To ask other readers questions about Highmage's Plight , please sign up. How did you come up with mixing science fiction and fantasy genre types together? See 1 question about Highmage's Plight…. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. I've been binge reading a lot of fantasy lately. I can't get enough of it. I've especially been loving to read fantasy by indie authors. Therefore, I was hoping that I would love Highmage's Plight. Unfortunately, I didn't really care for it at all. Highmage's Plight reminded me a lot of the Thomas Covenant series, which for me isn't a good thing.
The reader is dropped into the story with no world building whatsoever. It made everything so confusing.
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I spent most of the book trying to figure out I've been binge reading a lot of fantasy lately. I spent most of the book trying to figure out what the heck was going on. The different races, traditions, and characters of the world weren't explained well at all. There were times when I thought the story line was starting to make sense and became interesting, only to be confused again a page or two later. I had such high hopes for Highmage's Plight, but in the end, I was letdown. It wasn't the epic fantasy that I expected.
It was so disappointing. There are several more books in the series, but I will not be picking them up to read. I honestly can't say I recommend this series to anyone. Slow in some places but a shining star. The book head some slow points, but well written characters, ongoing action, and an intriguing world made it easy to be drawn along. One of the best books I've read in years. It head steering female characters, an advanced fantasy world, and the promise of years of entertainment. If you skip ahead several chapters to George's entrance into this world, the book gets really interesting. I finished it and am into the second.
I didn't even need to go back and read the chapters I skipped. It is a good book. I love Highmage's Plight and know the author. The novel was first serialized in the ezine, Separate Worlds. I was an early reader. This is the story of a world on the brink. A colony ship crash landed on a distant planet only to later learn its inhabited by elves. A devastating war ensues between science and magic. Five thousand years later the Highmage of the Empire realizes his world is about to fall to the Demonlord, once king of the Elves who was twisted by the war, which le I love Highmage's Plight and know the author.
Five thousand years later the Highmage of the Empire realizes his world is about to fall to the Demonlord, once king of the Elves who was twisted by the war, which led a group of elves to breakaway and protect humanity with their greatest power, the elvin gate.
Gabriel's Demons
Highmage summons the gate, seeking help from another world. Archeologist George Bradley is having a bad day. He's found a dig that's impossible in Northern Europe and ends up falling through an elvin gate he literally stumbles upon. The story gets better and better from that point on. George doesn't do magic, but he's a "modern" human with a computer staff, which now has apparently at least half a mind of its own. I've loved this tale since the day I first read it. It addresses a central question: The author's website is: Aug 18, Craig rated it it was ok. Didn't really like the MC.
I can understand not wanting promise anything but fuck if they insist you take advantage go for it otherwise you might as well say they're not good enough.
- Pharmacology Volume 2.
- Reverent Elation (A Variety of Passion);
- .
- Fishing: Discover Series Picture Book for Children (Kindle Kids Library);
- Gabriel's Demons (Demon's Assistant, #) by Tori Centanni.
- ;
The whole not killing thing too was kind of weak too. If someone broke into my hotel room trying to steal something that i need to stay alive then they're on the approved KOS list. Also who think 2. Also who thinks the despot torturer of children should be left alive? Look back on my examples. In every one of those series by the time you got to chapter 4 you knew without a doubt who your protagonist was, and why you should care about them.
You knew their hopes and their dreams. You knew what kind of person they were. You, perhaps, felt sorry for them because of their horrible lives, or felt a lot like them, knowing what it's like to be downtrodden, or shipped away to school away from everything you know and love, or feel inferior to your parents and desperately want to prove your worth, or be turned down for something important to you because of a physical deficiency.
You identify with them. They are clearly the hero of the story and you want to see how they overcome the trials in their lives. Where was all of that in The Demon King? Who is the Protagonist? Who is this book about? Who am I supposed to care about? Why am I supposed to care about them? Where is the conflict?
Who are these people the author keeps talking about and why do I care? Is something supposed to be happening? Did I miss something? Why does she keep talking about Han when Annoying Douche 1 is clearly the more compelling character? I don't get it. The characters are ridiculously bland, and she does not seem to understand men well enough to write believable male characters. There is no plot of which to speak. Nothing happens in the first four chapters that will even come close to grabbing you. At a point in the story where you should have a pretty good idea who the characters are, and why you should care about them, she still hadn't even really introduced them to us properly.
This book could be used in writing classes as an example of exactly how NOT to begin a story. I can sum this book up for you in one word. It is my opinion that a Young Adult novel should be something that not only children but adults should enjoy as well. All of the series I cited as being better than this one, save Redwall, were books that I read as an adult and loved. I doubt that my being double the target age of this book was what made it so hard for me to read it. In fact, I find it hard to believe that a boy half my age would not be incredibly bored to death by it, or even make it as far as I did.
The characters are bland, the world is bland, nothing happens, there's no catch to get you interested in anything. If I could give this book negative stars, I would. Check out my other reviews. View all 84 comments. I'm really surprised to say that this book blew me away. I only decided to pick this series up because I have the Flamecaster on my shelf and I didn't know that it was actually a follow up to the Seven Realms series.
I wasn't sure what to expect from The Demon King but my expectations were pretty high considering how I went into this book comparing it to the Falling Kingdoms series. Although this book did have similarities to Falling Kingdoms, it's definitely its own separate story. One of t Wow! One of the things I didn't like about The Demon King was the slow pacing. It took about pages until the story started to pick up.
And even then, some parts still went by a little slow throughout the story. Things weren't exactly boring but they sure weren't too exciting either. The worldbuilding did start off a little rocky. Cinda Williams Chima really seemed like she tried her best to explain the Seven Realms but it was a lot to take in and came off as a little info dumpy at times. It wasn't until the last half of the book that I was able to finally have a good grasp on the world and how things worked.
At first, I didn't care too much for the characters. Han was boring and I felt Raisa was a bit pretentious and stubborn, but I was able to warm up to them after pages in. I also thought that our two main characters would've crossed paths for most of the story but surprisingly, they've only ran into each other once the whole entire book. I'm really curious to see these two working together again in the next book since I actually enjoy them as a duo. Everybody is in love with everybody? But since Falling Kingdoms probably had a love octagon to say the least, The Demon King only had a love I keep comparing this series to the Falling Kingdoms series so I'm just going right ahead to say that if you love the Falling Kingdoms series, you'll definitely enjoy The Seven Realms series.
It starts off a bit slow but once the story picks up, you won't be able to put this book down! It's an older book that came out in but I believe that it's worth a read. View all 14 comments. Sep 18, Samantha rated it liked it. This book lays a good foundation for the rest of the series, but it definitely drags at times and the story doesn't really get started until the end. I love the protagonists. They have a ton of room for growth.
My biggest complaint was the abundance of love interests, but at least it wasn't the main theme of the story. Just a pet peeve of mine. I plan to continue with the series and I'm excited to see where it goes. May 24, Maureen rated it really liked it. Probably even more like 4. And it was fun, and hecka addicting. I loved the world building and the story, but mostly I just loved getting lost in a fantasy book without a lot of complicated magic systems and things to keep track of.
It was so fun to just lose myself in it. Definitely loved this and will Probably even more like 4. Definitely loved this and will be continuing on ASAP! Oct 03, Anne rated it really liked it Shelves: Re-read I'm bumping this one up a star! Well, I will admit that this is a pretty slow book in the beginning. In fact, it takes quite a few chapters to get to anything that I would personally consider even remotely interesting.
I'm thinking that, perhaps, the reason I enjoyed this so much more the second time around was because I knew where everything was headed.
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And make NO mistake Re-read I'm bumping this one up a star! And make NO mistake. It is headed to somewhere fantastic. There's a ton of world-building to get through, and maybe the POV switches aren't all that easy to stomach in this first one, but if you can ride it out If you're a true lover of fantasy, then you will probably enjoy the descriptions of the clans and all of that stuff It wasn't as bad as adult fantasy tends to be, so that may be why I enjoyed the book. It read more like a book that's setting up the next book, if that makes any sense. I'm rambling, aren't I? I really liked The Demon King, and I'm going to read the next one.
View all 13 comments. May 03, Robin Bridge Four rated it really liked it Shelves: Raisa is 15 almost 16 so I really like that the author has her meeting different boys she has quite a few suitors and playing the field a little. The same goes for Han For YA that is rare and I love that it is more about the story than the romantic arc of a few characters. But since I know how this series ends the slow burn of it makes everything way more believable and real and I totally love that.
Han will steal my heart in the end but this is totally Amon's book to shine. Original Bad Review this is one of my very first May We follow two separate characters of Raisa the princess and heir to the throne and Han Alister a street wise boy with a pair of magical cuffs on his wrists that he has had since infancy.
This installment of the seven reams series had a lot of world building to do. By following the two different story lines we get an idea of how both the nobility and poor live. It is a rich world full of magic, sorcery, treachery and heroes. None of the characters are perfect to say the least. They all are flawed; Raisa is caring but headstrong and defiant normally rushing in without completely thinking things through. She feels trapped by some of the traditions of her kingdom. Once you get past the first hundred or so pages the story really starts to pick up momentum.
I really enjoyed how well the world was described in a show me and tell me way that leant well to the overall story. It was good to see how the world was so different depending on what side you are standing on. The way the characters intertwined and met up and fell apart was also interesting. I loved the lore and backstory of the Queen and the Demon King. There was a lot of action and all of the characters were written so well and so differently it made it so easy to either like or hate them.
The twists the story took made it even better and definitely unpredictable. The way that the plot and sub plots of the story intertwined receded and merged was masterfully written. When characters met up or passed close to one another was exciting and really built anticipation for book 2 in the series. If you are a fan of fantasy this has a little bit of everything in it romance, intrigue, magic, tragedy and hope. Sure it is a slower start but well worth it. View all 27 comments. I love this book specfically its POVs: We have the village idiot and the spoiled princess.
Except thats just the surface. There is so much more to them and i think i loved how their sterotypes were used against them. The village idiot with mysterious cuffs on his arm that have symbols that literally no ome gets. Han use to be a streetlord that stole but tried to do better for his family. He has been accused of several murders and must go on the run. Dum dum duuuuum The spoiled princess who would rather be fighting. She knows she is naive on the ongoings of her own kingdom but she wants to know more, to do more.
I just hated her name because for a while i thought of her as 'raisin'. She fears that the wizards are becoming too powerful and when a certain high lord begins to controls the queen's thoughts or perspectives, she decides to take action on her own. But don't worry its not all epic political manuevers, personal vendattas, and powerful magic hidden within amulets. What kind of job? What are you good at? It was a mysterious world of clans, high lords, and several conflicting stories about the old powerful Demon King Yes, you read correctly.
Despite my reading slump that drove me to DNF more books that I'm comfortable with yesterday, despite today being my last day of vacations and as usual busy as hell, despite the objective flaws of The Demon King , I couldn't stop reading for the life of me, and closed my reader at 6am pretty exhausted. Worst is, I'm fighting the urge to start The Exiled Queen right now, and I can count on the finger of one hand the number of times it happened with a YA Fantasy series. I hated Red Queen.
Don't even mention the borefest that was The Kiss of Deception. And yet, despite my issues, I enjoyed my read like nobody's business. First of all, I ended liking the main characters even though they're far from perfect - or perhaps because of it. See, when it comes to series that go on for 4 books, I genuinely think that flaws are needed in order to picture a believable growth, especially when we meet the characters at Raisa , the somewhat selfish princess, shows the best of intentions but sometimes fails to think things through before acting, resulting in several illed-thought-out decisions that border on TSLT behavior.
She's immature, annoying, and I understand why some readers had a hard time standing her. Yet despite being royalty, her issues - feeling trapped and needing to take control on her life - seemed pretty valid to me, and I LOVED the fact that she could kiss several guys without falling in love in a happily ever after fashion right away please, am I the only one who cringes at teenager's weddings? I just cannot wait to see her grow into a character I can admire, and I have a feeling that I will. That's how life rolls in the mountain city of Fellsmarch, though, so I chose to suspend my disbelief and accept it because sometimes, you just have to.
I genuinely liked his free and impulsive personality and if he comes as a little whiny sometimes, you have to recognize that the guy needs a break! SorryNotSorry Both of them make mistakes, and you're likely to fight the urge to strangle them at some point, but I cared nonetheless, for better or for worst. Moreover, after all this build-up, the anticipation to see them interact together is killing me. There, I said it. As for the plot , many readers complained that nothing really happened in this book and that's true that it reads more like a big introduction to the world of the Seven Realms than anything else.
Yet again, I was hooked from the very beginning and couldn't stop reading, so there's that. Not to mention that I guessed all the twists, because if you read Fantasy before, you just cannot help. Did it bother me? In all honestly, no. That's what I call the good kind of predictable, because every time a guess was confirmed, I was glad it was. The Demon King is full of Fantasy tropes , but it stays clear of girl hate and instalove, and then I was able to enjoy the hell out of it.
However, my biggest complaint would be the way grief is handled. I don't know about you, but when characters face awful events, I expect to feel something, and sadly I didn't. It was Mockingjay all over again, letting me stunned and rather indifferent when I ought to despair. For more of my reviews, please visit: View all 51 comments. Even better the second time around.
View all 21 comments. Mar 31, C. Drews rated it it was amazing Shelves: Because I am confessing. This is not a drill peoples. It has everything I want and love in an epic fantasy. Although there still is puzzling sex Oh wow Although there still is puzzling sexism despite this, but pfft, I'm willing to look past that. Omg, I love this. I love when magic has rules because it feels more real. And I love the detail of the magic system! I've only read detailed magic systems in Brandon Sanderson 's books so it was mega pleasing to have that here too.
So much need of answers. This makes me so happy. So basically this book could do no wrong. I loved them all. It's basically dual narrated by Raisa heir queen and Hans retired streetlord and thief. They were both epic I couldn't even pick a favourite! Hans was all swagger and scruff and he loved his family really fiercely and he was always in trouble and had such a smart mouth. And Raisa was epically stubborn and sassy and really cared about her queendom. She didn't want to be a puppet queen. And then for secondary characters Basically every time a character was introduced they were interesting and dimensional.
I so loved this. It says Hans is a "reformed thief" on the backcover. He doesn't actually do any thieving. He's still partially embroiled in the life, but yeah. Don't go in expecting multitudes of heists and cons. This could've disappointed me? But it didn't because everything else was so so glorious. Oh and I feel like one of the people groups of the book were influenced by Native American culture! That's what I surmise anyway. But I love this! Because I hadn't read a fantasy book with that kind of influence yet. So that's what I was imagining when they were wearing their deerskin leggings and learning healing and stuff.
Plus I loved how there were so many cultures and groups of people in here. Like the townsfolk were your average medieval scruffbags. And then the rich people were nearly Renaissance fantasy. Plus add in all the wizards and the wizard and warrior schools. How did this book have everything and yet manage to write it all perfectly and detailed and interestingly?!
I'm in awe I tell you. Because there are also epic conspiracies and plot twists and so. I mean, it probably gets a bit info-dumpy? But at the same time it was interesting so I didn't even care there were long conversations about the past. I loved how there were swords and medieval-style lifestyles BUT also that Renaissance flare.
And the characters have totally captured my heart. I don't even know what else to say except: View all 18 comments. I don't really know what went wrong with me and this book. I was supposed to enjoy it. I was supposed to really enjoy it. I was totally expecting to really enjoy it. But sadly, I didn't. I have heard so much praise for author Cinda Williams Chima , but for now I'm left wishing I could see what so many others have seen in her books. I actually had a weird experience where I was under the impression that this series was a completely different story than it turned out to be.
I'm sure that's Uhh Standing at the end of this book, I can't even remember what story I expected to read when I began. But me getting something I did not or forgot to expect is not the fault of the book. I should've just reread the damn synopsis like a regular person would. Anyway, we follow two main protagonists: Rasia, princess heir to the Fells, cares about making the lives of her citizens better, has too many love interests.
Both of these protagonists are, predictably, years of age. I feel mostly indifferent about both of them. Their personalities end up feeling inevitable because I've seen them so many times before. No one is unbearable to read about, and both have plenty of potential to grow into people I may care about in the future, but for now they're just sort of there for me. I've talked about this before, but one thing I usually can't deal with in Young Adult books is unrealistic characterization vs age. Han apparently accomplished status as a gang leader, lived it up, and decided to retire from that life all before fully completing puberty.
Why do we keep doing things like this, authors? This is part of the reason I couldn't fully take Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo seriously either, though that book is much better than this one on many fronts. But I always get this disjointed feeling when I am told I'm supposed to view year old characters as hardened, badass, criminal types, but conversely shown they still possess an overwhelmingly juvenile mindset. Around halfway through, there is a scene that squicked me out which involved a male character copping a feel of a female character's ass.
In response, the female victim He's even on the board as a love interest in some capacity. It's not cute, it's gross. Even when individual situations between characters are meant to be dramatic or interesting, I just could not force myself to engage. This was my face while I trekked my way through this book: The only thing I truly liked here was the political elements surprise, surprise. I wanted to see more of the relationship between the people of the Clans and the people of Fellsmarch.
I wanted more worldbuilding. I've heard from many fans that this first book is difficult to get through, but I am concerned that the parts most people found difficult are the only parts I seemed to care about aka the political situation. I may get around to trying out The Exiled Queen , I may not. Either way, a pretty disappointing beginning. Buddy read this with the gorgeous Wren!
Here's a link to her review , if you're interested. Aug 08, Kristi rated it it was amazing Shelves: Three words; fa, reaking, awesome! Now I remember why I love fantasy so much! Especially a kick-butt high fantasy like this one. Chima has masterfully created an intriguing world, with a cast full of memorable characters. The chapters somewhat alternate between Han and Raisa. Divulging the depth of each character and the world around them, presented in their own P.
I love when authors do this. I like that connection you get when the story is presented in this format. I am emotionally invested i Three words; fa, reaking, awesome! I am emotionally invested in these characters, I actually care what happens to them! The plot was insane, in a good way.
I didn't even begin to try to figure out where this story was going to take me, I had some inclinations and they happened to be right but it was nice just to go with the flow and let the story lead me where it wanted me to go. I'm just going to throw masterful out there again, because it was just that. I was transported to another world. I can not wait to read the rest of this series! I'm not looking forward to waiting, I can tell you that much. Will definitely be adding this one to my personal library.
View all 7 comments. Jan 22, Sana rated it really liked it Shelves: I feel so satisfied akdjskdj RTC!!!! View all 25 comments. This is easily one of my new favorite YA fantasy worlds. The worldbuilding really took the time to establish the history of the queendom's bloodline, the wizards, and the clans, so the whole series is set up really well now. I wasn't a huge fan of him at the beginning because his story dragged a bit, but then he turned out to be straight up adorable. He was raised by the clans and meets up with the other main characters at various points, but still kind of has his own thing going until the direction of everyone's storylines ties together at the end.
I like all of the characters at this point! I really appreciated that they had complex thoughts and insights into the situations around them instead of just breezing through their world like they're on some checklist of a plot. I can't believe I let this series sit on my bookshelf for so long before getting to it. Definitely check it out if you like YA fantasy! View all 10 comments. Thank goodness- another legit series to get into!! This is going to be a quick review because really I just want to read book 2 after all the raving reviews from friends So here we go.
The world is MY kind of world.
Quarreling kingdoms, forbidden magic, clans The pace was a little slow to start but I didn't mind too much. I think most of this bo YAS. I think most of this book was a nice set up for things to come. I'm thrilled about the possibilities. There are several characters just brimming with possibilities. A certain someone has Darkling potential though on one will ever measure up MK and the ships? I can't tell much yet but I'm fine with any of them.
Oh and the ending? Bring it baby, bring it. Wow this might be the crappiest review I've ever written. Nov 18, Amy rated it it was amazing Shelves: Court intrigue, captivating characters, intricate plotting, enticing romances, and brilliant world building coalesce to deliver the best high fantasy story EVER. The characters in Chima's story are extremely well developed; each had their own unique personality that distinguished him or her as an individual entity, subsequently allowing me to easily love or hate them.
Han is a reformed streetlord who has a hard exterior but a heart of damn gold on the inside. Princess Raisa ana'Marianna is headstrong and independent and occasionally annoying in her tendency to want things her way, but then again- she is a princess.
- The Road to Magic.
- The Demon King (Seven Realms, #1) by Cinda Williams Chima.
- ?
- Highmage's Plight (Highmage's Plight #1) by D.H. Aire?
And because she is a princess, there are duties aplenty that await her when she comes of age and strict rules everywhere to prevent her from ever stepping out of line--it is evident that she chafes under these restraints and so therefore when she finds ways to evade these expectations and find adventures on her own or defy the rules, it's extremely satisfying and adds even more excitement to the plot. These are the two main characters but there is also a diverse array of other well fleshed-out characters that give the story greater color and taste.
The story is told in the alternating viewpoints of Han and Raisa, with an occasional insertion of the viewpoint of other, slightly less major characters. If I had to describe the story in one sentence, I couldn't. The subplots merge and diverge; they tell separate stories of Han and Raisa and the hardships they face, and occasionally combine in the chance occasions when their paths meet. Because this is the first of a trilogy, Han and Raisa do not quite get to ah, know each other's true identity yet, but this only adds to the thrill of the story and to my keen anticipation for book 2.
One of my favorite parts of the story was the wonderful world building that happens.
Wow- this world that Chima has created is so resoundingly real in its descriptions and traditions and people. It is reminiscent of Tamora Pierce's works in several ways, and because personally I am a huge fan of Pierce, this could only add to my love of the story. For example, there is, in this story, the inclusion of street gangs, and thiefs, and temples, and lively and diverse and vibrant cities full of trade and corruption and poverty and splendor and legends, all juxtaposed to forge a unique identity that cement the magnificent world building at work here.
If and when you read this book, you will be immersed in this world as you turn the pages and when the story ends, you might very well be reluctant to bid this world farewell and re-enter the real one. I know I was. I've always been a fan of books with court intrigue and other courtly functions, and this book does not disappoint.
There are irresistible wizards and gallant soldiers, secret escapades in the night and intoxicating flirts, extravagant balls and pretty dresses. The romantic scenes in this book, when they do occur, are extremely satisfying to read. But okay, before this starts sounding like a Harlequin romance, let me tell you- it's not. The inclusion of these romantic aspects lend an air of the game of flirting and politics that is rife among any royal court in any land or any story. This is mostly in Raisa's portion of the story, but in Han's end there is romance as well.
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This review does not do the book justice, period. I've tried my best to convey the sense of wonder and love and interest I felt while reading this book, only to succeed with paltry results. Nevertheless, this book is the perfect fit for fantasy readers as well as everyone else out there. View all 9 comments. Mar 27, Jessica rated it it was amazing Shelves: Definitely adding this to my favorites list.
I'm mad at myself for waiting so long to read this If you love fantasy Full Book Discussion on YouTube: Apr 12, Taniksha rated it really liked it Shelves: I had lot of anticipation of the book because I had procrastinated to read it for a while. I've tried my level best to hate this book, but unfortunately I couldn't. I know many of them hated the slow pace of the book but I think patience is a must to read this book as it was worth it. At the beginning, the description about the kingdom, clans, history, geography, etc. It is later realised that the lengthy details given are important, too.
I'm overwhelmed with curiosity to continue this series due to the cliffhanger. This is the beginning of the saga about Hanson Alister a. Their tale was expected to be the triumph of the good over the evil only but there was more to it. He was a grifter. He has a pair of cuffs, each on his either hands, which is considered to be magical as they've changed their sizes throughout his entire life since his birth. One day, he takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to protect his friend and himself from further harm by the wizard.
Later, it is revealed to be similar to the amulet of the infamous wizard, the Demon King. One might consider her as outrageously rebellious but I think she's just a girl who doesn't want luxuries and comfort as she was born in royalty but earn her own respect and strength over the kingdom by sympathising the people and being vigilant to bring the prosperity to her kingdom. She tries her best to warn Queen Marianna, her mother, about forthcoming threats on the kingdom but her mother turns a blind eye towards it.
Initially, the book felt it was dragging every ounce of patience and tolerance within me but I kept reading because I didn't want to leave it unread and lose a chance for getting to know what exactly made some of my friends like this book. At last, I was very wrong to consider it was boring. The turn of the events when the protagonists meet for the first time dumbfounded me.
Seriously, that was unexpectedly surprising. I felt more connected to Raisa than Han. I liked that the queens were given more importance in the royal line which is unique. The cliffhanger made me to like this entire book and actually understand everything that was left unexplained. The climax of the story created internal conflict of emotions within me because at first I was definitely going to give a negative review but I couldn't after reading everything.
The characters had depth and intriguing spark with their own charisma which kept building up. The flow of the writing was captivating as the story begins to be interesting. The world building was mesmerizing and vibrant. The overall plot was dynamic and exhilarating. The novelty in the story was that both the protagonists had different lives and almost nothing was common between them.
About the flaws, I felt the book could've been improved a bit. The starting of the book was the main drawback. Instead we get acquainted with the characters a lot. It has no love at first sight or insta- love. Thanks for reading my review. DNF - No rating. I am just in the mood for something more robust. View all 17 comments. View all 5 comments. Nov 11, Zain Otoom rated it really liked it. I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't what I expected but nonetheless, it was good. This book is so slow at the beginning. It's definitely a build up book.
There's so much world building in this book it's crazy, and I have to say, it was one of my favorite parts about this book. I listened to most of this book on audiobook because I was struggling to get into it, so if you seem to have the same problem, I recommend listening to the audiobook instead. The narrator is quite good! Now I'd like to talk about the characters: Raisa I like Raisa a lot. Her personality is explosive, she's stubborn and strong-willed.
Even if you might feel like a boy who thinks himself a little handsome might sway her in anything involving her Queendom, you're wrong. She enjoys the company and silly dates and stolen kisses, but she's a future warrior queen, alright. She's spunky and clever and has her wits about her which I really liked. I see a huge character development that Raisa will go through and, oh I can't wait. One thing though, why is she like 15? That's too young, but what am I to say when I'm 16 myself.
Han Even though I preferred Raisa's pov over his, I still enjoyed it. Though, I find Han to be more of a little lost puppy than a former streetlord. Not that he's not badass or anything, but he's just too sweet. When someone says streetlord, I think of a cunning asshole who has no conscience with a maddening level of genius. But I guess that just me. He doesn't seem to think sometimes, but I tried to keep in mind his own situation and the way his life is. Lies, mistrust, abuse, grief and some loneliness, and let's not forget the fact he's just I'm glad he has Dancer to be his friend.
Amon I love him? I found him really comfortable and really caring for Raisa. And even though you see from his perspective only twice, he truly makes an intriguing character, and I wish to know more about him. Despite the predictable nature of the romance, I wouldn't mind if Raisa ended up with him. All the other characters—expect Amon's father, Raisa's and Dancer—were annoying as fuck, as they were meant to be.
So bravo, Chima, you succeeded in creating insufferable characters. From her fuckity the Queen to that asshole Bayar and his son. Micah is such a tool. I hate weak tools who have no character beyond their outer looks. World Building It's so complex and interesting, and so full of things I have yet to learn. It's evident that the author spent time actually thinking of the world. From politics to the really intriguing magic system, and to the intricate history full of lies and deception, consider me amazed.
I didn't find myself bored whatsoever reading the parts that involved world building. The Plot This book is just a build up for the main plot. An evident plot doesn't appear in this book till the very last end. Not to say it's entirely boring, not at all, but you do have to be patient. There are, of course, parts where I found to useless to the plot, but they were good for character introduction. I feel like I truly, now, know both world and characters well enough to get to the butter of this series.
And boy does it sound promising. I will definitely continue this series on, and soon, I hope! Oct 17, Lexie rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Wizards, street rats, warriors, and aspiring Overlords. Recommended to Lexie by: Reviewed at The Honest Bookclub. Han and Raisa are about to meet - in a world brought down by wizards but where wizards rule from the shadows, and in queendom run by a queen who circumvents conflict. They'll meet in stree Reviewed at The Honest Bookclub.
They'll meet in street-gang territory where street gangs are the least dangerous denizen. And though Han and Raisa's worlds are about to collide, their stories will unveil separately. Needless to say, The Demon King is a wonderful mass of contradictions. Its biggest contradiction to date is how good it is, and how it never quite got the acclaim that it deserves.
Based on book one, at the very least. This, of course, varies depending on which edition of the book you have or which edition you look up on Goodreads. But the synopsis on the back cover of my book bought as a box set, to whom it may concern was so needlessly detailed that it revealed half of the book's plot, and pretty much gave me a rundown of all the plot twists meant to take me by surprise. If ever there was a series where knowing less is more, this is it. The synopsis is your enemy. If you aren't best friends with spoilers, at any rate. First off, I am biased. I am biased as heck about this series.
Fantasy is my literary home. It's where I run when things get really scary in other genres only to be re-traumatized by fantasy in turn - but that's a self-inflicted, masochistic sort of thing. This is mostly because I find that when fantasy fails, it doesn't often fail as dramatically as other genres. There are almost mapped pitfalls where it can hit a snag and drag, drag, drag. The Demon King, needless to say, didn't. And witnessing it swerve around the pitfalls was beautiful.
The Demon King doesn't. If you're noticing a theme here It's wearing glitter, so you know it isn't going for subtle. Sometimes I will still read a romancey fantasy series, because I'm a hypocrite who basks in their own hypocrisy. But most of the time, I'll feel cheated. The Demon King follows two separate protagonist in same, yet vastly different worlds, as they fight their vastly different battles.
The natural assumption is that they will naturally meet and interact. And so they shall. But if you're expecting awkward teenage sexual tension and dream sequences where that was the first night Raisa dreamed of Han Alister - HA. That's my professional assessment - HA. Make of that what you will.
In the interest of not spoiling you to anything beyond chapter one, I will say that in this first chapter alone, there are wizards, a forest fire, a standoff, a making of arch nemeses, cursed talismans, and a mention of demons. These, incidentally, aren't even the highlights.