The Blade Itself

About The Blade Itself

The closest thing in fantasy to Game of Thrones' moral architecture: multiple POV characters with competing loyalties, a plot moving toward war nobody wants but everyone is accelerating, and a cast where heroism and villainy are entirely situational. Abercrombie invented modern grimdark with this book — Glokta the torturer-turned-investigator is one of the genre's finest morally grey characters, and the ending subverts every fantasy convention Game of Thrones fans recognize.

Tropes & Themes