Marsha's Reviews > Half a King

This blood-soaked and riveting version Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is set in ancient Norse times, when men were judged by how well they wielded their weapons. Bow, axe, sword or shield—you weren’t a man if you couldn’t lift one. Yet it’s a world of contradictions, where peace is signified by a male god and war by a female one. It’s a world ruled by female ministers of peace and the kings lean on them for support and wisdom. Pirates and kings alike wouldn’t make it without slaves performing dirty deeds no one else will touch.

Yarvi, born with only one good hand, is considered a disappointment. But he’s been trained to hone his keen mind to a knife’s edge. Pithy sayings run through Yarvi’s mind as he uses the few gifts life has afforded him: his sharp intellect, vast learning and an unlikely band of former slaves who have banded to his service. How he employs his wits, cunning and intelligence in horrible circumstances, through betrayal, poverty, starvation, vicious elements and even more vicious taskmasters is riveting to read. The author paints us through landscape and seascape of such detail, we burn as Yarvi stumbles through volcanic ground that burns to the touch, shiver as he struggles through icy terrain with little that burns for fire or yields edible food and shake under the lash while he grips an oar with his useless hand.

The story is bone-chilling, horrific and unflinching in its examination of what it takes to survive in such a severe world where death is an even more palpable presence than in any Terry Pratchett novel. This is a grand saga writ large and small. It’s as if George R. R. Martin took notes from William Shakespeare, then sat down with Sun Tzu and crafted a novel. If that description piques your interest, drink down this bitter brew.