Review of Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Title/Author: Half a King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie
Publisher/Date published: Del Rey, July 15th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: “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.

So I read The Blade Itself about 4 years ago and while I liked it, it was a bit gritty for my tastes and I still haven't continued the series. But when I heard about Joe Abercrombie's YA series I knew I had to read it, because it sounded amazing. It was also one of the Top Ten books on my summer TBR list. And guys, I totally loved it!

I loved Joe Abercrombie's writing style, I just seemed to breeze right through this book, effortless reading because of awesome storytelling! Which was a different experience than I had with The Blade Itself, cause I struggled with that one a bit. But Half a King was a book that kept nagging at me when I wasn't reading it that I should really get back to it, because things were happening and I needed to know what those things were and just YES! A whole lot of YES because I've read a fair amount of books while I was on vacation and a lot of them were kinda meh but this kept me hooked during the flight back.

I really liked Yarvi. Yarvi is awesome. He has one not fully formed hand and it's made him the perfect candidate for mockery by a lot of people. I loved how smart he was and his sense of humor and just that he knows his limits and knows what he can do as well as the things he can't. And I also loved that he doesn't let it hold him back and finds a way to make things work for him, he is a man with a mission and I respect that. He reminded me a bit of Tyrion and that is pretty much one of the highest praises I can give a character.
And I also loved Nothing with his 'steel is the answer' attitude and just general badassness and a hint of madness.

So there's plots and treachery and unlikely friendship and bloodshed and holy crap revelations and just a whole lot of awesomeness to go around. Basically I'm saying you should read this, because I can't wait to get my hand on the sequel!

My rating: 5 stars