The King is slain in his bed, and the storm on the horizon brings black ships closer to the coastal city of Erenon. Nathaniel, a clever thief, has stumbled upon a job that brings him to the home of the King when he is slain, and Nathaniel is unwillingly dragged into the quest to reach the southern garrison which has gone quiet in recent months. Strange powers are helping and hindering him, and the small company of soldiers dispatched to that garrison as war comes to the city.
They will find those horrors that plague the common man,
an ancient legend will unravel, and a deception so epic in scale it involves the Gods. The whole world of man and nations who live on the other side of the mountain range known as the Great Divide will come together in a war no one really understands, and as the kingdom fights
to survive, it will face an enemy they know nothing about.
Goodreads Rating: 5 stars with one rating
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure
Get the Book: Amazon
Review:
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, Thanks to Kevin Hammond for sending me a copy of his book, The King's Peace. I really enjoyed reading it. One of the first things to catch my attention in The King's Peace was the Thieves' Guild. I thought it was a neat concept to turn it into an organization where they somewhat run together and get assignments. It made it seem more like a business than a crime. I also think that there was a great bit of detail that went into describing the city and scenery. I felt like I could really picture the city that Nathaniel lived in.
First of all, Thanks to Kevin Hammond for sending me a copy of his book, The King's Peace. I really enjoyed reading it. One of the first things to catch my attention in The King's Peace was the Thieves' Guild. I thought it was a neat concept to turn it into an organization where they somewhat run together and get assignments. It made it seem more like a business than a crime. I also think that there was a great bit of detail that went into describing the city and scenery. I felt like I could really picture the city that Nathaniel lived in.
I was actually really surprised by this book. I read a lot, and sometimes because of that, I can predict where a book is heading after a while. That was not the case with The King's Peace. I had no clue where this book was going, so it was nice to actually be surprised. There were actually some parts that creeped me out, which added to the surprise factor for me. Not to give too much of the story away, but there's a scene with fairies that's pretty haunting. I actually had to stop and turn a light on aside from my kindle because I was getting creeped out.
While I really enjoyed the book, there were a few things that could have been improved upon in my mind. The main thing for me is the more characters got added in, the harder it got for me to keep track of. I made some connection with Nathaniel and Richard because they were definitely discussed the most and there was a decent amount of backstory to them, but the rest of the characters didn't really stick in my mind. Even in the sections where there were various Gods talking to one another, I had to kind of force myself to remember who they were. It just kind of made it harder to read and harder to pick back up if I hadn't read it for a few days. Normally, I think this would be a big deterrent for me in a book, but with The King's Peace, I got the sense that the story was bigger than the characters presented. I also admit that some of my lack of a connection/ having to remember what went on is probably likely to me having a lot going on lately. I'm not going to knock it down for that. The other thing is so completely minor, but I feel like just a touch of bringing in some synonyms would have gone a long way. It made some of the wording repetitive.
The thing that I enjoyed most about this story is the wording (aside from the previously mentioned repetitive words) in it. Just based on this book and chatting with Kevin a bit, I can tell he's got a really creative way to word things and a good sense of humor. I also really liked the irony of the title. It's called The King's Peace, but it's anything but peaceful. I want to share some of my favorite lines from the book to illustrate why I appreciate the writing.
"They say all men are equal in the beginning and the wise man does not give charity to another who has not made the effort to toil in the field, or fish in the rivers."
"The man was a wrinkled old weasel who would, and possibly had, sold his own mother for some coin."
"This gift had served him well and kept his innards from being removed from his body many a time."
"The question, succinctly put, had nothing to do with quiet resolution. The King's peace more often than not, enabled justification for bloodshed, as long as it was for the stability of the Kingdom."
"Just don't tell that to the horse."
"At least they were having a good time being lost."
"We did it together because that is who we are; neither good nor evil- we just are what we are."
"Even in solitude, you are not alone. There is a dual nature in all of us, paths we shall choose and those we are set upon.. choices. Powers are stirring in the mortal realm. There is little time... you have work to do."
Overall, I really enjoyed The King's Peace. I'm really glad that Kevin asked me to take a look at it, and was patient with me while I took my sweet time reading it. The book is only 288 pages long, it just took me forever because well real life is crazy. Even though I haven't played WoW (only watched it being played a few times) and played Diablo II a little bit, the King's Peace kind of reminded me of those games. I can't really put my finger on why, maybe it's the variety of creatures in the story, but they came to mind a lot while reading this book. Hopefully that kind of gives a sense of the story.
While I really enjoyed the book, there were a few things that could have been improved upon in my mind. The main thing for me is the more characters got added in, the harder it got for me to keep track of. I made some connection with Nathaniel and Richard because they were definitely discussed the most and there was a decent amount of backstory to them, but the rest of the characters didn't really stick in my mind. Even in the sections where there were various Gods talking to one another, I had to kind of force myself to remember who they were. It just kind of made it harder to read and harder to pick back up if I hadn't read it for a few days. Normally, I think this would be a big deterrent for me in a book, but with The King's Peace, I got the sense that the story was bigger than the characters presented. I also admit that some of my lack of a connection/ having to remember what went on is probably likely to me having a lot going on lately. I'm not going to knock it down for that. The other thing is so completely minor, but I feel like just a touch of bringing in some synonyms would have gone a long way. It made some of the wording repetitive.
The thing that I enjoyed most about this story is the wording (aside from the previously mentioned repetitive words) in it. Just based on this book and chatting with Kevin a bit, I can tell he's got a really creative way to word things and a good sense of humor. I also really liked the irony of the title. It's called The King's Peace, but it's anything but peaceful. I want to share some of my favorite lines from the book to illustrate why I appreciate the writing.
"They say all men are equal in the beginning and the wise man does not give charity to another who has not made the effort to toil in the field, or fish in the rivers."
"The man was a wrinkled old weasel who would, and possibly had, sold his own mother for some coin."
"This gift had served him well and kept his innards from being removed from his body many a time."
"The question, succinctly put, had nothing to do with quiet resolution. The King's peace more often than not, enabled justification for bloodshed, as long as it was for the stability of the Kingdom."
"Just don't tell that to the horse."
"At least they were having a good time being lost."
"We did it together because that is who we are; neither good nor evil- we just are what we are."
"Even in solitude, you are not alone. There is a dual nature in all of us, paths we shall choose and those we are set upon.. choices. Powers are stirring in the mortal realm. There is little time... you have work to do."
Overall, I really enjoyed The King's Peace. I'm really glad that Kevin asked me to take a look at it, and was patient with me while I took my sweet time reading it. The book is only 288 pages long, it just took me forever because well real life is crazy. Even though I haven't played WoW (only watched it being played a few times) and played Diablo II a little bit, the King's Peace kind of reminded me of those games. I can't really put my finger on why, maybe it's the variety of creatures in the story, but they came to mind a lot while reading this book. Hopefully that kind of gives a sense of the story.
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