Book Review: The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
This was a better book than I was expecting, and was a good read.
Reformed street king Han has nothing to survive on, and the only thing of value he owns are a set of mysterious silver cuffs around his wrists. He cannot take them off, and they've grown as he has grown.
Han and his friend Dancer encounter the son of the most powerful wizard in Fellsmarch setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes the magical amulet from the young wizard to keep him from using it against Han and Dancer. He discovers that this amulet has great power, and people are dying as someone, or something, tries to find Han and the amulet.
Meanwhile, the princess of Fellsmarch, Raisa ana'Marianna, has been free in the mountains with the clanspeople for three years, and has returned to the palace. It is time for Raisa to enter officially into her period of courtship before she weds. She has no intention of marrying anytime soon, and resents her mother for trying to make her a dove in a gilded cage. She wants to be free to serve her queendom when and how they need it. Raisa wants to be like the legendary warrior queen, Hanalea, but is repeatedly thwarted and cornered in her efforts, and it seems that her mother is determined to undermine everything the queendom stands for.
Reformed street king Han has nothing to survive on, and the only thing of value he owns are a set of mysterious silver cuffs around his wrists. He cannot take them off, and they've grown as he has grown.
Han and his friend Dancer encounter the son of the most powerful wizard in Fellsmarch setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes the magical amulet from the young wizard to keep him from using it against Han and Dancer. He discovers that this amulet has great power, and people are dying as someone, or something, tries to find Han and the amulet.
Meanwhile, the princess of Fellsmarch, Raisa ana'Marianna, has been free in the mountains with the clanspeople for three years, and has returned to the palace. It is time for Raisa to enter officially into her period of courtship before she weds. She has no intention of marrying anytime soon, and resents her mother for trying to make her a dove in a gilded cage. She wants to be free to serve her queendom when and how they need it. Raisa wants to be like the legendary warrior queen, Hanalea, but is repeatedly thwarted and cornered in her efforts, and it seems that her mother is determined to undermine everything the queendom stands for.
In many novels, switching back and forth between two story lines can seem choppy and disconnected. Cinda Williams Chima keeps the story flowing as the two story lines cross and separate again. She keeps the story lines parallel in the flow of time, and both story lines gain interest and power as the book continues. I appreciated that she placed the climax to both story lines slightly staggered. It amplified the second climax in the last chapter, which was the bigger climax of the two.
The book ended on an impressive note and I can't wait for the next one: The Exiled Queen.
Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth
Stars Image Credit: lovethenerddesigns
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