Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Kingdom of Back

I really enjoy it when I learn about an historical figure through a fiction book. Before picking up The Kingdom of Back, I had no idea that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister. While there are elements of fantasy in this book (The Kingdom of Back is an historical fantasy after all) there’s enough research around Wolferl and Nannerl to tie into their true life story. Well done, Marie Lu!

If there were glaring historical inaccuracies in that part of the book, I would be the first person to call them out. But I’m serious when I say Lu did a fantastic job here – the history was vivid, the music sang, and the fantasy was appropriately menacing. Ironically, the the tone of the book often conjured “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Greig for me, rather than something Mozart himself wrote, but the classical music element was there regardless.

There are three pieces at the center of The Kingdom of Back. First, we have Nannerl’s ambitions – she’s an extremely talented musician and composer, but as a woman, she will never be able to follow her heart or publish her music as it was “a man’s job” at the time. Obviously today we know this is absolute poppycock, and Lu successfully recreated Nannrl’s internal struggle between the need to behave in a societally acceptable manner and please her father, and her desire to write music. Second, we have the relationship between Wolfrl and Nannrl. The sibling relationship is the thread that pulls the book together and Nannerl’s driving motivation. There were sweet moments and frustrating moments and as a strictly raised older sister to a passionate and free younger brother, I found myself empathizing with Nannerl frequently. Finally, we have Hyacinth’s pact and the children’s relationship to the Kingdom. All together you have a complex story split between two worlds that is constantly testing the loyalty and selfishness of the characters.

Plot-wise, I loved it. The Kingdom of Back is fantastic. Aesthetically, the book reminded me strongly of Wintersong, both in the chilly European aesthetic and the foundation of classical music and their composers. This inspiration is still pretty uncommon in the literary world, and it was a refreshing change of pace. The coexistence of historical and fantasy evoked images of The Magicians or The Chronicles of Narnia – a little magic in the ordinary. While The Kingdom of Back tells a very different story than either of these, it’s the sort of world you are entering when you pick up this book.

The characters and relationships were both intricate and interesting. There’s a scene between Nannerl and her father that adds excellent depth to his character and strengthens the reader’s understanding of their relationship that I really appreciated. I felt the real world characters – even minor ones like Johan – were better developed than the fantasy characters. While I believe this was part by design (Hyacinth is mysterious and duplicitous after all), the lack of depth kept me distant as a reader there was that loss of emotional investment in his part of the story.

My major complaint about The Kingdom of Back is the way the story is told. We spend an awful lot of time in Nannerl’s head and while this perspective feels true to life, it’s also not always interesting for the reader and becomes repetitive. I liked that it was a single POV because it suited Nannerl’s deeply guarded fears and anger, but I think this could have been a stronger book with a little less analysis of her thoughts and a little more immersion into her world.

The Kingdom of Back is different than many of the other things I’ve read by Marie Lu. The more I read her recent books, the more I am convinced that she has grown exponentially as a writer during her career. The Kingdom of Back and Skyhunter are much more impressive novels than Warcross and Legend. Fans of her earlier work may not like The Kingdom of Back as much because it’s such a departure from her YA science fiction, but to miss this book would be a mistake – it’s an excellent work, compelling while be being subtly educational and full of sinister magic. I recommend it.

Content Warnings

jojo_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

mrclaire's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

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