Kingsbane (Hardcover)

Reviews

"My review" by Breakaway R. - 17 May 2019

Magical and mythic sequel to the epic fantasy Furyborn Rielle and Eliana. Two queens, a thousand years apart, living in a world torn asunder by centuries of war between angels and humans, the latter led by their saints. Rielle named the Sun Queen against the wishes of her influential adversaries, glories in her dazzling power over nature and the elements. While the burden to save humanity rests on her shoulders, she is plagued by dark impulses and a dangerous temptation that could change the fate of the world should she give way to it. The consequences of her choices and actions are felt by Eliana, her daughter, flung into a far-off future, and forced to come to terms with her lineage and the power she has inherited. As Rielle sets off on a perilous quest to save humanity from the wrath of the angels, Eliana struggles to assume Rielle’s mantle and the role her mother has left her. Facing overwhelming odds, fear caused by their powers, and malevolent hostility from angels and humans alike, the stories of Rielle and Eliana play out against epic backdrops of warring kingdoms, shifting allegiances, and the elemental forces of both nature and magic, linking mother and daughter across time. The prophecy of the rise of two queens, the Sun Queen and the Blood Queen, is coming to pass, but at what cost to Rielle and Eliana, and the world it is their destiny to save? Continuing the story begun in Furyborn, Kingsbane is set in a vividly imagined and realised world in which the energy of the empirium binds everything together. Given depth and resonance by in-world quotations from ancient tomes, religious texts, and folk tales, the mythos established here is prodigious in its scope, echoing the Christian fall of the angels with their jealousy of humans and intensely charismatic, menacingly alluring Satan-like leader, the angel Corien. There are shades too of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, with the varying and fascinating characterisation of the angels and their differing motivations, and even with George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, with its array of kings and kingdoms, queens and councils, and aristocratic houses. That being said, the Empirium Trilogy has its own unique vision, creating a sweeping, original universe peopled with interesting and diverse characters. However, some of the other POVs besides Rielle and Eliana feel somewhat jarring at times. While many of the characters are complex and well-rendered, Rielle’s love interest, Prince Audric, often feels too good to be true: even within the realm of fantasy, he is such a perfect prince, friend, lover etc. that this reviewer had to suspend disbelief at times or was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The end unveils unexpected twists regarding other characters, for which the author leaves subtle portents that are not immediately apparent but become clear when looking back, cleverly setting up a cliff-hanger ending to lead into the third book. A recommended read for fans of compelling, imaginative, and intelligent fantasy. Arwen Evenstar Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review