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A review by debchan
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie
4.0
as someone with black calder as one of my fav abercrombie characters, father yarvi was everything to me
i had my doubts about half a king, but ofc i shouldn't've been worried. tbh, these two books could combine into one 600 page book (maybe even the 3rd book idk) but the split allowed us to see the change from the end of the 1st book and how the 2nd book progresses.
we really hit the ground running with this one. what i felt was a bit lacking in book 1 did not at all translate here. it was fast-paced, full of action and intrigue, and had me hooked at every page. abercrombie writes the BEST characters hands down somehow even in a YA setting they're so fleshed out and esp yarvi i loved them.
thorn bathu: i loved being in her head. why? she's so 16, she's so angry, she's so dumb, somehow abercrombie captured the teenage girl experience even if she's in a diff world under insane circumstances. usually authors overcompensate trying to make their female mc too badass and cool or softhearted and genuinely kind. but thorn joked, sulked, was a child, fought with her whole heart, and never ever gave up. she was grumpy but she knew exactly how awful she could be and stumbled through life unapologetically anyways. and then she has the grace to apologize when she's wrong! i said i knew a chunk of Best Served Cold's plot bc it was like word-for-word scene-for-scene so similar to scenes in Sons of Darkness|. here, we get another comparison!the eowyn "i am no man" and "he cannot be killed by any man" and it's like yeah! we all know LOTR! we know macbeth! it means a c-section or even that this great warrior will be killed by a woman. but unfortunately satya came close and failed. so i kinda had the feeling thorn would fail and she did. which is valid bc gorm is like a crazy warrior and she's still a kid.
brand: abercrombie has done the dominant, mad as hell, sword wielding woman getting with the fumbling, nervous, loser man a million times and it never gets boring. i'm ngl everytime we were in his head i was just tapping my foot waiting to get back to thorn. but he's loyal, he's confused by himself, he wants to do the right thing without even knowing what that is. he's headstrong and leaps into danger without thinking about the danger as long as he can help and protect his friends.
father yarvi: black calder dupe or prototype? a man with cunning who makes plans in advance really hits all my boxes. he's seen through thorn and brand as cold and calculating and unknowable and it's gut-wrenching bc we know his past and we know what he's really like. he still holds his oath. he and sumael were so sweet. also i'm obsessed with his mom like thorn is so real i also would follow her to death.
if i found myself waiting for the It Factor in half a king, i def got it here. the new characters were so fun and our old friends were good to read about as well. the fight scenes were typically immersive and bloody and i'm glad abercrombie didn't hold back even in YA. whatever happens i'm backing yarvi i hope he gets everything he wants he deserves it. (obv love that the traditional male role is taken by thorn and the traditional female role is taken by yarvi. breaking gender roles as usual i see!!)
i had my doubts about half a king, but ofc i shouldn't've been worried. tbh, these two books could combine into one 600 page book (maybe even the 3rd book idk) but the split allowed us to see the change from the end of the 1st book and how the 2nd book progresses.
we really hit the ground running with this one. what i felt was a bit lacking in book 1 did not at all translate here. it was fast-paced, full of action and intrigue, and had me hooked at every page. abercrombie writes the BEST characters hands down somehow even in a YA setting they're so fleshed out and esp yarvi i loved them.
thorn bathu: i loved being in her head. why? she's so 16, she's so angry, she's so dumb, somehow abercrombie captured the teenage girl experience even if she's in a diff world under insane circumstances. usually authors overcompensate trying to make their female mc too badass and cool or softhearted and genuinely kind. but thorn joked, sulked, was a child, fought with her whole heart, and never ever gave up. she was grumpy but she knew exactly how awful she could be and stumbled through life unapologetically anyways. and then she has the grace to apologize when she's wrong! i said i knew a chunk of Best Served Cold's plot bc it was like word-for-word scene-for-scene so similar to scenes in Sons of Darkness|. here, we get another comparison!
brand: abercrombie has done the dominant, mad as hell, sword wielding woman getting with the fumbling, nervous, loser man a million times and it never gets boring. i'm ngl everytime we were in his head i was just tapping my foot waiting to get back to thorn. but he's loyal, he's confused by himself, he wants to do the right thing without even knowing what that is. he's headstrong and leaps into danger without thinking about the danger as long as he can help and protect his friends.
father yarvi: black calder dupe or prototype? a man with cunning who makes plans in advance really hits all my boxes. he's seen through thorn and brand as cold and calculating and unknowable and it's gut-wrenching bc we know his past and we know what he's really like. he still holds his oath. he and sumael were so sweet. also i'm obsessed with his mom like thorn is so real i also would follow her to death.
if i found myself waiting for the It Factor in half a king, i def got it here. the new characters were so fun and our old friends were good to read about as well. the fight scenes were typically immersive and bloody and i'm glad abercrombie didn't hold back even in YA. whatever happens i'm backing yarvi i hope he gets everything he wants he deserves it. (obv love that the traditional male role is taken by thorn and the traditional female role is taken by yarvi. breaking gender roles as usual i see!!)