Karen’s Reviews > Half a King > Status Update

From the chapter The Better Men, proving again how deeply moving this book is:

Jaud shrugged. “When you have a load to lift, you’re better lifting than weeping.” And he slipped his arms underneath Sumael and grimaced as he lifted her, stumbled just a little, then settled her twitching face against his shoulder and without another word started southward, head held high.

Poignant and merciless as the frozen land in which they travel. The following lines are taken from the end of the chapter appropriately named Freedom:

Then she said, “That’s the last food.”
Another silence, but this one far less comfortable.
Rulf’s voice came muffled in the darkness. “How far to Vansterland?”
No one answered.

Action sequences that J. Maberry would admire.
Probably, he already does. Might have to ask.

Damn, this is a good book.

I like the way Abercrombie allows new characters to introduce themselves.

Backstabbing always makes the epic great.😊

Can fantasy sci-fi be soothing even when the characters discuss fighting, war, and discord?
Yes. Yes it can.

Picked this one up after reading an article in which George R.R. Martin recommended the series written by Abercrombie. I got the impression it was how Martin began to see the potential for his Game of Thrones. As a die-hard appreciator of Thrones and other Martin books, of corse I was intrigued enough to give the Shattered Sea trilogy my attention.

Already it has the flavor I look for.