Starred review from May 5, 2014
In this superb fantasy trilogy kickoff, Abercrombie (the First Law trilogy) regales readers with the tale of a young man who is thrust onto the throne by unexpected betrayal. Yarvi, the king’s second son, is not destined for the Black Chair or kingship of Gettland: he has a withered left hand, and is bound to become a minister. But everything changes when his brother and father are murdered. Yarvi is clever and knowledgeable, thanks to the years he spent studying for the ministry, but none of that will amount to much unless he can survive the sheer cruelty of being raised to the crown, nearly murdered, and traded into slavery in the span of days. The one thing he knows is that he plans to live long enough to take revenge on his father’s killer—when he finds out who it was. Abercrombie’s stellar prose style and clever plot twists will be sure to please both adult and teen readers. Agent: Robert Kirby, United Agents.
October 15, 2014
Prince Yarvi's deformed hand makes him a weakling in the eyes of his family and of his warrior culture; he wants nothing more than to become a scholar and avoid inheriting power. When he unexpectedly gains the throne and then just as suddenly loses it, Yarvi swears an oath of vengeance against his betrayers and sets out to reclaim the crown he never wanted. Abercrombie (Red Country) entertains and surprises with plot twists right up to the final pages as Yarvi's journey back home takes him through captivity and privation with a mismatched group of wanderers. The outcasts must learn to trust one another if they're going to survive to the end of the road. Reader John Keating provides voices and accents to give the cast of characters and the roster of warring nations their own identities and does a fine job with the grim (though sometimes humorous) tone of the novel. VERDICT Recommended for readers who tire of sprawling multivolume fantasy epics and detailed worldbuilding, who hunger for a tight, fast-paced adventure story full of betrayals, reversals, and bloodied blades. ["A vivid cast of characters and plenty of action and high adventure," read the review of the Del Rey: Ballantine hc, LJ 5/15/14.]--Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib, Atlanta
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