MYKE COLE, author of Control Point
‘A gripping novel, structured to keep its tension at a constant nail-biting pitch’
Strange Horizons
‘The author’s economical voice gives a clear and unsentimental account of events sordid, beautiful, or, often, a blend of the two. Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea is a fantastic yet believable backdrop to Yarvi’s struggle, a vivid imaginary land to which both habitual and newly minted grimdark readers will happily return for Half a King’s projected sequels’
Seattle Times
‘Holy crap this is a good book … Half A King is full of all the adventure I’ve come to expect from Abercrombie and a tenderness I never knew he had. There’s infinitely more to Joe Abercrombie than we ever thought’
SAM SYKES, author of Tome of the Undergates
‘The joy of Half a King lies in its simplicity. The story is briskly told but it packs the necessary essentials: treachery, dangerous men, women who are not what they seem, duels, and moral dilemmas’
The Daily Beast
‘Joe Abercrombie’s storytelling is more concise in Half a King and as sharp as ever with wit and deft prose’
Fantasy Book Critic
‘This is as skilful and as enjoyable a read as any Abercrombie I’ve read to date, and often much subtler’
SFFWorld
‘Joe Abercrombie’s Half a King serves as a reminder that there are considerable virtues yet to be found by efficient, on-the-ground storytelling propelled more by plot than by setting, with crisp dialogue, humane characters, and a distinct inward spiral of rapid-fire events’
Locus
‘A sympathetic main character, a fast-paced plot, and plenty of neat world-building. Highly recommended’
io9
Dedication (#uc67b686d-1cee-56ec-ac7e-52245bc21f8a)
For Grace
Better gearThan good senseA traveller cannot carry
FromHávamál, the Speech of the High One
(#uc67b686d-1cee-56ec-ac7e-52245bc21f8a)
Contents
Cover (#u8500b7d4-6716-5a1c-adbb-2bd9d5ed387c)
Title Page (#ud0267f58-849c-5f0c-8a48-bd1e0a834aca)
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
Map
I: The Black Chair
The Greater Good
Duty
A Way to Win
Between Gods and Men
Doves
Promises
Man’s Work
The Enemy
II: The South Wind
Cheapest Offerings
One Family
Heave
The Minister’s Tools
The Fool Strikes
Savages
Ugly Little Secrets
Enemies and Allies
One Friend
Death Waits
III: The Long Road
