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sophieamreacher's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Wow, the intricacies and twists in these books astound me. I loved the princess and bodyguard trope too. I’ve loved watching the characters change over the course of the books (not all for the better) and the intriguing world building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Death, Vomit, Murder, Gun violence, Excrement, and Blood
Moderate: Pregnancy
fireside_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and War
Minor: Abortion, Death, Sexual content, and Grief
andra_mihaela_s's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the final book in the "Shattered Sea" trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and it's an amazing conclusion for our journey through the tense political landscape painted in previous installments.
We get to see what's happening through the lens of 2 new characters, Skara - princess of Throvenland, and Raith - cupbearer/sword-bearer for Grom-Gil-Gorm. Both of these perspectives are created equally great as the existing cast and serve to fill important roles for the reader...one that's just introduced to war and the unfairness of life, and one lost to himself due to tragic self-delusion of what he needs to be.
When it comes to plot...I REALLY DID NOT SEE ANY OF IT COMMING! How on Earth is this possible???? I'll tell you...fast pacing and amazing writing style;what I suspect to be a carefully laid out plan for each character to follow for maximum potential, a realistic approach to human nature in war conditions, great portrayal of all kind of emotions, managing to avoid every plothole possible(from what I could see) by keeping track of whole story (and using it to the max) AND the immense care put into the interaction scenes doesn't let you think beyond amazement and shock at what you'd read!
This is used in some key moments, in my opinion, when it really changes narrative at a later glance. For example: the trail set-up for the 3 representatives in the beginning of the book had me quessing who would win. I assumed exactly what the author wanted; another one: the whole story with Skifr, and how important it was for father Yarvi to succeed in all his plans...however cruel they were.
I want to underline the following fact: deaths in this book are very much special through the simple fact you didn't think they will happen....I'm still hurt over some of them...>..>
Speaking of deaths: Content Warnings: violent deaths, war crimes and everything related, slavery, implied abortion, mutilation, etc.
This is a perfect ending for this story.Period.
Enough praise for the plot! Lets move on to characters...Although we spend the majority of time between the 2 new perspectives...this book is about the Moon Oath and the Sun Oath of Father Yarvi! There! I said it!^_^
I understand why so many people believe Joe Abercrombie has the best characters. From the conception, events happening to them and shaping who and what they are, personality, virtues and flaws, they all feel very real and thus...no matter how corrupt or wrong to you they become, you still await to see the part of them that will make you forgive them. Amazing!
Before I finish, I want to note that we have a lot of potential for a spin-off if the author ever decides he wants to expand this universe. Mainly because we have such a well-rounded world: history with a nice tidbit for those of us making connections, religion, geography, culture, specific arhitecture for each nation, an active political landscape, and Prince Varoslaf of Kalyiv :)))))
Lastly, before I dive into some spoilery talk, I enjoyed how the relationships in this book were used, depicted and concluded.
Now...some Spoilers!
(view spoiler)
In conclusion, this whole trilogy is a great character study for Yarvi and how someone can transform to acomplish justice. The fact that we follow an extremely cerebral person is even better.
So if you want to see that in a political fantasy with amazing characters, great plot revolving war between nations and ideas, satisfying character development for each and every one of them and lots of scheming...pick up "Shattered Sea"!
Enjoy
We get to see what's happening through the lens of 2 new characters, Skara - princess of Throvenland, and Raith - cupbearer/sword-bearer for Grom-Gil-Gorm. Both of these perspectives are created equally great as the existing cast and serve to fill important roles for the reader...one that's just introduced to war and the unfairness of life, and one lost to himself due to tragic self-delusion of what he needs to be.
When it comes to plot...I REALLY DID NOT SEE ANY OF IT COMMING! How on Earth is this possible???? I'll tell you...fast pacing and amazing writing style;what I suspect to be a carefully laid out plan for each character to follow for maximum potential, a realistic approach to human nature in war conditions, great portrayal of all kind of emotions, managing to avoid every plothole possible(from what I could see) by keeping track of whole story (and using it to the max) AND the immense care put into the interaction scenes doesn't let you think beyond amazement and shock at what you'd read!
This is used in some key moments, in my opinion, when it really changes narrative at a later glance. For example: the trail set-up for the 3 representatives in the beginning of the book had me quessing who would win. I assumed exactly what the author wanted; another one: the whole story with Skifr, and how important it was for father Yarvi to succeed in all his plans...however cruel they were.
I want to underline the following fact: deaths in this book are very much special through the simple fact you didn't think they will happen....I'm still hurt over some of them...>..>
Speaking of deaths: Content Warnings: violent deaths, war crimes and everything related, slavery, implied abortion, mutilation, etc.
This is a perfect ending for this story.Period.
Enough praise for the plot! Lets move on to characters...Although we spend the majority of time between the 2 new perspectives...this book is about the Moon Oath and the Sun Oath of Father Yarvi! There! I said it!^_^
I understand why so many people believe Joe Abercrombie has the best characters. From the conception, events happening to them and shaping who and what they are, personality, virtues and flaws, they all feel very real and thus...no matter how corrupt or wrong to you they become, you still await to see the part of them that will make you forgive them. Amazing!
Before I finish, I want to note that we have a lot of potential for a spin-off if the author ever decides he wants to expand this universe. Mainly because we have such a well-rounded world: history with a nice tidbit for those of us making connections, religion, geography, culture, specific arhitecture for each nation, an active political landscape, and Prince Varoslaf of Kalyiv :)))))
Lastly, before I dive into some spoilery talk, I enjoyed how the relationships in this book were used, depicted and concluded.
Now...some Spoilers!
(view spoiler)
In conclusion, this whole trilogy is a great character study for Yarvi and how someone can transform to acomplish justice. The fact that we follow an extremely cerebral person is even better.
So if you want to see that in a political fantasy with amazing characters, great plot revolving war between nations and ideas, satisfying character development for each and every one of them and lots of scheming...pick up "Shattered Sea"!
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Gun violence, Violence, Death, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide
Minor: Abortion, Infidelity, Trafficking, and Vomit
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