[Books] The Blade Itself or The Name of the Wind?

[Mitobunny]

I've just finished The Heroes (Stand-alone in the First Law/The Blade Itself universe), the book hooked me in enough to buy the 1st book....However I also have The Name of the Wind on my shelf waiting to be read.

Which one do you think I should read first?

[HeyJoe]

I've heard good things about both, but have only read The Name of the Wind, which is excellent. You won't be disappointed. Also... I thought The Blade Itself was the first book in that series?

[Mitobunny]

I've heard good things about both, but have only read The Name of the Wind, which is excellent. You won't be disappointed. Also... I thought The Blade Itself was the first book in that series?

It is the first =P
I read the newest one (The Heroes) first....Because....Well I'm not quite sure why O.o;;

[obdigore]

The Heroes is a stand-alone. The Blade Itself is the first of a trilogy. You will enjoy The Heroes more if you have read the other stuff first, same with 'Best Served Cold' (the other stand-alone Abercombie has written).

Honestly, the two are equal in my opinion. The Name of the Wind is a great book, I really like how it is done and what happens, same with Wise Mans Fear, which is its sequel. The Blade Itself is a very good book (everything written by Abercrombie has been great so far) and it is much darker and it will seem to follow the whole hero on his path to power and friendly wizard and all that, and then you find out nothing is as it seems. I enjoyed it a lot.

Edit: Thinking about it, I would read the Trilogy by Abercrombie first. Glokta is one of the best 'new' characters I have read in years, and although Rothfuss' stuff is great, there are parts that were semi unbelievable, although I am waiting rather impatiently for the next book by both of these authors.

If you like these books, try Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series (two out right now, he is working on the third), and then head over and give Jim Butcher a shot, with either Dresden Files or the Codex Alera stuff. Butcher starts slow so you will have to get 2-3 books into his stuff to really start liking it.

If you find these not 'epic' enough, other options are Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (my favorite fantasy series by far), and the Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM.

If you find these too dark or too involved, go check out Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

[Muzjhath]

I'd say read Abercrombie first. Only because The Kingkiller Cronicle still lacks a book.
Aka, finnish reading the full series before you get stuck in the same waiting boat of "WHEN?" as the rest of us. Otherwise both are superb but I find The Name of the Wind to be better.

And yes, Glokta kicks ass. So much.

[Deficineiron]

the first abercrombie trilogy is really one of the best series I have read in a long time, and I read well over a hundred books a year. the author is a buy-in-hardback list for me. You deflated some big plot threads reading the heroes first.

I may actually buy the name of the wind due to comments on it here.

If you liked all of the above, at any rate, the first 3 books of the black company series (glen cook) likely informed the entire genre a good bit and for me were very enjoyable.

Military fantasy is a really small genre, unfortunately.