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Cover of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Book · Fantasy and science fiction

The Blade Itself

by Joe Abercrombie

Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Blade Itself, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.

Pages
515
Reading time
≈ 9 h 20 min
Checkpoints
20
Genre
Fantasy, SF
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Free on iPhone and Android.

How long does it take to read The Blade Itself?

At 515 pages, The Blade Itself is a long book. Expect about 9 hours 20 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.

At 30 minutes a day, that is about 19 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 8 reading days. For a book of this length (400 to 599 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 5.3 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).

Reading days to finish it
30 minutes a day19 days
Vread median pace (72 pp./day)8 days

Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.

Prove you read it

The Vread challenge: 20 checkpoints

  1. Checkpoint 1, page 26
  2. Checkpoint 2, page 52
  3. Checkpoint 3, page 77
  4. Checkpoint 4, page 103
  5. Checkpoint 5, page 129
  6. Checkpoint 6, page 155
  7. Checkpoint 7, page 180
  8. Checkpoint 8, page 206
  9. Checkpoint 9, page 232
  10. Checkpoint 10, page 258
  11. Checkpoint 11, page 283
  12. Checkpoint 12, page 309
  13. Checkpoint 13, page 335
  14. Checkpoint 14, page 361
  15. Checkpoint 15, page 386
  16. Checkpoint 16, page 412
  17. Checkpoint 17, page 438
  18. Checkpoint 18, page 464
  19. Checkpoint 19, page 489
  20. Checkpoint 20, page 515

In Vread, The Blade Itself is split into 20 checkpoints, one every 26 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.

The challenge: validate all 20 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.

Also available in French on Vread.

Illustrative example

Checkpoint 1/20pp. 1–26

What a checkpoint looks like

A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.

The answer is in the text: reply in the app.

This is not a question from The Blade Itself: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.

Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.

Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions

How many pages is The Blade Itself?
The edition listed on Vread has 515 pages. The exact count varies by edition (paperback, hardback, ebook).
How long does it take to read The Blade Itself?
About 9 hours 20 minutes of reading, or 19 days at 30 minutes a day.
Is there a quiz on The Blade Itself?
Yes: the Vread app has 20 reading questions on The Blade Itself, one per checkpoint, unlocked as you read.
Where can I find a summary of The Blade Itself?
Vread does not publish summaries: the app supports reading the book itself, part by part. Checkpoint questions cover what you have just read, which makes them a good way to check you did not miss anything.

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Read The Blade Itself with Vread

Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.

Take the challenge

Written by Vread from its catalogue data (page count of the listed edition, checkpoints, ratings aggregated from 10 ratings). No summary or publisher text is reproduced. Reading times are estimates; see the method in the Vread Reading Barometer (in French).