Reviews

Half a War by Joe Abercrombie

jon288's review against another edition

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4.0

Shattered Sea 3. Modern military weapons introduced into a viking style post-apocalypse world is great fun. Some interesting character directions, as to be expected from Abercrombie. Probably the most fun of the trilogy

tatitab's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

pruey's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

4.5

sonice's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars. A satisfying enough conclusion, but compared to the other two SS books it falls into the middle of the pack. Slightly better than HaK, but nowhere near as good as HtW.

While being a neat idea - albeit not one I haven't encountered before - the whole Elf relic thing was fairly predictable and sort of hampered the stakes towards the last half. It was fun to read as we went along, trying to figure out exactly what modern structure or technology is being described by someone to whom this is all completely alien and fantastical. It had some major 'Broken Empire' vibes, which is a series I love. Just like in that series, ancient (or modern, to us anyway) lost technology plays a major part of the protagonists' success - however here I felt that it came across as a little...cheap? Hard to say exactly why, but at no point during the final battle did I feel like it wasn't going to be a complete blow out - which of course, it was.

The twist with Yarvi being the traitor in the group? I'm not someone who actively tries to solve these kinds of riddles right away; I'm more of an 'along for the ride' kind of reader. This, however, was just so obvious. So much so that when Skara calls him on it, my only reaction was "OK finally someone says it out loud".

It really came down to the characters (like most of Abercrombie's stuff) as well. My favourites from the last two were put into more of a supporting role in this one, and the new additions didn't have quite the same appeal. I needed more THORN. Having someone to root for, who makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, who makes you fist-pump the air as you're following along with them - THAT'S what I wanted more of.

On the whole, I would still recommend this series to people, but I can see why people are mostly lukewarm about it.

thejdizzler's review

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adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

No es tan bondadoso como las dos partes anteriores. Sin embargo, Media Guerra me daba un final satisfactorio de la historia de los personajes y los reinos del mar quebrado. 

En este parte, tenemos tres nuevas perspectivas: la de una reina, la de Koll que es ahora un aprendiz de Padre Yarvi, y de Raith, un guerrero de la corte de Grum-gil-Gorm. Esta decision a cambiar la perspectiva entre cada libro es un truco interesante de Abercrombie para el desarrollo de sus personajes. Ya conocemos como sea ver por los ojos de Yarvi, Espinu y Brand. Por los ojos de otros, sus acciones y sus opiniones sobre si mismos toman un color muy diferente. Pero este truco es una espada con dos filos. Echaba de menos la voz de Yarvi, y de Brand sobre todo. 

El final es como lo espere. Tan triste y tan dulce al mismo tiempo. Abercrombie es un pesimista sobre los cambios. Por las personajes si, pero por el mundo, no. Ellos que tienen el poder siempre actúan por las mismas canales.

jtrebec's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

josephbeck37's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

franrodalg's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

An undeniable improvement over the disappointing previous installment, with the political manouvering, thirst for revenge, and nuanced characters that seemed to disappear between Half a King and Half a War. I could have done without the romance subplots, but Joe Abercrombie’s prose can salvage even teen crushes. Slightly frustrated with how one character’s arc ended, but otherwise happy I gave this series another chance.

mdls's review

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

moocowimpi's review against another edition

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5.0

This will forever go down as one of those books that make me cry that it ended.

I cannot express how much I loved reading this. it had me on the edge of my seat, had me crying and laughing and angry. The characters were amazing and the story so exciting and unpredictable. I cannot express enough how good this was to read. Bravo!