Monthly Archives: June 2016

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima, a review

The Demon King reviewed from a Christian perspective The Demon King, book one of the Seven Realms series, by Cinda Williams Chima
Published 2009 by Hyperion, 506 pages
Genre: Young adult medieval fantasy, some very secular content

This New York Times best-seller is written for the general market. It’s an engrossing story.

Han is a teen who’s trying to escape his past as leader of a gang of thieves. He lives in the poor quarter of the queen’s city, but unlike everybody else in the quarter, he’s been partly raised by a clan in the high mountains nearby. For some reason he has silver cuffs on his wrists that nobody can explain. They grow with him, and they mark him. He just wants to be left alone to eek out the meager living of delivering moonshine to local taverns from his friend up in the mountains, supporting his mother and seven-year-old sister.

Raisa, heir to the queendom, feels smothered by her mother the queen and all the expectations surrounding the fact that Raisa is coming of age. Suitors from all over the continent are sending her gifts and trying to get her attention. She just wants to put it all off as long as possible.

These two lives intersect eventually in a surprising way. I had a lot of trouble putting this book down! I highly recommend it for those willing to venture into reading for the general market. (And, since Christian publishers are having difficulty finding their fantasy readers, the general market is where fantasy written by Christians typically ends up.)

A warning, however, after having read Book 2: if you are shielding your teens from secular values, these are not the books for your family. Book 2 portrays casual unmarried sex (behind closed doors), as well as a gay relationship, both without apparent consequences.

What, precisely, are the religious elements or lack of them? There is magic, used for good purposes as well as evil. There are wizards who tend to love power more than anything else. It’s a moral universe, with right and wrong easily distinguishable. There is a religion of “the maker” depicted, but it doesn’t seem to have any substance to it. The characters are not embarking on a faith journey, as far as I can tell. One more thing: it’s not a scary book for me the reader.

This series has a lot of books in it, and I’m planning to check more of these books out of the library. Nice thing about a mainstream author and publisher: libraries carry these books. I give it 4.5 stars for a mature audience.

King’s Folly by Jill Williamson, a review

KingsFolly King’s Folly by Jill Williamson (Kinsman Chronicles #1)
Published 2016 by Bethany House
Genre: Christian medieval fantasy, young adult, readers 16 and up

Jill Williamson is my favorite living author. She has an uncanny knack for drawing you into her story. So I was delighted to read this.

This book is the first in a new prequel series to her popular Blood of Kings trilogy. This prequel series is ancient history, taking place hundreds of years before, maybe a thousand years.

Two sons of the king, Prince Wilek and his younger brother Prince Trevn, struggle against the forces who have corrupted their father. Intrigues at court turn deadly, and Wilek must solve a murder: who did it and why? Meanwhile, natural disasters are becoming commonplace, and Wilek is tasked to travel to a ruined city and report back. The quest leads him on a dangerous journey to nearby realms. Could it be that an ancient prophecy of total disaster is near to fulfillment?

I am so glad Jill has returned to writing about this story world. I really enjoyed this book and could hardly put it down. It’s a sprawling tale, with lots of point-of-view characters. So my only complaint is that I had some trouble keeping them all straight in my mind. Despite that, I highly recommend this book and look forward to the coming ones in the series. 4.5 stars.

Warning: The book contains characters who are prostitutes and concubines, and royalty who have absolutely no sense of fidelity in marriage. There is plenty of idol worship as well, including child sacrifice. None of this is graphic. But it is strong stuff, based on the deplorable behavior of the nation of Israel before the exile.