Yes. I’m considering this a more modern fantasy even though it’s written by a classic author, and most of my favorite works come from this genre:

The title of the series is yet to be named. See Changes again for King of Ashes - War of Five Crowns Enter King of Ashes, the newest book from Raymond E. Feist, the start to an entirely new series of books following the end to his magnum-opus, ‘ The Riftwar Cycle’, which started with one of the most popular fantasy books of the last few decades, Magician. The balance of power in North and South Tembria is reliant on the equality of the five greatest kingdoms, but this peaceful coexistence is shattered when one of the powers, the Kingdom of Flames is betrayed and its King and entire family executed by the other four. Almost all, that is, for one infant survived. Baron Daylon Dumarch had reluctantly participated in the betrayal but tries to atone by secreting the surviving infant to the so called Island of Night where the lad grows up among legendary spies, assassins, cutthroats, and other assorted criminals.

Fantasy Books Of The Year

The narration of King of Ashes takes the form of two perspectives—that of Hatu undergoing his education as a future sicari and through the eyes of Declan as he strives for greatness in his chosen profession of weapon smithing. Initially one may feel as though the changing points of view have no purpose as the young men involved have never been associated. By the end of the story however, it is obvious that each man has his part to play in the restoration of their once great land. Previously Garn consisted of five kingdoms, each as strong and noble as the next. Until the day Lodavico, King of Sandura, betrayed the great kingdom of Ithrace and murdered its king Steveren and all the flame haired Firemanes, heirs to Ithrace’s throne. Satisfied with his conquest, Lodavico and the three other remaining realms engage in a semi-peaceful treaty, leaving the fallen kingdom in disrepair, its people losing all but a tiny spark of hope. There was a rumour of a baby who was smuggled out, the last remaining Firemane, heir to all its power should he come of age and reclaim his rightful place. The book opens on a bloody scene as Baron Daylon Dumarch, a Free Lord, watches the execution of every single family member of the royal family of Ithrace. The monarch of what was once one of the five great kingdoms of North and South Tembria had just been betrayed by the other four kings in a brutal and decisive battle, signaling an end to the ancient covenant that had protected the peace and balance for centuries. Now King Lodavico of Sandura, the man at the head of the takeover, is determined to completely destroy the line of King Steveren of Ithrace, putting everyone with Firemane blood to the sword. Sometimes, as a reviewer, the job of analysing a book and crafting a review is the simplest job in the world. The author has crafted a beautiful tale and written it wonderfully, fleshed out the characters beyond a two-dimensional stereotype, kept the pace upbeat without being hurried, and told a tale worth telling. Other times, the job is a little more difficult, when an author has told an interesting story, but it was not well written, or a story was well written, but it simply didn’t appeal to me.

As a minor aside, as well, the book is littered with printing errors (I assume they are not grammatical errors because nobody can so regularly misspell “but” as “hut”) which, for me at least, were continually irritating – an unfortunate analogy of a book that seems not to have received the attention to detail necessary.Few authors have had the effect that Raymond Feist has had on the fantasy genre. He is as synonymous with grand fantasy novels as Stephen King is with horror. As of right now, Feist has written 30+ books, most notably the Riftwar Cycle. A collection of fantasy stories that revolve around the world of Midkemia and Kelewan. However, Feist’s newest series, The Firemane Saga beginning with King of Ashes, has the potential to be as widespread and loved as the Riftwar Cycle. For centuries the Covenant has existed between the five great kingdoms of Garn, ensuring peace between the nations. That peace is shattered when Ithrace, one of the five kingdoms, is betrayed and the ruling line killed down to the last child. Or so the killers think. A boy survives, and is hidden by one of the free lords, raised unaware of his identity as part of a long simmering plan. Omg. The execution of the story. The basic idea behind the book was actually super interesting. Something I would’ve wanted to read in any other context. The prologue even had me giddy with anticipation, thinking, “this is going to be good.” The characters were depressingly two-dimensional and the overarching story the epitome of convenient contrivance. By the end of the book I’m fairly certain everyone was related to everyone else or had at least arrived at the same location “by happenstance”– the author’s pen strokes blatantly obvious. While Declan’s story was at times intriguing, it was marred by overbearing contrivance and laziness, while Hatu’s story and his character development were simply abysmal. At some point towards the end of the book the narrator explains that Hatu was not prone to introspection – which made me laugh aloud, considering that the majority of his chapters were overburdened with his weirdly ignorant obsession with life around him and the author’s preternatural need to “tell” us everything instead of “showing” us anything.