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A review by ian_k
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
3.0
I made it. I saw it through to the end even though multiple times I was going to give up on it. I had no idea this was a YA novel until after finishing it, which explains why I spent so much time wishing things weren’t so dull and uninteresting. But that’s really no excuse. If you can’t write an engaging story without writing it for adult audiences, maybe stick to writing it for adult audiences.
The bones of this novel are great, but that’s all it is. All bones and no meat. Everything is painfully surface level and a drag to get through. I got invested in it at the end of Part 1, then Part 2 came to a screeching halt, then Part 3 got better, and Part 4 was really quite good. Which is even more frustrating, with such a strong ending, why did I have to fight so hard just to get to it. The whole book should be like this. Does the ending justify the slog of getting through 75% of a not so good book? Not quite, but maybe.
I don’t see myself continuing with this series unless I find them dirt cheap. If things can pick up where this left off and deliver on the great premise it has, I’ll be pleased, but this is just not it. Three stars is very generous as this is written well enough, but as of right now this is at the lowest end of three stars you can be without dipping into two. Two stars is a bit harsh and undeserved.
I do look forward to giving First Law a chance though.
The bones of this novel are great, but that’s all it is. All bones and no meat. Everything is painfully surface level and a drag to get through. I got invested in it at the end of Part 1, then Part 2 came to a screeching halt, then Part 3 got better, and Part 4 was really quite good. Which is even more frustrating, with such a strong ending, why did I have to fight so hard just to get to it. The whole book should be like this. Does the ending justify the slog of getting through 75% of a not so good book? Not quite, but maybe.
I don’t see myself continuing with this series unless I find them dirt cheap. If things can pick up where this left off and deliver on the great premise it has, I’ll be pleased, but this is just not it. Three stars is very generous as this is written well enough, but as of right now this is at the lowest end of three stars you can be without dipping into two. Two stars is a bit harsh and undeserved.
I do look forward to giving First Law a chance though.