Half a War

by Joe Abercrombie
500 pgs  (Shattered Sea trilogy #3)

In Half a King Joe Abercrombie began his story of Yarvi, the second son of the King. Born with a severely deformed arm, he was ill-equipped to ever sit on the throne of power. But when his father and older brother were both betrayed and murdered, Yarvi made it his life's purpose to exact revenge.

In Half the World, Yarvi, having maneuvered himself into a position of power as the Queen's minister, furthers his plans for revenge, as he enlists Thorn, a young woman with the developing skills of a ruthless  killer. The book wasn't as compelling as the first book, but it did a good job of building anticipation, and setting the stage for the last book in the series.

Half a War doesn't disappoint. Abercrombie uses the perspectives of three different characters to conclude his story: Skara, the young granddaughter of the King of Throvenland, and Koll and Raith, who were both introduced as minor characters in the last book. Yarvi has put all of the pieces of his machinations into motion, and finally has the opportunity to get his revenge.

Before reading this series, I had been considering reading Abercrombie's books for quite some time. I hadn’t read anything by him before, but I had heard him compared to authors like George R.R. Martin, and others that I enjoy. So I had high expectations when I began the series. Now that I'm done, I'd say that overall I was impressed. I think he wrote these primarily for a slightly younger audience (but they're probably more violent than your typical young adult books) but they were good enough to make me even more excited to read his other books. 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Half the World

by Joe Abercrombie
484 pgs  (Shattered Sea trilogy #2)

Joe Abercrombie's The Shattered Sea trilogy is a story of death, betrayal, and one man's quest for revenge. In Half a King, Abercrombie focused on young Yarvi, the second son of the king, and one who was never intended to sit on the throne. His deformed arm made him useless in the eyes of his father and family, but when his father and older brother were both murdered, he unwillingly became king. When the same men who killed his family members shortly thereafter conspired against him, Yarvi renounces his claim on the throne and dedicates the rest of his life to obtaining revenge. It's soon evident that his sharp mind, and his deep sense of cunning will serve him far better than a sword or a battle ax ever could.

In Half the World, Yarvi, who is now the Queen's minister, is no longer the central character in Abercrombie's story. It's now Thorn, a young girl who is being trained as a warrior by the head of the Queen's army. Thorn catches the attention of Yarvi, who sees potential in her to play a role in his plans for revenge. he places her under the tutelage of a master fighter named Skifr. Skifr trains Thorn into one of the most deadly and dangerous warriors in the world.

Half the World is not as strong a book as its predecessor, but it successfully does what the middle book in a trilogy is supposed to do: it advances the story, it adds depth to the main characters, and it builds anticipation for the conclusion. While the story moved a little too slowly for me at times, Thorn is a fantastic new character and one that I'm looking forward to seeing how Yarvi utilizes in his plans.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Half a King

by Joe Abercrombie
333 pgs  (Shattered Sea trilogy #1)

Half a King is the first book in The Shattered Sea trilogy Joe Abercrombie is currently writing for a slightly younger audience. Book two, Half the World was just published, and book three, Half a War will be out later this year.

Yarvi is the second son of the King and Queen of Gettland. He's young, highly intelligent, and because he was born with one severely deformed hand, he's despised and considered to be half a man by his father and older brother. No one considers him a worthy successor to the thrown, and he's the target of ridicule on the training field because of his inability to use a sword, axe, or shield. On the day he is to take the final exam to become a minister, renouncing his birthright forever, he receives word from his uncle that both his father and older brother have been murdered. He is now King of Gettland. While reluctantly leading his army to avenge the deaths of his father and brother, Yarvi is betrayed by his uncle and barely escapes with his life.

Yarvi becomes a slave, chained to an oar on a ship in the Shattered Sea where he thinks of nothing else but seeking revenge against those who killed his family and betrayed him.

Half a King is a promising first edition to the series. It's reminiscent of one of my favorite books of all time, The Count of Monte Cristo. It's also hard to miss the similarities between it and The Game of Thrones. It's the first book by Abercrombie that I've read and from what I've heard, it's not as good as his books for adults. That bodes well for how much I should enjoy his other books. I'll be trying to get my hands on those as soon as I can.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆