Throne Born

This is a prequel novella to Zodak: The Last Shielder, however it may be best referred to as a precursor, as it’s entirely its own story.

Although I read these almost back to back, I found there to be little connection to Zodak at all, unless I just entirely missed it (totally might have). That’s not a bad thing at all, I was just keeping my eyes and ears peeled for those little threads to start seeding their way in. Set two hundred years before Zodak, I expected maybe something more direct in the prequel area to the shielders, but I’m still not mad at all with a more separate story.

Where Zodak follows a young character’s journey through finding out he may be more than just a farm boy, Throne Born is a story of splintering peace, political intrigue in multiple courts, deceptions, and betrayals. This difference might also be why it felt so totally different and unrelated to me as well. This novella is also on less of a grand scale. There are stakes, and things are very real, however it never quite gets off the ground to the level in which Zodak felt, which was awfully epic. With that being said, it’s also a simplified, more personal story as well, which absolutely worked in the novella format. Love, jealousy, and pride collide in a natural fashion, but still in a big enough way.

Enjoyable and worth checking out! I read Zodak first, and would probably suggest it in that order. While this does not follow the recent format of prequel being released after the novel, there was just more of what I loved in the full release that hooked me and made me want to go back. The Epilogue, the King’s Coda, read almost like something you’d find in Tolkien’s Appendices, and for that, I really enjoyed its addition.