost? What does he want? What’s with the heavy box? I don’t know, and I don’t care enough to find out.

In every action scene, I wished I could watch it like I do when Darrow fights. In describing the Agriont, I wish I could picture it like I do Kvothe’s University. There’s a sterility that reminds me of the Dark Tower, but there, there are so many set pieces that I stay engaged. The Blade Itself is noir fantasy, but it doesn’t have to be that barren. The Big Lebowski is noir, it’s bleak, but it isn’t barren: it’s rich with quotent quotables. Donny The Weakest? Sorry, no spoilers.

So what now: Pest Control by Bill Fitzhugh. I read it in high school and remember liking it, and I’ll see what I get out of it this time. Especially now that I’m the same age as the main character, and maybe in a similar situation. That always helps. I think it was recommended at the Richland Bookworm, or I was just browsing books by their covers and it popped out. There was no booktok in those days, if you can imagine such a thing.

And after that? Who knows. The Ear, The Eye And The Arm (no oxford comma), for more light reading nostalgia? Or finally jump into Misborn or The Way of Kings? I’m made it this far without some Brando Sando, and there’s still no sign of the Doors of Stone or Red God.