Half a King, World, & War

Title(s): Half a King, Half the World, Half a War

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Narrator: John Keating (not a fan, read the last in hardcover)

Date started: January 7th, 2015

Date completed: December 31st, 2015

Although I tend to like my fantasy set in Anglo-eqsue places, the Scandanavian flavor was a nice break from my norm. [Well, it was Scandanavian until the final book suggested the setting was a post-nuclear-apocalytic future where "elf-ruins" (cities), "elf-weapons" (guns), and "elf-magic" (mood bracelets and electric lights) are all forbidden and to be feared, and that civilization has reverted back to a medieval lifestyle and a pagan, hundreds-of-gods religious system. Intriguing to consider, but I'm not sure I liked the switch to a dystopian future.]

Abercrombie's series depicted a very realistic fallen world and humanity. None of the main characters were fully good or evil, like one of the characters said: "Every hero is someone’s villain." There are so many shades of grey in Abercrombie's world and no one's motivations can be trusted. Since I enjoy the idealism and escapist aspects of fantasy, it was tough not having a "good guy" to cheer for in the series.

Also, the author included a copious amout of "wisdom" that I assume is Abercrombie's own personal philosophy. At times the verbal sparring seemed only a means for Abercrombie to include witty sayings at the expense of making the pace drag.

Although the series wrapped up on a happy-ish note, Abercrombie left readers with much to ponder, especially how good intentions don't always guarantee good results. As Father Yarvi laments at the end of the series: "A hundred decisions made, and every time the greater good, the lesser evil...how could they lead me here?"