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rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
"Blood of the Old Kings" is a good start to a fantasy trilogy that follows a cast of characters fighting back against the colonizing Empire.
The story weaves between the perspectives of three character. Loran seeks to liberate her country of Arland from the grip of the Empire by declaring herself the country's princess and enlisting the help of the great dragon that is chained beneath the volcano. Cain has lost a dear friend of his and while he is trying to get to the bottom of why she was killed he is pulled into the search to uncover a plot against the Empire. As someone with magic, Arienne has been forced to go to the capital to study as a sorcerer so that after she dies her body can be turned into one of the power generators that power the empire. When she is offered an opportunity to escape this fate, she takes it but it means working together with a mysterious voice that has popped up in her brain.
Sung-Il Kim has created a good cast of characters that it are easy to root for. The plot combines some tried and true tropes of fantasy with a few more unique aspects like the power generators. There are a lot of political aspects to this story, which I really appreciated while still being easy to follow. Anton Hur's translation is great. It retains the intrigue, plot, and good character work that make the story work well. I am interested to see where this story goes next and I hope that this will spur on more translated fantasy and science fiction.
The story weaves between the perspectives of three character. Loran seeks to liberate her country of Arland from the grip of the Empire by declaring herself the country's princess and enlisting the help of the great dragon that is chained beneath the volcano. Cain has lost a dear friend of his and while he is trying to get to the bottom of why she was killed he is pulled into the search to uncover a plot against the Empire. As someone with magic, Arienne has been forced to go to the capital to study as a sorcerer so that after she dies her body can be turned into one of the power generators that power the empire. When she is offered an opportunity to escape this fate, she takes it but it means working together with a mysterious voice that has popped up in her brain.
Sung-Il Kim has created a good cast of characters that it are easy to root for. The plot combines some tried and true tropes of fantasy with a few more unique aspects like the power generators. There are a lot of political aspects to this story, which I really appreciated while still being easy to follow. Anton Hur's translation is great. It retains the intrigue, plot, and good character work that make the story work well. I am interested to see where this story goes next and I hope that this will spur on more translated fantasy and science fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death
basvt's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, and Vomit
sarrie's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
TL;DR: This was a sleeper hit for me - I loved it.
Source: eArc via Netgalley and a physical book via the publisher - THANK YOU!
Source: eArc via Netgalley and a physical book via the publisher - THANK YOU!
Plot: Three PoVs each fight and rebel against the Empire that has conquered them in their own ways.
Characters: I found myself loving each and every PoV character and many of the side characters, I was very invested.
Setting: The setting felt very real and alive for me. I still think about this one, even days later.
Fantasy: A classic rebellion plot with dragons and some final fantasy style machines
Characters: I found myself loving each and every PoV character and many of the side characters, I was very invested.
Setting: The setting felt very real and alive for me. I still think about this one, even days later.
Fantasy: A classic rebellion plot with dragons and some final fantasy style machines
Thoughts:
I would describe Blood the Old Kings as a classic rebellion fantasy meets Final Fantasy - specifically the machinery in FFXIV and the related games. I would also recommend this as similar to The Grace of Kings with a lot less bloat.
This follows three individuals who each end up fighting against a conquering empire in their own ways. One woman makes a deal with a dragon to become the next King, a young student ends up following a voice in her head who leads her down a dangerous path and straight into the empire’s crosshairs, and a young man working in an olive oil shop tries to solve the murder of his close friend.
For me each of these view points was radically different and I wasn’t completely sold on each of them till the final stages when it began to knit together. The pacing wasn’t quite perfect, and my interest lagged a tiny bit in the first half, but once you begin to see the connections - and connect they do, it becomes fantastic. The world perhaps needed a little bit of fleshing out, but it was vivid enough to support our characters wonderfully.
I’m also desperate for more of this story as it was teased there was more in store for our characters. I can’t stop thinking about this and I recommend for any Fantasy fans who are looking for something a little different.
4.75 out of 5 Eight Eyed Dragons
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia and War