Yarvi, a young prince becomes king when his father and brother are killed in an ambush. Even when I saw through one trap he had another right behind it waiting to trip me up all the way to the final page.At the outset the story appears pretty common.

Every time I knew how the story would end he changed it up and left me gob-smacked. What I loved the most was Abercrombie’s ability to make me feel foolish.

I have read one of his books before and really enjoyed it but Half a King is a whole different animal altogether. “The fool strikes.The wise man smiles, and watches, and learns.Then Strikes.”Joe Abercrombie’s first venture into young adult fiction is a wonderfully Machiavellian tale of betrayal and revenge. That chapter alone was worth another star. It ended the book perfectly while still setting up for the rest of the series. Overall, I was planning on giving this book 3 stars, but then I read the final chapter. when he kills Odem and Shadikshirram, he stabs them while they are distracted instead of magically becoming a great fighter for just that time). His progression is believable, and he never becomes something he's not, (e.g. He's not a great warrior/wizard/thief/etc., but it turns out he is very cunning, and he uses that to great extent. What makes the story interesting to me is that without his title, he's basically nothing. Now, he wants revenge against his betrayers and to reclaim the throne. Yarvi finds himself on a throne he never wanted but then is betrayed and left for dead. The story isn't anything mindblowing or anything new. I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, but I knew that I enjoyed Abercrombie's work, so I gave it a shot.

Half a king by joe abercrombie