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A review by topdragon
Half a War by Joe Abercrombie
5.0
“Folk aren’t just cowards or heroes. They’re both and neither, depending on how things stand. Depending on who stands with them, who stands against. Depending on the life they’ve had. The death they see waiting.”
In this final volume of the Shattered Sea trilogy, Joe Abercrombie once again shows us why he is included among the very top tier of today’s writers of fantasy fiction. He abandons most of the usual fantasy tropes and tells a much more realistic and gritty story. The good guys and the bad guys are not so easily identified. Sometimes, just when you think you understand where the point-of-view character in any particular chapter is headed, when you think you’ve read this script before, Abercrombie’s characters surprise you.
This is the climax of the trilogy of course and as the title implies, the coming war is finally here. The events of the first two volumes culminate here and the numerous characters are faced with their individual destinies. Just as in the last volume, [b:Half the World|22055283|Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402314017s/22055283.jpg|40431126], Abercrombie keeps the overall story fresh by switching to two major point-of-view characters for this tale. This time it is Princess Skara and the warrior Raith who provide the main perspective for us. The war itself is large but the focus is on the individual characters and their roles, whether in the shield wall or in planning the battle response. There are a fair number of romantic pursuits among the characters and, just as in life, not all end with a happily-ever-after result. It’s an emotional novel, more so than the first two I would say. In fact this one reminded me much more of Abercrombie’s earlier novels.
Many of the story lines come to a point of completion but not all and it seems likely that Abercrombie may have some plans for the future that might still involve these characters. If so, I will be ready and waiting.
Highly recommended.
In this final volume of the Shattered Sea trilogy, Joe Abercrombie once again shows us why he is included among the very top tier of today’s writers of fantasy fiction. He abandons most of the usual fantasy tropes and tells a much more realistic and gritty story. The good guys and the bad guys are not so easily identified. Sometimes, just when you think you understand where the point-of-view character in any particular chapter is headed, when you think you’ve read this script before, Abercrombie’s characters surprise you.
This is the climax of the trilogy of course and as the title implies, the coming war is finally here. The events of the first two volumes culminate here and the numerous characters are faced with their individual destinies. Just as in the last volume, [b:Half the World|22055283|Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402314017s/22055283.jpg|40431126], Abercrombie keeps the overall story fresh by switching to two major point-of-view characters for this tale. This time it is Princess Skara and the warrior Raith who provide the main perspective for us. The war itself is large but the focus is on the individual characters and their roles, whether in the shield wall or in planning the battle response. There are a fair number of romantic pursuits among the characters and, just as in life, not all end with a happily-ever-after result. It’s an emotional novel, more so than the first two I would say. In fact this one reminded me much more of Abercrombie’s earlier novels.
Many of the story lines come to a point of completion but not all and it seems likely that Abercrombie may have some plans for the future that might still involve these characters. If so, I will be ready and waiting.
Highly recommended.