Reviews

King of the Rising by Kacen Callender

flickdabeen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

aerovero's review against another edition

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5.0

excellent

spicedragon's review against another edition

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5.0

I don't know what I expected, but like.... Man... all Løren did was care for his people

yesalexandriaa's review against another edition

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2.0

I was looking forward to this one since it wasn't from Sigourney's point of view. Unfortunately, I was unable to escape a telepathic, infodumping narrator.

yesalexandriaa's review

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2.0

I was looking forward to this one since it wasn't from Sigourney's point of view. Unfortunately, I was unable to escape a telepathic, infodumping narrator.

classysassreads's review against another edition

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5.0

Now that’s one way to end a series

ruby_rouge's review against another edition

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2.0

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I had to force myself to read it. Overall, it was a slow and boring book with a bad ending.

charlotekerstenauthor's review against another edition

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So What’s It About?

A revolution has swept through the islands of Hans Lollik and former slave Loren Jannik has been chosen to lead the survivors in a bid to free the islands forever. But the rebels are running out of food, weapons and options. And as the Fjern inch closer to reclaiming Hans Lollik with every battle, Loren is faced with a choice that could shift the course of the revolution in their favor-or doom it to failure.

What I Thought

It looks like this book is just as polarizing as the first one, and I can understand why. It is by no means an easy read, and many of the elements that people seem to have disliked in the first one are present here. The biggest difference, though, is that Sigourney Rose is no longer the narrator - Loren Jannik, key member of the rebellion, is instead. I think many people will find him a much more tolerable narrator than Sigourney - I personally found Sigourney’s head a fascinating place to be but Loren is certainly a much more palatable protagonist.

The first book’s main strength to me was its willingness to look at the deeply uncomfortable matter of an oppressed person becoming complicit in the oppressive system to increase their own status and privilege. This is still very much a theme in King of the Rising - we see enslaved people who are still loyal to and love their masters because, as the book states, they have never known anything else and can’t face the risk of trying to imagine something else. There are people like Kalle who do hate the kongelig but think that you have to work within the system that exists and rise through the ranks, And, of course, there is still Sigourney, the poster child for complicitness who makes incessant justifications for her treachery before finally succeeding in her goals by destroying her people’s revolution. Beyond that, there are plenty of enslaved people who aren’t willing to risk their deaths for the sake of a freedom they think is impossible, and we see many people completely uninvolved in the revolution suffer and die as blanket punishments are meted out. Overall, I think Callendar’s ability to show all of these uncomfortable and ugly aspects of slavery and rebellion is this series’ greatest strength.

The book also focuses on the question of the “right” way to do a revolution. Loren is perpetually agonized by the question of how to proceed, not only because of his people’s limited resources and tiny numbers, but because he can’t decide between his own idealism and the army leader Malthe’s brutal practicality. He wonders if a bloody, brutal rebellion is necessary or if it only perpetuates the oppression his people were originally fighting against; if mercy is a way of forging into a new future or if it is simply naivety. Based on the disastrous outcome of his choices to spare and trust Sigourney and ignore all of Malthe’s advice, my sense is that the book’s overall message is essentially what Malthe tells Loren before he dies - you need a man like Malthe to get to freedom and a man like Loren to take over once it’s been established. Another huge theme is the way that division and distrust within revolutions are ultimately their downfall.

I think the book’s greatest strength is the exploration of these themes and questions. As for its weaknesses, you will find many infodump/summary paragraphs when characters use the kraft to read minds. Many people disliked this aspect of the first book, and it is present again here. In addition, there are some times where characters’ motivations don’t quite make sense - at one point Jytte threatens to kill Sigourney and then in the next chapter she offers her an alliance. In addition, I was confused that the inner circle of the rebellion does not try to root out their spy as soon as they know there is one. Finally, if you need a happy ending you should absolutely stay away from this one. It’s a slow spiral downwards on borrowed time to an unimaginably bleak conclusion with characters dying one after another. Loren reflects that as long as there are islanders, there will be rebels and they will keep fighting until they finally succeed - this is the only glimmer of hope in a story that is otherwise utterly hopeless.

bloodmaarked's review against another edition

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5.0

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i am honestly floored by this book. i finished it last night and woke up thinking about it again this morning, and i think i'll still be thinking about it a long time from now. i really liked queen of the conquered. somehow king of the rising managed to be even better.

the good:

✧ kacen callender really does have a knack for beautiful writing. i saw this in the first book, and this one is no exception. there were so many stunning, gut-wrenching scenes throughout what ended up being a very moving story. if you read the first book you'll already know, but this series is not your typical young/new adult fantasy with a gutsy hero(ine) discovering their powers, falling in love and taking down the big bad. this series gets very deep - moreso in kotr - and luckily callender has the talent to do the heavy themes it tackles justice.

✧ i found kotr much better paced than qotc. qotc started a little slow in the first half of the book, but kotr had me in a chokehold. seriously, it was so gripping, if i hadn't been forced to put it down i would've torn through it in a day. it kept me on my toes and i was just constantly wondering what would happen next, or when we would learn the truth about xyz. and yes, this book also comes through with some pretty big shockers towards the end, just as qotc did. and yes, i was once again duped into thinking i had it all figured out.

✧ the cast is pretty special in this book. in qotc, sigourney is extremely isolated. aside from marieke, she has nobody on her side. on the flip side, it is extremely interesting to see the differences in løren's experiences, as he works with the many islanders to gain freedom. as a result, we get to meet so many more characters from across the islands, who have a wealth of different experiences, and therefore many different motivations for their support (or lack thereof) for the revolution. løren's kraft allows us to understand each of the characters pretty deeply. there are many characters introduced, but each of them is razor-sharp.
i adore løren as the narrator. he was already intriguing in qotc, but getting to see what really makes him tick was amazing. he is almost the polar opposite of sigourney - honest to a fault, empathetic, extraordinarily self-aware - and yet the two remain inextricably linked. sigourney is also insanely good in this book. she's a constant wildcard and impossible to predict. she was double-, triple-, quadruple-crossing everyone at every opportunity! i kind of liked her more as a non-narrator, but we definitely needed the first book from her perspective to understand her.

The bad thing to watch out for:

✦ this story is absolutely brutal. the first book has a degree of this, but it's ramped up here. to be clear, this didn't put me off from reading, but i do think it's something that you might want to be aware of. it has the potential to be very emotionally taxing. as i said, this isn't a typical fantasy - it deals with some very grim themes in a very grim way.

anyway, i thought this duology was really quite something. the 3.53 rating for this book is criminal! i feel very glad to have invested in this series, and if you're willing to get a little heavier, i would highly recommend both books. very excited to see what callender does next.

pandoozled14's review against another edition

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The story wasn't gripping me like the first book.