Review: The Blade Itself

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



The Blade Itself is the first in a trilogy, and it takes its time building up a vivid sense of the setting. It gives us plenty of time to get to know the characters in their current flawed states rather than jumping immediately into the changes they'll go through. Normally, this would sound boring, but Abercrombie's descriptive powers are impressive. He gets you involved at a level that is rare, bringing you close to the characters physically as well as emotionally. This adds depth, giving a feel for the characters and conflicts before the larger story arc really begins to show itself.

I had read reviews calling Abercrombie's style "gritty." Now I understand what that means. It is gritty in the sense that your senses are all evoked in the vivid, descriptive language. Often it's not pretty, and it feels very real. I was disgusted at times, and turned off, but still couldn't help continuing on.

The story is pretty dark so far, but not in the sense of despair, and it's not horror. It's more the darkness of reality - that life sucks, and even the noblest of heroes is human and has pretty serious flaws. Normally I read fantasy to escape the inevitable realities of life. I hope that I won't regret making an exception in this case.

At the end of the first novel, I still have hope that the condition of the characters will improve with the rest of the story. In spite of the gritty reality of each of them, somehow I still hope that nobility will rise up and change will be for the better. The reason I can hope this is that there were one or two moments of light and hope in this part of the story. They stood out all the more for the fact that they were rare glimpses of light in the darkness. It might be foolish, but I'm hoping these are seeds that will grow in the rest of the series.

These are my impressions at the end of what seems like an introduction. I will have to reserve judgement until I see how the series continues and ends. If, as I hope, it is not merely pessimistic and dark and hopeless for the characters I can't help caring about, then the gritty style will have achieved something wonderful. If not, then I will be terribly depressed and will want to throw the book at the end. So we'll see.

Edit 9/27/12: I ended up quitting the series after book two. Really, it's because Abercrombie does what he set out to do very, very well. So well that I couldn't take it. Book 2 lacks any of the hope that I mentioned above. The hope in book 1 is really just Abercrombie setting you up for the typical fantasy heroic overcoming of odds and self, etc., so that he can purposely blow all that out of the water in the rest of the series. It makes for really depressing reading, and his language is so vivid that I can still see scenes from book 2 that I'd rather not remember. It seems to me that this belongs more in the horror genre of fantasy, or at least in the bad dream variety. If you can handle that, I think Abercrombie is a brilliant writer, and you'll be in for some surprises if you read the series. It's just not my thing.



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Review: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It's really hard for me to pull together my opinion of this one, because I loved it and hated it as I was reading. For me, it was a strange combination of savoring the language and style, and simultaneously being bored with the plot and impatient to get through it.

The style, especially at the beginning, is very Dickensian. The tone, the slow-building plot with seemingly unrelated characters, wondering how they're going to end up being integral to the tapestry being woven, all make for a warm, nostalgic feeling without any regard for the actual story. For the first 200 pages, that was enough to keep me going, even though I repeatedly found myself wishing for new characters and threads to be introduced. Unfortunately, the plot never really did get more intricate; it just kept moving along slowly on one or two tracks, and my primary feeling while reading the first 600 pages was impatience. The next 100 pages began to pick up, and I became hopeful. Then the last 100 pages – finally! – gave me what I was after, and allowed me to rate this book with 4 stars instead of a yawning 3.

I don’t know if it’s because I am a fan of regular fantasy, but I require more magic in a book about magic. I very quickly grew sick of the debates about whether magic should be used or not. I found myself sympathizing with Mr. Norrell's audience who just wanted to see a trick or two of real magic rather than getting a lecture about why not.

I don’t think that’s the whole, however. I enjoy historical fiction on its own, so why didn’t this combination of my two favorite genres satisfy me? On reflection, I believe it’s because I never felt close to the story. It was as if I were viewing the entire scene through a window. Even when something drastic finally happened, I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel the characters felt it. The tone was too distant throughout. The same tone and language that gave me the nostalgic Dickensian feel never gave way to the Dickensian depth of character and feeling that usually follows. The intricate tapestry didn't materialize.

That said, the ending was good enough to bring up the rest of the book to 4 stars. I did enjoy the premise and I thought the story itself was well-conceived. In the end, it was just too long-winded and slow for me. Not enough depth, not enough feeling, and not enough magic.



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