Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs

Wardwick of Hurog, known simply as Ward, is a giant of a man born of a father who was abusive to him because he saw Ward as a challenger to his position. When Ward was 12, his father beat him so severely that he nearly killed Ward, and after that, Ward pretended that his father had beaten him into simplemindedness to stop the cycle of abuse. No longer believing Ward was any threat to his power, his father left him alone, leaving Ward to go his own way.

But that kind of mask, easy to put on, is hard to put off, even when you have a good reason to do so. When his father dies seven years later, he places Ward's uncle, his own brother, on the throne until Ward turns 21. Even as Ward inherits his father's bracelet that makes him master of Hurog, including the ghost of the boy who one of Ward's ancestors killed to make the castle impregnable, nobles of the High King's Court come forward to make Ward's uncle a proposition: get rid of the lackwit Ward, and be confirmed as ruler of Hurog by the High King.

Ward barely escapes confinement for transport to the equivalent of an insane asylum, and realizes that he must do something to show that he isn't a weakling or insane or really lackwitted, and secure Hurog on his own merits. The best he can come up with is to travel south and fight against the invading Vorsags on behalf of the people of Oranstone.

Little does Ward know that the King doesn't care about the people of Oranstone. He's more obsessed with his own male lover and the lover he picked for the queen, Ward's cousin Beckram. Beckram is a twin, and his brother Erdick is more of a man of learning than Beckram's man of swordplay. But when Beckram asks Erdick to pretend to be him at a feast he'd rather not attend, Beckram's attempt to influence the Queen to intercede with her husband on behalf of the people of Oranstone brings home a deadly cost- Erdick is killed by the King, who thinks that he is Beckram. Beckram is enraged, and leaves the court rather than comitting regicide.

But he leaves for Oranstone along with 100 warriors that the king has wagered cannot save Oranstone. Determined to discomfit the King in any way he can, Beckram joins the warriors fighting to keep Oranstone free and meets up with Ward and his own group of Warriors, which include his sister, Ciarra, his brother Tosten, a freed slave named Bastilla, The Ghost of Hurog, a boy known as Oreg, and some warriors from his estate.

But Ward has discovered that the invaders are after objects of power, and they would love nothing more than to retrieve the Dragon Bones concealed in the Dwarven-built sewers that run under Hurog, and they offer Ward a position of power in the new counry they will be running if he joins in with them and gives them the dragon bones. Betrayal from within his own party gives Ward no choice but to appear to agree. But can Ward prevent the conspirators from getting what they want and destroying the five nations that make up his homeland? And what will the cost of preventing that outcome be? Can Ward survive the emotional cost of his decision?

This is an early example of Patricia Brigg's writing, and while it's not quite as polished as her Mercy Thompson books, it still takes the tradition of "fantasy heroes" and turns it right on its head. Ward is strong, like many fantasy heroes, but he doesn't come from obscurity, he's a Prince of Hurog in his own right. And he wasn't raised by a loving foster family, unaware of the circumstances of his birth- he was raised by his own abusive father and absent mother- not that she is actually absent, but she might as well be, stoned out of her mind on drugs that distract her from the pain of being married to an abusive man.

Ward could be a warrior, but in the end, what is more of is a protector. He's good at fighting and feels a general joy in combat, but the innate decency that is a large part of his character makes him an even better strategist and commander than he is a warrior- and he's an above par warrior.

I would have liked to have seen more of this world, more of Ward, and the outcome of what happened with the King and Queen- because the situation she presented is rather unstable for the country as a whole. But sadly, this is a stand-alone novel, and the likelihood of me seeing my wishes fulfilled is about "Snowball, meet Hell" situation. But if you enjoy reading a rather clever twist on the fantasy hero story, this is a book that will make you sit up and beg like a trained seal. Highly recommended.