Review by Brian Optimist -- The King of May by Matthew Tysz

[Brian Optimist]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The King of May" by Matthew Tysz.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Matthew Tysz's The King of May is a science-fiction story. After an apocalyptic event mediated by an alien being, the world is left in ruins. Whole cities are destroyed and a lot of the earth's population is lost. This mysterious being called the Oak gives some people god-like powers that enable them to control natural phenomena like the weather and tectonic movements. Oak's plan of action is halted when he comes across two assassins who kill him. With no one to lead them, the gods wage war amongst each other. Cattleprod, an ambitious young man, takes it upon himself to kill the gods who he deems as the source of all the troubles in the world. He gains followers and slowly conquers different cities while killing some of the gods.

The plot of the story is intense and filled with a lot of suspense. The author creates this by making the storyline very unpredictable and with a lot of dilemmas. This grabbed my attention and I was hooked throughout the story. I loved the dialogues in this book. They portrayed the emotions of the characters. They were witty and realistic too. The book is quite short. With only about 200 pages, it is easy to feel like the book was rushed. It is important to note, however, that it is the second book in a series and this might explain why it was made to be short.

The main theme portrayed throughout the book is conflict. Cattleprod is at war against the gods. The gods are always trying to kill each other. The characters have been well developed. Most characters have adequate background information. Each character is portrayed as having different goals and motivations even when on the surface they seem to share a common goal. Each chapter in the book shows the perspective of a single character. This allows the reader to understand and relate to the thoughts of the character.

World-building in the book is average. Most scenes in the book were able to visually portray the surroundings and the events occurring around a character. I especially liked how the palaces of the gods were described.

This was an enjoyable book to read. I am looking forward to reading more books by Matthew Tysz. This book is well suited for young adults fiction readers. I did not encounter any grammatical or spelling error. It was well edited. They are a few erotic scenes but they are not pornographic. There is however a lot of violence with gory details. This book deserves a 4 out of 4 stars rating.

******
The King of May
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon