Half a King

Half a King
Joe Abercrombie

A classic coming-of-age tale set in a vivid and richly-imagined world from Sunday Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie.‘A fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page one and refused to let go’ GEORGE R.R. MARTINPrince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy…

Copyright (#uc67b686d-1cee-56ec-ac7e-52245bc21f8a)

HarperVoyager

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpervoyagerbooks.co.uk (http://www.harpervoyagerbooks.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2014

Copyright © Joe Abercrombie 2014

Map copyright © Nicolette Caven 2014

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015

Cover photographs © iStock (detail of cloaked man); Shutterstock.com (http://Shutterstock.com) (all other images)

Joe Abercrombie asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007550227

Ebook Edition © January 2015 ISBN: 9780007550210

Version: 2017-11-23

Praise for Half a King: (#uc67b686d-1cee-56ec-ac7e-52245bc21f8a)

‘Joe Abercrombie does it again. Half a King is another page-turner from Britain’s hottest young fantasist, a fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page one and refused to let go’

GEORGE R.R. MARTIN, author of A Game of Thrones

‘Fast-moving, gritty and violent, Half a King will not disappoint Abercrombie’s legion of followers’

Guardian

‘Another great tale from a master. His medieval, post-apocalyptic land is full of such brilliant banter it would find a laugh at a funeral. It is macabre, menacing and Machiavelli himself would have enjoyed the way half-handed “hero” Yarvi triumphs’

The Sun

‘Enthralling. An up-all-night read’

ROBIN HOBB, author of Fool’s Assassin and the Realm of the Elderlings novels

‘Joe Abercrombie is fast becoming my favourite writer. The action is frenetic, the characters are as sharp as the blades they wield, and the humour is biting’

DEREK LANDY, author of the Skulduggery Pleasant novels

‘As Jarvi gets to know his motley band of renegades, you feel you are meeting real characters underneath the stubble and the grime. It’s this quality that both grounds the fantasy and lifts the book onto another level, so while it grips like a bear hug, it warms like a bear skin’

Daily Mail

‘Half a King is woven with a narrative of delightful cunning as we have come to expect from Joe Abercrombie. This is a “to read in a day” kind of book’

British Fantasy Society

‘Bloody awesome. A must-read’

BEN KANE, author of the Spartacus novels

‘Classic Abercrombie, and yet also something unexpected – grimdark fantasy for people who aren’t necessarily very young’

SFX, 5 Star Review

‘I’ve been a fan of Abercrombie’s stuff for years. His world–building is great, his characterization is marvellous, he writes an amazing action scene. I think this is my favourite Abercrombie book yet. And that’s really saying something’

PATRICK ROTHFUSS, author of The Name of the Wind

‘One of the most gripping books I’ve read for a long time. Once this plot has its teeth in you, it will not let you go’

Fantasy Book Review

‘Abercrombie’s stellar prose style and clever plot twists will be sure to please both adult and teen readers’

Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

‘Half a King isn’t merely equal to Abercrombie’s previous work; it is his finest novel to date and the one that may one day make him a household name’

Tor.com (http://www.Tor.com)

‘It’s lightning fast and filled with a wonderful collection of rogues, villains and two-faced bastards’

Sci-Fi Now

‘Half a King can be summed up in a single word: Masterpiece … It’s a coming of age story. It’s a Viking saga. It’s a revenge tale and family drama and the return of the prodigal son. But most of all, it’s this: a short time alongside people as weak and blundering as we are, and in the midst of it all, as heroic. What a wonderful book’