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The blade itself
Joe Abercrombie

The best book I’ve ever read – first in the trilogy ‘The First Law’. As a lifelong sci-fi and fantasy reader, this appealed to me more than the usual elves and dwarves type of fantasy – there’s plenty of swords and sorcery here but done with grittiness, anti-hero characterisation, lots of blood and torture, and a touch of black humour. I read it four years ago and am about to read it again, as it’s one of those books that has always stayed in my head. Read this, then the others in the trilogy, then the rest of Joe’s stuff!