La Voz de las Espadas

, #1

Hardcover, 752 pages

Español language

Published by Alianza Editorial.

ISBN:
978-84-9104-435-2
Copied ISBN!
4 stars (5 reviews)

El inquisidor Glokta, convertido en un cínico tullido tras su paso por las cárceles de los enemigos de la Unión, es ahora a su vez un eficaz torturador capaz de extraer información de cualquiera. A su vez, el capitán Jezal dan Luthar no ha hecho otra cosa en su vida que desplumar a sus amigos jugando a las cartas y soñar con la gloria de vencer en el Certamen de esgrima. Pero se está fraguando una guerra, y en los campos de batalla del Norte la lucha se rige por normas mucho más sangrientas… Logen Nuevededos, infame bárbaro de pasado sangriento, acaba de perder a sus amigos y está decidido a abandonar sus tierras y dirigirse al Sur, pero los espíritus le advierten que lo busca un Mago de los Viejos Tiempos… Sus historias se entrelazan en una fantasía negra repleta de acción y personajes memorables.

3 editions

reviewed The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (The First Law, #1)

Review of 'The Blade Itself' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow, this ended up really surprising me. I walked into this book having heard some of the more common criticisms, namely the almost complete lack of plot. I'm more of a character reader myself, so I wasn't terribly worried. But even though interesting character work is important to me as a reader, I also really REALLY don't like it when the first book of a series exists solely as an introduction without its own story to lean on, so I started this off This book expecting to be really critical of that. However I knew that Abercrombie's character work was very well regarded, so I was curious to see how that tension panned out. And I have to admit, the characters won me over hard.

We follow several different POV characters as they move about their own individual adventures without any real consistent through line or story. There are hints …

The First Law is first class

5 stars

Unlike its genre cousin science fiction, fantasy has closer bonds to backward looking types of storytelling. It is linked to the older forms like myth and fairy tale, and that can make innovation a bit more tricky. We can't just keep on recycling "chosen one" tropes; at some stage we need to say something new, or our original stories risk being redundant compared to the superior rivals already in the canon.

At the same time, we can't depart from the form too much, or in the wrong way, or else it seems inauthentic or a sellout.

For some, Abercrombie might have strayed from the marvelous and primal form that gives fantasy its great strength. But for me, he has breathed life into the genre. "The First Law" trilogy and its sequel "The Age of Madness" are well worth the investment of your time.

Having read all six of Abercrombie's books …

Review of 'The Blade Itself' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Not boring, but not much happens. It's not a story that stands on its own. It doesn't have an ending. Though the last couple of chapters finally saw some kind of progression. You really have to go on to book 2, otherwise you don't really have a story.

The characters are great, though. Not a lot of world building. I sure hope it improves in the next books.

reviewed The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (The First Law, #1)

Enjoyable but feels too much like setup

3 stars

The First Law series has been recommended to me for a long time, and I finally decided to dive in. Abercrombie's reputation as a great character writer is well deserved, but the first book in the series is a bit light on plot. I will continue with the rest of the series, as I've heard that the plot gets better after the first entry.

Subjects

  • Fiction, fantasy, general