Half a War

Decent conclusion to the trilogy. I think the additional viewpoints started to become unwieldy by the end, since we're now looking at a lot more people and the story can no longer be as tightly woven as in the first two. I felt the pacing also suffered a bit, having to climax multiple times as the succession of villains was taken down. Koll and Raith were highlights here for me, with some genuine internal turmoil that was painfully precise.

...and another one down.

Jaha: ‘t is Abercrombie. Die niet in happy ends doet zonder bittere pillen en waar de wereld niet zwart-wit is.

We zijn weer wat later, en er komt nog een nieuw personage bij, naast Yarvi, Thorn en Brand. Skara is het enige niet-vermoorde lid van een koninklijke familie, en ook zij gaat van zero naar hero.

Het is helemaal duidelijk geworden dat het een post-apocalyptische wereld is (totaal met stralingsziekte en jodiumpillen!), waar wij de ‘elfen' zijn die de wereld (en God) gebroken hebben – maar uiteindelijk is dat niet eens zo belangrijk, in het grotere beeld.

De gebeurtenissen van boek één en boek twee komen tot een apotheose en een logische conclusie, en Yarvi is veel moreel ambiguër dan een mens zou verwachten van een boek dat voor tieners in de markt gezet wordt.

Waarbij nog maar eens duidelijk wordt dat het niet allemaal drek van het genre Harry Potter moet zijn. Zeker, ‘t is niet totaal onvoorspelbaar, maar het is degelijk uitgevoerd.

Zeer aangeraden, ook voor de tieners in uw leven.

Executive Summary: An enjoyable conclusion to a series I didn't think I would like after the first book.Full ReviewWell I read this book in a single day, so that should be a good indicator I liked it. Mind you, I spent 8 hours of that day either sitting in an airport or on a plane, but still.I really didn't think I'd continue this series after [b:Half a King 18666047 Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1) Joe Abercrombie https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389378321s/18666047.jpg 25641726] (My Review). It was well written, but predictable and uninteresting. It made me thought Mr. Abercrombie should stick to adult fare.However reviews for [b:Half the World 22055283 Half the World (Shattered Sea, #2) Joe Abercrombie https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402314017s/22055283.jpg 40431126] were all talking about how much better it was. I enjoyed it a lot (My Review), probably the best of the trilogy.This book was a close second though. I feel like this book was even darker than the last, though nothing like his First Law books.There were once again great characters, and great world building. Part of me would like to know more about the elves and their ancient “magic”, but I think I'm largely happy to speculate about what happened rather than having a definitive answer.The new POVs in this book are once again solid, though for me personally I enjoyed Thorn and Brand better. Skara was probably my favorite of the three.It's hard to say much more without spoiling this or previous books in the series, but I'm glad I gave the series a second chance. The last two books are about as good as anything else Mr. Abercrombie's written, albeit not quite so dark.Overall, I thought this was a good conclusion to the series, though a slightly weaker book overall than the second. I think most fans of Mr. Abercrombie will be happy with this series as a whole.

I'm torn. I really am. Should I be happy or sad after that ending? Is Yarvi the devil incarnate, and therefore deserves to burn in the depths of hell for being a ruthless, cunning traitor, or is he a man who struggled under the weight of power and did his best to steer the Gettland and the Shattered Sea towards a unified future? Is Yarvi the man with the wicked, ruthless glean to his eyes and enough ambition for 100 men, or is he the man who broke down with tears before Princess Skara?

Is the conclusion to Raith's story the happiest it could be for a man who scorned all he once was and stood for and could never be with either of the women he wanted?

All becomes dust. If Raith's perspective has told me anything it is this. War, peace, kings and high kings come and go but ultimately, all returns to what is was before.