Powered by the corpses of sorcerers, the Empire has conquered the world. It claims to have brought peace and stability to its conquered lands, but some see that peace for what it is—a lie—and will give everything in the fight against it.
Loran is desperate for revenge after the Empire killed her family, so much so that the swordswoman climbs the volcano where the legends say an ancient dragon slumbers and leaps in. She finds that the legends are true, and Loran leaves the mountain with a sword made of dragon’s fang and a great purpose before her.
Cain arrived in the Imperial Capital lost and orphaned, and it’s only thanks to the kindness of a stranger-turned-mentor that he survived on the city’s streets. When his friend is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war.
Arienne’s future has never been in question—born a sorcerer, she’ll be a Power Generator for the Empire upon her death. But when she starts to hear the voice of a powerful necromancer in her head, she realizes the only thing more terrifying than dying for the Empire is never getting to truly live in the first place.
When peace is a lie, there is power in truth—and as Loran, Cain, and Arienne hunt for answers in their own lives, any one of their small rebellions could be the stone that brings the Empire toppling down.
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I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
Review:
The Blood of Old Kings sold me on the necropolis empire alone. A kingdom of sorcerers powered by even more dead sorcerers? The badass factor of that is just too strong. Additionally, I’ve read some of Anton Hur’s original work and I was very curious to see what his translated work was like. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
The Blood of Old Kings is split across three POVs: Loran, a self-proclaimed princess looking to restore her country’s sovereignty from the colonizing empire. Cain, an immigrant living in the Empire’s capital, looking for details of his missing friend. And Arienne, a sorcerer-in-training, on the run from the Empire carrying an important package.
I loved Arienne‘s chapters. It’s through her that we get to learn the most about the magic of the world, the dead sorcerers (known as generators) that power this empire, and some of the history of the founding of this empire. Her character follows the arc of ‘naive girl plunged into a world of intrigue’ and I really enjoyed how she handled it. You can see her courage really grow over time and it was a delight cheering her on.
Loren’s chapters were easily the most anime, with all the badass fights attached. Her mission is to free her country from the rule of the Empire and the fights she takes against literal tanks with nothing but her sword and her dragon’s power was so so fun to read. Kim and Hur can really put together a fight scene, one that’s both easily followed and keeps the reader cheering for more. The actual politics side, when Loren has to deal with other parties and existing powers felt a little on the weaker side but the fight scenes and her sheer badassery (and dragon power!) more than made up for it.
The weakest POV in my mind was Cain’s chapters. Cain starts off as an interested party asking around for details to his friend’s disappearance. He quickly realizes he’s been asking the wrong (or right?) questions and finds himself pulled into a much larger conspiracy, used as a tool by higher governing powers. Frankly, I thought the intrigue was horribly written. There were so many scenes where Cain would be captured by an enemy group, ask them extremely detailed and pertinent questions, and they would answer!! Like, why are you telling him this?? Why are you telling him anything??? Just threaten him and send him off to do your bidding!!! Thankfully, the book had two other extremely fun POVs to follow.
Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. While the political intrigue isn’t amazing, the world-building is incredibly unique and the fight scenes alone make this book extremely fun to read!
r/Fantasy 2024-25 Bingo Squares:
- First in a series
- Multi POV
- Published in 2024
- Author of Color
Publication Date: 8 October 2024
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: eBook, ARC
Pages: 368
Word Count: ~92,000
ISBN: 9781250895332
Buy It Here: Amazon | Google Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads