YA Weekend: Half A King by Joe Abercrombie
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of Shattered Sea
Publisher: Del Rey (July 15, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Half a King is marketed as a Young Adult novel so I’m also going to label it as such, but doing so also feels wrong somehow. It’s not just because it is so different and unconventional compared to what we may think of as “mainstream” YA out there, but I also think adult fantasy readers or those familiar with Joe Abercrombie’s gritty adult fantasy novels will no doubt feel right at home reading this too. Now, if you’re thinking to yourself, “Joe Abercrombie and YA? Now THIS I have to see,” well, yes, yes you do. As a fan of his work, I was very curious to see how his first venture into YA fiction would work out, and I have to say I’m quite astounded and impressed with the results.
The book follows Yarvi, a young prince born with a crippled hand. In a warrior society that values fighting prowess, this disability has limited him and led him to be treated with disdain his whole life. When his father and older brother are unexpectedly killed in an enemy ambush, Yarvi has no choice but to inherit the throne, but he barely has the chance to warm the seat before he is betrayed and left for dead. His fight for survival sees him sold into slavery, taken on the high seas and far away from home, but Yarvi knows he will not give up until he gets his revenge.
As ever, character development is Abercrombie’s strong suit, and everyone you meet is a constantly evolving tapestry, realistically woven with hardly any black-and-whites. Despite the YA nature of the novel, we don’t see a sacrifice in the quality of the characters or storytelling. Yarvi feels like the genuine product of his history and upbringing as the forgotten royal son, dismissed for a failure and never being able to become anyone important. Those sentiments have rubbed off on Yarvi himself, who has a tendency towards self-doubt and is prone to question his own worth. He’s no prince charming, and what use does he have for pride and honor? The only constants that keep him alive are his anger and sharp wit. It makes for some very interesting decisions on his part.
Also belying the familiar tale of the betrayed prince seeking to retake his stolen throne is a much more complicated story packed with unexpected twists and turns. It may have been fine-tuned for a younger audience, but the plot loses none of its subtlety. The problem with a lot of YA novels today involve the overuse of tired old tropes, and thank goodness Abercrombie decided to forgo pretty much all of them. You can never predict for a certainty where he will go with a story, and since I’ve enjoyed his crafty, clever writing in style in a lot of his adult books, I’m really glad to see it here in Half a King as well. You never know what tiny little detail can come back later on in the book and haunt you, so don’t even blink!
Best yet, while it is the first book of a series, it can most definitely be read as a standalone with no cliffhangers or glaring unresolved conflicts. Clearly, there are many more places we can go with the characters and ideas in this novel, but here we have a complete, self-contained story. Again, THANK YOU.
In sum, this feels like a young adult book. But it also feels like a Joe Abercrombie book. Take the best of both worlds, like the easy, engaging and action-packed fast pace of the former and the elegant writing style of the latter, and you have Half a King, which is Full of Awesome. I would recommend it in general, but also especially for readers who have always struggled with the YA category, or who might be suffering burnout from the same old, same old. I frequently find myself in this camp. While I love YA, sometimes all the love triangles and cliffhangers can take its toll, and a book like Half a King is the perfect cure to invigorate my interest and make the genre exciting again.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley and LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Del Rey!
Never read any Abercrombie before, think this would be a good place to start. Sounds like an awesome novel.
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He’s great. This is a good one to begin with if you want to start with something less heavy.
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I was impressed. I may have enjoyed Half a King more than I did Abercrombie’s “adult” stuff.
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Agreed. My favorite book of his is Red Country, and this one probably comes next.
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Like I had any doubts at all that you would love it. Let’s read it again, shall we?
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LOL, you were right.
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No cliffhangers, but someone does get tossed off a cliff apparently. I’ve heard that happens in his adult series, too…wonder if Abercrombie has a fear of hiking or something. But in all seriousness, this sounds awesome! I haven’t read his adult stuff yet, but I think Nathan said that this one had better female characters, so I think Half a King has priority.
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Yep, this one has more outstanding female characters than his First Law, though both Best Served Cold and Red Country have a female protagonist in the forefront. I highly recommend the latter!
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Oh I love fantasy YA, it’s usually easier for me to follow everything and to understand everything lol. I’m glad you had such a great time with it. I don’t know why but the cver always makes me remember about another book.
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Abercrombie is more well known for his adult books but I’m glad he decided to venture into YA – if you’re looking for something easier to follow and understand, then yeah this would be the book to start with him!
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I still have not read his other series, sigh
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Whatcha waiting for? The First Law is pretty good!
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Yay! My absolute favorite YA book. And like you said, it was undeniably also an Abercrombie book. Loved it, glad you did too 🙂
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Yes, I sure did! Undeniably Abercrombie, I was glad to see that.
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As a fantasy fan I have to say this sounds like my kind of book. And the cover definitely doesn’t suggest YA (or maybe that’s just me?)
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You’re right, it doesn’t suggest YA, really. I think it’s part of the marketing, Del Rey sort of took the same subtle approach with the cover with Red Rising making it seem like something with wider appeal for both YA and Adults.
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GAH. Everyone is LOVING this book. Why haven’t I read it yet? I have no idea, but that is going to change, and SOON. Lovely review, Mogsy 😉
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