Tuesday 22 March 2011

FANTASY REVIEW: Paladin's Legacy 2: King's of the North - Elizabeth Moon

Release Date: 24/03/11

SYNOPSIS:

King Kieri's realm has been destabilised by political wrangling and his court is blind to the dangers - until an assassination attempt on their king. And when this backfires, Kieri's enemies start planning an invasion using dragonfire, a force unseen for hundreds of years. In King Mikeli's adjoining kingdom, his crown is threatened by a bandit prince. Alured the Black claims his lineage gives him dominion over all the lands. His ambition is boundless, his methods are ruthless and he will not be swayed from his goal, whether or not it undermines a region already on the brink of war. Dark mages also watch for weakness and hunger for their own lost powers. The Kings of the North must plan wisely, as disaster is a sword's breadth away.


REVIEW:

As a huge fan of fantasy, I tend to keep an eye on the artwork that’s coming out. For a number of years, I’ve absolutely loved the art of Paul Young so when this title by Elizabeth Moon landed I really had to dive straight in. What unfurls within is the second part of a series that has a huge number of elements as politics vie with heroics, romance vies with violence and the reader is thrust into a world that one small error can lead to catastrophic calamities. It’s well written; the characters shine and with decent prose alongside a great understanding of pace the reader are in for a treat. A real humdinger of a title and whilst I missed the first part, the second one didn’t leave me feeling alienated, it did however leave me wondering how much of the world’s colourful background that I missed and I really want to catch up.

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