June 29, 2015
War reaches the boiling point in the impressive conclusion to Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea epic fantasy trilogy (after Half the World). Princess Skara of Throvenland escapes master swordsman Bright Yilling, who is sent to raze her grandfather’s kingdom. She convinces King Uthil of Gettland and King Grom-gil-Gorm of Vansterland, who have made an alliance after the events of Half the World, to stop the army of the High King, who governs the land’s restless lords. Raith, a scarred soldier who still has a little mercy left in him, is assigned as Skara’s bodyguard, while returning character Koll, who is now apprenticed to Half a King protagonist Father Yarvi, must decide whether he wants to become an influential minister—and be sworn to celibacy—or stay with the woman he loves. Yarvi himself chooses to break the Ministry’s laws to get elf weapons; they may bring victory, but their magic will shift the entire world that readers have come to know. Abercrombie piles on shocking betrayals and charges his characters a high price for vengeance in this powerful and fitting final volume.
November 15, 2015
When Princess Skara's kingdom is ravaged by the brutal warlord Bright Yilling, she flees into exile to regain her throne and seek revenge. Sword-bearer Raith and wood-carver and apprentice minister Koll serve as her new allies, each of the three young protagonists facing their own dilemmas of divided loyalties as bloody war spreads through the kingdoms of the Shattered Sea. This conclusion to the trilogy wraps up the story in a satisfying way, revealing new sides of past books' characters and unveiling surprising twists in the history of this fantasy world. Narrator John Keating uses a versatile range of accents and voices as he has throughout the series. VERDICT Recommended for fantasy readers who don't need all endings to be purely happy. ["Abercrombie adds a riveting twist with his reveal of the nature of the ancient Elf magics": LJ 8/15 review of the Del Rey: Ballantine hc.]--Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib., Atlanta
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