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Half a King
- Shattered Sea, Book 1
- Narrated by: Ben Elliot
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
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Half a King
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Editorial reviews
Publisher's Summary
A classic coming-of-age tale set in a vivid and richly-imagined world from Sunday Times bestselling author Joe Abercrombie.
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…
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 Riodan)
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What listeners say about Half a King
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sweetheart1
- 05-05-2020
bit of a disappointment
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 :(
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 29-03-2017
great but short
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
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Thomas
- 23-11-2018
Buy this book. It is very well done.
Joe Abercrombie has fast become one of my favourite fantasy authors. This is a great book
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Daniel
- 12-03-2015
Generic fantasy formula, executed well enough.
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.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Shakira
- 29-12-2019
Not his best
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
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bennett
- 01-09-2019
A great book he is a huge talent.
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!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-08-2022
Short & Sweet
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.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Debbie Rollason
- 11-11-2023
Interesting story, if not terribly original
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
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- hisham elkiki
- 26-06-2021
Narrator is terrible but the story is impeccable.
Gutted that Steven Pacey didn't narrate this one. I understand it is designed to appeal to a different demographic than the First Law but why fix what's not broken? Abercrombie is my favorite author and Steven Pacey is one of my favorite narrators but this collaboration with Ben Elliott doesn't have the diversity, range or depth required to bring this beautiful story to life and do it the justice it deserves. A little bit of effort or a re-recording with a superior narrator would change the common disappointed theme I'm hearing due to this production choice. Nothing should be taken away from Joe Abercrombie here simply take the microphone away from Ben Elliott's monotony and the masterpiece will shine as It should
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gerald Downes
- 31-07-2023
Not a good narrator...
Definitely hard work to stick with the bland narration. He's certainly no Steven Pacey that's for sure, spoiled an Abercrombie for me. If there was even an attempt to imbue the characters with some different accents it would have helped, just adding a whispery gruffness here and there or a slightly higher pitch to the female characters just doesn't cut it...not much in the way of excitement in how it was read either.
I can't see myself investing in the rest of this trilogy.
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