The First Law Book One: The Blade Itself Signed and Dated 04/05/06

Joe Abercrombie

ISBN 10: 0575077859 / ISBN 13: 9780575077850

Published by Gollancz, 2006

1st edition, 1st printing UK HB. In Nr Fine/fine condition. Very rare Original release of the 1st Edition/1st printing of the First Law Series. (Not a Book Club Edition)

The Blade Itself signed and Dated 04/05/06. Protected very fine 9as new) dust jacket. The book is in excellent condition for a 20 year old title. Slight toning to the page edges. Slight wear to the spine ends. Has been very carefully read. Packed with the utmost care in a twin walled carton.

So difficult to find a true 2006 1st Edition Copy. Seller Inventory # 130726

Synopsis:

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers. Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men. And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it. But as he's discovering, old habits die really, really hard indeed ...especially when Bayaz gets involved. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Glotka, Jezal and Logen a whole lot more difficult ...

From the Inside Flap: Epic fantasy. It's all the same, no? There's a grumpy wizard, a deadly barbarian, a jumped-up nobleman and some feisty girl, more than likely. They're all engaged in a mysterious quest to bring that from there, and they're all made out of cardboard. Probably there's a dark lord of some kind involved. They talk like extras from a bad soap opera. They fight like extras from a bad cop show. Probably there's a prophecy, and a farmboy with mysterious parentage, and if not a magic tower, then certainly a strange tall building of some kind. There'll be battles, there'll be intrigue, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a magic sword came up somewhere along the way.I don't need to read that again.I want to read a fantasy with all the grit, and cruelty, and humour of real life. Where good and evil are a matter of where you stand, just like in the real world. I want dialogue that actually sounds like people talking, and action that actually feels like people fighting. I want magic and adventure, sure, but I want it to hurt. I want blood, sweat, and tears, and plenty of them. I want to read about characters as selfish, as flawed, as complicated, and as unpredictable as real people. I want a fantasy that can shock and surprise, amuse and horrify, delight and excite me, all at once.I spent a long time looking, and I couldn't find a set of books quite like that. So I thought I'd write some.You like your fantasy with the edges left on? Try The First Law.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The First Law Book One: The Blade Itself ...
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Date: 2006
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Near Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition