(Was given this book in exchange for an honest review.)
Genre: High Fantasy with somewhat modern ideas and language.
Basic Summary: The King and Queen are dead because they are jerk wads. Let the election for the new leader begin! Here is a better summary.
Rating: 4/5
Warning: There is violence, mob behavior, torture, and lots of murder.
Review:
This book surprised me in a few ways and mostly in a good way. The story follows five different characters though there are other major characters throughout. It’s told in third person limited perspective which is my favorite perspective. It switches between characters each chapter (though there are a few where, say, Motega has chapters back to back). Each character has a role in the election process of Kingshold getting a new leader.
The pace is steady (not too fast, not too slow) until after the last third of the book where shit hits the fan and things happen quickly. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the plot putting a step on the gas pedal but it kept my interest.
The thought of a kingdom going through it’s first election process is right up my alley. I loved that magic had a role to play. Each person who is able to vote (there are a lot of obstacles to being able to vote) is given a demon who they tell the person they’re voting for and the demon disappears back to the wizard Jyuth who will validate them.
And if anyone is wondering “Is this a sausage fest, Chrissy? Is it just a whole lot of dangling male bits making decisions?” The answer is “NOPE!” There are female characters and they do discuss things outside of who they like! In fact, they mostly talk about the election and a few of them are vying for power. It’s nice.
Also, the language that the characters use is a bit more modern. There are a lot of curse words that are used liberally and as verbs. I appreciate it. It didn’t take away from the story and in fact, the narrative didn’t take itself seriously either. It was, at first, weird for me to see in a high fantasy but I found myself loving it.
I do wish there was a different ending to the election. Not a different result but rather a different way for the person elected to have won.
Overall, a great read! I loved it.
May you get lost in a book,
Chrissy
Great review and site!