### Instruction: What makes The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie good?
### Response: I re-read this book 7 years later, after recently reading book 4 and book 5 of the series.

Gosh I've forgotten how excellent the first book is. It's hilarious, grim/dark, witty, with a fantastic cast of characters and a nuanced worldbuilding that I'm dying to uncover.