Review: Brilliant Fantasy World That Will Draw You In and Keep You There
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 16, 2014
This review is courtesy of topoftheheapreviews(dot)comHalf a King is my first read from Joe Abercrombie, and it’s been quite a while since I’ve read in the fantasy genre.  Let me tell you though, despite this book being billed as a YA fantasy novel, it was a welcome return!Most fantasy these days tend to be on the hefty side anywhere from 700-1000 pages, with characters you can’t pronounce, and each author racing to kill off main characters ala George RR Martin faster than you can say his name.  This book was a welcome departure from that.  You didn’t have characters fleshed out beyond comprehension so you ended up not caring, you didn’t have any scenes that weren’t needed to progress the story, you didn’t have to spend five pages reading about the creases in the tattered cloak the merchant in the city 200 miles away was wearing.What you have here is a nice little adventure that felt more like a D&D; adventure than anything else.  Everything was concise and divided up into sections that were almost an entire story in of it self.  You go from Prince Yarvi having to step up and take the throne even though nobody thought he could lead, and watch him grow into the character he becomes at the end through each part of the book.The companions were incredibly likable, and Joe Abercrombie took time to forge that friendship through tight dialogue and swift actions.  They almost became inseparable.There is plenty of action, incredibly well written action at that, mystery, backstabbing and twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.The Bottom Line:  Well paced, well written, and everything you’d come to expect from Joe Abercrombie.  I loved the characters, I loved the journey they went on, and it was FUN.  The downside to this book though is that it’s not very original.  Yes, there are twists and turns, and Abercrombie tries to take you by surprise, but with the exception of one scene for me, they were telegraphed a mile away.  That didn’t take my enjoyment away from it though.  The world was just too well done to have that pull you out of the story.  Go pick it up at your local bookstore when it comes out!