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The Kept King
Autumn has come to the kingdom of Harlow’s Hill. Leaves of red, orange, and yellow cast a soft glow over the castle and its small farming villages, lending a tranquility to the quiet lands. Life in the northern hills was peaceful, serene, and trouble-free. But for King Thomas Hawke, it wasn’t that simple. Since childhood, he had been stricken with a mysterious illness; one with no known cause, and no known cure. It repeatedly took a heavy toll on the king’s body; however, nothing was more devastating than the loss of his memory.
After each episode, the King has been left to reconstruct the fragments of his life, hoping that one day his memories might return. As the years stretched on, his illness only grew worse - threatening his family line that still required an heir.
With help from the Order of Acolytes, Thomas finds himself in a race against time to find a queen. Suitor after suitor come to the castle, and each visit ends the same way – with the King alone in the castle’s keep. That is until a mysterious new woman, Kate, arrives.
Join Thomas and Kate as they unravel the mysteries of Harlow’s Hill, changing everything they know about who they were, who they are, and who they will be.
After each episode, the King has been left to reconstruct the fragments of his life, hoping that one day his memories might return. As the years stretched on, his illness only grew worse - threatening his family line that still required an heir.
With help from the Order of Acolytes, Thomas finds himself in a race against time to find a queen. Suitor after suitor come to the castle, and each visit ends the same way – with the King alone in the castle’s keep. That is until a mysterious new woman, Kate, arrives.
Join Thomas and Kate as they unravel the mysteries of Harlow’s Hill, changing everything they know about who they were, who they are, and who they will be.
- GenresFantasy
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 17, 2020
15 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Ryan D. Meier
3 books20 followersRyan D Meier (1984-present) was born and raised in the Hudson Valley region of New York, where he still resides today with his wife and four children.
Outside of writing and family, Ryan is the founder of Worldhoppers Guild (www.worldhoppersguild.com), a not-for-profit indie author platform. He enjoys hiking and consuming as much creative fiction as possible (reading, watching, video games).
"There are many I'm capable of, but only one thing I was meant to do."
Outside of writing and family, Ryan is the founder of Worldhoppers Guild (www.worldhoppersguild.com), a not-for-profit indie author platform. He enjoys hiking and consuming as much creative fiction as possible (reading, watching, video games).
"There are many I'm capable of, but only one thing I was meant to do."
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 23, 2021
3.5/5
King Thomas Hawke needs a queen to secure an heir. With many potential (and eager) candidates to choose from, he can be picky. Life is good! Or, rather, would be if not for Thomas' long and short-term memory loss. After his inexplicable fits, he barely remembers anything. Something is wrong with the world around him, sure, but what exactly? Hard to say.
I liked the way the author used memory loss to build psychological tension. Thomas' seizures "reset" him and make his narrative both compelling and frustrating. As a reader, I was interested in finding out the truth; the lack of a reliable narrative made it difficult. And fun!
There's a lot to like here: the mystery is compelling; the main characters are well developed; the pacing is consistent, and the plot is engaging. I find the concept of how memory shapes our understanding of the world fascinating, and Meier plays with this theme in a cool way.
One minor criticism is that parts of the story were repetitive. The resolution, while genuinely surprising, requires considerable suspension of disbelief. Not because it comes out of nowhere, but because I found the amount of work (funding, logistics, etc.) required to keep the conspiracy going insanely high.
This issue notwithstanding, fans of fantasy mystery should enjoy the story.
King Thomas Hawke needs a queen to secure an heir. With many potential (and eager) candidates to choose from, he can be picky. Life is good! Or, rather, would be if not for Thomas' long and short-term memory loss. After his inexplicable fits, he barely remembers anything. Something is wrong with the world around him, sure, but what exactly? Hard to say.
I liked the way the author used memory loss to build psychological tension. Thomas' seizures "reset" him and make his narrative both compelling and frustrating. As a reader, I was interested in finding out the truth; the lack of a reliable narrative made it difficult. And fun!
There's a lot to like here: the mystery is compelling; the main characters are well developed; the pacing is consistent, and the plot is engaging. I find the concept of how memory shapes our understanding of the world fascinating, and Meier plays with this theme in a cool way.
One minor criticism is that parts of the story were repetitive. The resolution, while genuinely surprising, requires considerable suspension of disbelief. Not because it comes out of nowhere, but because I found the amount of work (funding, logistics, etc.) required to keep the conspiracy going insanely high.
This issue notwithstanding, fans of fantasy mystery should enjoy the story.
April 29, 2021
Love an unreliable narrator in a book - and King Thomas, with his long & short tem memory problems and was certainly that!
We get to solve the mysteries of his life along with him when a new suiter appears and turns his world upside down. As a reader, we think we know what Thomas doesn't but the author keeps us on our toes. Puzzles galore!
Thoroughly enjoyed this read - Thomas was such a sympathetic character and I was rooting for him all the way through. So if you like a mystery in a fantasy setting this might just be for you!
We get to solve the mysteries of his life along with him when a new suiter appears and turns his world upside down. As a reader, we think we know what Thomas doesn't but the author keeps us on our toes. Puzzles galore!
Thoroughly enjoyed this read - Thomas was such a sympathetic character and I was rooting for him all the way through. So if you like a mystery in a fantasy setting this might just be for you!
May 23, 2021
A wonderful story. Bittersweet.
This book is like a flower unfolding. The King is a wonderful character. This is more than anything? A love story. The end is satisfying but bittersweet. It reminded me of a number of other novels but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Very well done! Fantastic!
This book is like a flower unfolding. The King is a wonderful character. This is more than anything? A love story. The end is satisfying but bittersweet. It reminded me of a number of other novels but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Very well done! Fantastic!
February 9, 2022
I'm really torn about this book. The first 60% was one of the best things that I read this year (not that there's much competition, but still). But the rest was a solid 2 stars.
King Thomas rules his kingdom of Harlow’s Hill. Unfortunately, due to his illness, most of the duties fall on his faithful acolytes. The kingdom is supposed to be medieval, but it has showers, a kitchenette, and tapestries with Smaug and the gunslinger. The acolytes are adamant that he is never ever to leave the castle. They stuff him with medication that makes him drowsy and forgetful. Various princesses from faraway kingdoms come, drag him to bed just to disappear a few days later. And there is a silver door in the castle no one ever talks about.
One day, a girl appears, promising to bring all the answers Thomas desperately needs.
That's as much as I can tell. Most of the story is told from Thomas's point of view, and it works brilliantly when he's sick and confused and confined. But at that 60% mark, when he finally leaves the castle, it falls apart. I don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers, but suddenly character's actions stopped making sense, head-hopping became wild and dialogues stifled. There were a few moments when I doubted Thomas is still the POV character, as there were words and expressions he had no way of knowing. And he acted with almost criminal naivety and stupidity
Writing-wise, there are also a few problems. Aforementioned head-hopping, some missing punctuation, and over-reliance on pronouns.
But despite that, I enjoyed the book. It's really between 3 and 4 stars for me, but I liked the first half enough to round it up to 4.
King Thomas rules his kingdom of Harlow’s Hill. Unfortunately, due to his illness, most of the duties fall on his faithful acolytes. The kingdom is supposed to be medieval, but it has showers, a kitchenette, and tapestries with Smaug and the gunslinger. The acolytes are adamant that he is never ever to leave the castle. They stuff him with medication that makes him drowsy and forgetful. Various princesses from faraway kingdoms come, drag him to bed just to disappear a few days later. And there is a silver door in the castle no one ever talks about.
One day, a girl appears, promising to bring all the answers Thomas desperately needs.
That's as much as I can tell. Most of the story is told from Thomas's point of view, and it works brilliantly when he's sick and confused and confined. But at that 60% mark, when he finally leaves the castle, it falls apart. I don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers, but suddenly character's actions stopped making sense, head-hopping became wild and dialogues stifled. There were a few moments when I doubted Thomas is still the POV character, as there were words and expressions he had no way of knowing. And he acted with almost criminal naivety and stupidity
Writing-wise, there are also a few problems. Aforementioned head-hopping, some missing punctuation, and over-reliance on pronouns.
But despite that, I enjoyed the book. It's really between 3 and 4 stars for me, but I liked the first half enough to round it up to 4.
February 25, 2021
I'll try to write a review that wouldn't contain any spoilers. I picked this book up randomly at the Kindle store based on it sounding interesting, and wanting to read a fantasy book.
I actually really enjoyed the first half of the book - the author had managed to create a wonderful atmosphere and what the book lacked in detailed world building, it made up for in psychological suspense. The main character was a typical unreliable narrator because he experienced seizures and both short and long term memory problems, and it was exciting to get the sense that something is wrong in the world but not knowing what it is. I had several theories but didn't figure it out. The character was really trying to get a sense of things but mostly failing. I couldn't put the book down.
The second half of the book had a very different tone, as now we knew most of the answers to the puzzles from the first half, but it created its own questions. I enjoyed it slightly less due to the change in setting. The ending came together almost too easily, but I don't regret spending the time to finish. All in all, quite an enjoyable read. Recommended if you like fantasy, if you like suspense, puzzles and a plot that you have no idea where it's going.
I actually really enjoyed the first half of the book - the author had managed to create a wonderful atmosphere and what the book lacked in detailed world building, it made up for in psychological suspense. The main character was a typical unreliable narrator because he experienced seizures and both short and long term memory problems, and it was exciting to get the sense that something is wrong in the world but not knowing what it is. I had several theories but didn't figure it out. The character was really trying to get a sense of things but mostly failing. I couldn't put the book down.
The second half of the book had a very different tone, as now we knew most of the answers to the puzzles from the first half, but it created its own questions. I enjoyed it slightly less due to the change in setting. The ending came together almost too easily, but I don't regret spending the time to finish. All in all, quite an enjoyable read. Recommended if you like fantasy, if you like suspense, puzzles and a plot that you have no idea where it's going.
January 7, 2021
"Every so often two strangers can cross paths, overcome the odds, and save each other from the barbarous world surrounding them."
What would you do if the world you knew and everyone in it was a lie?
It's been a long time since I read a book that I thought I had figured out that turned on its head leaving me dumbfounded. I thought King Thomas and his mysterious illness was a result of poisoning for others trying to take the throne and rule...boy was I wrong. This story kept me guessing throughout and reminded me a bit of the Truman show with the world not being what we initially think it is. Beautifully written, definitely a change from my usual reads, I normally have a fair idea about how a story is going and with this one I had no idea, nothing is obvious like so many other reads. I'll be definitely keeping an eye out for more of this authors works.
What would you do if the world you knew and everyone in it was a lie?
It's been a long time since I read a book that I thought I had figured out that turned on its head leaving me dumbfounded. I thought King Thomas and his mysterious illness was a result of poisoning for others trying to take the throne and rule...boy was I wrong. This story kept me guessing throughout and reminded me a bit of the Truman show with the world not being what we initially think it is. Beautifully written, definitely a change from my usual reads, I normally have a fair idea about how a story is going and with this one I had no idea, nothing is obvious like so many other reads. I'll be definitely keeping an eye out for more of this authors works.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2025
Was a fun read!
May 5, 2024
This book starts as a fantasy book with a strange king who keeps forgetting things after he has an episode and his acolytes who don't seem to be too keen for him to remember what he forgot. They keep bringing in candidates for a queen, but this always seems to fail.
Without giving too many spoilers, let me note that the book transforms into science-fiction about halfway through the story. We find out why the king is having the episodes, who these helpers who seem to be helpless themselves are etc.
An Interesting story and an interesting twist.
Without giving too many spoilers, let me note that the book transforms into science-fiction about halfway through the story. We find out why the king is having the episodes, who these helpers who seem to be helpless themselves are etc.
An Interesting story and an interesting twist.
February 13, 2024
Brilliant.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews