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A review by emleemay
Half the World by Joe Abercrombie
4.0
“Where do we find allies?”
Father Yarvi smiled. “Among our enemies, where else?”
This series is really good.
It was by accident that I stumbled across [b:Half a King|18666047|Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389378321s/18666047.jpg|25641726] last year and decided to take my chances on it. I’m not a huge fan of traditional fantasy because it tends to be wordy, 1000-pages long and dense so I approach the genre with some hesitation... but it was so easy to read, fast-paced and entertaining. A little dark - just the right amount, in fact - but a whole lot of fun too.
And this sequel was possibly even better, in my opinion. We get to meet all the old characters we love, but it’s Thorn who takes centre stage and both infuriates and captivates us. There’s so much girl power in this sequel. While we're lucky that it isn't so rare anymore, I particularly like what Abercrombie has done here. As much as I love sword-wielding heroines who kick ass, I think what I love more than anything is those that surprise you. The quiet female characters without special powers or strength, who aren’t afraid to be brave and get their hands dirty when the situation requires it. This book has both kinds.
Fans of the first book will probably be surprised and pleased by the very different view we get of Yarvi in this sequel. I liked it a lot. In [b:Half a King|18666047|Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389378321s/18666047.jpg|25641726], we spend a lot of time looking at this world and its troubles through the eyes of Yarvi; we see his pain, his struggles and his insecurities and we find a lot of sympathy for him. In this book, he is still a complex, multi-layered character but he's also a total badass. He's funny, clever and full of surprises. I had a new level of respect for him.
I know some people don't, but I love it when sequels are completely different beasts from the first book. [b:Half the World|22055283|Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402314017s/22055283.jpg|40431126] is just as good, but in a very different way. If I was going to offer a criticism, I think the plot in this one isn’t as well-developed as the first and it sometimes feels like the second book in a series - you know what I mean, the sense that the book is bridging the gap between parts of the bigger story. But character-wise, it’s even stronger. Old and new characters are complex, lovable, annoying and funny all at once. They surprised me more often.
Great writing, great characters, a pace that makes it hard to put the book down... I'd happily recommend this series to anyone who'll listen.
"When Mother War spreads her wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness."
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Father Yarvi smiled. “Among our enemies, where else?”
This series is really good.
It was by accident that I stumbled across [b:Half a King|18666047|Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389378321s/18666047.jpg|25641726] last year and decided to take my chances on it. I’m not a huge fan of traditional fantasy because it tends to be wordy, 1000-pages long and dense so I approach the genre with some hesitation... but it was so easy to read, fast-paced and entertaining. A little dark - just the right amount, in fact - but a whole lot of fun too.
And this sequel was possibly even better, in my opinion. We get to meet all the old characters we love, but it’s Thorn who takes centre stage and both infuriates and captivates us. There’s so much girl power in this sequel. While we're lucky that it isn't so rare anymore, I particularly like what Abercrombie has done here. As much as I love sword-wielding heroines who kick ass, I think what I love more than anything is those that surprise you. The quiet female characters without special powers or strength, who aren’t afraid to be brave and get their hands dirty when the situation requires it. This book has both kinds.
Fans of the first book will probably be surprised and pleased by the very different view we get of Yarvi in this sequel. I liked it a lot. In [b:Half a King|18666047|Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389378321s/18666047.jpg|25641726], we spend a lot of time looking at this world and its troubles through the eyes of Yarvi; we see his pain, his struggles and his insecurities and we find a lot of sympathy for him. In this book, he is still a complex, multi-layered character but he's also a total badass. He's funny, clever and full of surprises. I had a new level of respect for him.
I know some people don't, but I love it when sequels are completely different beasts from the first book. [b:Half the World|22055283|Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402314017s/22055283.jpg|40431126] is just as good, but in a very different way. If I was going to offer a criticism, I think the plot in this one isn’t as well-developed as the first and it sometimes feels like the second book in a series - you know what I mean, the sense that the book is bridging the gap between parts of the bigger story. But character-wise, it’s even stronger. Old and new characters are complex, lovable, annoying and funny all at once. They surprised me more often.
Great writing, great characters, a pace that makes it hard to put the book down... I'd happily recommend this series to anyone who'll listen.
"When Mother War spreads her wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness."
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