Half a King

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

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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