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King's Blood
If you could gain the power of the gods by drinking their blood, would you do it? What if it cost you your mind?
Years ago, Alverick, member of the King's Guard, took the risk. For him, it worked and he was blessed with the earthy powers of the gods, but it came at a cost. As the years passed, he's come closer and closer to losing his sanity.
Now that the city of Pharn is threatened by a young upstart, he struggles with his duty to protect his people against the enemy, and himself.
However, the gods can't be separated from their blood forever.
Years ago, Alverick, member of the King's Guard, took the risk. For him, it worked and he was blessed with the earthy powers of the gods, but it came at a cost. As the years passed, he's come closer and closer to losing his sanity.
Now that the city of Pharn is threatened by a young upstart, he struggles with his duty to protect his people against the enemy, and himself.
However, the gods can't be separated from their blood forever.
308 pages, Hardcover
Published July 1, 2018
7 people want to read
About the author
K.N. Nguyen
10 books5 followersK.N. Nguyen is a fantasy author and the founder of DragonScript, a group that offers an outlet for new writers. Growing up, she often found herself immersed in some imaginary world, conquering enemy nations, and saving the day. As time went on, her love for horrible puns and nerd culture pulled her out of these worlds and brought her back to reality.
It wasn't until she started working at her office job that she felt the itch to begin writing. Her first two books, King's Blood and Oath Blood, are part of The Fallen series, which draws on her love of ancient Mediterranean mythology and epic fantasy.
A native of Sacramento, California, K.N. Nguyen spends her time singing karaoke, playing taiko, enjoying rhythm dancing games, and traveling with her friends and family when she isn't writing.
It wasn't until she started working at her office job that she felt the itch to begin writing. Her first two books, King's Blood and Oath Blood, are part of The Fallen series, which draws on her love of ancient Mediterranean mythology and epic fantasy.
A native of Sacramento, California, K.N. Nguyen spends her time singing karaoke, playing taiko, enjoying rhythm dancing games, and traveling with her friends and family when she isn't writing.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 28, 2021
King’s Blood by KN Nguyen is familiar enough to get new readers interested and unique enough to keep them reading. A perfect blend, according to Brandon Sanderson—this is exactly what you want!
First, King’s Blood is not my kind of novel. That doesn’t mean it didn’t do things well. If you like a huge cast of characters (some of them death fodder, but hey, that’s life in a fantasy novel!) in a sort of political setting—a little like GRRM’s Song of Ice and Fire—then you will like the style of King’s Blood.
Second, it has a quick pace much like a lot of the books in the Forbidden Realms series. Again, not my thing, but quick and light is good for certain audiences. Readers don’t get to linger long on characters as there are many to get through. But it keeps the pace moving forward at a steady march much like the armies on the pages.
What’s cool about King’s Blood is how much there is to explore. There is a lot of lore introduced in the book (the first of a series) that is just waiting to be explored later! There seem to be a myriad of cultures interacting too that I hope to get more familiar with. The magic system is intriguing as well with well-defined limitations. Don’t get to see that often, so it was refreshing.
All in all, it was an introduction to a world I hope to adventure in more in the next books!
First, King’s Blood is not my kind of novel. That doesn’t mean it didn’t do things well. If you like a huge cast of characters (some of them death fodder, but hey, that’s life in a fantasy novel!) in a sort of political setting—a little like GRRM’s Song of Ice and Fire—then you will like the style of King’s Blood.
Second, it has a quick pace much like a lot of the books in the Forbidden Realms series. Again, not my thing, but quick and light is good for certain audiences. Readers don’t get to linger long on characters as there are many to get through. But it keeps the pace moving forward at a steady march much like the armies on the pages.
What’s cool about King’s Blood is how much there is to explore. There is a lot of lore introduced in the book (the first of a series) that is just waiting to be explored later! There seem to be a myriad of cultures interacting too that I hope to get more familiar with. The magic system is intriguing as well with well-defined limitations. Don’t get to see that often, so it was refreshing.
All in all, it was an introduction to a world I hope to adventure in more in the next books!
June 25, 2021
This book was a good start and set up to a series, and that was also a little of the problem with it. It very much feels like a start. There is exposition and the reader is introduced quickly to several characters, some that stick around and some that don't, and concepts. There is quite some world-building going on, but often the reader is left wondering and wanting since it is not always clear what things are and how it is connected. The characters fall a bit flat at times and I had little understanding of where they were headed or what they wanted. I also felt confused by the names, it felt inconsistent as some had contemporary names while others had clear fantastical ones.
As a whole, the book wasn't bad and as I stated earlier, it was a good start, but it failed to keep my interest enough throughout.
As a whole, the book wasn't bad and as I stated earlier, it was a good start, but it failed to keep my interest enough throughout.
October 4, 2021
Okay, so I think this was a good beginning to a new fantasy series, but it also had some confusing elements. There are a lot of characters thrown at you, and while not all of them are important, they can be hard to keep track of. I also felt like there was a lot of world building, and it took away from the plot a little. But I really liked the character of Princess Cienna; I admire her tenacity and relate to her stubbornness. Considering this is the author’s debut novel, I think she’s off to a very good start!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews