Half a King

I know I read Abercrombie ages ago, and can’t remember much aside from “that was grim and dark”. I’m with the consensus that Half a King does Abercrombie’s usual thing very well.

Yarvi is a prince in a Viking-inspired fantasy setting. Unfortunately for him, he was born with a deformed hand that means he’ll never be a warrior. He was all set to enter the Ministry, a sworn order of wise advisers, when his father and uncle are killed and he inherits the throne. Things go from bad to worse, as Yarvi himself becomes the next victim of intrigues, is set up by his uncle to be killed, and survives only to be sold into slavery.

What follows is a thrilling rise from the bottom, as Yarvi goes from galley slave back to his throne, using his wits and an unlikely band of friends he makes along the way. The nominally “YA” audience tempers some of Abercrombie’s tendencies, but this is still a brutal story, with vengeance, violence, and sudden death.

The setting has some nice touches. Women handle most economic matters, which is apparently a Viking historical fact. The gender of the usual fantasy gods is flipped (Mother Sun, Father Moon, Mother War, Father Peace, etc). There are some hints that the setting is actually post-apocalyptic, with vanished elves building in reinforced concrete, and their ruins haunted by an invisible curse that sounds a lot like radiation system. Characters are well-drawn, and the pacing is swift.

This isn’t fine literature, but it’s a solid book and enough for me to read the rest of the series when I have the time.