Set in the fictional
world of the Seven Realms, The Demon King
follows the story of Han “Cuffs” Alister and Raisa ‘ana’ Marianna. The Demon
King takes place in one of the Seven Realms, Fellsmarch, where Queen
Marianna reigns. Fellsmarch is currently in a political war of sorts: both the
Clans and the wizards, rival factions in Fellsmarch, are attempting to get
control over the future Queen, Raisa. Hans, on the other hand, lives in the
slums of Fellsmarch, and is a famous streetlord. He is part of the Clans as
well, with his best friend Fire Dancer being from the Clans. Hans and Raisa are from two completely different worlds, and yet, when the political wrangling
between the Clans and the Wizard Council begins, their paths begin to cross.
I enjoyed the fact
that The Demon King was set in a
completely new world. It has its own people (the Clans, the wizards, the poorer
folk of Fellsmarch, and the higher class of Fellsmarch known as bluebloods) and
it has problems unique to that world (clashes between Clans and wizards over
control over the Queen, the people of Fellsmarch and the Clans hating and
distrusting each other for various reasons), which makes it extremely
interesting to read. Chima also manages to have the various factions of
Fellsmarch speak in different ways; the bluebloods’ speech is more civilized
and formal, the Clans and poorer folk speak in uncouth slang, and the wizards
speak in very subtle, polite ways. The differences between the factions also make
the book more exciting to read, as we wonder whether a simple word by a member
of one side would somehow or other offends members of another faction.
The characters
populating the story also make The Demon
King an enjoyable read. Raisa and Hans are both similar and different;
although they exist in different worlds, both understand what it means to be an
outcast, both understand what it means to be not completely accepted in your
society (both are of mixed blood, with blood from the Clans and the normal folk
of Fellsmarch) and both understand what it means to have to fight for what you
want. The last point especially makes them characters worth rooting for: Raisa
runs away from an arranged marriage because she doesn’t want to marry Micah Bayar,
a wizard, and because she knows it will cause even more conflict between the
Clans and wizards. After Hans loses his mother and sister, he knows he wants to
take revenge on the Bayars who took their lives indirectly by ordering the
guards to burn down their houses. He actively goes after the Bayars instead of
just sitting around. He manages to stab Gavan Bayar, Micah’s father, and the
High Wizard, and when physical attempts prove unsuccessful, he decides to go to
Oden’s Ford and train as a wizard.
A minus point though
is that The Demon King moves too
slowly. We know that Raisa and Hans are the main characters and are probably
going to end up together, or will at least form a very strong bond, but they
only end up meeting about four-fifths through the book, and only know each
other for one night before Hans runs away. This is one of the reasons why I
don’t particularly like books in series; oftentimes, they move too slowly and
become slightly boring, especially since none of the action we are waiting for
is coming.
All in all, I think
that The Demon King is an original
and interesting book. Although it moves a tad slowly at times, it is still
worth a read.
Rating: 3.5/5
For ages 13 and above
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