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A review by daezarkian
Blood of the King by Bruce Blake
5.0
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Bruce has concocted quite an entertaining epic fantasy yarn. All of the elements are there: a reluctant young hero, dark magic, an enchanted blade, a heroic quest, giants, political intrigue, undead...even a dragon! Bruce has a nice way of making all of these elements seem fresh and new without having to go and reinvent them, and a large part of that has to do with his very grounded writing approach and straightforward storytelling style.
There are some truly memorable scenes in "Khirro's Journey", and it's easy to get lost in this book, which stays focused on its plot and doesn't waste a page. And while there are a few missteps here and there -- Khirro takes a while to develop into a likable character, and some of the plot twists are somewhat easy to to predict for a jaded reader of the genre -- the good far outweighs the bad, and I'd highly recommend "Khirro's Journey" to fans of heroic fantasy. It's a fun and engaging read, and I look forward to picking up the rest of the series.
Bruce has concocted quite an entertaining epic fantasy yarn. All of the elements are there: a reluctant young hero, dark magic, an enchanted blade, a heroic quest, giants, political intrigue, undead...even a dragon! Bruce has a nice way of making all of these elements seem fresh and new without having to go and reinvent them, and a large part of that has to do with his very grounded writing approach and straightforward storytelling style.
There are some truly memorable scenes in "Khirro's Journey", and it's easy to get lost in this book, which stays focused on its plot and doesn't waste a page. And while there are a few missteps here and there -- Khirro takes a while to develop into a likable character, and some of the plot twists are somewhat easy to to predict for a jaded reader of the genre -- the good far outweighs the bad, and I'd highly recommend "Khirro's Journey" to fans of heroic fantasy. It's a fun and engaging read, and I look forward to picking up the rest of the series.