"one sitting fantasy"
In the Kingdom of Avornis, King Mergus took a seventh wife
when his concubine gave birth to his son and heir, an
action that was illegal since a monarch is only allowed six
spouses. When Lanius is still a young child, his father
dies and his uncle declares himself the ruler with nobody
contesting his right to the throne. When he dies, Lanius
is still too young and a regent is appointed to rule until
the true heir comes of age. The regent proves himself incapable of handling military
matters and Lanius' mother takes over. The kingdom is
under siege by the Chernagors in the North and the Menteshe
in the south. The Menteshe worship the Banished One who
was thrown out of the heavens centuries ago. Navy
Commodore Grus is chosen as the king's protector and one of
his first acts is exiling the Regent and declaring himself
co-king along side Lanius. The youngster realizes that he
is only a figurehead as Grus holds all the power, but the
two kings, after a long struggle find they must put aside
their differences if they hope to vanquish the Banished One. Dan Chernenko has created a world so believable and
different than our own, a place where magic exists and gods
roam the planet, that readers will find themselves
finishing the book in one sitting. The author is a gifted
storyteller who makes the audience care about the
characters even when they prove they are not perfect. This
novel's quality will be very hard for the sequel to THE
BASTARD KING to match, but readers will anxiously wait to
find out how the two kings deal with their mutual enemy. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted February 6, 2003
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