Half a King by Joe Abercrombie, Shattered Sea #1“I swore an oath to avenge the death of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath.”
Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains, and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. And he must do it all with only one good hand.
The deceived will become the deceiver.
Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.
The betrayed will become the betrayer.
Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.
Will the usurped become the usurper?
But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi finds his path may end as it began—in twists, and traps, and tragedy.
One of the leading voices in the current fantasy genre is Joe Abercrombie. With his First Law series he has really made a name for himself and undoubtedly anyone who reads fantasy has heard of his name and frankly should have read his books! Half a King is Joe Abercrombie's latest fantasy book that is set in a completely new world and has a completely new theme to it. I have to say that I am more than pleased with the high quality of the outcome of Half a King, Joe Abercrombie has invested a lot of time and effort in his First Law series, but shows with Half a King, that he is up for a change of venue as well! Besides the change in themes that Joe Abercrombie takes on in Half a King he also makes this new book approachable for the Young Adult audience.
The story of Half a King follows the footsteps of prince Yarvi. Yarvi does have one thing that set him apart from the others, he has a withered and shriveled hand that makes him in the eyes of his father only half a man. But as we have got to see with The Goblin Emperor things in court can change pretty soon, Yarvi does have an older brother that is fit to be heir to the throne but by a betrayal Yarvi's father and his brother get killed and Yarvi finds himself in the position as new king. However the betrayal doesn't stop with his father and brother and Yarvi finds that his life is hanging in the balance as well... He knows who betrayed his family and this makes him a dangerous person to have a around, so he is thrown off the cliffs by the betrayer in the hope that he meets his end. But what a lot of people don't know, the unexpected ones always find a way to keep on going and going, Yarvi has his mind set out on revenge for his family and claim the title as rightful King. Getting back to the castle is a tough job and Yarvi's quest is riddled with twists and turns all along the way but luckily Yarvi makes new friends in expected and unexpected places...
Joe Abercrombie has a way with showing the characters in his story in full color. And this is also one thing that falls to note when it comes down to the cast of Half a King. Yarvi's perspective the main one that you read about and he offers some interesting insights into the whole of the story. Yarvi by far isn't the perfect prince, he can fend for himself in a sword fight but has to have the buckler strapped to his withered hand since he cannot carry anything in his withered hand. This withered hand has plagued him and is partly still plaguing him when he has to deal with certain things but the best thing is that he doesn't sit around and mope about his short comings. This makes him a character that many younger readers will be able to relate too. Besides this Yarvi has been raised as an truly regal son, he has good manners and even how dirty and mean his enemy is he always approached them in the way that you want to be talked at, he has some great virtues that many of us could learn from.
Next to the main perspective of Yarvi, Joe Abercrombie also introduces a bunch of side characters that will stick around with you for a long time. Yarvi meets up with these new friend while he is being a slave and forced to work on a boat. When Yarvi is first placed behind the oars of the boat he is directly frowned upon and called a misfit himself but it soon comes to show that with Yarvi's great social skills and he ability to convince and win over people he has made some valuable friends, that actually also aren't perfect at all and have their own oddities. From the secondary character a few really stand out and that will probably go a long way with Yarvi. The ships navigator Sumael, she is a strong female lead that nicely balance the strong lead that Yarvi has throughout the whole of the story. One other character that really put a smile on my face was the man called Nothing, he basically had nothing left and thats where his name came from... However what he lost isn't told right until the end and that it hits like a door closing, one of those perfect twists in the storyline that I have come to appreciate of Joe Abercrombie, you will never see this coming!
The world that Joe Abercrombie introduces us to is very different from his First Law series. It has inspiritation from the Scandinavian lands and together with his experience in the grimdark themes he makes it a very dark and grim place to read about. There are only a few moments of joyous relief throughout the story and these are also countered with more harsh follow up scenes. I have read only a few stories with a Viking inspiration but Joe Abercrombie does a great job in making the winters breeze come to you from within this book, it will definitely chill you. Added to the rich surroundings of the Shattered Sea world is the "folklore"that Joe Abercrombie creates, using the different Father and Mothers and different gods like: Sun, Moon, Sea, Earth, Peace and War. We have been introduced to their meanings but I do hope to see more divine influences later on in the story, perhaps even a bit of magic?
The ending of Half a King is one that doesn't fall in the category of "standard". As I mentioned Yarvi was the sole heir to the kings throne. I will leave it at that. It's again one of those twists that will put a smile on your face. Yarvi has grown tremendously all throughout the story and in the early begins of the story you learned that Yarvi was actually cut out to be something different... I was very pleased with the ending of Half a King. It can be interpreted as a contained story but does leave a lot of room for the continuation in Half the World, the sequel to Half a King.
Joe Abercrombie shows that he is one author that you have to have on your to read list. With his First Law series he proved to be on big asset and now that he has changed to a different mind set in Half a King only further bolsters that he is an great author. Even though Half a King is termed young adult it is a book that everyone will enjoy, it is not written in a childish manner but aimed at the more adult than young. Joe Abercrombie also isn't afraid to let the darker tones of his writing take over occasionally. Half a King is a terrific start to the Shattered Sea series. If you are still looking for you next read, be sure to add this one to your list.
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