Half a King
By: Joe Abercrombie
Grade: A-
Joe Abercrombie was on my list of authors I want to read this year. For some reason he had always made me a bit nervous because I have the impression of long and dense series that will take a while. Half a King came highly recommended however and the main character was compared to Tyrion Lannister so I thought I’d give it a try.
And I am so happy I did!
Yarvi is a Prince in a warrior culture with one good hand- which makes it hard to impossible to fight (if only someone would make him a golden one). It’s all fine with Yarvi though. He’s not fond of killing. He’s smart and training for the Ministry to take his position as his brothers counselor when the time comes.
Only- his brother and his father are killed and Yarvi must take the throne and that’s only the beginning of the treachery.
I really thought the Tyrion comparison was apt. Yarvi is a teenager but I couldn’t help picture Peter Dinklage playing him. The characters voice is so strong that it’s one of the reasons this book mainly flies by. Yarvi is smart but he’s also far from perfect. He’ll do what he needs to survive including sacrificing who he must- though he does feel guilt over it.
Secondary characters were strong and I liked the relationships and back and forth that built up around them. I actually cared about every single one of them by the time the finale plays out. Furthermore props to some strong female characters especially Yarvi’s mother the Queen- legendary treasurer/businesswoman.
That being said I do feel like the book moved a little too fast at times and as much as I liked the friendship between Yarvi and Sumael (and I very much hope to see her in further books) not sure how I feel about the idea that she must be a romantic option simply because she’s a female in close vicinity to him. But I admit that opinion could change in further books.
I called who was responsible for the deaths right away. But then I didn’t see the last twist so good job on that book. It’s a fun quick read. I’ll definitely be continuing with this series and likely reading more Abercrombie.
The only thing that worries me about book 2 is that it apparently doesn’t follow Yarvi but a whole different character.
Recommend: Yes.
I love Tyrion. I’ll have to add this to my TBR! 🙂
I hope you enjoy it!
I really enjoy Joe Abercrombie. If you like the second book – find it’s more about his storytelling than about love for a specific character – you’re going to have a lot of reading goodness to look forward to. 😀
Cheers,
Brian
Despite my love for Yarvi I am looking forward to it. I’d definitely plan on reading more Abercrombie regardless. I believe this is actual YA so want to try one of his adult novels as well 🙂
Try Best Served Cold – great story with a very strong female protagonist – one of my favorites. Cheers, Brian
Will do! Thanks!
Great review! Its funny you hesitated because you were worried his books would be too dense and long and then one of your only complaints was that it went to fast 😂😂
Pretty much sums up my life though! The more I argue against something the more I’m going to enjoy it in the end 🙂
Tyrion comparison = instant NEED. I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but when reading ASOIAF and trying to make it through the parts that dragged, I’d skip ahead to read through Tyrion’s arc. It’d give me energy to go back to the parts I didn’t care about. So I’m in.
Ha! I never skipped (would have driven my OCD through the roof) but there were definitely times where I’d turn the page and me like, “Thank God! It’s Dany! I can keep going!” 🙂
“It’s teenage Tyrion” caught my eye on Twitter- I HAD to come and see what that was about lol! This is a book I thought about reading but I think I had the same impression- that his books were dense and lengthy and did I really want to bother. Sounds worth a read though, although the POV change in book two could be iffy. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t!
Even though Yarvi was young it was always Dinklage/Tyrion in the movie in my head 🙂 throughout the read. I hope to get to book two soon so I’ll see how that one goes!
This sounds good! I love Tyrion!
I tried reading one book by Abercrombie (can’t remember which) but that one was indeed long and dense and i quit.. :/
I might try this just cuz of the character 😀
I realized after the fact that this was his first stab at YA (which obviously doesn’t matter to me) so that might have made it a lot easier!
I just checked it on Goodreads, it was released just under two weeks ago and has received over 30,000 ratings? I don’t have a frame of reference, but that’s pretty good, right? Anyway, you had me at Teenage Tyrion and I have promptly added it to my Goodreads TBR lol. I do like the fact that it’s fast-paced, and then a Tyrion combination… I’m sure my attention won’t waver.