Half a King cover art

Half a King

Shattered Sea, Book 1

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Half a King

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Ben Elliot
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About this listen

A classic coming-of-age tale set in a vivid and richly-imagined world from Sunday Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie.

‘Joe Abercrombie is doing some terrific work’ GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

Prince 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…

©2014 Joe Abercrombie (P)2014 HarperCollinsHarperCollins Audio FictionHarperFiction - Fiction Audio - Digital Fantasy Heartfelt

Editorial reviews

Sunday Times best-selling author Joe Abercrombie has created a richly detailed fantasy epic in Half a King, Book One of the phenomenal Shattered Sea audiobook series, unabridged and narrated by American actor Ben Elliot. Young Prince Yarvi is an embarrassment to his father. He is small and intelligent, a far cry from the muscled thugs in the kingdom. It is in exile that he finds friends who accept him for who he is and together they form an army. Setting out to reclaim his right to the throne, Yarvi can use only his mind as the ultimate weapon. Available now from Audible.

Critic Reviews

‘Abercrombie writes fantasy like no one else’ Guardian

‘This is my favourite Abercrombie book yet’ PATRICK ROTHFUSS

‘Joe Abercrombie is fast becoming my favourite writer. HALF A KING is a remarkable achievement — thrilling, enthralling, and relentless. The action is frenetic, the characters are as sharp as the blades they wield, and the humour is biting. It's sure to garner him a whole new legion of fans’ DEREK LANDY

‘Enthralling. An up-all-night read’ ROBIN HOBB

‘HALF A KING can be summed up in a single word: Masterpiece’ MYKE COLE

‘With eye-popping plot twists and rollicking good action, HALF A KING is definitely a full adventure’ RICK RIORDAN

‘A magnificent, captivating world.’ James Dashner of MAZE RUNNER
All stars
Most relevant
loved this book it's was a little short. it was a bad choice for my free book I should have picked something that would go on and on so I could get my money's worth. otherwise really fun book

great but short

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Joe Abercrombie has fast become one of my favourite fantasy authors. This is a great book

Buy this book. It is very well done.

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Nothing at all like his other books...the humour was lack lustre and Ben Elliott's narrating was boreing as watching paint dry :(

im generally a huge fan of Joe...but not of this series :(

bit of a disappointment

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A fresh change to follow the underdog instead of a mighty warrior.
Excellent twists I very much didnt see coming.
Joe always delivers

Underdog

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Interesting enough story to prevent me from not finishing it but not his best. Characters lacked depth and the storyline was fairly obvious.
Good performance by Ben Elliot but in comparison to Abercrombie's other work with Steven Pacey as the narrator it doesn't even come close

Not his best

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I feel like I'd probably enjoy Abercombie's books a little more if he put more than a couple of months' effort into each.

This is a general tale of betrayal, leading to all the hoops the protagonist must jump through to set things right. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, there are plenty of books out there making a hash of the simple stuff, which this does not.

The narration was a disappointment. Various lands/countries, all with the same accent? I feel like this is a big opportunity missed. Each character more or less had the same voice, but for two or three spotted throughout.

I'm interested enough to check out the rest of the series. This is far from a classic, but worth picking up for a familiar jaunt through familiar fantasy territory.

Generic fantasy formula, executed well enough.

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this book has the best opening of any book I've ever read. I loved mother Gundring. I thought it was really skillfull how he developed Yavi so subtly. I wanted to give it 4 and a half but I couldn't. the only thing I didn't like is Yavi seemed a bit too whiney at points. I wonder if I read it myself if id still think that as much but at times I think I would. overall a brilliant book! what a triumph!

A great book he is a huge talent.

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I love the underdog stories, and Ben Elliot did a stellar job. I did miss Steven Pacey’s take on the Northman but Ben’s character distinctions grew on me.

Short & Sweet

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This was my first Abercrombie, and probably my last. The storyline was entertaining enough, although far from original, and the MC, Yarvi, was easy to engage with. I found some of the characters a bit predictable, others more interesting. The world-building was strong, but I was a bit disappointed by the standard of the writing. The narration felt a bit flat too, and might have benefited from stronger distinctions between character voices and, at times, a less hurried delivery. Overall, I hoped for better and left it feeling disappointed

Interesting story, if not terribly original

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Story is very interesting with lots of plot twists, quite a cool group of characters introduced through out the book. Narrator has done an awesome job of reading! Would highly reccomend!

Gripping!

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