Ratings2
Average rating2.5
A thrilling new voice in fantasy makes an unforgettable debut with this "intriguingly twisted tale of treachery and magic" (New York Times bestselling author L. E. Modesitt, Jr.). Liane Merciel’s The River Kings’ Road takes us to a world of bitter enmity between kingdoms, divided loyalties between comrades, and an insidious magic that destroys everything it touches. . . . The wounded maidservant thrust the knotted blankets at him; instinctively, Brys stepped forward and caught the bundle before it fell. Then he glimpsed what lay inside and nearly dropped it himself. There was a baby in the blankets. A baby with a tear-swollen face red and round as a midsummer plum. A baby he knew, even without seeing the lacquered medallion tucked into the swaddling—a medallion far too heavy, on a chain far too cold for an infant who had not yet seen a year. A fragile period of peace between the eternally warring kingdoms of Oakharn and Langmyr is shattered when a surprise massacre fueled by bloodmagic ravages the Langmyrne border village of Willowfield, killing its inhabitants—including a visiting Oakharne lord and his family—and leaving behind a scene so grisly that even the carrion eaters avoid its desecrated earth. But the dead lord’s infant heir has survived the carnage—a discovery that entwines the destinies of Brys Tarnell, a mercenary who rescues the helpless and ailing babe, and who enlists a Langmyr peasant, a young mother herself, to nourish and nurture the child of her enemies as they travel a dark, perilous road . . . Odosse, the peasant woman whose only weapons are wit, courage, and her fierce maternal love—and who risks everything she holds dear to protect her new charge . . . Sir Kelland, a divinely blessed Knight of the Sun, called upon to unmask the architects behind the slaughter and avert war between ancestral enemies . . . Bitharn, Kelland’s companion on his journey, who conceals her lifelong love for the Knight behind her flawless archery skills—and whose feelings may ultimately be Kelland’s undoing . . . and Leferic, an Oakharne Lord’s bitter youngest son, whose dark ambitions fuel the most horrific acts of violence. As one infant’s life hangs in the balance, so too does the fate of thousands, while deep in the forest, a Maimed Witch practices an evil bloodmagic that could doom them all. . . .
Series
1 primary bookIthelas is a 1-book series first released in 2010 with contributions by Liane Merciel.
Reviews with the most likes.
To me this book was horribly slow, the main storyline did not interest me at all. The story of Kelland and Bitharn interested me the most and you barely heard about them. Too many different story lines with not enough content or development in plot to support them.
Pros: clear writing, fast paced, brutal but intelligent characters
Cons: the story jumps around and with the size of the cast it was sometimes hard to remember who was who
When Sir Galefrid's entourage is ambushed at prayers in Willowbank, on the wrong side of the border everyone, even the villagers, is killed. Only his infant son Wistan and a sellsword, Brys Tyrell, survive.
Brys encounters a young mother and child, away from the village for the day and convinces her to accompany him and help the injured Wistan. The child is hunted by those who killed his father, including a practitioner of blood magic.
Meanwhile, the lord of Willowbank's province asks a visiting Blessed to investigate its destruction in the hopes of avoiding war with neighbouring Oakharn over the incident.
For a debut this book is very well written. The language is clear, the plot fast moving and intricate, the characters interesting. I especially liked how pragmatic the people were. I wouldn't want to know Brys, but he's a great character who knows when the fight or flee, kills without remorse when he needs to, and admires strength in others. Similarly Galefrid's younger brother, Leferic, is a ruthless but intelligent man. Despite how he becomes the acting ruler of Bull's March, it sounds like he really would be a better ruler than his brother.
I was surprised by how easily the village girl agreed to follow Brys, despite having no evidence but his word that Willowbank was destroyed. And I'd expected Leferic to consider the advantages of having Wistan returned safely earlier.
Since the story jumps between plot lines and has a large cast I sometimes had a hard time remembering who everyone was. But this wasn't a big problem.
It was a great read.