Scan barcode
kadomi's review against another edition
4.0
Half A War is the grand finale of the Shattered Sea trilogy, and as Abercrombie continues to write a grey world where characters you loved before turn out to be not so great, I kinda did not enjoy the final book as much as previous installments.
The cast from the previous books is still all here, but our main protagonist is Queen Shara. She has to witness her grandfather's death, as the High King has him killed for defying him, and so the 17-year old Shara has to flee to Gettland, to request help from her relative Queen Laithlin. She and the two rebel kings Uthil and Gorm move towards the High King, to free themselves from the monotheistic, tyrannical shackles. Come here if you like mighty battles, and terrible betrayals.
The other two protagonists are Koll, Yarvi's apprentice, and Raith, Shara's bodyguard. I pretty much went through this book, heavily disliking, and then really liking their respective characters. Especially Raith has such an interesting arc.
It's a very good book, but it's not one I would want to read again, which is my requirement for 5 stars.
The cast from the previous books is still all here, but our main protagonist is Queen Shara. She has to witness her grandfather's death, as the High King has him killed for defying him, and so the 17-year old Shara has to flee to Gettland, to request help from her relative Queen Laithlin. She and the two rebel kings Uthil and Gorm move towards the High King, to free themselves from the monotheistic, tyrannical shackles. Come here if you like mighty battles, and terrible betrayals.
The other two protagonists are Koll, Yarvi's apprentice, and Raith, Shara's bodyguard. I pretty much went through this book, heavily disliking, and then really liking their respective characters. Especially Raith has such an interesting arc.
It's a very good book, but it's not one I would want to read again, which is my requirement for 5 stars.
read_n_drink_coffee's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. I’m sad that it’s the end of the Shattered Sea series but I’m glad that the ending was happy.
A lot happened within the story and it was well written. I could picture all the characters and the evens in my mind as I read them
A lot happened within the story and it was well written. I could picture all the characters and the evens in my mind as I read them
pgunther's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.75
tacanderson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You never get the ending you hope for with an Abercrombie series, but it's satisfying nonetheless. What else is there to say, Abercrombie is still one of the best fantasy authors out, there in my opinion, and I'll read anything he writes.
elliespn's review against another edition
1.0
Well. That was disappointing.
I originally wanted to give at least two stars for Uthil and Yarvi. But they were both assassinated, so.
And dude. Why do you make me root for people in the first book and then try to change my mind in the last? This was deeply unsatisfying. I probably should have stopped reading after the first book after all. Grrr
And to make matters even worse this book felt completely disconnected from itself. Half the things were only told after the event took place. The characters were damn boring as well. I didn’t need some sad imitation of great characters. And why did I have to read about two half baked and shockingly boring romances?!?!
Honestly wtf. I‘m actually angry about this
Edit: I just learned/realised that this is placed in a post modern world in which we have all killed each other or ourselves with advanced weapons. That is so cheap, I can’t even
I originally wanted to give at least two stars for Uthil and Yarvi. But they were both assassinated, so.
And dude. Why do you make me root for people in the first book and then try to change my mind in the last? This was deeply unsatisfying. I probably should have stopped reading after the first book after all. Grrr
And to make matters even worse this book felt completely disconnected from itself. Half the things were only told after the event took place. The characters were damn boring as well. I didn’t need some sad imitation of great characters. And why did I have to read about two half baked and shockingly boring romances?!?!
Honestly wtf. I‘m actually angry about this
Edit: I just learned/realised that this is placed in a post modern world in which we have all killed each other or ourselves with advanced weapons. That is so cheap, I can’t even
ktp92's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book in a day, the same as I did for books one and two, but I found my mind wandering far more on this final book. I wasn't as invested in the characters, especially after one character death fairly early on in the book.
I found the writing as good as in the previous books, although reading all three so close together I noticed some phrases I'd appreciated in the first two books repeated in this book to the point they felt overused. We kept the viewpoint characters from books one and two for some limited pov sections, but mostly we followed two new pov characters (one of whom was first introduced in book one). I liked not having to learn a completely new cast, but it meant it took longer for me to get used to the new viewpoints. I liked seeing a different type of female character and although I didn't much care for the romance plotline, it was much less painful than the one from book two!
I'm excited to read more of Abercrombie's work, and I might return to Half a King at some point, but I don't see any re-read value in World or War.
I found the writing as good as in the previous books, although reading all three so close together I noticed some phrases I'd appreciated in the first two books repeated in this book to the point they felt overused. We kept the viewpoint characters from books one and two for some limited pov sections, but mostly we followed two new pov characters (one of whom was first introduced in book one). I liked not having to learn a completely new cast, but it meant it took longer for me to get used to the new viewpoints. I liked seeing a different type of female character and although I didn't much care for the romance plotline, it was much less painful than the one from book two!
I'm excited to read more of Abercrombie's work, and I might return to Half a King at some point, but I don't see any re-read value in World or War.
katie_barty's review against another edition
4.0
“Trust is like glass. Lovely, but only a fool rests lots of weight on it”
rebeccalm's review against another edition
4.0
The culmination of an epic adventure story - this installment continues to follow many of our main characters on their journeys to find revenge and fulfill sworn oaths. The story has many facets and takes many twists and turns, ultimately coming to a fulfilling but not altogether surprising ending.
Some parts of this story broke my heart, and others were endearing. The characters showed elements of growth, and were challenged and tempted throughout. I really appreciated that the author was able to keep the characters from feeling static and one dimensional - both plot and character development were important throughout this story arc, and this book handled it all pretty well. Overall I enjoyed the series.
Some parts of this story broke my heart, and others were endearing. The characters showed elements of growth, and were challenged and tempted throughout. I really appreciated that the author was able to keep the characters from feeling static and one dimensional - both plot and character development were important throughout this story arc, and this book handled it all pretty well. Overall I enjoyed the series.
sarahearra's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the series, but was underwhelmed by the ending. I felt like one of the characters had a personality change that seemed really out of place.