sevhyrral's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.75
carlysgrowingtbr's review against another edition
4.0
Another stellar installment filled with character development and high action put out by Joe Abercrombie.
In this story we follow a young prince destined to leave his rank and family behind to become a minster. Right before his minster test Yarvi's father and elder brother are killed by a rival kingdom. Leaving Yarvi to take the throne. However, this was never Yarvi's desire. Yarvi was born with a limb difference which has always made his family see him has half a man. He can't wield a sword or lead a charge.
Yarvi is young and inexperienced when he takes the throne, therefore he is easy to betray and overthrow. Thought dead by his family and subjects, Yarvi is thrown into slavery and pain. And it's through this pain that his body and mind catch up to his spirit of steel. Which give Yarvi the abilit and the drive to take his rightful place on the Black Throne.
The character development in Yarvi is immaculate. You'd never know you were reading about the same character. Yet it all feels very organic and natural within the story. There's wonderful found family and surprise characters.
A little light on the blood and gore, this would be suitable as a YA story for preteens and still entertain a older audience.
In this story we follow a young prince destined to leave his rank and family behind to become a minster. Right before his minster test Yarvi's father and elder brother are killed by a rival kingdom. Leaving Yarvi to take the throne. However, this was never Yarvi's desire. Yarvi was born with a limb difference which has always made his family see him has half a man. He can't wield a sword or lead a charge.
Yarvi is young and inexperienced when he takes the throne, therefore he is easy to betray and overthrow. Thought dead by his family and subjects, Yarvi is thrown into slavery and pain. And it's through this pain that his body and mind catch up to his spirit of steel. Which give Yarvi the abilit and the drive to take his rightful place on the Black Throne.
The character development in Yarvi is immaculate. You'd never know you were reading about the same character. Yet it all feels very organic and natural within the story. There's wonderful found family and surprise characters.
A little light on the blood and gore, this would be suitable as a YA story for preteens and still entertain a older audience.
disheveledwizard's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Violence, Ableism, Death, and Trafficking
laviskrg's review against another edition
5.0
I was about to give this book 4 stars simply due to the fact that its young adult nature did not fully satisfy my strictly adult reading lever and pretentiousness. Yarvi, while a compelling and interesting and smart protagonist, is not my kind of literary entertainment provider and he is subjected to the "Must Live Because Author Who is God Says So" trope. If you look at the events in cold blood and with logic, you would see that a boy of physical frailty would most likely NOT survive such a harsh and hardened world. Of course, he does so through the help of companions who are superior in every way, but in my opinion, were it a real scenario, he would long expire before even meeting said companions. So 4 stars for that.
BUT
When Nothing turned out to be, well...EVERYTHING, and this fucked up, violent, viking-inspired world in which men go die for the word of some idiot who names himself king, is actually and truly ruled by WOMEN, I came to my senses and blessed it with 5 stars and am simply desperate to read the rest of the series.
Seriously rare to see such glorious, beautiful, political representations of women in today's genre literature. Very proud of Mr Abercrombie, very glad to have finally read one of his works. The book is fun, rampant with action, features nice and well-structured world building and an extremely satisfying and logical ending. Definitely gonna enjoy what comes next.
BUT
When Nothing turned out to be, well...EVERYTHING, and this fucked up, violent, viking-inspired world in which men go die for the word of some idiot who names himself king, is actually and truly ruled by WOMEN, I came to my senses and blessed it with 5 stars and am simply desperate to read the rest of the series.
Seriously rare to see such glorious, beautiful, political representations of women in today's genre literature. Very proud of Mr Abercrombie, very glad to have finally read one of his works. The book is fun, rampant with action, features nice and well-structured world building and an extremely satisfying and logical ending. Definitely gonna enjoy what comes next.
boards_books_and_brews's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
Half A King (Shattered Sea #1)
Written by Joe Abercrombie
Read by
Book 146/200
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Audio
Pages: 416
Published: 2014
Rating: 8/10
"If life has taught me one thing, it's that there are no villains. Only people, doing their best."
I love Lord Grimdark's writing. The First Law and Age of Madness are masterpieces, and The Shattered Sea has the potential to another great series. Abercrombie continues to be a master at character development. I am definitely continuing this series.
Written by Joe Abercrombie
Read by
Book 146/200
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Audio
Pages: 416
Published: 2014
Rating: 8/10
"If life has taught me one thing, it's that there are no villains. Only people, doing their best."
I love Lord Grimdark's writing. The First Law and Age of Madness are masterpieces, and The Shattered Sea has the potential to another great series. Abercrombie continues to be a master at character development. I am definitely continuing this series.
sydneyash'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
3.75
megabyte117's review against another edition
3.0
(2.5/3) A thoroughly average, if not at times, below average, YA-flavored intro. Unlike Abercrombie's other books, the characters felt lifeless and their arcs nonexistent. The book's pacing is quick, but to its detriment as it never feels like we get to spend time with the characters before the next significant plot event happens. Will stop here, as I left the book very cold and uninterested in any of the characters/world.
kepheus's review against another edition
5.0
The overall plot was predictable (tough not to be in a story this short), but a thoroughly enjoyable read otherwise.