SRE ‘08 (I’m tempted to make a logo) continues unabatedly, although not really, since I pretty much took a break while I was in London. Bought plenty of books, there though, so the momentum isn’t entirely lost.

Shortly before leaving, I finished reading The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie.

The Blade Itself tells the story of several characters scattered across the lands known as the circle of the world (of which we are never given a map, by the way, so impressions are slightly sketchy). The powerful nation known as the Union is surrounded by enemies. The scattered clans in the north have been united under a single king, who intends to conquer the Union’s northern provinces. While all of the Union’s attention is turned north, the previously defeated Gurkish empire moves again in the south, and a war on two fronts looms. In this unstable climate, we follow the lives of several people, destined to cross paths, including a Norse warrior, an escaped slave from the southern lands, a Union soldier, a high-born swordsman, an irate old wizard and, my personal favourite, a tortured torturer of the Union Inquisition.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and you really feel that as the end approaches. This is just the overture, the build up, throwing us only hints of the bigger story to follow. It made me feel slightly cheated at the end, as I realised that nothing much had really happened, in the way of big and epic events as the last page came to a close. Then I realised this meant that I had been completely captivated by smaller and mundane events all along, which surely bodes well for the bigger things to follow.

This was indeed a captivating read. Abercrombie knows how to craft characters, the book is brimming with people you want to know more about. As I’ve already said, my personal favourite was the torture victim turned torturer, Inquisitor Glokta, whose story seemed to be much more aside from all the others. I hope he will continue to play a big part in the story to follow.

When it comes to the world building, Abercrombie is also clearly competent. The mythology of this world is fascinating, and the clear references to geography and scenery conjure up vivid images. He clearly has his world mapped out, so it is frustrating that we don’t get to peek at this map, to get a clearer idea of how all these parties are situated in relation to each other.

The style of writing is, as the cover quotes boast, brutal and unpretentious. There’s lots of pain and violence, and lots and lots of dark, dark humour. The whole story feels cynical and cold at times, but never to such a degree that it stops being good.

As I said, this is merely the overture. The smaller stories of the individuals are all brought together in the end and given some closure, but the real story is just beginning. I have already started on the next book in the series, and can’t wait to see what happens next. This book is highly recommended.