KitsuneBae
Written on May 20, 2016
I love this, enjoyed it more than Half-a-King. Thorn Bathu is such a kickass character and I love how her story was told. I'm really excited to read Half a War.
"New York Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie's thrilling new series continues in the follow-up to Half a King, which George R. R. Martin hailed as "a fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page 1 and refused to let go." Sometimes a girl is touched by Mother War. Thorn is such a girl. Desperate to avenge her dead father, she lives to fight. But she has been named a murderer by the very man who trained her to kill. Sometimes a woman becomes a warrior. She finds herself caught up in the schemes of Father Yarvi, Gettland's deeply cunning minister. Crossing half the world to find allies against the ruthless High King, she learns harsh lessons of blood and deceit. Sometimes a warrior becomes a weapon. Beside her on the journey is Brand, a young warrior who hates to kill, a failure in his eyes and hers, but with one chance at redemption. And weapons are made for one purpose. Will Thorn forever be a pawn in the hands of the powerful, or can she carve her own path? Praise for Joe Abercrombie's Half a King "Half a King is my favorite book by Joe Abercrombie so far, and that's saying something."--Patrick Rothfuss "As in all Abercrombie's books, friends turn out to be enemies, enemies turn out to be friends; the line between good and evil is murky indeed; and nothing goes quite as we expect. With eye-popping plot twists and rollicking good action, Half a King is definitely a full adventure."--Rick Riordan "Enthralling! An up-all-night read."--Robin Hobb "Polished and sharp, perhaps his most technically proficient novel yet. I dare you to read the first chapter and try not to turn the next page."--Brent Weeks "Half a King can be summed up in a single word: masterpiece. It's a coming-of-age story. It's a Viking saga. It's a revenge tale and family drama and the return of the prodigal son. But most of all, it's this: a short time alongside people as weak and blundering as we are and, in the midst of it all, as heroic. Far too short a time, as it turns out. What a wonderful book."--Myke Cole "Half a King is full of all the adventure I've come to expect from Abercrombie and a tenderness I never knew he had."--Sam Sykes"--
"Set in the same world as Half a King, Half a World follows a new protagonist, Thorn, a fifteen-year-old girl in training for the king's army. But even as she's learning the ways of war, she's also growing up...and falling in love for the first time"--
- ISBN10 0804178429
- ISBN13 9780804178426
- Publish Date 17 February 2015 (first published 1 January 2015)
- Publish Status Remaindered
- Imprint Del Rey Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 384
- Language English
Reviews
I love this, enjoyed it more than Half-a-King. Thorn Bathu is such a kickass character and I love how her story was told. I'm really excited to read Half a War.
Mercy
Written on Sep 29, 2015
violetpeanut
Written on Feb 26, 2015
Things started off a little slowly for me because it had been a while since I had read the first book, Half a King. It took a little bit for me to get my bearings and remember who's who and where they are. It also threw me a little that this book does not center on Yarvi, but rather on two other characters, Thorn and Bran. Yarvi is now Father Yarvi and is the minister to his uncle, now the King. He is just as cunning as ever and everything he does has an underlying motivation. Thorn and Bran are young people training to become warriors. Through various circumstances they end up following Yarvi across the world while he's trying to gain allies for his country in what looks to be the coming war with the High King.
Thorn is a seriously bad-ass chick. Everything she has she gets by hard work. She's a flawed character who sometimes jumps to conclusions and makes bad decisions, but you can't help but cheer for her. She's impetuous and acts without thinking. She gains some serious fighting skills. Bran is the opposite. He's the strong, silent type. He's more slow and thoughtful and aims to "do good" above all else. Both characters are well-written and complex. The supporting characters are a mix of new and familiar faces from Half a King. They round out the cast well and even offer some comic relief.
We learn a little more about this world and there are more details peppered throughout that hint that this may be set in the far-future and we, the reader, might be these elves they speak of with such reverence. It's an interesting concept. The setting are described in enough detail that you can visualize them but not so much that you're bogged down.
This book really shines in it's action scenes. This book would translate really well to the screen and I could absolutely "see" all of the battle scenes while reading. They were completely enthralling and I couldn't pull my eyes away.
Overall, while it started out slow, this book quickly built to a fast-paced, exciting read with strong characters and settings. I am very eagerly awaiting the third book in this trilogy. This book has definite crossover appeal and adult fans of fantasy would enjoy as well as YA readers. Highly recommended.