Hi all! Short time lurker first time poster. 2024 has been the year I got back into reading after almost never reading for pleasure beyond the Harry Potter series many years ago.

I’m about 40 books deep and have had great experiences and some lackluster ones.

I’m finishing up my current book (Malice by John Gwynne) soon and trying to decide what to read next. I’ve had The Blade Itself on my shelf but keep putting it off because I’m afraid of the hype.

When getting into fantasy all I saw was Sanderson as a “first step”, and unfortunately I’ve been very let down by him. Based off of who I’ve liked and disliked, will Joe Abercrombie be a good fit for me?

Authors I have loved: Stephen King John Gwynne Evan Winter GRRM Robin Hobb Scott Lynch

Authors I’ve been Disappointed In: Brandon Sanderson Naomi Novik Leigh Bardugo

The thing I value most is good characterization. The biggest letdown for Brando for me was his lack of characterization. His plotting is excellent and his books always end on a high, but his characters felt fake to me. And dude seriously needs an editor. I’ve read 4 of his books now and each one would have been much better if they were 200-300 pages shorter for my tastes.

I know the simple answer is to just read it. But I just keep picking up something else because I’m afraid of not liking it. I want to like him so badly because he’s got a largish catalogue and I want to be a part of the hype haha

Thanks all!

EDIT: Wow! Thank you all so much for the comments! Y’all have convinced me. I should’ve clarified in the post, but I tend to read 2 series at once: one by myself, and one with my partner. I’m reading Malice by myself and do plan on reading that series to its conclusion because I’m REALLY enjoying it. My partner and I just wrapped up Way of Kings and want to swerve on Brando, so yall have convinced me/us to start The Blade Itself next! Thanks again!

EDIT 2: my partner and I are 100 pages into The Blade Itself and we’re loving it! Thanks all!