Jump to content

Shattered Sea Trilogy (aka 'So much for Abercrombie's sabbatical')


MisterOJ

Recommended Posts

I've always been a bit confused about the construct "Young Adult Fiction".

Is it fiction FOR young adults? If so, are the Hardy Boys included?

Or is it fiction ABOUT young adults? (Lord of the Flies as well as Harry Potter?)

When I was a young adult (many, many, MANY years ago), I read what interested me. Now I find myself more aware of these categories.

I found myself listening to "Where She Went" on XMBook radio (RIP) and was really drawn to the story.

I went to my local Barnes and Nobel to buy it, and I must admit I was scared off by finding it in the Young Adult Section. I don't want to seem like a creepy old man.

Go to the YA section!!

It'll be no worse than me going to SciFi/Fantasy, which has been "my" bit of the bookstore forever, and being treated like I must be lost cos I'm over 50!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go to the YA section!!

It'll be no worse than me going to SciFi/Fantasy, which has been "my" bit of the bookstore forever, and being treated like I must be lost cos I'm over 50!!

I wandered into the sci-fi/fantasy section of the bookstore aged 12 and never looked back since :D

As for Abercrombie's new book, its interested me.enough that I will buy it. Going to be good and not read the previews though. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bad opening line.

That's all I've read for now. Tune in tomorrow for the review of line two.

And seeing as many previous posters have stated their intention not to read the preview and wait for the release, would it not be polite to spoiler your quotes?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I got an ARC of Half a King through Amazon.com's Vine program. It's my first Abercrombie: I have the First Law trilogy and The Heroes on my Kindle, but hadn't gotten around to reading them. That will probably change now.



As you might expect from its length, Half a King is a taut fantasy thriller with a lot of action, but its brevity also means its themes aren't belabored in the way they might have been in a longer book, and often are in similar gritty fantasies of recent years. Abercrombie looks at good leadership, just behavior, and the balance between the two without laying it on too thick (well, maybe a little too thick at a couple points, but that's a quibble), and there's a genuine sense of moral ambiguity in the way various things play out, enough so that I'm willing to forgive the large coincidence on which part of the resolution depends. The only point at which the book's pace cuts against it is in the worldbuilding, which is appropriately sophisticated on a political level-- different factions, varying loyalties-- but not as rich as epic fantasy readers may be used to. That may change in the remaining volumes, of course. I look forward to reading them.



It looks like the book isn't being pitched as YA in the US; the publisher letter mentions "readers of all ages," but otherwise the promotional stuff is what it would be for an adult-marketed fantasy novel.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reading the sample chapters - lots of expository dialogue, name dropping, and references to fictional history. Honestly feels kinda clunky. Might be intentionally what Abercrombie is going for, I guess.



edit: All done, me want more!


Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I got an ARC of Half a King through Amazon.com's Vine program. It's my first Abercrombie: I have the First Law trilogy and The Heroes on my Kindle, but hadn't gotten around to reading them. That will probably change now.

As you might expect from its length, Half a King is a taut fantasy thriller with a lot of action, but its brevity also means its themes aren't belabored in the way they might have been in a longer book, and often are in similar gritty fantasies of recent years. Abercrombie looks at good leadership, just behavior, and the balance between the two without laying it on too thick (well, maybe a little too thick at a couple points, but that's a quibble), and there's a genuine sense of moral ambiguity in the way various things play out, enough so that I'm willing to forgive the large coincidence on which part of the resolution depends. The only point at which the book's pace cuts against it is in the worldbuilding, which is appropriately sophisticated on a political level-- different factions, varying loyalties-- but not as rich as epic fantasy readers may be used to. That may change in the remaining volumes, of course. I look forward to reading them.

It looks like the book isn't being pitched as YA in the US; the publisher letter mentions "readers of all ages," but otherwise the promotional stuff is what it would be for an adult-marketed fantasy novel.

Aside from the promotional stuff, how does the book read? Is it targeting YA audience? I have trouble imagining Abercrombie write anything approaching YA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aside from the promotional stuff, how does the book read? Is it targeting YA audience? I have trouble imagining Abercrombie write anything approaching YA.

Put it this way: I don't think anyone who hadn't heard it was meant to be accessible to younger readers would think it felt particularly YA. The protagonist is a teenager, and there's no graphic sex or violence, but neither the style nor the themes feel particularly watered (or dumbed) down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

I'm a little more than half way through my ARC and I'm really enjoying this. I'll write up a full review when I finish, but it's a great read so far. Tons of nods to other things.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...