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This book lacked an overall thesis or unifying theme to describe the 20th century, which is OK I guess. Maybe part of the strangeess is that there isn't one to be found. I liked many of the individual ideas Higgs put forward, especially his anarchic perspective which is not heavy handed and political. His optimism about the power of the network seems misplaced, but maybe with the rise of the open source, decentralised, post-surveillance web things will turn around.

The ideas, world building and plot all seem to be in place, but I feel like the execution was botched. I had to intellectually squint to work out what was happening. The writing lacked clarity, it was flat and unengaging. I made it through, but I will pass on the sequel. Given all the awards and the acclaim, maybe it's just me. Your mileage may vary.

A very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. The setting and the plot are original and a great innovation, departing from Abercrombie's other books. You cheer for the underdog as Yarvi plots the defence of his little kingdom from an overwhelming superpower, but the moral ambiguity of the characters and their actions give the series a lot of depth. I suspect a bit of anti-YA snobbery might be suppressing some of the acclaim, but I thought this was on a par with the books in his "First Law" universe.

The weakest of the trilogy in terms of plot, but Thorn is a fantastic character. I read that Abercrombie wanted to expand the role of his female characters and this young woman landed a killer blow in my opinion.

I greatly enjoyed Abercrombie's "First Law" and "Age of Madness" trilogies, and I had "The Shattered Sea" set aside for a rainy day. "Half A King" didn't disappoint. It's categorised as young adult, but apart from a young protagonist, Abercrombie's approach is largely unchanged. He's like George R R Martin, but without the maddening repetition and authorial attention deficit disorder, aka boring bloat.

I often turn to the The SF Masterworks series when I'm looking for something to read.

Moorcock's 1969 depiction of humanity tearing itself apart with hostility and suspicion doesn't come with any explanation of its fictional cause. But it resonates in 2023, where similar human conflict is raging as a result of things like egotistical consumerism, right-wing politics and the malign influence of social media engagement algorithms.

An added bonus for anyone who loves Hawkwind's "Space Ritual", the opening lines of the book are used as lyrics on one of the tracks. (Space) Rock and Roll!