Last Argument of Kings
2008
- fiction, fantasy, historical
- fiction, war & military
- fiction, fantasy, general
- imaginary wars and battles
- fiction
- kings and rulers
- succession
- fiction / fantasy / epic
- fiction / action & adventure
- fiction / fantasy / historical
The story
The King of the Union lies on his deathbed, the peasants revolt, and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No one believes that the shadow of war is about to fall across the heart of the Union. Only the First of the Magi can save the world, but there are risks.
What it’s like
Grimy, weathered prose with a dry, sardonic voice that turns cold and bloody when it needs to, and a sensory world of mud, rain-soaked battlefields, smoky taverns and drafty castle halls. The mood is bleak and mordantly funny, a cynical grit that reads best in the cold hours of a late night or on a long, lonely stretch of travel. Its pacing is brisk and close-third, rotating between a cluster of schemers, soldiers and reluctant heroes, with chapters that snap shut on a jolt. The arcs are less about redemption than about flawed people scrambling for power and occasionally finding something like decency under the pressure. Violence is frequent, direct and often graphic: sword and axe fights, battlefield carnage, executions and torture, with profanity throughout and some sexual content that is frank rather than explicit. It lands as hard and unsentimental, not gory for its own sake. Best for readers who want dark, morally grey political fantasy with sharp humour and a taste for war.
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