Literary Lads: Sand dan Glokta
Joe Abercrombie writes fantastic characters. Characters with depth, characters that you sometimes loath and sometimes love. Sand dan Glokta is no exception, if not the finest example of Abercrombie's abilities.
Sand dan Glokta is one of the main players in the First Law trilogy and appears in others novels set in the same verse.
Ex-soldier who is crippled as a result of severe torture when he was captured by the enemy, Glokta now works for the Inquisition, as a torturer.
His greatest enemy are stairs and his favourite food is whichever kind of gruel is available.
Glokta is wonderfully cynical and has great self-irony.
Best of all, he always, always managed to surprise me. Whenever I thought I knew what he'd do next, he'd turn around and not do it.
Why do I do this? Inquisitor Glokta asked himself for the thousandth time as he limped down the corridor. The walls were rendered and whitewashed, though none too recently. There was a seedy feel to the place and a smell of damp. There were no windows, as the hallway was deep beneath the ground, and the lanterns cast slow flowing shadows into every corner.
Why would anyone want to do this? Glokta’s walking made a steady rhythm on the grimy tiles of the floor. First the confident click of his right heel, then the tap of his cane, then the endless sliding of his left foot, with the familiar stabbing pains in the ankle, knee, arse and back. Click, tap, pain. That was the rhythm of his walking.
by MATArt
If Glokta had been given the opportunity to torture any one man, any one at all, he would surely have chosen the inventor of steps. When he was young and widely admired, before his misfortunes, he had never really noticed them. He had sprung down them two at a time and gone blithely on his way. No more. They’re everywhere. You really can’t change floors without them. And down is worse than up, that’s the thing people never realise. Going up, you usually don’t fall that far.
by nicht-alles-Gold
“I had a visit from Superior Kalyne not long ago. He was most upset.” Sult’s hard blue eyes came up from his papers. “Upset with you, Glokta. He was quite vocal on the subject. He told me that you are an uncontrollable menace, that you act without a thought for the consequences, that you are a mad cripple. He demanded that you be removed from his department.” The Arch Lector smiled, a cold, nasty smile, the kind Glokta used on his prisoners. But with more teeth. “I think he had it in mind that you be removed… altogether.” They stared at each other across the table.
Is this where I beg for mercy? Is this where I crawl on the ground and kiss your feet? Well, I don’t care enough to beg and I’m far too stiff to crawl. Your Practicals will have to kill me sitting down. Cut my throat. Bash my head in. Whatever. As long as they get on with it.
by toerning
“Strange, isn't it,' mused Glokta as he watched him struggle for air. 'Big men, small men, thin men, fat men, clever men, stupid men, they all respond the same to a fist in the guts. One minute you think you're the most powerful man in the world. The next you can't even breathe by yourself.”
Honestly, if you don't know the First Law series, if for nothing else but Glokta, do yourself a favour and read the books.
This entry was originally posted at http://nathaniel-hp.dreamwidth.org/188389.html. Comments are welcome either here or over at DW.
Sand dan Glokta is one of the main players in the First Law trilogy and appears in others novels set in the same verse.
Ex-soldier who is crippled as a result of severe torture when he was captured by the enemy, Glokta now works for the Inquisition, as a torturer.
His greatest enemy are stairs and his favourite food is whichever kind of gruel is available.
Glokta is wonderfully cynical and has great self-irony.
Best of all, he always, always managed to surprise me. Whenever I thought I knew what he'd do next, he'd turn around and not do it.
Why do I do this? Inquisitor Glokta asked himself for the thousandth time as he limped down the corridor. The walls were rendered and whitewashed, though none too recently. There was a seedy feel to the place and a smell of damp. There were no windows, as the hallway was deep beneath the ground, and the lanterns cast slow flowing shadows into every corner.
Why would anyone want to do this? Glokta’s walking made a steady rhythm on the grimy tiles of the floor. First the confident click of his right heel, then the tap of his cane, then the endless sliding of his left foot, with the familiar stabbing pains in the ankle, knee, arse and back. Click, tap, pain. That was the rhythm of his walking.
by MATArt
If Glokta had been given the opportunity to torture any one man, any one at all, he would surely have chosen the inventor of steps. When he was young and widely admired, before his misfortunes, he had never really noticed them. He had sprung down them two at a time and gone blithely on his way. No more. They’re everywhere. You really can’t change floors without them. And down is worse than up, that’s the thing people never realise. Going up, you usually don’t fall that far.
by nicht-alles-Gold
“I had a visit from Superior Kalyne not long ago. He was most upset.” Sult’s hard blue eyes came up from his papers. “Upset with you, Glokta. He was quite vocal on the subject. He told me that you are an uncontrollable menace, that you act without a thought for the consequences, that you are a mad cripple. He demanded that you be removed from his department.” The Arch Lector smiled, a cold, nasty smile, the kind Glokta used on his prisoners. But with more teeth. “I think he had it in mind that you be removed… altogether.” They stared at each other across the table.
Is this where I beg for mercy? Is this where I crawl on the ground and kiss your feet? Well, I don’t care enough to beg and I’m far too stiff to crawl. Your Practicals will have to kill me sitting down. Cut my throat. Bash my head in. Whatever. As long as they get on with it.
by toerning
“Strange, isn't it,' mused Glokta as he watched him struggle for air. 'Big men, small men, thin men, fat men, clever men, stupid men, they all respond the same to a fist in the guts. One minute you think you're the most powerful man in the world. The next you can't even breathe by yourself.”
Honestly, if you don't know the First Law series, if for nothing else but Glokta, do yourself a favour and read the books.
This entry was originally posted at http://nathaniel-hp.dreamwidth.org/188389.html. Comments are welcome either here or over at DW.