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mockh2's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
prat83's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
harlando's review against another edition
3.0
I liked Abercrombie's First Law series and was pretty excited about trying this.
I hadn't realized this was his step into YA fiction (is it?), but got that feel within a few chapters.
I liked: The crippled hero Yarvi. Fantasy is a little too heavy with sword swinging or fireball tossing heroes. Yarvi succeeds by being clever. He is also assisted by an unbelievably broad education for a 16 year old. He speaks dozens of languages, knows the use of every plant, and has psychopath level manipulation skills as a teenager.
The pacing. This moves right along and is about half the length of the First Law books (I liked them, but they were monsters).
Not sure how I feel about:
Joe Abercrombie gave an interview and said that George R.R. Martin was a big influence. It shows here. I thing that will be a pattern going forward. Lots of 70s-90s fantasy echoed Tolkien and lots of fantasy in the future is going to echo GoT. There's nothing really wrong with that, its just a thing.
Slavery. The setting is Scandinavian and the social order includes thralls and slaves. The hero is enslaved himself then fights his way free. This does not seem to leave him with any sympathy for slaves and he doesn't go out of his way to help them out of charity. There is a tiny moment of self reflection, then he's on to other business.
I didn't like:
Abercrombie's Ministers are a celibate, mostly female, order of advisors to royalty that closely mirror Martin's Maesters. Ministers are neither as cool nor as believable. There are too few of them. Only king's seem to have them where the Maesters are attached to the nobility generally. They also work on an apprentice system where each minister trains her successor and they only visit the central organization to take their final exam and be certified. I don't that would create a lasting organization and people would drift apart without some centralized education as in GoT. You also don't see much celibacy without a heavy dose of religion. Martin had his celibate orders castrated. The ministers seem to need to gut it out to varying degrees of success.
The romance. The hero has two lady loves. Neither is consummated and both are ridiculously JV.
I hadn't realized this was his step into YA fiction (is it?), but got that feel within a few chapters.
I liked: The crippled hero Yarvi. Fantasy is a little too heavy with sword swinging or fireball tossing heroes. Yarvi succeeds by being clever. He is also assisted by an unbelievably broad education for a 16 year old. He speaks dozens of languages, knows the use of every plant, and has psychopath level manipulation skills as a teenager.
The pacing. This moves right along and is about half the length of the First Law books (I liked them, but they were monsters).
Not sure how I feel about:
Joe Abercrombie gave an interview and said that George R.R. Martin was a big influence. It shows here. I thing that will be a pattern going forward. Lots of 70s-90s fantasy echoed Tolkien and lots of fantasy in the future is going to echo GoT. There's nothing really wrong with that, its just a thing.
Slavery. The setting is Scandinavian and the social order includes thralls and slaves. The hero is enslaved himself then fights his way free. This does not seem to leave him with any sympathy for slaves and he doesn't go out of his way to help them out of charity. There is a tiny moment of self reflection, then he's on to other business.
I didn't like:
Abercrombie's Ministers are a celibate, mostly female, order of advisors to royalty that closely mirror Martin's Maesters. Ministers are neither as cool nor as believable. There are too few of them. Only king's seem to have them where the Maesters are attached to the nobility generally. They also work on an apprentice system where each minister trains her successor and they only visit the central organization to take their final exam and be certified. I don't that would create a lasting organization and people would drift apart without some centralized education as in GoT. You also don't see much celibacy without a heavy dose of religion. Martin had his celibate orders castrated. The ministers seem to need to gut it out to varying degrees of success.
The romance. The hero has two lady loves. Neither is consummated and both are ridiculously JV.
bonitabony's review against another edition
4.0
I was curious how a high fantasy book only have 250 pages? How can they build the world and the characters growth/background? Then it turns out it really did worked! Half a king is my first Joe Abercombre's books I've heard nothing about this author (and turn out he's quite famous) I was integrued with blurb and immediately pick this book up and I don't regret it.
Having read 5 books of a song of fire and ice series, I'm quite familiar with high fantasy and reading this book makes me feel nostalgia with the world of Westeros. Our main character name Yarvi, he's the a prince and also apprentice to become minister he never intended to become a king partly because he was the second son and because of being half a man (being half a man reminds me of being a bastard in the world game of thrones) but his life going to change.
The book is filled with betrayal, cunningness and some blood but we can see the growth in the characters, Yarvi may not be the best warrior but he has the sharpest mind and that's what keep him and most of his friends alive trough all the hard days they have to go to.
Yarvi may not the kindest boy protagonist I've ever read, but he always feel the guilt and regret when he should took someone's life. I really like Yarvi and his companions together, they are the gank of broken people and yet in them Yarvi found what friends really is
Having read 5 books of a song of fire and ice series, I'm quite familiar with high fantasy and reading this book makes me feel nostalgia with the world of Westeros. Our main character name Yarvi, he's the a prince and also apprentice to become minister he never intended to become a king partly because he was the second son and because of being half a man (being half a man reminds me of being a bastard in the world game of thrones) but his life going to change.
The book is filled with betrayal, cunningness and some blood but we can see the growth in the characters, Yarvi may not be the best warrior but he has the sharpest mind and that's what keep him and most of his friends alive trough all the hard days they have to go to.
Yarvi may not the kindest boy protagonist I've ever read, but he always feel the guilt and regret when he should took someone's life. I really like Yarvi and his companions together, they are the gank of broken people and yet in them Yarvi found what friends really is
kobestaes's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hannaholford's review against another edition
3.0
This is basically The Northman for teenagers. It takes place in a fantasy world, but it’s very obviously inspired by Viking Age Scandinavia. The Northman crossed with How to Train Your Dragon, maybe? But there are no dragons so that’s disappointing.
Yarvi is a crippled prince whose life changes dramatically after the death of his father and older brother. He ends up on a journey across sea and land with a ragtag group of ex-slaves. Together they fight slavers, the brutal cold, and ruthless kings. There is action, there is friendship, there is character growth.
I will say that the premise for this book is not particularly unique, and the first third is so, so boring. But it does pick up and there are some nice little moments later on. The crazy drunken pirate lady is a fun villain. Sumael the cartographer girl is a badass; I want a whole story about her. And there is a found family which is my FAVOURITE trope.
Overall this book is not super long and it’s not super deep, but it’s pretty fun. An easy read.
Yarvi is a crippled prince whose life changes dramatically after the death of his father and older brother. He ends up on a journey across sea and land with a ragtag group of ex-slaves. Together they fight slavers, the brutal cold, and ruthless kings. There is action, there is friendship, there is character growth.
I will say that the premise for this book is not particularly unique, and the first third is so, so boring. But it does pick up and there are some nice little moments later on. The crazy drunken pirate lady is a fun villain. Sumael the cartographer girl is a badass; I want a whole story about her. And there is a found family which is my FAVOURITE trope.
Overall this book is not super long and it’s not super deep, but it’s pretty fun. An easy read.
topdragon's review against another edition
5.0
Joe Abercrombie’s previous novels have established an extremely high bar for fantasy fiction and this first novel in his new series is strong evidence that this is not an author to rest on his laurels.
Yarvi was born with a crippled hand and also the son of the king…not a good combination for a warrior society. But since he is the second son, his path leads not towards ruling a kingdom but rather towards that of a “minister”, a role whose task is “to remember, and to advise, to heal, to speak the truth and know the secret ways, to find the lesser evil and weigh the greater good, to smooth the path for Father Peace in every tongue.”
Yarvi loves his calling but fate has a different route for him. Lest we forget, this is a Joe Abercrombie tale and so treachery abounds. Yarvi is forced off his path and towards the kingship in only the first few pages, and in a few pages more, is outcast and presumed dead. “I swore an oath to avenge the death of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath.” Oh yes, this is a swiftly moving plot, filled with hardship and plenty of bleak scenes. Throughout his struggles, his personal battles, his growth from boy to man over just a few months, we yearn for Yarvi’s eventual success even though he is not a perfect hero. Abercrombie, remember?
This novel begins a planned trilogy and is not connected in any way to his previous works. It actually stands alone as an excellent coming-of-age/revenge/see-justice-served story with an ending although it is easy to see how this could lead into a trilogy as well. Once again we have a nicely constructed world and great characters, some of which are brutal. Even though written in the third person, we follow all of the action through the eyes of Yarvi and that leads to a very personal account of events. I really felt like I knew Yarvi and his friends. They are all unique characters and it was them that kept me reading past my dinnertime.
This novel is also a little shorter than Mr. Abercrombie’s previous works, coming in at a mere 352 hardback pages. It’s a tightly woven narrative and it shows. As much as I’ve enjoyed his past novels, I will admit to times when I felt the need to set them aside to do something else. This one I read over a single weekend, really a day and-a-half with the final session being one of those times when you just can’t stop reading. We fantasy readers yearn for those experiences and this book provides it in spades.
Now if only book 2 was out next week, I would be fine.
Yarvi was born with a crippled hand and also the son of the king…not a good combination for a warrior society. But since he is the second son, his path leads not towards ruling a kingdom but rather towards that of a “minister”, a role whose task is “to remember, and to advise, to heal, to speak the truth and know the secret ways, to find the lesser evil and weigh the greater good, to smooth the path for Father Peace in every tongue.”
Yarvi loves his calling but fate has a different route for him. Lest we forget, this is a Joe Abercrombie tale and so treachery abounds. Yarvi is forced off his path and towards the kingship in only the first few pages, and in a few pages more, is outcast and presumed dead. “I swore an oath to avenge the death of my father. I may be half a man, but I swore a whole oath.” Oh yes, this is a swiftly moving plot, filled with hardship and plenty of bleak scenes. Throughout his struggles, his personal battles, his growth from boy to man over just a few months, we yearn for Yarvi’s eventual success even though he is not a perfect hero. Abercrombie, remember?
This novel begins a planned trilogy and is not connected in any way to his previous works. It actually stands alone as an excellent coming-of-age/revenge/see-justice-served story with an ending although it is easy to see how this could lead into a trilogy as well. Once again we have a nicely constructed world and great characters, some of which are brutal. Even though written in the third person, we follow all of the action through the eyes of Yarvi and that leads to a very personal account of events. I really felt like I knew Yarvi and his friends. They are all unique characters and it was them that kept me reading past my dinnertime.
This novel is also a little shorter than Mr. Abercrombie’s previous works, coming in at a mere 352 hardback pages. It’s a tightly woven narrative and it shows. As much as I’ve enjoyed his past novels, I will admit to times when I felt the need to set them aside to do something else. This one I read over a single weekend, really a day and-a-half with the final session being one of those times when you just can’t stop reading. We fantasy readers yearn for those experiences and this book provides it in spades.
Now if only book 2 was out next week, I would be fine.
debchan's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars
idk like 5 years ago i would've eaten this up and loved it a bit more? i just don't read YA these days. i wanted to give it 4 stars but then i gave myself a little reality check like would i really rate it that high if it weren't written by joe abercrombie himself? i don't think so. like it's good! i liked the characters and the plot twists were shocking! but it doesn't touch the first law trilogy or age of madness trilogy. it's appropriate for YA and i've simply grown out of that genre.
i'm a sucker for these types of stories. boy who loses his throne and must band with some outcasts to get it back at all costs. except yarvi never wanted it in the first place. he's an outcast himself with a useless hand and so he must use his brain instead. he suffers hardships and it's like he has a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad life. give him a break.
yarvi: tell me why i feel like there's something lurking in there. like he has violent dreams; we see he is surely capable of it when he wants to. but he chooses otherwise and takes up the position of minister. i'm very interested in him as a character. normally i'd be bored and annoyed of all the "my father said" quotes that he remembers when he needs advice. however the difference is that his father hated him and vice versa. his father isn't the perfect saint like in The Will of the Many. i like a bit of nuance.
he's got a small found family as well and they're not exactly like the dogman and co group where they literally couldn't stop fighting, but they're not all warm and friendly. to an extent i appreciate that and maybe i'm just a complainer or a hypocrite but i guess i wanted everyone to be more ruthless? monza murcatto style. but again it's YA it's not going to be like his other books.
you know who i loved? his mom. she literally ran the economy of the kingdom and she's terrifying and she's capable and though she thinks her son is weak she still loves him in her own way. she's MY queen.
a spoiler ahead:
wasn't expecting nearly everyone to die like there goes yarvi's friends almost immediately. and then his cousin isriun searing vengeance? cycles of violence mayhaps. he should've just killer her or imprisoned her bc now she's mad as hell and wants to kill him.
i have no good gage for his age tbh like 16?? 18?? it's YA so teenager surely. but yeah the UK cover is gorgeous i wish i read that cover. it's a solid book, i think everyone agrees it can't really compare to his adult dark books in terms of character complexity and bloody violent plot points. but it was enjoyable and quick and easy to read and i'm just waiting for yarvi to go hard and do more and everything to really unfold bc there's real potential for that!
idk like 5 years ago i would've eaten this up and loved it a bit more? i just don't read YA these days. i wanted to give it 4 stars but then i gave myself a little reality check like would i really rate it that high if it weren't written by joe abercrombie himself? i don't think so. like it's good! i liked the characters and the plot twists were shocking! but it doesn't touch the first law trilogy or age of madness trilogy. it's appropriate for YA and i've simply grown out of that genre.
i'm a sucker for these types of stories. boy who loses his throne and must band with some outcasts to get it back at all costs. except yarvi never wanted it in the first place. he's an outcast himself with a useless hand and so he must use his brain instead. he suffers hardships and it's like he has a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad life. give him a break.
yarvi: tell me why i feel like there's something lurking in there. like he has violent dreams; we see he is surely capable of it when he wants to. but he chooses otherwise and takes up the position of minister. i'm very interested in him as a character. normally i'd be bored and annoyed of all the "my father said" quotes that he remembers when he needs advice. however the difference is that his father hated him and vice versa. his father isn't the perfect saint like in The Will of the Many. i like a bit of nuance.
he's got a small found family as well and they're not exactly like the dogman and co group where they literally couldn't stop fighting, but they're not all warm and friendly. to an extent i appreciate that and maybe i'm just a complainer or a hypocrite but i guess i wanted everyone to be more ruthless? monza murcatto style. but again it's YA it's not going to be like his other books.
you know who i loved? his mom. she literally ran the economy of the kingdom and she's terrifying and she's capable and though she thinks her son is weak she still loves him in her own way. she's MY queen.
a spoiler ahead:
i have no good gage for his age tbh like 16?? 18?? it's YA so teenager surely. but yeah the UK cover is gorgeous i wish i read that cover. it's a solid book, i think everyone agrees it can't really compare to his adult dark books in terms of character complexity and bloody violent plot points. but it was enjoyable and quick and easy to read and i'm just waiting for yarvi to go hard and do more and everything to really unfold bc there's real potential for that!
jreadspeak's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
leeman_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0