This Forgotten Fantasy Book Masterpiece Will Hook You in Just 10 Pages

Image via Wydawnictwo MAG Published Jul 21, 2026, 11:26 PM EDT David is a Senior Editor at Collider focused primarily on Lists. His professional journey began in the mid-2010s as a Marketing specialist before embarking on his writing career in the 2020s. At Collider, David started as a Senior Writer in late 2022 and has been a Senior Editor since mid-2023. He is in charge of ideating compelling and engaging List articles by working closely with writers, both Senior and Junior, as well as other editors. Occasionally, David also reviews movies and TV shows and writes episode recaps. Currently, David is also writing his second novel, a psychological horror satire that will, hopefully, be picked up for publication sometime next year. Sign in to your Collider account The fantasy genre is packed with masterpieces, books that have truly changed the way we experience the genre. Think of the usual suspects — The Lord of the Rings, the Stormlight Archive series, the Earthsea Cycle — the books that have shaped fantasy on the page, creating some of the most daring, wondrous, and timeless worlds and allowing us to escape our reality for a few hundred precious pages. Not all fantasy masterpieces are as recognized as the genre's titans; indeed, many become forgotten in the sands of time, which is what could be said of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy. This gritty, subversive fantasy saga turns all the genre's usual tropes on their head, focusing on flawed characters in a broken, politically corrupt continent. A defining entry in the grimdark subgenre, The First Law trilogy is not nearly as recognized as it should be, but all that can change if only readers picked up the first book, which will undoubtedly grab their full attention from the opening pages. The first book in the series, The Blade Itself, has some of the strongest opening pages of any fantasy book, throwing the reader directly into the action and refusing to let go. A book is only as strong as its opening pages, and The Blade Itself is a masterclass of how to open a fantasy saga. What Is 'The Blade Itself' About? As expected from a grimdark fantasy, The Blade Itself is set in a bleak, corrupt, deeply cynical world. The plot follows three characters as their paths collide, courtesy of a mysterious mage. There's Logen Ninefingers, a barbarian who travels south after losing his companions in the north. There's Inquisitor Sand dan Glokta, once a dashing hero who suffered mutilations as a POW, now a torturer investigating corruption in Adua, the capital city of the Union. Finally, there's Captain Jezal dan Luthar, a vain nobleman whose self-interest clashes with his sense of duty as the loom of war approaches. The three characters find themselves joining the mage Bayaz, First of the Magi, who recruits them to go on a dangerous quest. Meanwhile, the Union is threatened by King Bethod in the north and the Gurkish Empire in the South. The Blade Itself is primarily a character-driven story. There's not much plot per se, rather the basis for what will eventually become the First Law trilogy. However, the book is exceptionally well-written, particularly regarding the protagonists' characterization. Logen, Jezal, and Glokta are three of the most fascinating characters in fantasy, each one amoral, elusive, contradictory, and endlessly compelling. The Blade Itself also has some unexpected, pitch-black humor, making it a far richer, more engaging read. 'The Blade Itself' Hooks You in From the Opening Pages Image via Bragelonne The Blade Itself opens with a prologue, ominously titled "The End." Immediately, we are introduced to Logen Ninefingers, and from what we can read, he's a fearsome warrior. The premise of these four pages is simple: in the freezing north, Logen becomes separate from his companions before being attacked by two enemies, whom he refers to as either "Shanka" or "Flathead." Here, Abercrombie's prose is incredibly vivid but economical: in a few well-chosen words, he immerses us in this barren, freezing place, setting the stage by describing key features — the earth, the wind, the trees — but without wasting too much time being overly descriptive. Similarly, the action is muscular and fast-paced; much like an actual battle to the death, it avoids flourishes and sticks to the facts. Through it all, Abercrombie's writing flows effortlessly; it's sequential, almost messy, but incredibly effective at grabbing your attention and completely submerging you into this arctic hell. Although just four pages long, "The End" successfully makes you feel the stress, the life-or-death stakes; in just over a thousand words, you've come to root for Logen, despite knowing next to nothing about him. There's an incredible effectiveness to this prologue; you don't know anything about this world except that it's dangerous and unforgiving, ideas that spread to the overall worldbuilding. It's tremendously astute, worldbuilding by way of action rather than info dumps. Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the RingsCharacter Are You? One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide. 💍Frodo 🌿Samwise 👑Aragorn 🔥Gandalf 🏹Legolas ⚒️Gimli 👁️Sauron 🪨Gollum BEGIN YOUR QUEST → 01 You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders. AAccept it. Someone has to, and running changes nothing. BStay by the side of whoever carries it. They shouldn't go alone. CStep forward and lead. This is exactly what I was made for. DIt's mine now. I won't let anyone else have it. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis. AFollow them without hesitation. I'd rather die beside them than live without them. BRally others and forge a plan to help — strength in numbers. COffer wisdom and guidance. My counsel may save them where swords cannot. DLet them go. Only the strong survive, and sentiment is a weakness. NEXT QUESTION → 03 Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it. ADestroy it. Nothing good comes from power this absolute. BUse it to protect those I love — just this once. CWield it wisely. I have the will and the knowledge to do good with it. DSeize it. I have waited long enough. It belongs to me. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What does "home" mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are. AA simple, peaceful place — green hills, good food, no adventure required. BWherever the people I love are. Home is a feeling, not a place. CA kingdom I must earn before I can truly claim it as mine. DI lost it long ago. That loss is what drives everything I do. NEXT QUESTION → 05 When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not. ASurvive by any means. I'm not a fighter — but I'll do what I must. BFight for the person beside me, not for glory or honour. CLead the charge. Nothing inspires an army like a king at the front. DStrike from range, fast and precise — never let them get close. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it's knowing which questions to ask. AListen, then offer honest encouragement. Sometimes people just need belief. BGive them practical help — words are fine, but action is better. CSpeak carefully. I have seen much, and I know what counsel can cost. DTell them what they want to hear. Trust is a tool like any other. NEXT QUESTION → 07 How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind. ASmall and ordinary — but perhaps that's exactly why I was chosen. BDefined entirely by who I serve and love. I am nothing without them. CForged by hardship into something the world has not yet fully seen. DDiminished from what I once was — and consumed by the need to reclaim it. NEXT QUESTION → 08 Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen. AI find peace in it — forests, rivers, open skies. Nature restores me. BI prefer the earth underfoot — stone, mines, solid and real things. CI have watched the world change for longer than most can comprehend. DNature offers hiding places, cold water, raw fish. That's enough for me. NEXT QUESTION → 09 You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character. AShow mercy. Even the most broken souls deserve a chance at redemption. BPity them — but never trust them. They made their choices. CSee them as a tool. Their knowledge or skills may still serve a purpose. DDestroy them before they can cause more harm. Mercy is a luxury we cannot afford. NEXT QUESTION → 10 When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories. AThat an ordinary person did an extraordinary thing — and came home. BThat I never abandoned the person who needed me most. CThat I was worthy of the crown — and everything it demanded. DNothing. I don't need songs. I needed it, and now it's gone. REVEAL MY FATE → The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earthThe scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people. 💍 Frodo 🌿 Samwise 👑 Aragorn 🔥 Gandalf 🏹 Legolas ⚒️ Gimli 👁️ Sauron 🪨 Gollum You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don't have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is. You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you'd do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one. You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you. You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late. Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them. You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don't do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything. You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you're not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct. You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ Two pages then separate the prologue from Part I, a quote from the Greek poet Homer that surely inspired the book's title as the only content here. Then, we jump straight into the aftermath, in the four-episode chapter titled "The Survivors." Logen's journey continues, picking up after barely surviving the Shanka attack. Once again, Abecrombie brilliantly sets the scene, first by describing Logen's battered state, then by putting us in his decision-making process. He survived, but now what? Surviving alone requires tools, the equipment he left at his camp when the attack began. Thus, he goes back to the place where the violence erupted, finding the remnants of the camp he once shared with his companions. It's here that we see another side of Logen, as he mourns his surely dead companions and expresses a sentimental attachment for an old pot that had accompanied him for the last decade or so, and which somehow survived the attack. There's a haunting melancholy to the scene, as Abercrombie's gloomy prose paints a somber portrait of a veteran of conflict realizing he might never escape the cycle of violence. That Abercrombie manages to do so much character work while actively progressing the plot is genuinely astonishing, and it's something you can expect throughout the rest of the book. In The Blade Itself, the characterization is the main event, and worldbuilding comes through character beats. Not many fantasy books can say that for themselves. 'The Blade Itself' Is a Must-Read for Any Fantasy Fan Image via Gollancz The restless, near-harrowing yet immersive quality of these ten opening pages is a perfect testament to The Blade Itself's overall approach and quality. These introductory chapters are a microcosm of what Abercrombie has in store for you: there will be action, ruthless and enveloping, messy yet consciously written; there will be humor, dark, bordering on macabre, but successful at bringing some much-needed levity; there will be a sense of sorrow, a pervading wistfulness that clashes against the bleak, oppressive environment to create a distinctly haunting atmosphere. Above all, The Blade Itself will offer you a vivid portrayal of survival in the face of near-total amorality. You won't find knights in shining armor here, but rather broken, profoundly flawed, self-serving anti-heroes doing what they can with the hand they've been given, playing a rigged game with one hand tied behind their backs. If you love the war-infested, political intricacy of A Song of Ice and Fire and the melancholy, character-driven storytelling of Kazuo Ishiguro's works, then The Blade Itself and the larger First Law trilogy are perfect for you.