Review: Kings & Daemons, by Marcus Lee

Blurb

If you like fantasy tales of conquest, dark kings, daemonic heroes, and magic, you’ll love ‘Kings and Daemons’ by Epic Fantasy author, Marcus Lee. This is a spellbinding Dark Fantasy novel which will enchant you with its plot of ambition, revenge, love, and tragedy. What the gods give with one hand, they take away with the other, for if you are gifted, you shall also be cursed.

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Over fifty years have passed since Daleth the seemingly immortal Witch-King, and his army conquered the Ember Kingdom.

Now, with the once fertile lands and its enslaved people dying around him, the Witch-King, driven by his insatiable thirst for eternal youth, prepares his forces to march on the prosperous neighbouring Freestates. It will be the beginnings of a conquest that could destroy nations, bringing death and destruction on an unimaginable scale.

Then, when a peasant huntress whose rare gift was concealed from birth is exposed, it sets in motion a chain of events that could alter the destiny of generations to come.

My Review

This is the first book I’ve reviewed for The Write Reads and while there’s been some teething troubles with emails, the book certainly hasn’t been the issue. I’ll be honest, I signed up because there was a chance of getting the audiobook, which would have been better for my processing, but I have just about managed with the ebook. I rarely read ebooks longer than a novella, as many of my regular readers know, and I’m writing this while suffering from something of a headache and a need to vomit from staring at, and trying to process the writing on, my phone screen for more hours than is healthy, but the blurb really intrigued me when I read it.

In a blighted kingdom, two young people, Maya and Taran, with hidden gifts meet, fall in love and race to the border to help defeat the Witch King, an immortal-seeming invader. Across the border, in the Freestates, a peasant seer, Astren, raised to the position of king’s counsellor, warns of impending invasion and aids the young people in their mission. In the process, an old soldier, Rakan, regains his humanity, a knight, Kalas, who should have been long-dead fights the daemon within for control, and the blighted land may just bloom again, if they are victorious.

This novel follows Maya, Taren and Rakan as the meet and travel through the former kingdom of Ember towards Astren in the Freestates, Kalas’ awakening/rebirth and renewal of his vow, how he joins up with the other three on their journey, and then ends as they arrive at Tristan’s Folly, a great fortress barring the way between the Witch-King’s kingdom and the Freestates.

The plot and world building are good, very well thought out, and the magic is consistent, with an origin story that appears near the end, told by unexpected allies. It was a very immersive story. I thought the characters were interesting. The Witch King could very easily have been a stock villain, and at times he veers that way, but having chapters form his perspective provides some insight into his actions and helps to retain his humanity.

The gifted people, Maya, Taran and Astren, all seem to develop over time, with Astren playing a mentoring role to the healer Maya. Kalas, the daemon-ridden knight has a rather painful story and his journey to redemption is quite the most interesting. Astren and his relationship with King Tristen is interesting, it’s all about gold. Astren is astute enough to know that his king is only his friend when he needs something from Astern, like information, but Tristen is honest about this too. The character of Yana feels a bit stereotypical-mean-girl at times, and it will be interesting to see how things play out during the war.

The descriptions of the developing friendships and changing relationships in the novel feel realistic where they are between mentors and mentees or between friends but the central romance is a bit idealistic. I think this book is aimed at young teenagers, I certainly would have really, really loved the adventure at that age. I did enjoy the story, and the characters, although I’m a bit more cynical than I was 25 years ago and the heteronormativity/happy-ever-after tone isn’t for me anymore. It’s not a criticism, people like different stories at different ages.

The novel is well-paced, with exposition and journeys broken by moments of intense action, and unexpected events. The writing was fairly descriptive and interesting. I certainly found it a page-turner. There is perhaps a tendency to use the word ‘transpires’ far too often and it got a bit repetitive as did Maya’s Flora-like abilities being repeatedly described.

Overall, I liked this novel. I understand it is the author’s first full novel after mainly writing short stories and poetry. Novels and short stories are different beasts, but the author handles it well. It could perhaps have done with a bit more tightening up but it, and the world it is set in certainly have potential.

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About the Author

(from https://www.marcusleebooks.com/aboutme)

Writing hasn’t always been a serious hobby for me … but it has always been there, lurking in the shadows, serving me well when called upon.

As I look back over the years, I realise I was guilty of writing many short stories, as well as poetry, and I’d like to think, that even if they were never intended to be published, they were nonetheless warmly received by the intended recipients.

Then in 2019, I was inspired to write not just a short story, or poetry, but a book. Then, suddenly, one book turned into a trilogy and a labour of love, and it was a love I wanted to share with the world.

So, here we are. The pandemic that put my career in sport on hold also gave me the opportunity to lavish time on my alternative hobby, and now I’ve started, I don’t intend to stop.