Started: 13/01/20
Finished: 23/01/20
Spoilers: No
This book caught my attention for two reasons.
1: the paperback cover is stunning.
2: the blurb promises a revenge arc.
And here we have a revenge arc with a delicious twist.
Isn't that the best kind?
Characters
I felt an ever so slight disconnect from the characters. Not to the point where I couldn't care for them, but just enough that I couldn't truly love them.
That being said, I still enjoyed reading about them.
Yarvi is a very interesting character and I enjoyed his story and journey. Characters with disabilities aren't nearly as prevalent in fantasy as they should be, cause it only shows readers how strong they are. That despite their difficulties, they can succeed as well as a character without disabilities.
Besides Yarvi, Nothing was probably the most memorable character. A little damaged, a little insane, and completely unpredictable. I love characters like these, who are fiercely loyal to the MC and so make a solid ally, but whom we all know would be a nightmare were he fighting for the other side.
Rulf, Sumael, Jaud, and Ankran complete Yarvi's band of misfits and I enjoyed them all. But none of them made such a huge impression that I feared for their lives.
They were cool, but not very deep and ultimately, expendable.
Plot
This is a good book. But not a remarkable book. There's nothing here that hasn't been done before, and there's little that sets it apart from others outside of Yarvi's disability.
I enjoyed the story, though. It reminded me a lot of a Bernard Cornwell book in which Uthred is sold as an oar slave. I love these kind of plots cause I just know that the MC is going to get out if it somehow and get revenge, not only on the slaver who bought them, but also the slaver who sold them.
I just love a good revenge arc in general, tbh. The anticipation of the revenge is always a sweet build up and keeps me reading.
Half A King is no different. A revenge arc, a build of anticipation, and then a worthwhile payoff.
That twist, though! I didn't see that one coming at all and it was delivered perfectly. I wore the biggest grin after the reveal because even though it was so unexpected, it was so satisfying.
Setting
Yarvi's home of Gettland had a definitive Scandinavian feel to me, which I loved. Even the names of the characters sounded very Viking-esque.
I'm a big fan of anything remotely Scandinavian, and whether this book was intentionally written this way or not, it was still right up my alley.
I enjoy fantasy more when the world and places are based on a real world place or time periods. It give me a point of reference. An aesthetic to imagine, and a particular way of life to understand. This way achieved with Gettland.
However, outside of Gettland, I struggled to picture other Kingdoms on a larger scale.
The places Yarvi visited on his journey, though described, feel like a zoomed in observation of specific places, rather than an overall glance at the kingdoms as a whole.
I couldn't tell you if the other kingdoms are based on any real life cultures, or if they give any impressions to it, because nothing was made overly obvious. No particular detail stood out to define the essence of these other kingdoms.
In short, the world-building was a little shallow for me.
Writing Style
Despite everything positive I can say about it, there's definitely something lacking here. Be it world building or deeper character development, everything felt rather surface level. But at the same time, it was still a fun book to read. Quick, easy, short, satisfying.
But still lacking. Something is missing here.
This book is classed as YA, but the voice feels older to me. It reads more like an adult fantasy, but a soft adult fantasy. It's certainly not Grimdark like some of his other works. It feels gentler than that. Even though there's no real violence or gore, no sex, and little swearing, (which is probably how it's classed as YA), there is still a noticeably a more mature voice.
The pacing and flow of this book is perfect. It's only a short book, and it reads very quickly. There's nothing better than a book that you can't put down, not just because the story is engaging, but because the sentences flow so effortlessly into each other that it's hard to make yourself stop.
Combine that with short chapters and you've got yourself a compulsively readable book. It's memorable enough, just not remarkable.
Final Impression I'd like to continue with this series, but may not get to it for a while. This could easily be a standalone novel as the story wraps itself up so neatly. But I am intrigued to learn what's next for Yarvi, so I will, in the future, continue.
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