I had been dragging my feet on reading this book because I'm not usually feeling like reading grimdark stuff which can be full of masculine toxicity. I'm not saying this one wasn't but I was hooked anyhow.

I couldn't really tell you much of the plot, as The Blade Itself establishes its casts of characters who are going to the travel to the edge of the world in the next book. It loosely establishes the world, with the Union beset on all sides by enemies.

None of the characters are particularly likeable. There's Logen, a hideous barbarian who gets into murderous rages but overall seems tired of fighting, having lost everyone he cared about. There's Jezal, a pampered nobleman who falls in love with a woman beneath his standing. Most intriguing is probably the inquisitor Glokta, a former glorious soldier who got broken in body and spirit under torture when he was captured by the Gurkish Empire. Now he's a torturer himself, and gets swept into the political intrigues of his leader, the Arch Lector.

There are more PoV characters, and I want to learn more of them, and in turn learn more of the world, as there is a threat and laws are being broken, and I just want to know more.

4.5 stars really, quite excellent, want to read more.