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The Reluctant King #3
The Unbeheaded King
Three years earlier, Jorian had been crowned King of Xylar. But the laws of Xylar decreed that each randomly chosen monarch must be beheaded at the end of a five-year reign. Jorian had a prejudice against losing his head. With the aid of the aged wizard Karadur, he managed to flee.
Unfortunately, he had not been able to bring his beloved wife, Queen Estridis, with him, nor had he yet been able to find a means of freeing her from the palace in Xylar City.
But now his luck was about to change. He and the aged wizard Karadur were being flown through the night air in a great copper bathtub, powered by a demon under Karadur's control. Ahead of them lay Xylar City. There, while the demon kept the bathtub hovering above the palace, Jorian could let down a rope and rescue Estrildis. It should have been a foolproof scheme...
"The Unbeheaded King...contains everything a fantasy should have: warring wizards, fantastical beasts, princesses, traveling players, dark forests, digressive cautionary tales"
Unfortunately, he had not been able to bring his beloved wife, Queen Estridis, with him, nor had he yet been able to find a means of freeing her from the palace in Xylar City.
But now his luck was about to change. He and the aged wizard Karadur were being flown through the night air in a great copper bathtub, powered by a demon under Karadur's control. Ahead of them lay Xylar City. There, while the demon kept the bathtub hovering above the palace, Jorian could let down a rope and rescue Estrildis. It should have been a foolproof scheme...
"The Unbeheaded King...contains everything a fantasy should have: warring wizards, fantastical beasts, princesses, traveling players, dark forests, digressive cautionary tales"
185 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
L. Sprague de Camp
758 books312 followersLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 17, 2022
This was a fun series. Enjoyed overall. Love the recurring bits about settling down as a craftsman, self deprecating fear.
January 13, 2024
"The Unbeheaded King" marks the end of L. Sprague de Camp's "Reluctant King" trilogy, and while I didn't care for this entry as much as the previous two, I can still say that de Camp wrapped up the trilogy nicely. Overall, this type of fantasy series is more about the journey rather than the destination.
As for "The Unbeheaded King" itself, the novel still maintained the charm of its core characters (notably that of King Jorian and Doctor Karadur, one of the most enjoyable duos in fantasy stories in my experience), while also introducing new and interesting characters. The novel also maintained themes of its predecessors, such as the subversion of common fantasy tropes, as well as the solving of problems via comical real-world solutions within the fantasy setting (oftentimes, in these novels, magic isn't quite enough to solve all of the characters' obstacles).
The main reason I did not enjoy this novel quite as much as the previous two would be because the worldbuilding was somewhat weaker in this entry; the novel simply didn't feature as many new locations and characters as did the other two novels that came before it, and the primary reason for this is because the plot called for the protagonist to return to the start of his journey from the first book. While it was interesting to revisit these locales from the beginning of the series, and while it did make the journey come full circle and made closure for the ending to be achieved, it came at the expense of the most enjoyable aspect of the series, which was the creativity in building the fantasy setting. Another flaw that could be set against this novel, and perhaps the trilogy as a whole, would be its treatment of female characters; however, it should be noted that this book series began in the sixties, so it shouldn't surprise readers that this series does not live up to modern sensitivities.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this "The Reluctant King" trilogy, and I am partially sad to see the journey end. I would only recommend this particular novel for those who have read the previous two novels, as that reading is required to fully enjoy this entry. For fantasy readers in general, I would wholeheartedly recommend this trilogy.
As for "The Unbeheaded King" itself, the novel still maintained the charm of its core characters (notably that of King Jorian and Doctor Karadur, one of the most enjoyable duos in fantasy stories in my experience), while also introducing new and interesting characters. The novel also maintained themes of its predecessors, such as the subversion of common fantasy tropes, as well as the solving of problems via comical real-world solutions within the fantasy setting (oftentimes, in these novels, magic isn't quite enough to solve all of the characters' obstacles).
The main reason I did not enjoy this novel quite as much as the previous two would be because the worldbuilding was somewhat weaker in this entry; the novel simply didn't feature as many new locations and characters as did the other two novels that came before it, and the primary reason for this is because the plot called for the protagonist to return to the start of his journey from the first book. While it was interesting to revisit these locales from the beginning of the series, and while it did make the journey come full circle and made closure for the ending to be achieved, it came at the expense of the most enjoyable aspect of the series, which was the creativity in building the fantasy setting. Another flaw that could be set against this novel, and perhaps the trilogy as a whole, would be its treatment of female characters; however, it should be noted that this book series began in the sixties, so it shouldn't surprise readers that this series does not live up to modern sensitivities.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this "The Reluctant King" trilogy, and I am partially sad to see the journey end. I would only recommend this particular novel for those who have read the previous two novels, as that reading is required to fully enjoy this entry. For fantasy readers in general, I would wholeheartedly recommend this trilogy.
October 28, 2019
Decided to do a little more re-reading of books from the past and have to say I’ve missed reading fantasy of this quality. Mr. de Camp nailed fantasy in such a great way with the Unbeheaded King series.
As in the earlier novels our hero Jorian is attempting to recover the love of his life from the kingdom he formerly ruled (the Xylarians king rules for 5 years and then they behead the king and toss it to the crowd. The person who gets it is king for 5 years!). As always things unforeseen happen preventing a smooth recovery of his beloved. What makes this book and series great though isn’t that our hero is a hero, it’s that he overcomes things more as an average person who’s a little bigger, stronger, smarter, and done a few more things than the average person. What also makes the series so outstanding is Mr. de Camp brings forth different countries in history all throughout the stories, each told to the right level at the time and we learn more about them as you read deeper into the series. A fun romp, you really need to read them one after the other to fully enjoy the stories.
As in the earlier novels our hero Jorian is attempting to recover the love of his life from the kingdom he formerly ruled (the Xylarians king rules for 5 years and then they behead the king and toss it to the crowd. The person who gets it is king for 5 years!). As always things unforeseen happen preventing a smooth recovery of his beloved. What makes this book and series great though isn’t that our hero is a hero, it’s that he overcomes things more as an average person who’s a little bigger, stronger, smarter, and done a few more things than the average person. What also makes the series so outstanding is Mr. de Camp brings forth different countries in history all throughout the stories, each told to the right level at the time and we learn more about them as you read deeper into the series. A fun romp, you really need to read them one after the other to fully enjoy the stories.
July 12, 2025
It's fine, and I appreciated the ending. It's not one where I get attached to the characters, I won't be particularly moved by a happy ending, but it's not really aiming for that. The plot bounces along, the characters bounce with it, it's frequently interrupted with side stories, there's just no heft to it. I can appreciate that (in fact, I like it more than weighted too far in the other direction: bleak, somber, everything of great significance, yawn).
But for whatever reason it's lightness of touch has left me essentially unaffected. I was moved by Cabell's Figures of Earth. I thought Thraxas was terrific and have followed him through many sequels. But there's nothing particularly grabby about this series. I've read it, and I won't read it again.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
But for whatever reason it's lightness of touch has left me essentially unaffected. I was moved by Cabell's Figures of Earth. I thought Thraxas was terrific and have followed him through many sequels. But there's nothing particularly grabby about this series. I've read it, and I won't read it again.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
August 6, 2023
This last installment of The Reluctant King trilogy might be my favorite because of Margalit, Queen Estrildis' Lady In Waiting, who seemed a much better match for Jorian. I also found the use of demons from various planes of existence a cool plot device. They are not very cooperative.
Some of the story I could see coming a mile away, but there were also some surprises, so it's kind of a wash on that score. The story had a satisfying ending. If you liked the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, chances are you'll like this yarn.
Some of the story I could see coming a mile away, but there were also some surprises, so it's kind of a wash on that score. The story had a satisfying ending. If you liked the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, chances are you'll like this yarn.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2019
7/10. Media de los 4 libros leídos del autor : 7,5/10
No sé por qué no he leído mas del autor, muy famoso en sus tiempos y cuyas novelas me han gustado bastante. Sobre todo "Que no desciendan las tinieblas".
Tercero de la saga y me gustó un poco menos que los anteriores. Igual por la falta de novedad y eso.
No sé por qué no he leído mas del autor, muy famoso en sus tiempos y cuyas novelas me han gustado bastante. Sobre todo "Que no desciendan las tinieblas".
Tercero de la saga y me gustó un poco menos que los anteriores. Igual por la falta de novedad y eso.
June 1, 2017
The last and lasting escape of King Jorian.
August 2, 2018
This was fun! I'm too tired to come up with a more coherent review, but I enjoyed this during a time when I was too stressed to enjoy much of anything, so there's that.
April 17, 2019
Funny, good take and satirical take on Conan stories, have hold time well and are still funny even due to it's really strange english.
August 9, 2020
Buen colofón a las divertidas aventuras de este antihéroe
May 21, 2024
Entertaining and fun.
August 21, 2025
Да, некоторые книги надо успеть прочитать подростком…
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October 23, 2025The Unbeheaded King
January 17, 2016
This book is the last of a series of three. As I said before, Sprague de Camp wrote forty or fifty years ago, so his style is slower, but the humor is still there, though he focuses more on the people and the plot than world building, which is kind of a refreshing change, and his books are short, especially by SF standards. I especially like the way the book ends, though I don't want to spoil that if by change someone else wants to take on "The Reluctant King" except to say that the ending is a great way to look at life in general.
May 5, 2014
Not quite as enchanting as the first two installments in the series, The Unbeheaded King is more overt in its morality, with an almost Candide-like progression and interactions between the main characters. Still enjoyable, though.
November 27, 2009
Never trust a demon to rescue your wife.
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April 14, 2013I want to read! May I do it at last?
April 7, 2015
Not bad, considering they spend most of the book sitting around in inns. 3.5
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews