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A review by magicalflails
King of the Dark by Ariana Nash
2.0
I read this book in its entirety, waiting for payoff that never came. There is little logic in this book. Characters act and react in ways that aren't consistent and don't make sense based on what the author has told us about them. It's like those mysteries where the reader is given only red herrings and/or inaccurate information. It's not clever--it's just bad writing.
For example, Niko is a blacksmith's son who became a soldier but behaves like a noble. He has a knee-jerk negative reaction to being given orders, which doesn't make sense given the whole soldier thing, and calls all the royals he encounters by their first name only (i.e. no titles) even when he's a slave. He has a deep, violent hatred for the royal family yet stands up for Vasili and does nice things for him even when he doesn't have to and kind of wants to murder Vasili himself. Why? There's no point asking why in this book. Things just...happen. Characters switch personalities entirely. Danger appears out of nowhere then disappears just as suddenly. Information is teased for ages then suddenly just handed over for no reason. I don't generally write negative reviews even when I don't like something, but this story made me genuinely mad.
Author, I do hope you continue to write and I respectfully suggest you work on characterization--heavily. The best way to get better at something is to practice, so continue writing stories and trying to learn how to make real-seeming characters. I look forward to what you will create.
For example, Niko is a blacksmith's son who became a soldier but behaves like a noble. He has a knee-jerk negative reaction to being given orders, which doesn't make sense given the whole soldier thing, and calls all the royals he encounters by their first name only (i.e. no titles) even when he's a slave. He has a deep, violent hatred for the royal family yet stands up for Vasili and does nice things for him even when he doesn't have to and kind of wants to murder Vasili himself. Why? There's no point asking why in this book. Things just...happen. Characters switch personalities entirely. Danger appears out of nowhere then disappears just as suddenly. Information is teased for ages then suddenly just handed over for no reason. I don't generally write negative reviews even when I don't like something, but this story made me genuinely mad.
Author, I do hope you continue to write and I respectfully suggest you work on characterization--heavily. The best way to get better at something is to practice, so continue writing stories and trying to learn how to make real-seeming characters. I look forward to what you will create.