Story of family redemption with magic
With the brand of a traitor seared into his neck as a child, Michael lives a hard life because his father David Kingman was responsible for the murder of the kingdom's nine-year-old prince - Davey Hollow. He has endured ten years of scraping by with his sister Gwen while running cons to survive on the minor nobles as if to slap the society that rejected and cast out his family.
Michael is offered the chance of his lifetime - the chance to redeem not only himself but quite possibly the legacy of the Kingman name and despite being offered the chance by a dangerous member of the court, he agrees. Michael has come to realize there might be information hidden in his mind especially when he knows the cost of magic is memories. As he finds his way back into noble society he finds the Hollow royals have become grandstanding tyrants even as their magical armed forces attempt to push back advances from a rebel army that has leveled the playing field with firearms.
When the truth is laid bare it is not only Michael that is shaken to his core but also the foundations of the Hollow royals themselves - he just has to make sure that those he cares about stay alive long enough to witness it.
This is one high fantasy series that doesn't suffer from overly intense world building that novels in the same genre seem to suffer from sometimes. Granted I love detail, mystery and intrigue but there is a point that I reach when it is over the top - my cap for in depth detail is The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. The history, politics and societies described within The Kingdom of Liars has enough detail to be interesting (I could go for more) but not enough to overwhelm. I believe that the series will grow, get even better and mature as Michael does.
The magic within this series and the different abilities that people can have is interesting. The source of it is never mentioned though, and the repercussions of using your abilities are as varied as the users. Fabrication can cost memories if you're not careful, sometimes unnoticeable changes and sometimes extreme. Memory is a loose term used and most people will gravitate towards mental memory but that isn't always the case. It seems like a deal for using your fabrications is essentially struck by what you're trying to accomplish and that is what decides the cost. In addition to the mystery surrounding Fabrication magic there is a lot of other areas that are touched on but not explained (yet) that I am really interested in - the main one being Celona.
"'He told me that everything I was afraid of in the dark was also there in the light. The only difference was the way it looked. He made me touch the blue-and-grey flowers, walk across the wet grass, and watch the fish swim in the river's green water. Then he picked me up again and we looked at the stars. He told me that the greatest treasure this world offers us is only visible at night, and if we didn't go outside when it was dark, we would miss it. So, what was there to be afraid of?...'"
I feel like the gun issue that a lot of readers have about seeing it in high fantasy is being played out in this book as magic vs. guns. If guns in fantasy are a no go for you then I wouldn't recommend this book to you - it is your loss though because it IS a beautifully engaging novel. I would also like to point out that they're not "evolved" firearms (flintlock/black powder), they are frowned and in some instances outright banned by the citizens, nobility and the reigning family. If you aren't a fan of political infighting, scheming and class separation you may have a harder time with this book - it's not on the same level as The Game of Thrones though.
Literally my only regret upon finishing this book is the wait for the next installment, not like I don't have enough books to read but I am one of those people that like to read the whole series in succession. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to readers who enjoy high fantasy, magic, fantasy political intrigue, and fantasy with guns/firearms. Thank you to BookishFirst and Saga Press for the book raffle with the chance to win an ARC copy of this title - my first win!
Michael is offered the chance of his lifetime - the chance to redeem not only himself but quite possibly the legacy of the Kingman name and despite being offered the chance by a dangerous member of the court, he agrees. Michael has come to realize there might be information hidden in his mind especially when he knows the cost of magic is memories. As he finds his way back into noble society he finds the Hollow royals have become grandstanding tyrants even as their magical armed forces attempt to push back advances from a rebel army that has leveled the playing field with firearms.
When the truth is laid bare it is not only Michael that is shaken to his core but also the foundations of the Hollow royals themselves - he just has to make sure that those he cares about stay alive long enough to witness it.
This is one high fantasy series that doesn't suffer from overly intense world building that novels in the same genre seem to suffer from sometimes. Granted I love detail, mystery and intrigue but there is a point that I reach when it is over the top - my cap for in depth detail is The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. The history, politics and societies described within The Kingdom of Liars has enough detail to be interesting (I could go for more) but not enough to overwhelm. I believe that the series will grow, get even better and mature as Michael does.
The magic within this series and the different abilities that people can have is interesting. The source of it is never mentioned though, and the repercussions of using your abilities are as varied as the users. Fabrication can cost memories if you're not careful, sometimes unnoticeable changes and sometimes extreme. Memory is a loose term used and most people will gravitate towards mental memory but that isn't always the case. It seems like a deal for using your fabrications is essentially struck by what you're trying to accomplish and that is what decides the cost. In addition to the mystery surrounding Fabrication magic there is a lot of other areas that are touched on but not explained (yet) that I am really interested in - the main one being Celona.
"'He told me that everything I was afraid of in the dark was also there in the light. The only difference was the way it looked. He made me touch the blue-and-grey flowers, walk across the wet grass, and watch the fish swim in the river's green water. Then he picked me up again and we looked at the stars. He told me that the greatest treasure this world offers us is only visible at night, and if we didn't go outside when it was dark, we would miss it. So, what was there to be afraid of?...'"
I feel like the gun issue that a lot of readers have about seeing it in high fantasy is being played out in this book as magic vs. guns. If guns in fantasy are a no go for you then I wouldn't recommend this book to you - it is your loss though because it IS a beautifully engaging novel. I would also like to point out that they're not "evolved" firearms (flintlock/black powder), they are frowned and in some instances outright banned by the citizens, nobility and the reigning family. If you aren't a fan of political infighting, scheming and class separation you may have a harder time with this book - it's not on the same level as The Game of Thrones though.
Literally my only regret upon finishing this book is the wait for the next installment, not like I don't have enough books to read but I am one of those people that like to read the whole series in succession. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to readers who enjoy high fantasy, magic, fantasy political intrigue, and fantasy with guns/firearms. Thank you to BookishFirst and Saga Press for the book raffle with the chance to win an ARC copy of this title - my first win!