The book started with an action scene, grabbed me along and didn't let go till I had finished the last page, wanting to get my hands on the next part immediately.
The Blade Itself is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time. Although it probably would lose the contests of fine style and epic scope to some other great books, I think it's undeniable that Abercrombie is a great storyteller.
Although the characters are almost cartoonish caricatures and humor blossoms even in the most grim scenes, under all the lightness runs a darker undercurrent, a hint of what the future might bring to the heroes and heroines of the story.