Half a King (Shattered Sea, Book 1) by Joe Abercrombie

Betrayed by his family and left for dead, prince Yarvi, reluctant heir to a divided kingdom, has vowed to reclaim a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the shattered sea itself - all with only one good hand. Born a weakling in the eyes of a hard, cold world, he cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so has sharpened his mind to a deadly edge. Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast, he finds they can help him more than any noble could. Even so, Yarvi's path may end as it began - in twists, traps and tragedy.

Product details
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager; 1st edition (3 July 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0007550200
ISBN-13: 978-0007550203
Product Dimensions: 16.2 x 3.5 x 23 cm

As you probably know, I like fantasy fiction a lot. I suppose this book is one of my favorites. While reading the book, I thought that Yarvi is been away for years, but at the end of the book, it was clearly said that he had been gone only for months not years. To avoid spoilers, I will say that I never expected to end like this. But isn't Yarvi's dream come true?
He did become the person he dreamed about before his father and brother were killed.
Ironically, I have a similar case in my family, when siblings are ready to stab your back to get what they want. Luckily, in my family, nobody got killed.
Definitely, I would recommend this book to other readers. I am reading other genres too and that's how  I found out which genre I like most. If we are talking about authors, then my favorite author is Lisa Scottoline since I read her Everywhere That Mary Went six years ago.

 

 
Bibliography

The First Law trilogy:

1. The Blade Itself (May 2006)
2. Before They Are Hanged (March 2007)
3. Last Argument of Kings (March 2008)

Standalone novels

• Best Served Cold (June 2009)
• The Heroes (January 2011)
• Red Country (October 2012)

The Age of Madness trilogy

1. A Little Hatred (September 2019)
2. The Trouble With Peace (September 2020)
3. The Beautiful Machine (September 2021)

Short stories (published prior to the Sharp Ends anthology)

• "The Fool Jobs" – appeared in the Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery anthology (June 2010) and features Curnden Craw and his dozen in events prior to The Heroes.
• "Yesterday, Near A Village Called Barden" – appeared as an extra in the Waterstones hardcover version of The Heroes and focuses on Bremer dan Gorst on campaign prior to The Heroes.
• "Freedom!" – appeared as an extra in the Waterstones hardcover version of Red Country and focuses on the liberation of the town of Averstock by the Company of the Gracious Hand.
• "Skipping Town" – appeared in the Legends: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell anthology (November 2013) and features the couple pairing of Shevedieh (Shev) and Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp.
• "Some Desperado" – appeared in the Dangerous Women anthology (December 2013) and features Shy South on the run during her outlaw days before Red Country. Nominated for a 2014 Locus Award.
• "Tough Times All Over" – appeared in the Rogues anthology (June 2014) and follows courier Carcolf and the circuitous route one of her packages takes through the city of Sipani. It also features Shev and Javre.
• "Small Kindnesses" - appeared in the Unbound: Tales by Masters of Fantasy anthology (December 2015) and features Shev.
• "Two's Company" - first appeared online on tor.com (January 2016),[11] featuring Shev and Javre, a "female Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser style thief and warrior odd couple."

Short story anthology

Sharp Ends Stories from the World of the First Law (April 2016), collection of all short stories from the First Law continuity (8 previously published, 5 originals to the collection):

• A Beautiful Bastard†
• Small Kindnesses
• The Fool Jobs
• Skipping Town
• Hell†
• Two's Company
• Wrong Place, Wrong Time†
• Some Desperado
• Yesterday, Near a Village Called Barden...
• Three's a Crowd†
• Freedom!
• Tough Times All Over
• Made a Monster†

† story first published in Sharp Ends

• A Little Hatred (September 2019)
• The Trouble With Peace (2020)
• The Beautiful Machine (2021)

Shattered Sea trilogy

• Half a King (2014)
• Half the World (2015)
• Half a War (2015)