Abercrombie is often mentioned, along with Patrick Rothfuss, in the same breath as Scott Lynch, as one of the new crop of writers of what I mentally call ‘non-epic fantasy’ or ‘character-driven fantasy’ (or, if I’m feeling narky, ‘well-written, intelligent fantasy’), though the back cover of The Blade Itself calls it ‘noir fantasy’. Since I am thoroughly enjoying Scott Lynch’s work (as well as other non-traditional fantasy writers like Susanna Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Clarke), I went into this first book of (what else) a trilogy with high hopes.

Oh, that fatal ‘Book 1′ should have given me a clue, shouldn’t have it? This is not a complete story like Lynch’s two books so far have been, with threads to lead the reader on to the next book in the series but still a satisfying and stand-alone story in its own right. In fact, it’s very hard to give a plot summary for The Blade Itself because the only vital things happen in the last twenty pages or so, when the classic collection of fantasy-character crew finally gather to embark on their mysterious journey to the end of the world straight out of the pages of a D&D manual.

All right, I’m being harsh. These are not stock-standard characters: there’s Logan, a Northern warrior who has lost the last of his friends and his taste for his violent warrior way of life while he shelters with a sagacious Mage; Jezal, an arrogant, noble-blooded officer with little wish in life except glory without having to work for it, until he meets the love of his life (unfortunately for him, the sister of his commanding officer and a commoner); and Glokta, a crippled once-hero who has been tortured into a shell of his former self and who now works for the Inquisition as a torturer with first-hand experience. Each of these characters has things to say about the prizes and prices of being a champion. Along with the main POV characters are a handful of others who occasionally get a POV and whose importance will no doubt grow as the series goes on.

The book is over 400 pages long and I don’t feel it really gets going until about halfway through, when Logan finally shows up and meets the other two main characters; I’ve already said that only the last few chapters are really important, and in fact, I think you could safely start at Book 2 and not miss hugely much in the plotline except the hints that are there to get you to read Book 2 anyway. It shows occasional and somewhat ponderous flashes of wit but is nowhere near as funny as Lynch’s work. It also misses the well-drawn character relationships; attempts to give each character individuality with their own personal catchphrases fail when two or more characters fall back on the same phrasing.

However, it is still better than straight epic fantasy, despite veering dangerously close to those waters (after all, it passed my new 50-page rule – to move on if a book hasn’t grabbed me by the 50-page mark). I may possibly go on with this series (both Book 2 and 3 are already out), or may just wait till Abercrombie’s next series when he’s more experienced and will maybe venture out into less-charted waters. Author website is here.