Half a King

Book: Half a King
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Rating:★★★★★

                                                                                                                                               


    I was very excited to read this ARC provided by NetGalley. The book will be published July 15th.

    We begin the book in Yarvi's teachers chambers. We are on familiar ground with this fantasy trope. The wizened old woman teaching her student. Things continue in a predictably boring manner. Yarvi, who has no plans to become king, is now elevated to that role. His kind old uncle offers him support and his daughter. His daughter Isriun, just happens to be the perfect woman for Yarvi. I was beginning to wonder if it was Joe Abercrombie I was reading. Was there a mistake? Then Yarvi is thrown off a tower by uncle and left to die.. and I knew I had the right author....
     Now Joe begins to weave a very different type of tale. This is not about a king, but a slave. We follow Yarvi as he rows across the shattered sea. He plots to return home, take the thrown and exact his revenge. On his journey he finds friends and enemies.
    I love how in all Joe's books one can never be quite sure who is an enemy and who is a friend. Often times the character you have picked out as a villain becomes a friend. He has a great strength for showing just how human and complex people are. In life people are rarely as straight-forward as good and evil.
   I think this went a step further in this book. One of the main themes was "the lesser evil and the greater good." This is a concept that changes with each persons perspective. In many instances the villain is acting from this sentiment. So sure that the evil they commit will work towards the greater good. Some characters pay for these choices with their lives.
   There are lots of surprises for the reader in this book. Even when you think you have the book figured out, it twists again. Even to the very end. I did guess the main twist. Even though, it didn't make reading it any less dynamic. The final explanation of what happened took me by surprise.
   Yarvi's character really grew on me. At first he was so self-loathing and sulky I wasn't sure. He is no soldier. It is more than just his crippled hand, it's who he is. He doesn't have the stomach for fighting and killing. I thought the way the author dealt with this was very smart. Yarvi doesn't become the invincible super character. He just is who he is. He doesn't delight in killing, it makes him sick. He does fulfill his vow though. He isn't the same Yarvi as at the start of the book, but he doesn't change into another person.
   In the end the joke was on me. It was a set up after all. Here I thought Joe was losing his touch, instead he was skillfully setting up a great adventure. I think it made the book even more poignant. The book was tied up nicely in the end. After reading a few HUGE books I found it a refreshingly short read. I can see it as a stand alone book or a series. If more are written, I will be reading them.