The Blade Itself

Abercrombie's work has become synonymous with the growing sub-genre of grimdark fantasy Naturally there's a lot of crossover between grimdark fantasy (which subverts the tropes of traditional heroic fantasy) and dark fantasy (which is more adult fantasy that takes elements from horror). The Blade Itself fits both categories, and the First Law trilogy that it belongs to is an amazing read. When perhaps the most sympathetic character of the trilogy is a horribly disfigured master-torturer, you know you've got something special. The books feature cannibal wizards, twisted monstrosities, demonic magic that acts like radiation in that it causes cancerous symptoms in those exposed to it, a barbarian with an Incredible Hulk-style split personality, and more. The series arguably began the current grimdark movement by systematically subverting every trope of fantasy, not the least of which is the tendancy of heroic fantasy to be light and innocent. It's positively dripping with darkness, horror and violence, and every now and then Abercrombie will catch you off-guard with things like half-eaten human skins left in bushes, or equally fucked-up things like that. Thanks Joe. Read this book if:you want to read a book that follows a similar structure to The Lord of the Rings, but written by the criminally insane.