HALF A KING, by Joe Abercrombie

Satisfying young adult (but suitable for the "older reader") fantasy/adventure doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Along the shores of the Shattered Sea, in the country of Gettland, crippled Prince Yorbi, a second son, studies at the feet of Mother Gundring to become a Minister. When his father and brother are killed in an ambush, Yorbi's forced to become king. Seldom has the country seen a more inept leader. When he must declare war against those held responsible for the murders, he finds the carnage and cruelty of battle even more hideous than he'd imagined. Click below for more...
At battle's end, there is one more casualty: Yorbi's protector turns on him, and in a melee Yorbi plunges over the battlements into the sea. A day later, he is a slave, the iron collar riveted about his neck, thrown into the lowest pit with the weakest and most undeserving. Yorbi's trials become life-threatening as he's bought to be a galley-slave. Want to know how he survives? No spoiler here; read the book. Better yet, read it to your kids. It's a 5, with two sequels on the way.

Find the New York Times best-selling author at  www.joeabercrombie.com
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