Blood of the Old Kings
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Named a Best Fantasy Book of the Year by NPR, Amazon, Paste, and Book Riot!
From award-winning Korean author Sung-il Kim & translated by the world-renowned Anton Hur, Blood of the Old Kings begins an epic journey unlike any other.
There is no escaping the Empire.
Even in death, you will serve.
In an Empire run on necromancy, dead sorcerers are the lifeblood. Their corpses are wrapped in chains and drained of magic to feed the unquenchable hunger for imperial conquest.
Born with magic, Arienne has become resigned to her dark fate. But when the voice of a long-dead sorcerer begins to speak inside her head, she listens. There may be another future for her, if she’s willing to fight for it.
Miles away, beneath a volcano, a seven-eyed dragon also wears the Empire’s chains. Before the imperial fist closed around their lands, it was the people’s sacred guardian.
Loran, a widowed swordswoman, is the first to kneel before the dragon in decades. She comes with a desperate plea, and will leave with a sword of dragon-fang in hand and a great purpose before her.
In the heart of the Imperial capital, Cain is known as a man who gets things done. When his best friend and mentor is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war.
Step into a world of necromancy, murder, and twisted magic. A world in need of a hero.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kim debuts with an epic underdog fantasy in which choice outweighs destiny. Running up against a world-spanning Empire that draws its powers from dead sorcerers, three outsiders become embroiled in rebellions and plots to free prisoners. Swordmaster Loran bargains with a captive dragon to fulfill its promise to preserve a kingdom conquered by the Empire. Sorcerer-in-training Arienne, tutored by an unliving mage, flees before the Empire can render her into a source of magic energy. Cain, an orphan in the capital, is haunted by the specter of a slain friend and strives to thwart the coup planned by her killers. The question that bedevils all three protagonists is how much their choices are driven by their own free will or forced by external powers. Kim avoids saddling his characters with the well-worn "chosen one" narrative, finding ways to make their destinies more a product of actions taken than of inheritance. Readers seeking an exciting new fantasy world to sink into will find this hits the spot.
