I am delighted to announce that the UK edition of Half a King is published today: in Hardcover, Ebook, and unabridged audiobook read by Ben Elliot.
“Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain his throne.
First he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. And he must do it all with only one good hand.
The deceived will become the deceiver.
Born a weakling in the eyes of the world, Yarvi cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.
The Betrayed will become the betrayer.
Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast, he finds they can help him more than any noble could.
Will the usurped become the usurper?
Even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and the death of a king…”
A few kind words about the book from critics and peers…
“Joe Abercrombie does it again. Half a King is another page-turner from Britain’s hottest young fantasist, a fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page one and refused to let go.”
– George RR Martin, author of A Game of Thrones
“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.”
– Derek Landy, author of the Skulduggery Pleasant novels
“Abercrombie’s stellar prose style and clever plot twists will be sure to please both adult and teen readers.”
– Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Enthralling. An up-all-night read.”
– Robin Hobb, author of the Farseer novels
“I got all the grit that I love in Abercrombie, and the craft, and the character…but it never got so far as being bleak. Simply said, I think this is my favorite Abercrombie book yet. And that’s really saying something.”
– Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind
“Gripping as a bear hug, warming as a bear skin.”
– The Daily Mail
“Friends turn out to be enemies, enemies turn out to be friends; the line between good and evil is murky indeed; and nothing goes quite as we expect … With eye-popping plot twists and rollicking good action, Half a King is definitely a full adventure.”
– Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson books
“Classic Abercrombie, and yet also something unexpected — grimdark fantasy for people who aren’t necessarily very young.”
– SFX, 5 star review
And here’s the book trailer:
I’ve already done five great events on tour and there are plenty more to go, including a signing in Central London this afternoon (3rd July) from 4.30 at the wonderful Goldsboro Books, Covent Garden, where the first 100 in line will get numbered 1st Editions from a limited run of 250. But if you can’t make a signing, worry not, Waterstones up and down the country have signed stock and Amazon are offering the hardcover for a cutting-our-own-throats £5 and the kindle for £4.35. Sound good to you? You’ll find some buying options, further information and a considerable extract over here.
13 comments so far
As an American, all I can say is … big deal. Talk to me in a couple of weeks. 😉 (This is me being passive aggressive about not being able to read it now).
I managed to pick up a copy on Tuesday, and spent yesterday reading the book cover to cover. Congratulations Joe, the book is a fantastic read. I really wish more ‘young adult’ books were as well written when I was growing up.
Thank you for visiting Birmingham today, and very cool to meet you.
Greetings Joe,
I am a gigantic fan of your work, coming from Greece. I’ve read The First Law trilogy which was epic and I bloody loved it. Your writing skills are… are… f***ing magnificent would be a two-word sum up of my description to it.
My big question is; will your other books be translate in Greek? (Only The First Law trilogy is.) I’d really like to read the rest of them.
P.S Please answer, I’m dying to know. [Thanks for your attention]
Yes thank you also for the sheffield gig! Although I was far too nervous when Lord Grimdark himself walked in. Terrifying in the flesh.
Gutted I couldn’t make the Sheffield date, but absolutely loving Half a King so far.
Hopefully another chance to meet crops up somewhere moving forward…
Damn work!!
Did you mention that sub press is publishing a limited edition run? I’m not sure I read that on your blog, but now its here.
Preordered the audio book and work this morning to find all read to download and listen to. But it’s going tobhave to wait as I’m halfway through my 3rd listening of The Blade Itself!
Half a King was available in my local bookshop (Readings Melbourne) a week ago. Some kind of mistake I guess. Anyway I bought it but haven’t read it yet, saving it for my long haul flight tomorrow. Can’t wait.
I pre-ordered on Kindle, and arrived just as I finished another book, which was nice. I’m 1/2 way through (rather too much excellent sport over the weekend to give it proper attention). Once again a bloody fantastic book, I nearly missed my bus stop this morning.
I was reading the part of the story where Yarvi and co are a very cold and briefly a thought flashed across my mind as I put my kindle away “I haven’t got a coat, I’ll freeze” because my head was so into the story.
Thank you very much
Hi Joe!
I came home on saturday from vacation in Italy and was delighted to find my pre-orderd (and signed!) book of HaK already waiting mail-box. After almost 2 days of reading whenever possible i must say it’s another fantastic story you’ve penned. It constantly makes me crave for the next chapter to learn more of Yarvi’s fate. Terrific, thanks a lot Joe!
Great book loved it! Failed to be dissapointed again. However I have a question irrelevant to the Half a king trilogy, would you consider writing a spinoff novel about Shenkt? His character seemed very interesting.
I am delighted that the audiobook has been released for half a king but what i cannot understand is why Steven Pacey hasn’t picked up the microphone. What happened??