Well, here we are. A new year with some new reads accomplished! For this post, I am going to dive into an amazing epic series called 'The Shattered Sea Trilogy.'
I'm not sure if I have ever stated on my blog who my favorite authors are. I can say without a doubt that Joe Abercrombie tops that list. He is the most brilliant writer when it comes to characters. I cannot even begin to tell you how realistic he portrays each character, and how he makes their reactions to situations so believable that each book is ovation-worthy. There are many excellent fantasy writers, but to find one that writes believable characters in a fantasy setting is hard to find. Joe fits the bill, and I cannot praise him enough. There is a small story behind how I discovered him.
Nearly 10 years ago, my husband and I found ourselves shopping in a Barnes and Noble. At the time, we had been binging book series like no other, especially fantasy series. He had been doing 50/50 between reading and audio books due to his long drives, whereas I always had a paperback in my hand readied to read at a moment's notice. We also had a group of friends that loved reading books too, so we would get great recommendations. So here I was, looking for my next epic book series to read. My husband and I were skimming the shelves and he pulls out this book, telling me I must read it. As you can see from the photo above, the cover isn't necessarily attractive. Not to knock it's graphic design or anything like that, but I was used to reading fantasy novels with amazing artwork on the covers. This was like, eh? But my husband insisted to give it a chance. And oh boy, I am so glad I gave it a chance. The First Law Trilogy is one of my all time favorite book series ever, and Joe became my most favorite fantasy author. So back to 'The Shattered Sea Trilogy.' I happened to come across the first book 'Half a King' in my kindle library while I was traveling back from vacation late December of last year. I started reading it, and I became addicted. I could not stop. I was reading into the night. Before work. At every break at work. I finished up the first book in about three days, then moved onto the next. The second book I finished a little over a week, and the third about two weeks (to be fair, I didn't have much time the past two weeks due to life, otherwise it would have been finished already!) It's been one of the most refreshing reads I have come across in a long time. The story is exciting and the characters are superb. This series will have you turning the pages into the night.
I don't want to say too much in case anyone wants to pick up the series, but I'll give a vague overview of the books. The story focuses around a group of characters that live in a viking city near the sea. Around the entire sea, there are other cities that have their own culture with each having their own king. There is the High King, who the other kings must bow down too. There is much political intrigue, war, love, and some magic sprinkled in. The novel has a British flair to it, as the author himself is British. I tend to lean more toward British authors in general, being that many of them write more on an intellectual level. As for Joe, he weaves his intellect with such a spellbinding tale that it's addictive. It's one of those books you could read over and over again and pick up more details that you might have missed the first time around. My only complaint is that I wish there were more books written in this fantastic universe! Definitely check out Joe Abercrombie's list of works. You won't be disappointed! -Beth #joeabercrombie #fantasybook #shatteredsea #firstlaw #author #thorn
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