Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.I’m a completionist at heart, especially when it comes to reading. When I’ve experienced most of a story, a part of me demands to know how it all ends – even if I have not “loved” the overall series. And this character trait explains why Half a War ended up on my reading list after Half a King and Half the World underwhelmed me.As this tale begins, three years or so have passed since the events in book two. The Shattered Sea is now ripped apart by war. Gettland...

Mother War's long shadow has once again covered the Shattered Sea. Grandmother Wexen has built an unfathomably enormous army and means to crush all who stand against her.Half A War was an interesting conclusion to the Shattered Sea trilogy. The story takes place three years or so after the events of Half the World. The uneasy alliance between Gettland and Vansterland still exists, but has been largely toothless as their ally Throvenland could attest to since they were eradicated and their allies...

4.25 Stars "Only half a war is fought with swords." Amazing conclusion! I really enjoyed this third and last installment of the Shattered Sea trilogy. The main plot point in this is the war with the High King, that was already build up to in Half the World.Just like in the second book, we have new pov characters in this third installment (the old characters are kept as side characters). And as in the second book, I was sceptical at the beginning, because I already loved the old characters and

3 StarsMan...I'm fairly conflicted in regard to my thoughts and feelings on this book......but I don't really want to talk about much of anything here in detail (if at all) for fear of laying down some unintentionally massive spoilers for the entire series. So I will just bullet point some general points of conversation:-The Overarching Series TwistIf you've read this, you know exactly what I mean. Now, I don't think I'm a super smartypants or anything......but I had suspicions this twist was th...

Now this is how a series should end. Abercrombie has delivered a masterstroke that brings everything together and spits in the face of the previous two books. I love the way with each new book he added different point of view characters, but kept the old ones as side characters. In this final instalment a new protagonist brings all the rest together in a cause that is as bloody as it is tactful. Revenge can be exacted with words too Indeed, only half a war is fought with steel. Princess Skara’s...

How did I miss putting up a review of this? This is book 3 of the Shattered Sea books by Abercrombie. Each book offers several viewpoint characters, but the emphasis is usually on one or two characters at the heart of the action. In my opinion, you can jump into this extended tale in any of the books and read a satisfying story, but I heartily recommend that you begin with Half a King and enjoy the whole unfolding of the world. Things happen in this book. Well, things happen in just about any bo...

3.5 Only Half a War is Fought with Swords StarsIf you have read books by Joe Abercrombie (JA) before then you know he never wraps everything up at the end with tidy ribbons and bows and Happily Ever Afters. Nope nothing as trite and cliché as that, he gives the reader some hard truths about the characters they have come to love. He makes sure we know the world is not black and white but many shades of gray and most importantly… “Every hero is someone’s villain.” It is two years after the event...

Words are weaponsPrincess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. She must conquer her fears and sharpen her wits to a lethal edge if she is to reclaim her birthright.Only half a war is fought with swordsThe deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king’s minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has...

my lowest rating ever for a Abercrombie but this was bad.

This review has given me real trouble. I LOVED the first book, liked the second quite a bit, and trusted that Abercrombie would give me whatever I needed to love this one, too. In a weird way that I still don't understand, this third book in his Shattered Sea trilogy has not managed to meet my expectations, even though I'm not sure I had expectations to meet, beyond that I wanted to love it. I'm sort of devastated that it didn't work for me.While reading, my blood pressure skyrocketed from the s...

Fantasy type books sometimes go over my head. I can't figure out who is who or work up enough energy to care anyways. Joe Abercrombie's Shattered Sea was totally different for me in that aspect. Even though the first book Half a King focused on Yarvi, the second one mostly on Thorn Half the World (my favorite) and then this one seems to be Princess Skara's domain.Confused yet? I usually would have been by this point, plus throwing in some new characters each book..just for shits and giggles.The

A really strong third instalment in this series from Abercrombie. It seems that with each book in this trilogy Abercrombie (in parallel with Yarvi) became darker and more ambitious: from the straightforward YA of the first book, to the epic fantasy adventure of the second and finishing with a brutal continent spanning war in this book in which good and evil are indistinguishable. Abercrombie's ambition was highlighted by his willingness to introduce an entirely new cast of 3 POV characters (only...

3.5 stars. Half a War is well-written and a fitting end to the Shattered Sea Viking-inspired trilogy. There are some new plot twists that made me see the whole trilogy with new eyes. It's always had a Viking flavor to it, but the Beowulf vibes gained an additional intensity in this third book, as a coalition assembles to try to fight against the High King and his oppressive rule over their countries. Once again, a highly dangerous journey is key to the conflict, but in an entirely new and unexpe...

"Mother War has arrived, and she will cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness." A dark forecast, but sadly enough this series finale is quite a letdown. Bleh, what a disappointing end to such an epic series. I loved “Half a King”, I thought the second book was great, and I hoped that this tome would deliver an exciting, action-packed, bloody finale. I was proven wrong. So WRONG! It was even so bad that reading the last 100 pages became a real struggle because this story let me down on so many...

4.5 starsOh! Oh! I'm all over the place with this ending! Just...No spoilers, ok? This review is safe to read. By the way, that means that it took me forever to figure out how to write this without, you know, ruining everyone else's experience. You're so welcome, random person! Yarvi, amirite? That's who we all want to finish this journey out with! And while we do get to see how he plays the game, everything is not black and white. Not that Yarvi was ever a good guy, but this time he might be

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.3.5 StarsI have loved this trilogy and I have to admit that I feel somewhat guilty about the fact that I didn't rate this final book in the trilogy as high as the two prior books. I base my rating strictly on my enjoyment of the story and I just didn't enjoy this book as much as the first two books. These books are the only books by Joe Abercrombie that I have read and I guess I had hoped for an ending that would feel satisfying and a little

"'A warriors place is at Death's side' said Raith as he stood. 'So he can introduce her to his enemies'"Half a War is the conclusive third book in Joe Abercrombie's Shattered Sea saga. It follows on smoothly from the events at the conclusion of Half a World and we find ourselves witness to the politics and events surrounding a very shaky alliance of nations. These nations of once bitter enemies being Vansterland ruled by The Breaker of Swords and neighbouring Gettland whose monarch is The Iron K...

And thus concludes Shattered sea I overall like the trilogy a lot but..There are lot of buts here despite high rating I given to each.That is because there this could have been favorite shelf material but..Let's start from the beginning. When I heard the Lord Grimdark is making YA trilogy I was intrigued. Abrecrombie is someone who likes to use well established tropes and and twists the and turns them. It's kind of like Glokta before and after Gurkhul dungeons, established tropes get the same tr...

My overwhelming emotion upon finishing Half a War was disappointment. I felt like Half a King was an OK book with a few annoying flaws that kept me from fully enjoying it. To Abercrombie's credit I felt like he eradicated a number of those issues in the second instalment of the series, Half the World, and that made that one a far more enjoyable read. Imagine my disappointment to discover that Half a War is like a sterioded up version of all the worst parts of the first book! The story itself was...

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/07/24/b...Joe Abercrombie’s Young Adult series comes to a close in this final book of The Shattered Sea trilogy. A fine ending if there ever was, though I’m afraid I will sound a lot more negative than I mean to be in this review. It’s just that compared to the incredible showing of the two preceding novels, Half a War may just trail just a tad behind in awesomeness. Still, you can be sure this third book is not to be missed.Once