King of Ashes: Book One of The Firemane Saga

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This is a new series of books not related to the Riftwar Cycle. This series will be known as King of Ashes. The first two books have now been named. While there is a smattering of other POVs peppered throughout the novel, King of Ashes is mainly told through the eyes of these two young men—Hatu and Declan. For the most part, they are very archetypal characters, i.e. the lost heir and the bastard apprentice, and no doubt avid fantasy readers will have seen their like many times before. And yet, Feist prevents them from feeling too stale by keeping his story moving at an energetic pace. It’s rather common for first volumes of new epic fantasy series to become bogged down by the minutiae, taking forever to get started, but I was happy to see that this is not the case here. Granted, novels focused on politics bore me. Yes, unfortunately, even if the setting is the "fantastical" Middle Ages -- or, wait, exactly like our Middle Ages only in a place not called Earth that happens to have Earth-identical people, flora and fauna, and technological history. I expected little of this story from the first sentence. The opening, set on a quiet battlefield post-war (conveniently avoiding any of the actual fun of the battle itself), only exists to explain to the reader that there was a coup d'état. And then it warns that, in this new season of unrest, others may attempt violence upon the throne!...blah blah blah. No thanks. All in all I felt like this was an OK new fantasy from Feist. Nothing special but it settled down to be readable enough after a sluggish start and I'll probably read the sequel when it comes along. King of Ashes is the first book in a brand new trilogy from Raymond E. Feist, set in a new world unconnected to his dozens of Midkemia-related novels. As someone who grew up reading everything he wrote, and he wrote a LOT (Goodreads informs me Feist is my most read author), I was very excited to read something brand new from him. While I enjoyed the story, I was a little disappointed overall.

Then it's 17 years later and the baby has grown up to be a spy for a hidden island of Coaltachin. We learn the story of Hatu, the baby who survived and how he doesn't know anything about his identity and is looking for answers whilst completing his training. Simultaneously, we get the story of Declan, the smith who was an orphan and was raised by a legendary smith. We learn of their present stories and their abilities to do more than what seems at first. Hatu finishes his training and goes for his first mission and Declan loses his only home to the raiders from sandura. Hatu learns somethings that were only known to be myths and Declan leaves his only home to survive and he ends up at Marquensas, Barony of Daylon who sent Hatu to train at Coaltachin. There are also some chapters from other characters' POVs, one of the Baron Daylon and the other Hava, friend of Hatu who is also a spy. Hatu has another friend Donte who gets lost at sea on one of the missions. 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. In addition, King of Ashes suffers from numerous pacing issues. The rhythm can be atrocious in certain portions of the book and rushed in others. For the most part, as I mentioned it reads like something from the early 90s. Problem is, the fantasy genre has evolved quite a bit in the last few decades and I'm not sure this new series can truly satisfy genre readers in 2018.I received an advance reader copy of King of Ashes in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Raymond E. Feist and Harper Voyager. 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. 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.

The King of Ashes was the working title for a new series of books, not related to the Riftwar Cycle. There are currently planned 3 books, the titles of which will be made known at a future time.Five kingdoms used to co-exist in Garn, spread across the two continents of North and South Tembria. The Kingdom of Flames was destroyed by an act of betrayal and the ruling line of Firemanes completely wiped out, or so it was thought. 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.

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. I could not put this book down. The story grabbed me right from the beginning and didn't let up until the climatic cliffhanger. As usual, the worldbuilding is effortlessly done. Rather than providing a massive info dump at the start of the book, which bores most people and makes them want to stop reading, Feist masterly weaves each piece of information into the story at the necessary time. Just when you start to wonder about something, the author provides you with the context you need. The character development of the two main characters, Hatu and Declan, is fantastic. Secondary characters Hava, Donte and Daylon also have a fair amount of character development. Most of the ancillary characters simply react to the main characters, but they are still entertaining to read. For centuries, the five greatest kingdoms of North and South Tembria, twin continents on the world of Garn, have coexisted in peace. But the balance of power is destroyed when four of the kingdoms violate an ancient covenant and betray the fifth: Ithrace, the Kingdom of Flames, ruled by Steveren Langene, known as "the Firemane" for his brilliant red hair. As war engulfs the world, Ithrace is destroyed and the Greater Realms of Tembria are thrust into a dangerous struggle for supremacy.

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In other words, this is a perfect book to jump into, assuming you want an absolutely gorgeous and detailed kingdom, some rather fully-fleshed out political entities, and two ideal YA character-candidates reminiscent of some of Feist's much earlier (and excellent) work involving two rather precocious princelings. Or their sons.