Half A King by Joe Abercrombie Review

Betrayed by his family and left for dead, prince Yarvi, reluctant heir to a divided kingdom, has vowed to reclaim a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the shattered sea itself - all with only one good hand. Born a weakling in the eyes of a hard, cold world, he cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so has sharpened his mind to a deadly edge. Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast, he finds they can help him more than any noble could. Even so, Yarvi's path may end as it began - in twists, traps and tragedy.

A story of vengeance, resilience, and a quest to return home, Joe Abercrombie’s Half A King is an intense epic adventure that adapts his signature storytelling for younger readership. Set in wild and dangerous lands that surround the foreboding namesake Shattered Sea, this book contains a straightforward and tense adventure of a young man realizing the twisted figures around him as he journeys to right the wrongs of betrayal. With a solid plot, Abercrombie’s dynamic storytelling, and great writing, this book is a quick and respectable read well-suited for its target readership. Though possessing good crossover appeal for adult readers, its fast pacing, limited worldbuilding, and occasionally muddy contextual scope also prevent the story from fully reaching its potential. (On Goodreads, 3.5-star rating rounded down).

The first book in the Shattered Sea trilogy, Half A King follows the young Prince Yarvi who is suddenly thrown off course from his aspirations to join the Ministry following an unexpected death in the family. An intellectual individual who also has a physical disability with a deformed hand, he thinks of himself as only half a prince both physically and in influence. Falling from grace and lost far from his home of Vulgard on the western edge of the Shattered Sea, this is a story that mixes together the coming-of-age elements narrative with one of vengeance and resilience in the face of grim odds and limitations.

For better or for worse, one of the most talked about points of this series is its YA designation, Abercrombie’s only works that are geared towards younger readership. Known for gritty, profanity-heavy grimdark novels full of adult content, many may find the YA tag to be a negative point against them. Although Half A King does not have harsh language or sexual content present, it nonetheless is still a tense and tonally dark story that doesn’t read as young as one may expect. The aforementioned coming-of-age journey and the main character’s age are really the only elements in the book that give away its YA nature, this book skewing towards the upper end of the age range. The overall story is one that could’ve easily worked with a character in their 20s and though the graphic violence is slightly toned down, it’s still quite intense while including murder, torture, backstabbing and slavery. This book doesn’t talk down or feel like it’s purposely watered down, and it respects the reader’s interest and maturity. Notably, this book has a relatively quick pace that keeps the story moving with lots of action and a plot-focused approach.

Part of the reason why this book maintains good crossover appeal for adult readers is thanks to Abercrombie’s noteworthy storytelling and writing. While this book’s pacing is a lot faster compared to some of his other novels and the vernacular is simpler to read, the writing is still engaging and almost cinematic at times. Abercrombie’s skills are most noticeable in his prose which maintains a grand and epic feel, even when little is happening or characters are simply walking across large stretches of uncharted and empty land. The writing is even more impressive when it is focused on the famed Shattered Sea itself, featuring excellent ambiance, mystique, and power; about two thirds of this book takes place on land and I would’ve loved it if the sea were featured more prominently in the story. Like his other books, Half A King also features great fighting scenes that are a highlight, particularly in the back half of the book.

While the plot of the book is well-crafted and the storytelling of said story is wonderful, there are some notable drawbacks. While the story is presented very well, detailed readers like myself may notice a distinctive lack of context to support the epic narrative. Almost immediately from the get-go, the book almost throws the reader into the story and simply states who Yarvi is and the responsibilities he’s owed without providing contextual information. What is the Shattered Sea, where is the story taking place, what is the political power structure in place and what roles does the Ministry play in respect to those on the throne? The details and worldbuilding are quite muddy at best and while it gets the job done and is functional for younger readers with short attention spans, it can be frustrating and vague for others, especially those accustomed to complex and expansive setups common in epic fantasy books. There are Kings that rule over different territories or lands that surround the Shattered Sea who all fall under the High King who is associated with the gods, but the relations between the Kings and these other figures aren’t explained at all in this book. Without conveying the scope of Yarvi’s adventure without the context of the series, it makes the epic story feel small as well as being a well-written but ultimately typical tale and world. While not necessarily a drawback, it is also important to note that despite the designation, this book has next to no fantasy elements involved. Apart from the imagined world loosely inspired by the historic Baltic Sea and vague references to elven ruins and gods, this is simply an adventure conquest story.

The other potential drawback is the book’s fast pace. While the quick moving story keeps it at a tidy length (sub four hundred pages) and is good at keeping the reader’s attention with lots of action, it comes at the cost of narrative development and character writing. Besides the aforementioned lack of worldbuilding details, the story moves at such a brisk speed that it can feel like there’s not enough time for the reader to connect with the characters or for key moments to have the lasting impact likely intended. While Yarvi features good character development, much of it consists of toughening up and becoming more crafty to make up for his physical frailty and limited combat. With themes involving slavery, betrayal, and identity, I feel that they could’ve been pushed further.

The same could be said about the supporting characters who mostly feel like they have one notable personality trait with very little time spent familiarizing or developing each. This is most noticeable during character deaths where the loss not only feels rushed in the moment but also lacking lasting impact. Particularly towards the end of the book when the story utilizes some clever plot twists and secret agendas are revealed, their effectiveness is lessened when the affected characters were only briefly introduced; it’s hard for the reader to feel Yarvi’s sting of betrayal when they barely know who they are.

As a story, Half A King is an intense and engrossing tale heightened by Abercrombie’s great writing and storytelling that elevates it well beyond what’s expected for YA fantasy books. Tense and dark without being unnecessarily graphic, it’s an accessible sampler of the author’s style given the straightforward narrative that isn’t bogged down by excessive length or tangents. Personally, I am currently reading my way through Abercrombie’s bibliography in an unorthodox order, having recently read the Devils first that I already owned followed by a rushed read of the Shattered Sea series to see if I should go for an upcoming special edition presale by a certain UK Book Box Company. Unfortunately, the character writing and details in this book were a bit of a letdown for me and as such, I found it difficult to stay fully invested in the story which came off a bit dry. Objectively the book is better than my rating would suggest but subjectively I found this to be a decent yet forgettable read; that could easily change when I get to the rest of this series. Overall, Half A King is a fine adventure story, a great YA one at that and can be a satisfying read provided one goes into it without comparing it to Abercrombie’s more popular and adult novels.