I enjoyed [b:Half a King|18666047|Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389378321s/18666047.jpg|25641726], a bit more on the YA side but well built and fast paced. It's just perplexing that the author is [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1207149426p2/276660.jpg], I mean this is very different from what one is accustomed to read from this author, this book is almost delicate. So drastic a change made me teeter a little, then I simply started to enjoy the tale and my main disappointment was the page count, another element of discontinuity with Abercrombie's previous works. Mind you, you still get a sour taste of human nature, there are solid characters, it's wonderfully written, light and intriguing world descriptions, marvelously structured with plot twists and intrigue with the grim and dark touch of the author just an undertone this time. Obviously I've already preordered the sequel, but I wouldn't mind more along the lines of the First Law world books.
