Review: Half a Man can Still Make a Whole Oath
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2014
4.5 StarsThis is my very first Joe Ambercrombie book and as an avid high fantasy reader I can’t believe I haven’t stumbled onto him before. He does a great job at blending a great world with fantastic characters and story without getting caught up in the drudgery of over explaining everything. After finishing this I was sure of three things, I will anxiously await the next installment of this series, I will read anything else Joe Ambercrombie has written and Nothing was surprisingly one of my favorite secondary characters in a fantasy.“Pick you enemies more carefully than your friends,” Nothing was muttering at the flames. “They will be with you longer.”In a world where men make war and you are only as good as your use with a weapon Yarvi is useless. He has a deformed hand and can’t hold a shield, can’t protect the men at his side and his father has reminded him of all his failures as a man all of his life. That’s fine Yarvi has avoided them all and lost himself in books and learning, until the fates intervened and both his father and brother are slaughtered making him the king. But it isn’t that easy and Yarvi has a lot to learn about what it really takes to be a man and a king, after being betrayed and tossed into slavery he has to find a way back to his kingdom to take back the throne he didn’t want until it was taken away from him.--  Once, after his father had hit him in a rage, Yarvi’s mother had found him crying. The fool strikes, she had said, The wise man smiles, and watches, and learns.Then strikes.Yarvi is the smart hero, it isn’t all about battles and fighting. It is about reacting wisely and waiting for the perfect moment to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Sometimes words will get you more than a sword and I love those moments in books.The story and journey are amazing. The band of unlikely friends that Yarvi finds and the comradery he has with them is fantastic. I will not give away the journey they take and the unexpected twists along the way. I will say that this had one of the best reveals in a fantasy novel that I’ve read this year. I was shocked and amazed when it happened and might have punched my fist in the air because I was that happy to be totally surprised.As a female fantasy reader sometimes I get a little miffed about the one dimensional aspect that a lot of writers give to their female characters. They are damsels in distress, overly emotional or serve only as a love interest. I’m so happy that all of the female characters in this are fierce in one way or another; The Queen manages the finances of the country better than any man before her. Samael a slave girl on the ship is the best navigator and friend Yarvi could have. Shadikshirram the slave ship captain was an admiral of a fleet during war and while she is a monster of a woman she is complex, strong and a worthy opponent.This is a perfect blend of a smart story with enough action and fight scenes to keep things really interesting without overdoing it and losing the reader in similar sequences. There is a very minor hint of romance to it as well enough to keep the girly girl in me contented.Many thanks to Netgalley and Del Ray for an ARC of this book for an honest review.