Half A War (Shattered Sea book 3), by Joe Abercrombie

Reading multiple books and waiting until I finish a historical trilogy to review that has led to quiet the hiatus in blogging, so I thought I’d post this before Britain melts on Monday and Tuesday. 

Half A War is the third and final part of Joe Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea trilogy, and I liked it a lot. Those who have bought the first two books need have no worries on the final part proving lacklustre. Recurring characters build on the previous two books, and we have a new POV character in the form of Princess/Queen Skara, whose kingdom gets ruined by the High King and forces her to flee to the nascent alliance between old enemies Vansterland and Gettland. 

The pace moves along at a good rate, neither flitting so rapidly there’s no space to breathe nor being slow and turgid (there is a prolonged period in one place but that fits in with the story and is contrasted by a journey elsewhere). 

Downsides are few. I didn’t especially like one small twist at the end (both obvious and slightly disappointing the way it happened but it doesn’t alter anything significantly). If you prefer more complex stories then the relative simplicity may put you off but personally I found this an enjoyable, engaging, and effortless read that I consumed pretty quickly (not something that’s always the case these days). 

I've kept this pretty brief as it's the third entry so spoilers are more annoying and it's pretty much a buy or avoid for those who've read earlier books in the series.

So, I recommend this but, obviously, after the first two books. Book 2 is reviewed here, and book 1 is reviewed here.

 

For those wondering, I’m currently re-reading The Inheritance of Rome by Chris Wickham, Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (which I may review if I haven’t already as I read it a long time ago), and the final part in a Seleukid history trilogy by John D. Grainger, which I will review on a collective basis.

Thaddeus

Review: Half the World (Shattered Sea, book 2), by Joe Abercrombie

It’s been a little while since I read the first of these (Half a King), but I did remember enough to be able to follow along most of the characters that appear in this book, set a little way down the line.

The High King’s power waxes ever greater, and lesser kings and kingdoms are none too pleased at having to kneel before another. Yarvi, the protagonist of the first book, is ever-present and the driving force behind a bid to break the power of the High King and forge an alliance. The POV characters, however, are both new. Thorn Bathu is a wild, angry, and rather violent young lady who accidentally kills a man and is saved by Yarvi from execution, while Brand (whose whispered word secures her release) was set to be a warrior but gets ostracised for his deed.

The pair end up with Yarvi, and assorted rapscallions, on a ship destined to cross half the world to try and secure friends for Gettland and prise away allies from the High King. Along the way Thorn gets a serious training in weapons, and Brand discovers the warrior life he dreamt of was not necessarily it was cracked up to be.

As ever with an Abercrombie book it’s very easy to read, with engaging characters, a detailed, compelling world, and a plot that cracks along but also has slower moments to help the pacing and give the characters time to grow. I was reading another book at the same time, but still got through the almost 500 pages pretty rapidly. If you liked the first book you’ll like this, and I’m looking forward to the third.

Thaddeus

Review: Half A King (Shattered Sea Book 1), by Joe Abercrombie

It’s been a long time since I read a whole book in 2-3 days. But I read this one that fast.

Admittedly this was partly due to the internet being down which meant I played a lot of video games and read far more than usual. Nevertheless, if I’d been less taken with Half A King I would’ve done something else with my unexpected abundance of time.

The story follows the tale of Yarvi, a young lad of royal blood missing most of one hand. Naturally, this has rather held him back in the approximately Anglo-Saxon/Viking fictional world in which he lives. Hard to be a great warrior when you’re half a king.

The premise is that his father and brother suddenly die and he ends up being thrust into the role of king, something that nobody seems to want, including himself. But he soon discovers there are far more uncomfortable seats than the throne.

The narrative sticks with Yarvi throughout rather than switching points of view, and it works. The world is bitter, and cold, and so are the people, but along the way force of circumstance brings him together with some unlikely allies as they strive to escape the torment of fate and return to their homes.

One thing I especially liked, and won’t spoil, is the ending, which I think the author absolutely nailed.

All in all, a very good read and I’m glad I had it to hand to help occupy the time when a wiring problem set me adrift from the internet.

Thaddeus

Review: Red Country, by Joe Abercrombie

Red Country is a stand-alone book, and occurs in the same world as The First Law Trilogy and the stand-alone Best Served Cold and The Heroes. This book review will be as light on spoilers as possible.

The story occurs mostly in the Far Country, which is akin in tone to the Wild West, but with a far simpler level of technology. The protagonists are Shy and Lamb, the former being a very rough diamond and the latter an elderly and cowardly man who worked on her farm. The pair find themselves trekking across the Far Country to try and save Shy's younger siblings, who have been kidnapped.

There are fewer characters of note than in The Heroes, the previous book, but this does allow a tighter focus on those who are present and works very well. Shy and Lamb, and others with whom they travel, change and develop significantly during the journey as they're confronted with hard questions and bloody answers.

The world is very well-described, and has an immersive, realistic feel. The disintegration of law and order as people travel further from civilisation towards the unclaimed Far Country and the emotional volatility of hope, despair and stubborn resilience from various quarters fits the leap of faith (some falling, some landing safely) of travelling into the wilderness for a better life.

I must admit to absolutely loving lore, and although it's almost entirely in the background the latter part of the book will be especially interesting for those who love hearing more about the antiquity of the Circle of the World.

Red Country continues Mr. Abercrombie's grey morality, which I rather like, and has an added note of poignancy. I think the tone of the book's more balanced than the previous stand-alones, which erred on the side of darkness. It's still grim and gritty, but there's a bit more yang to balance the yin.

Some versions (happily including the one I got) have a very short story at the end, written by a biographer who plays a minor role in the book. It's very much an appendix sort of story: it's enjoyable to read, but doesn't add anything substantial to the story so those without it are missing a few minutes of reading pleasure rather than any critical information or a hidden plot twist.

It's probably quite clear that I think Red Country's fantastic, but it's not quite perfect. I think that a certain cameo character could've and should've had a slightly greater presence, and that he almost might as well not be there otherwise.

So, in summary: the characters are engaging, the story is simple for the first half but has numerous twists later on and the writing is excellent throughout. It's my favourite book by Mr. Abercrombie so far, and I'm struggling to think of a fantasy I like more.

Thaddeus

New authors and books

Rejoice, for Joe Abercrombie has taken enough of a break from playing Skyrim to crack on with his next book (stand-alone, as were Best Served Cold and The Heroes), entitled A Red Country. My exhaustive research [I checked his blog] suggest that a certain digitally deficient fellow might feature, and Cosca’s returning. The setting is a bit of a wilderness, the outskirts of the Old Empire and Styria, if memory serves.

It’s pencilled in for the 27^th of September.

Earlier this year I read Douglas Hulick’s Among Thieves, and liked it quite a lot. His second Tales of the Kin book (Sworn in Steel) is due out on the 13^th of September. Not all the Tales he writes will feature Drothe as the protagonist, but he does star in Sworn in Steel. I hope we see Bronze Degan again, but I have a sneaking suspicion he won’t be in this book.

I quite like trying out new authors, and there are a few I keep meaning to get around to reading. (Now that I come to think of it I’ve still got The Complete Works of Shakespeare to read as well). One of the best things about the Kindle is the ability to download a sample and get a feel for a book and author before buying.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is his first novel, and is highly rated. Rothfuss is someone a lot of people know about, but for some reason (as with Peter V. Brett’s The Painted Man) I’ve never, yet, bought his stuff. Both of these books/authors are on my ‘to read’ list.

I was browsing Amazon and came across Geist, by Philippa Ballantine. I must admit I’d never heard of her, but the book sounds interesting. Going by the understandably vague summary, it sounds like it has religious undertones and undead/spirits involved.

Theft of Swords, by Michael J Sullivan, is another book I might look at. The series title (Riyria Revelations) sounds like a tongue-twister, and the first entry is actually a pair of stories: The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha. Hadrian and Royce seem to be dual protagonists that embark upon some light-hearted adventures.

David Chandler’s Ancient Blades Trilogy seems promising. As with Ballantine, a new name for me, and although the first book’s rating is somewhat middling the latter two are both highly rated. Judging by the reviews it sounds like sword and sorcery, and less grim than is often the case nowadays. I don’t like reading books that are all the same, though, so I may well give this a try.

And, of course, there’s the Game of Thrones DVD coming out in early March. Those who saw the series when it broadcast have little but praise for it, and I’m rather looking forward to its arrival.

Thaddeus

The Heroes review

The Heroes is a new stand alone fantasy novel by Joe Abercrombie. This review will have some light(ish) spoilers, but isn’t rife with them.

It’s set in the same world as his previous stuff (First Law Trilogy and Best Served Cold) and features some new characters and quite a lot of old ones.

Unusually for Mr. Abercrombie, it does feature not one but various maps, though these are of a tactical/battlefield rather than national nature.

The Heroes is also unusual in that it has a very large character list for its size, which is quite handy as it enables different parts of the sizeable battlefield to be written about with known characters. The battle takes place over a number of days, and pits the Union against the North (the Union is approximately a civilised medieval(ish) kingdom, the North are more akin to Saxons or Vikings with a looser concept of armies and hierarchy).

The number of characters who end up dead is pretty high, and it’s difficult to tell which side will prevail, and whether the main characters will survive either way. As is expected from the author, it’s well-written and crammed with delightful violence.

There’s no one single protagonist (there are three), and the battle is very much painted as a clash of equals, rather than either an imperialist domineering power or a gang of thuggish, idiotic barbarians tussling with a noble foe.

I enjoyed the book, and liked a number of the characters (particularly Beck), though the battle’s conclusion was not to my taste. It’s a little too melancholy, and could use a spot of light relief. Due to the large number of characters, the ending goes on a little bit, but it’s quite nice to see where certain people end up, and it certainly doesn’t drag like the end of the film version of The Return of the King.

It’s gritty and filled with the futility and capriciousness of war, but I do think it lacks a little bit of focus due to the large number of characters. I thought it better than Best Served Cold, and not as good as the First Law Trilogy.

Would I recommend it? Yes, in a word. I raced through it, and the only significant disappointment was that I’m now, once again, in need of some fantasy to read.

Thaddeus

Modern authors: Joe Abercrombie

I have quite a few favourite authors, some ancient and some more recent. One of my favourites is a pretty new fellow (he prowls stealthily on the SFF Chronicles forum linked on the right hand side of this blog, though he posts only rarely, alas).

So far, he’s written the First Law Trilogy and two stand-alone books: Best Served Cold and The Heroes. I’ve ordered the last of these, and read the others.

All his books take place in the same world. Some of the minor characters in the trilogy crop up in Best Served Cold, and I imagine the same happens in The Heroes.

There won’t be many spoilers below, though obviously this means I’ll be a bit fuzzier regarding the characters and plots involved.

The First Law Trilogy begins quite slowly. Personally, I didn’t mind the fact that most of the first book was scene-setting, as it was very well-written and most of the characters were nice and three-dimensional. One, in particular, was quite fantastic. There were a few clichés here and there, but nothing grating in that regard.

Mr. Abercrombie excels in the sphere of moral ambiguity and sadistic endeavour, perhaps unsurprising given the evil beard he sports. [NB: I’ve just had a brilliant idea. What about Joe Abercrombie as the next Master in Doctor Who?] And there is quite a lot of torture and general horridness in the trilogy, as well as some sex and a lot of political conniving.

Interestingly, given when he started to write it (The Blade Itself, the first book, was released in 2006) banks are included as a powerful influence.

Something I heartily approve of is the real character development that occurs throughout the three books, with each of the central characters (there is no single protagonist) changing drastically in one regard or other. Another part of Mr. Abercrombie’s style I entirely approve of is the killing off of significant characters. He’s not quite at George RR Martin levels of rampant slaughter, but there’s always the delightful threat of sudden death.

What are the bad points, you may ask. For some, the absence of a map may rankle. Fantasy often has maps (sometimes many, many maps) and the absence of one can annoy some people. It doesn’t annoy me, personally. As I mentioned above, the first book is a little slow and has the requisite scene-setting, but I still liked it a lot.

I raced through these books, and would give the First Law Trilogy 9/10. If you like George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and don’t mind something not quite on the same sprawling scale, this should appeal to you. There is, as I said, plenty of violence, sex and naughty words, so don’t buy it for a nephew who’s just finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time.

Best Served Cold features a number of minor characters from the First Law Trilogy, though the protagonist is entirely new. I liked it, but it was not on a par with the trilogy. Moral ambiguity is something I typically enjoy, but the protagonist felt a little soulless and would (in my humble opinion) have been better with just a spark of morality.

Minor spoilers follow.

The protagonist has a not-so-merry band of followers, and roams around Styria (a bit like Greece but with city-states in a medieval world) assassinating certain people for entirely justified personal reasons.

Naturally, there’s lots of violence, swearing and sex, and although the characters are generally good there is not anyone who stands out especially (unlike in The First Law Trilogy).

I’d give it 7/10. It suffers by comparison with the First Law Trilogy, which is fantastic.

The Heroes should arrive on Monday.

I hope that Mr. Abercrombie keeps up the pretty swift writing rate, and pens some more trilogies as well as stand-alone books. Given that A Song of Ice and Fire has a TV series and two games (RPG and strategy, I think) in development, it’d be great if The First Law Trilogy had a similar treatment.

Thaddeus