MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
Format: Kindle eBook
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Finally Lord and King of Eastrealm, Othrun aims to restore the glory of his drowned homeland, Atalantyx. But dangerous warlords are determined to stop Othrun from rising to further power. Furthermore, Eastrealm’s ruler must confront internal forces that could tear his new kingdom apart. Embattled Othrun is also devastated by personal tragedy. His belief in his Single God, and his ambiguous guiding spirit, has never been more tenuous. To fight his enemies, Othrun needs more than faith, or his formidable knights. He needs a mage on his side. Is the conniving Queen Lysi, with her divided loyalties, and her own designs for Othrun, the ally he needs? Or, are there other mages who can help the beleaguered young king, who he can trust? And, Lysi is not the only formidable queen Othrun must contend with. An inexorable power, tied to ancient founders of Eltnish civilization, is coming. A legendary ruler, the likes of whom has not been seen for centuries, plans to reclaim what’s owed to her. She is named, Undala. Fear for Othrun, and anyone else who dares stand in her way. Othrun is clever, bold, resourceful. Yet, kingship comes with many challenges, including facing the cunning, powerful, vengeful enemies surrounding him, marking him for death. Will Othrun’s reign end on the battlefield, in blood, before it’s barely begun?
MY REVIEW
It never ceases to amaze me what Mr. Stuart can put into words. This story keeps getting deeper and more amazing as it goes. I used to consider this just straight historical fiction because of how little fantasy elements are involved, but upon further examination, this is actually more dark low fantasy based in historical realism. The fantastical elements are there, but they are in the background of the story but still play a pivotal role within the world.
The story is split into different parts and each part shows Othrun dealing with different aspects of being a new king in a new kingdom. Part 1 deals more with the building of the new kingdom and the politics that surround that with minimal action. Part 2, Othrun has to deal with new life, death, political subterfuge, and finally some nice action. In the final part, Othrun deals with incredible character development, new friends, new enemies and an incredible battle that left me stunned.
“We fought, until our swords were soaked red, our armour filthy with gore, our horses’ flanks sprayed with guts and blood. We trampled over bodies, crushed skulls, disemboweled..side by side, doing great slaughter, worthy of song, as Sure-Steel and Deliverence sang that day, signing a song of death and blood”
This world is massive and the new characters that are introduced make it even more memorable. One of the best additions to this world is Queen Undala and the Anibians, who remind me a lot of the Dora Milaje from Marvel’s Black Panther, who are based off of the Agojie, also known as the Dahomey Amazons from Western Africa. Like the Agojie and the Milaje, the Anibians have an elite all female warrior group called the Bamanthe, and they prove their worth! Once you meet these fearless warriors, all you can think of is just how incredible they are and how much you want to continue seeing what they have. Truly remarkable. After a conversation with P.L., the Bamanthe are in fact, based off of the incredible Agojie women warriors!
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I just love the way Stuart writes, he has an incredible way of making you invested from the first sentence. Stuart uses his wealth of knowledge with a major in English/medieval lit and a minor in history to tell a story that continues to feel like it is real historical events. The way he paints the world and his characters is so beautiful and brings the world to gloomy life. Something else I’ve stated before is that I wish there was audio for book 2 and this one, because Adam Kurton & Sean Polite did a phenomenal job with book 1. Even without, it’s still an amazing read that deserves more attention than it gets.
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