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.īut even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi finds his path may end as it began - in twists, and traps, and tragedy. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge. And he must do it all with only one good hand.īorn a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. But first he must survive cruelty, chains, and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. The scope of this story is so big that I have no idea what is going to happen in the next installment, and that excites me. I wont go into much more detail as we already have a review of Half A King on the site, but I will say that I fully endorse the statement by Jo Fitzpatrick that Abercrombie is a master at work. The progression of Yarvi from disfigured weakling to one of the most dangerous people alive is not your standard coming of age story, but it is one of the best coming of age stories I have read. What comes out the other side is a young man who has been hardened by adversity, has retained his sharpened mind, and has developed a killer instinct. As soon as we see Yarvi at his weakest moment, Abercrombie puts him through the meat grinder, a grinder that would likely claim stronger, physically able people. Yarvi is shown to be physically soft and weak, a young boy who has been forced to sharpen his mind in a physically dominated world. Half a King is a story that starts of slow, introducing us to various characters and the politics that govern the world, before exploding to life after Yarvi is betrayed. Yarvi never wanted the throne, but he will seek to reclaim it in the name of revenge.

When his father and brother are killed during a raid of the enemy's border, Prince Yarvi is pulled from his religious studies and placed on the throne, only to be betrayed by one of his own and left to the mercy of the Shattered Sea. The story follows Prince Yarvi, second son of a proud king, seen as a liability because of a birth defect that has left a mangled stump in place of an arm. This is not just a story for teenagers, this is story for anyone who enjoys fantasy. Once you get past all the buzzwords and marketing speech, you will find a story about a young man with a horribly disfigured and almost useless limb who is not satisfied with simply surviving extreme adversity in a bleak world, but rather he strives to become the master of all.

Half A King by Joe Abercrombie has been marketed as Abercrombie's attempt at telling a 'grimdark' Young Adult story.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie