4 out of 4 stars
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The King’s Sword by C.J. Brightley is the first book in the Erdemen Honor series, which has three books currently available for purchase. The book falls squarely in the Fantasy genre and is written to appeal to Teen/Young Adult and Adult readers. The story is told from the perspective of Kemen Sendoa, a retired soldier who happens upon the young prince, Hakan Ithel, who is fleeing from the palace in the wake of his father’s death and imminent danger to his own life, ostensibly from the usurper to his father’s throne, Vidar.
It is clear to Kemen that the pampered prince lacks the skills to survive on his own, and he takes an ungrateful Hakan into his protection. As Kemen helps him to make the physical and mental journey to reclaim Hakan’s birth right, they uncover a devious plot that will lead the nation into war if it is not stopped.
Kemen Sendoa is a character I immediately became attached to. The consummate hero, Kemen has made his life about honor, courage, and self-denial. His gruff and intimidating exterior belies the purity and kindness of his thoughts. Hearing Hakan’s story through Kemen’s eyes was refreshing, and was a brilliant choice of narrative on the part of the author.
One of the things I loved most about Kemen’s character was the way he thought of women. Many shied away from him, but instead of resenting their actions he thought of them with something akin to reverence. He suffered from a lack of confidence, and internally berated himself as ugly, which is generally not an attractive quality, but I thought it was an interesting character choice. He was steadfastly honest with Hakan, and even gave him a little tough love, but was ever careful not to hurt his pride when the prince needed confidence. This character is good to the very core of his being, but instead of coming off as cheesy, the internal struggles make him seem very real.
Hakan was a little more difficult for me to like, initially, but when I gave it some thought I found that I related most closely to his character. Despite the fact that I am in a decidedly lower class than Hakan, I too have led a fairly privileged life, and would be unable to survive on my own in a situation like his. Certainly I would complain about the circumstances more often than not. Knowing what my own actions would be in his situation helped me to appreciate the depth and worth of his character in a realistic way, rather than seeing a one-dimensional spoiled brat.
On the author’s website, I read some fun random facts that she posted on her page. One fact on that list indicated that she has been training in various styles of Martial Arts for approximately 19 years, including use of weapons. Her impressive knowledge is apparent in her minute description of weaponry, and in describing Kemen’s exercise routine and fighting style. I was really able to feel like I was in his head while that was happening, and that is evidently because the author is also a warrior of sorts, and can speak from experience.
The King’s Sword integrates corrupt politics, racism, and fighting throughout the book, and I suspect that they are recurring themes in the rest of the series. Discrimination based on race or appearance is something that happens soon, and frequently throughout the story. The parallels to the lack of equality in our world are clear, but the biased reactions are primarily disgust or fear, and devoid of the violence that is a part of our own world history.
I don’t recall any actual profanity being used throughout the book, but there is some violence. It is descriptive, but not cringe worthy, which is why I assess that this book would be enjoyable for a younger crowd in addition to adult readers.
It was very interesting to me that there was no romance in this story. The plot actually wasn’t missing anything by the lack of a love interest, but I found myself hoping there would be one. In fact, that is the first of many reasons I will continue reading this series. I liked the characters so much that I can’t be satisfied not knowing what happens in their lives next.
There are a few typos to be found, but no glaring errors. My one complaint is that occasionally I felt the written dialogue didn’t stay in character. This was mostly in the first section of the book, and particularly with Kemen’s character. While his character was initially being developed in the story, the language would sometimes become too modern. As the story moves along, those slips become very infrequent. This is C.J. Brightley’s first published book, and I can see she took great care to smooth out any discrepancies.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. If I could rate this book by half stars, I might’ve taken off half a point because of the previously mentioned dialogue issue. I am happy to bump that rating up to a solid 4 out of 4 stars because this book is very worth recommending.
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The King's Sword
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