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A review by rorikae
Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim
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