Fantasy

Half the World

Half the World

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-02-25 09:57:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joe Abercrombie
  • ISBN：0007550251
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Summary

Alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780007550258
For all editions see here

Thorn Bathu was born to fight。 But when she kills a boy in the training square she finds herself named a murderer。

Fate places her life in the hands of the deep-cunning Father Yarvi as he sets out to cross half the world in search of allies against the ruthless High King。 Beside her is Brand， a young warrior who hates to kill。 A failure in her eyes and his own， the voyage is his last chance at redemption。

But warriors can be weapons， and weapons are made for one purpose。 Will Thorn always be a tool in the hands of the powerful， or can she carve her own path？ Is there a place outside of legend for a woman with a blade？

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Reviews

WritingWithCrayons ，

I think the focus on two POV characters hurt this one more than helped。 I found it enjoyable， but a severe lack of continued focus on Yarvi was not what I wanted。

Anya Josephs ，

Holy moly， these books were good。There’s nothing particularly original in either premise or plot。 You’ve got a main character who feels oppressed despite being a straight white male in a position of enormous social privilege （though shoutout to Abercrombie for a great representation of the social impacts of disability）， a vaguely-European-Medieval-ish world， some scheming courtiers， a grimdark Viking-inspired ocean adventure。 a few big fights， and a secret identity。 All tropes that have been don Holy moly， these books were good。There’s nothing particularly original in either premise or plot。 You’ve got a main character who feels oppressed despite being a straight white male in a position of enormous social privilege （though shoutout to Abercrombie for a great representation of the social impacts of disability）， a vaguely-European-Medieval-ish world， some scheming courtiers， a grimdark Viking-inspired ocean adventure。 a few big fights， and a secret identity。 All tropes that have been done （and done， and done， and done， basically to death。 But。。。See full series review here: https://anyajosephs。wordpress。com/202。。。 。。。more

Emily ，

A solid 4， maybe even a 4。5。 I'm really enjoying this series， Joe Abercrombie knows how to write exciting plots and interesting characters for sure。 I did guess at a few of the twists in this story， but I did like how it switched focus to centre on a female character in a male-dominated world。 It does fall into the 'second book in a trilogy' syndrome a little， but it's a good installment in what is shaping up to be a great trilogy。 Really enjoyable to read。 A solid 4， maybe even a 4。5。 I'm really enjoying this series， Joe Abercrombie knows how to write exciting plots and interesting characters for sure。 I did guess at a few of the twists in this story， but I did like how it switched focus to centre on a female character in a male-dominated world。 It does fall into the 'second book in a trilogy' syndrome a little， but it's a good installment in what is shaping up to be a great trilogy。 Really enjoyable to read。 。。。more

Alba Pasquet ，

Entretinguda， amb una nova família de personatges， grans travesses i aventures de terra i mar， pèrdues i retrobaments。 El millor: la intriga política i els personatges femenins。 Amb ganes de llegir el final de la trilogia。

Eva ，

En esta ocasión los personajes principales del primer tomo son secundarios， y es un gran acierto。 Los sigues teniendo， pero su historia queda finalizada y esta es otra。 Me gusta， como en la primera parte， el protagonismo femenino， y el papel atípico que les da a las mujeres。 Espina es una mujer guerrera， no entra en los papeles típicos femeninos -no le interesan las joyas， su pelo le es indiferente- pero sigue siendo mujer。 Que se mencione los problemas que tiene cuando le viene la regla me pare En esta ocasión los personajes principales del primer tomo son secundarios， y es un gran acierto。 Los sigues teniendo， pero su historia queda finalizada y esta es otra。 Me gusta， como en la primera parte， el protagonismo femenino， y el papel atípico que les da a las mujeres。 Espina es una mujer guerrera， no entra en los papeles típicos femeninos -no le interesan las joyas， su pelo le es indiferente- pero sigue siendo mujer。 Que se mencione los problemas que tiene cuando le viene la regla me parece genial。 Mujeres en papeles importantes， que gobiernas y deciden el destino del mundo， oponiéndose al machismo social y logrando ser respetadas finalmente por el modo de vida que han elegido。 Muy recomendable 。。。more

Jo ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is of the same quality as the first one， which is hard to achieve。 The story is pushed along by the introduction of new characters， without sacrificing any from the first book。 There are still layers of intrigue and politics which are engrossing without getting bogged down in too much detail， and the balance between plot/action is finely tuned。One slight flaw is Brand。 It feels like the author doesn’t quite know what to do with him， and so he’s a bit lost。 He doesn’t really have any st This book is of the same quality as the first one， which is hard to achieve。 The story is pushed along by the introduction of new characters， without sacrificing any from the first book。 There are still layers of intrigue and politics which are engrossing without getting bogged down in too much detail， and the balance between plot/action is finely tuned。One slight flaw is Brand。 It feels like the author doesn’t quite know what to do with him， and so he’s a bit lost。 He doesn’t really have any strength of conviction or confidence and although I liked him in the beginning， by the end he felt a bit flat and I found myself getting irritated with him。 I certainly feel that Thorn could do better！But that’s only a small criticism and there are plenty of other entertaining and complex characters to hold my attention。 Maybe he will come good in the final book！ 。。。more

Allan Walsh ，

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie is the second book in the Shattered Sea Series。The Cover: The copy I read has a wave made of bladed weapons， crashing down upon a vessel akin to a Viking longship。 The title is a bold blue against a greyish sky， with white text against a green sea for the author name。 The fonts are clear， but I’m not a huge fan of the title font， I feel there could have been a better choice。 Having said that， it is a solid fantasy book cover and overall I like it。The Good Stuff Half the World by Joe Abercrombie is the second book in the Shattered Sea Series。The Cover: The copy I read has a wave made of bladed weapons， crashing down upon a vessel akin to a Viking longship。 The title is a bold blue against a greyish sky， with white text against a green sea for the author name。 The fonts are clear， but I’m not a huge fan of the title font， I feel there could have been a better choice。 Having said that， it is a solid fantasy book cover and overall I like it。The Good Stuff: Yes， yes， I know I say it all the time， but it’s true… Abercrombie is my favourite author， and I feel the Shattered Sea is my favourite series。 It has a truly rugged fantasy feel and I love it。 Combine this world， the great characters， and Abercrombie’s writing style， and you have everything you could want between the covers。 The Bad Stuff: If there is any， I couldn’t find it。 Overall， this is a great title from Joe Abercrombie。 It has great characters， a strongly developed world， a good story， and great writing style。 If you haven’t read it yet， treat yourself， it’s well worth it。 This one gets an oar slapping， shield banging 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me。 。。。more

Aleksandra Mijajlovic ，

Even better than the first book

Sam Brady ，

DNF/started and don’t want to keep reading。I had issues with the first book in the series， with the most egregious being Abercrombie’s constant use of disablist language for no real reason。 I finished the last book because I was engaged enough with the prose otherwise， and was curious to know if the character was going anywhere。 They did not， and I realised that the author just wanted to make a character he could berate in a tiresome manner。 So I started the second book， this book， with more hop DNF/started and don’t want to keep reading。I had issues with the first book in the series， with the most egregious being Abercrombie’s constant use of disablist language for no real reason。 I finished the last book because I was engaged enough with the prose otherwise， and was curious to know if the character was going anywhere。 They did not， and I realised that the author just wanted to make a character he could berate in a tiresome manner。 So I started the second book， this book， with more hope， as there are two new POV characters。 So I assumed that the awful language would stop as， well， we’re not in this guy’s head anymore。 But only a few chapters into the book and the disablism returns， as the protag of the previous is still a major character， and Abercrombie can’t think of any other physical or character descriptions than his crooked hand。 Unnecessary， tiresome， and frankly， pretty lazy。 I got about 10% of the way through， so I maybe should read a little more before I put it down， but I just can’t be bothered really。 Able-bodied authors， please do better。 And by that I mean， try some other words and think about what you write？ 。。。more

Paul Veldhouse ，

Still haven’t met an Abercrombie book I don’t like。 For a middle installment， it reads like a stand alone。 Great protagonist。 She’s very likable and believable as a character。 Some intense and quick moments。 Not too drawn out， but decisive and swift。 Overall， just a real good battle book with a good story woven through。

Donna Tysoe ，

I enjoyed it， however at first I was absolutely gutted we seemed to be following brand new characters but the original ones still make an appearance and are still a very important part of the tale。 On to book 3。。。。。

Laura Esther ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Medio mundo， el segundo libro de un escritor nuevo que me recomendaron， he de decir que el primer libro me decepcionó un poco， no porque fuera malo， sino porque no termino de la forma que me hubiera gustado。 Ahora， leyendo esta continuación solo puedo estar encantada por como todo termino。Hace tiempo que no leía algo que me entretuviera tanto， metida en un terrible bloqueo de lector no había podido disfrutar ninguna de mis anteriores lecturas， pero está。。。 Me vi a mi misma tratando de terminar e Medio mundo， el segundo libro de un escritor nuevo que me recomendaron， he de decir que el primer libro me decepcionó un poco， no porque fuera malo， sino porque no termino de la forma que me hubiera gustado。 Ahora， leyendo esta continuación solo puedo estar encantada por como todo termino。Hace tiempo que no leía algo que me entretuviera tanto， metida en un terrible bloqueo de lector no había podido disfrutar ninguna de mis anteriores lecturas， pero está。。。 Me vi a mi misma tratando de terminar el libro， me emocioné， grite y rogué para que las cosas pasarán como esperaba。Fue mejor de lo que pensé， al inicio me desespere un poco con Espina， pero termine agarrándole tanto cariño que no quería que terminara。Adoré el cambio que tuvo Espina， el crecimiento que tuvo Brand （aunque me decepcionó un poco que no aceptará el puesto con el padre Yarvi lo entiendo） Yarvi me sorprendió hahahaha no olvidaré lo mucho que me descolocó lo de Sumael hahaha me sentí igual de desconcertada y avergonzada que Espina。 Odie a la 。。***。 De Isrum， la aborreci un poco al final del otro libro y ahora solo pude pensar que era muy mala en lo que hacía si termino cumpliendo el plan de Yarvi sin planearlo。 Mori de risa en la primera mañana de Brand y Espina y su plática incómoda con la hermana de Brand。 Recé al igual que Brand ante la pelea de Espina， recé que viviera。 En fin， lo disfruté como no disfrutaba en un tiempo， admito que adivine algunas cosas que estaban pasando， pero si hubo algunas otras que me sorprendieron， creo por fin me acostumbré a la pluma del autor y he aprendido a saborear el ritmo de los libros que han sido un viento fresco ante libros que me llenaron de descripciones con prosa adornada y descripciones interminables （no que no haya frases memorables dentro del libro porque las hay y tengo algunas anotadas para no olvidar） En fin， es de esos libros que encuentras justo cuando los necesitas y este me ha dado una esperanza nueva para re enamorarme de la lectura。 。。。more

Tanja ，

Damn this series is good！ I like it a lot， that their lives aren't perfect and never get perfect。 No matter what happens， there are always losers and winners and Abercrombie manages to portray that and the character development with easy。 Everytime there is a major choice for a character the decision and the feelings of the person whilst making the choice always make sense。 Even though most of the time I expect something else to happen， I always take a second to think about it and come to the co Damn this series is good！ I like it a lot， that their lives aren't perfect and never get perfect。 No matter what happens， there are always losers and winners and Abercrombie manages to portray that and the character development with easy。 Everytime there is a major choice for a character the decision and the feelings of the person whilst making the choice always make sense。 Even though most of the time I expect something else to happen， I always take a second to think about it and come to the conclusion that the decision makes sense for the character。 I'm unused to that feeling， but I like it a lot！ 。。。more

Daniel Kelly ，

Joe Abercrombie is one of my favorite fantasy authors。 That said， I still manage to forget just how talented he is until I pick up another of his books and get hooked from the first page again。 He creates living worlds that captivate the reader， and unique， flawed characters that surprise and delight。 He describes vivid adventures full of twists and turns， and keeps battles interesting and unpredictable whether they are fought with steel or with words。 The Shattered Sea series is fresh and diffe Joe Abercrombie is one of my favorite fantasy authors。 That said， I still manage to forget just how talented he is until I pick up another of his books and get hooked from the first page again。 He creates living worlds that captivate the reader， and unique， flawed characters that surprise and delight。 He describes vivid adventures full of twists and turns， and keeps battles interesting and unpredictable whether they are fought with steel or with words。 The Shattered Sea series is fresh and different from his previous novels。 Half a World switches perspective to other characters while continuing the overall story and still maintaining the same gritty feel。 The series grabs you， throws you to the mud， and holds you there with a grin on your face， as you keep turning page after page。 I can't recommend this series highly enough。 。。。more

Geoff Roe-Phillips ，

Nicely paced with a few twists and turns。 Characters are endearing。 Very enjoyable without being taxing！

Adri Dosi ，

Tahle série je vydařená。 Líbí se mi。 Trochu negativní pro mě bylo， že jsem první díl četla před dlouhou dobou， ale jinak dobře napsáno， čtivé， originální， zábavné。

Megan Larson ，

Abercrombie does characters and action so well。 Thorn was a compelling character to follow and seeing Yarvi’s development after book one was wonderful。

Adam ，

Father Yarvi is a man of deep-cunning， as Abercrombie likes to remind us of on every 3rd page。 Unfortunately， this book is not。 It’s not a bad book， I’m not sure if Abercrombie is capable of penning a bad book， it’s just unremarkable and obvious。 Every twist was obvious， and believe it or not I’m not great at sussing that stuff out。 The character development was obvious。 The results of the major conflict were obvious。 And don’t even get me started on the beyond obvious romance direction for Bran Father Yarvi is a man of deep-cunning， as Abercrombie likes to remind us of on every 3rd page。 Unfortunately， this book is not。 It’s not a bad book， I’m not sure if Abercrombie is capable of penning a bad book， it’s just unremarkable and obvious。 Every twist was obvious， and believe it or not I’m not great at sussing that stuff out。 The character development was obvious。 The results of the major conflict were obvious。 And don’t even get me started on the beyond obvious romance direction for Brand and Thorn。Why do I hate romance in books so much？ It’s hard to explain， as romance proliferates through every aspect of life seemingly， I should be used to it。 But I just hate reading about romance。 Unless it’s Dr。 Zhivago， or the love of a deep friendship like in Lonesome Dove。 In Half the World the angsty YA enemies to lovers trope is on full blast， and it’s just annoying。Abercrombie is known for his excellent character work and dialogue and subverting expectations。 But I think this book again is a let down in those areas。 Yarvi， who I found to be so interesting in the first book of the series， is relegated to a bit role in this sequel。 Thorn is the typical angry， stubborn character that you know is going to chill out eventually。 Brand is so good he’s boring， he should be called Bland。 These characters just don’t have the depth or shades of gray that Abercrombie’s characters are known for。And this will probably get me in trouble， but the female characters feel like pandering to the modern rebalancing of strong females in fiction。 I’m all for strong female characters。 I just finished watching The Expanse， which in my opinion has some of the strongest and well developed female characters in all of science fiction。 But here？ It just feels forced。 The strongest fighter is a woman; she’s coached by another of the strongest fighters， a grandma; the strongest character in the book that everyone fears is another grandma; the legendary smith is a woman; the 2nd strongest nation was ruled by a woman， followed by a weak annoying man who of course is quickly supplanted by a woman; Uthil， a warrior with legendary strength is reduced to a mere caricature of King Theoden。 Let me reiterate again that I have no issue with strong female characters when they are done well， but I felt that Abercrombie was shoehorning a lot of these roles to pander to a modern audience。Now that I’ve shared a few splinters off my complaint shield， let’s take a stab at what this book does well: it’s short， it’s fast， the action sequences are great。Seriously， that final fight was really well written and saved me from this book being utterly forgettable。I’d heard that this trilogy was Abercrombie’s attempt at writing Young Adult fiction， one of my least favorite genres。 Somehow I didn’t get that vibe in the first book， weird， I know。 But here it’s painfully obvious。 If you do enjoy YA fiction however， you’ll probably have a much better reaction to this book than I did。Story-6， Language-8， Ideas-6， Characters-8， Enjoyment-6， Overall-6。7 。。。more

Michael Torres ，

Yarvi takes a back seat in this one， and we are introduced to Thorn and Brand。 Thorn is seeking revenge for the death of her father and is training to become a warrior。 Events occur that bring her under Yarvi’s wing and she joins his crew on a quest。 As is the usual with Abercrombie， the character work is superb。 Thorn and Brand are both likeable and charming， and Yarvi is as compelling as he was in the previous novel。 Him taking a background role actually helped Thorn and Brand develop， while s Yarvi takes a back seat in this one， and we are introduced to Thorn and Brand。 Thorn is seeking revenge for the death of her father and is training to become a warrior。 Events occur that bring her under Yarvi’s wing and she joins his crew on a quest。 As is the usual with Abercrombie， the character work is superb。 Thorn and Brand are both likeable and charming， and Yarvi is as compelling as he was in the previous novel。 Him taking a background role actually helped Thorn and Brand develop， while still giving Yarvi some time to shine。 The reveals at the end that involved Yarvi were just brilliant。 The action was well done， and it goes without saying that the humour and dialogue was sharp as well。 I think Abercrombie may be the king of writing duels in fantasy， as the duel between two characters in the climax of the novel was as epic as he’s written in the First Law。 Those moments make me forget that this is a YA book series。 The lack of blood， gore and foul language are what remind me it’s written for a younger audience， as did the romance elements。 Though I found it funny reading Thorn and Brand’s POVs on each other and on their budding feelings for each other。 Ending on a cliffhanger; I’m thrilled to see where Half A War takes us。 。。。more

Justin ，

Hard to know how to rate books like this。 I wish 4。5 existed。 This isn't perfect， but it was 100% satisfying and didn't waste any time。 Hard to know how to rate books like this。 I wish 4。5 existed。 This isn't perfect， but it was 100% satisfying and didn't waste any time。 。。。more

Timothy whitney ，

Quick read。 Enjoyable story and compelling plot line。 I liked book 2# more than book #1

Scott ，

Maybe a 3。5 star book。 Didn't like it quite as much as the first but I did stay up until midnight in order to finish it。 Maybe a 3。5 star book。 Didn't like it quite as much as the first but I did stay up until midnight in order to finish it。 。。。more

HuskyMex ，

excelente lectura， se lee fácil y rápido， y aunque el personaje quien fue el principal del libro anterior aquí toma otro papel de rol secundario， sigue siendo una historia que se mueve por los hilos de él。 A leer el final de la saga。

Oriol Espinosa ，

Com en el primer， aquest llibre parla d'un viatge en barco。 Nous personatges que es junten amb els primers i desenvolupen l'història acompanyats dels del primer llibre。 Prou bé i fàcil de llegir， entretingut， m'ha agradat。 Tot i això， no és res especial per sobre d'altres。 Com en el primer， aquest llibre parla d'un viatge en barco。 Nous personatges que es junten amb els primers i desenvolupen l'història acompanyats dels del primer llibre。 Prou bé i fàcil de llegir， entretingut， m'ha agradat。 Tot i això， no és res especial per sobre d'altres。 。。。more

Steph ，

I liked the structure of this as a second in a series。 Fast forward a decade， see where plots are through the interactions of new characters。 This one was told through the eyes of two protagonists which was different from the first but nice。 Thorns arc very GI Jane feeling， Brands reminded me of Peta from Hunger Games。 Looking forward to book 3！

Justin Emmons ，

I couldn't put this book down; it's even better than its predecessor， "Half a King，" which in its self was an amazing read！ I loved all the different perspectives of these characters and how they view the world they live in and also how they view after they have grown after certain events have happened without getting into spoilers。 The new character introduced in this book are great， as well as still retaining some of the others from the last book。 Joe Abercrombie's dark Viking saga， great comb I couldn't put this book down; it's even better than its predecessor， "Half a King，" which in its self was an amazing read！ I loved all the different perspectives of these characters and how they view the world they live in and also how they view after they have grown after certain events have happened without getting into spoilers。 The new character introduced in this book are great， as well as still retaining some of the others from the last book。 Joe Abercrombie's dark Viking saga， great combat， and very engaging characters with the narrative perspective that the Shattered Sea is known for。 I cannot recommend this book enough。 。。。more

Zichulee ，

Trošku pomalý začátek， ale pak to stálo za to a bylo to lepší jak Půl krále :D

Marc Garcia ，

Me ha flipado tremendamente， me voy a meter la última parte por el culo

James ，

Love how the characters developed in this book。 Thorn and Brand especially and Koll and Yarvi。 the story is fast paced， you want to read more。 The conflicts are interesting and you know that in true Joe Abercrombie fashion relationships and friends and enemies will go topsy turvy

LanFear ，

OOOOOOOH ESPINAAAAAAA！！！！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Half the World

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Half the World&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Half the World&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0