This oft-repeated quote in the books is a good summation of the moral through-line of this trilogy: If you enjoyed the moral greyness of the First Law trilogy, I am happy to report that Shattered Sea wears the same hue. Like with the First Law, Abercrombie retained his penchant for subverting fantasy tropes-there are many times in which I thought the story will go in one direction only for it to whip me into another. It’s the sort of story where an underdog relies only on his wit and cunning to win the day. And like all the best stories, his circumstances kept circling the drain. The first book begins with Yarvi, the crippled second son of the King of Gettland ascending the throne after his father and brother’s untimely death (hence “ Half a King“), and was immediately expected to navigate the politics of his own court and the region even though he was clearly out of his depth and due to his disability, could not inspire loyalty and respect in his own people in a society that values martial strength above all else. It’s risky since we are expected to re-invest our feelings in new people for every book, but it is a credit to Abercrombie’s skill that this proved to be no impediment at all. One of surprising (but clever) things Abercrombie did was have different point of view characters for each book, so in subsequent books, we get to see the protagonists of previous books through the eyes of others, and this changes our view on them in interesting ways. Shattered Sea blends low fantasy, sea-adventure, revenge, and political intrigue into a page-turning three-part story that had me devouring them in just 3 days. One of Abercrombie’s best feature is his ability to craft lifelike characters one can’t help but root for, even when they are performing morally questionable acts. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, but in this case, I think the comparisons are justified.

There are many fantasy series that received undeserved comparisons to George R.R. While they are ostensibly “YA” books in that they all feature young adult protagonists, I am happy to report that Abercrombie’s narrative voice remained intact. Shattered Sea boasts three eye-catching titles: Half a King, Half the World, and a Half a War. Just recently, Abercrombie released the 1st book in a sequel series set in the First Law universe (but now they are in the Industrial Age!) and I decided to get reacquainted with him-and what better way to do that than reading his Shattered Sea trilogy, his maiden attempt into YA-dom? I enjoyed it but like so many authors I love, I neglected him chasing the next shiny title on the shelf. I am an Abercrombie fan from way back, reading his “grimdark” First Law trilogy more than 10 years ago. Young adult fiction must be paying well because I notice a lot of established fantasy authors like Brandon Sanderson, Django Wexler, and Joe Abercrombie breaking into it.

Shattered sea trilogy