EBookObsessed
Written on May 17, 2020
A tear in the fabric between worlds unleashes demons into the Kai city of Haradis with the royal place at the epicenter. With all the Kai fleeing for their lives across the river, because every knows that the gala can’t cross running water, no know know what has become of the royal family
All the refuges head towards Saggara and Brishen Khaskem, their new king, for protection. After spending his whole life as the royal spare, Brishen isn’t excited to embrace his new elevated station, even as Interim King.
The Elsod, or Keeper of the Memories, comes to him bearing the only solution to the galla problem. The galla cannot be killed so Brishen must undergo a ritual and become a Wraith King so he can round up the spirits of the dead and push the galla back behind the barrier. More, because the Kai spirits still lingering won’t be enough to push back the hoard of galla pushing into this world, Brishen will need to convince the Gaul and Baledine Kingdoms to send their own people to suffer a death ritual so they can command their own spirits. Who in their right minds will volunteer to subject themselves to a death ritual which may or may not succeed. Even if Gaul and Baledine weren’t at each other’s throats, they would want to keep their powerful mages close because once the galla finish with the Kai, they will seek out more prey. This ritual is also going to demand a sacrifice that Brishen can’t allow anyone to ever know about or his people will turn on him for his blood. Brishen will need to steal that little bit of magic that every Kai still holds in order to fuel the great magic needed to create the Wraith Kings.
With everything going on: galla, his missing family, refugees, food shortages, aristocracy jockeying for position with the new ruler, Brishen has missed one important fact that his beloved Ildiko has not. Brishen is no longer the spare. He is now the last living member of the House of Khaskem, one who is married to a human woman who can’t bear him a Kai heir. The Kai are going to expect Brishen to put aside his human wife and remarry a Kai women who can ensure the future of his House.
Brishen will do anything for his people. He will accept the burden of king, he will risk his life to push back the galla but he will not give up his beloved Ildiko. But no matter how hard he fights against it, he can already feel that he is loosing his very practical wife who was raised to do her duty for a Kingdom.
This story was slightly altered in the story telling since we added another POV of Ildiko’s former lady’s maid who is traveling with some palace guards. Through their eyes we see the fall of the palace and the deaths of many as the galla first attack the city and those who sacrifice themselves so others have time to cross the river. This leaves us bouncing between Ildiko, Brishen and Kirgipa. We also focus a little less on the love story as we have established that Ildiko and Brishen are happy together and now we have the drama of demons attacking. I thought the whole Wraith King ritual, etc. to defeat the galla was a bit convoluted but the story was still very entertaining. I still think the interaction of Brishen and Ildiko is the best part of the series.
I had planned to jump into the third book since the cover was shown on the authors website and I was coming late to this series but couldn’t find it. I did see on Amazon that the release date was pushed back to September 2020. Someone commented yesterday that the author is posting it serialized on her website. There is the link where she explains why and the difference between the serializing and the final copy which will be on sale in September. Book 3 – Ippos King This third book features the Baledine Margrave Serovek Pangion, who has his heart set on Brishen’s cousin and Lieutenant Anhuset. He obviously already finds beauty in the Kai but Anhuset finds his interest disconcerting.
Personally, I think I am going to hold off until it is finalized and released but I will definitely come back to this series. I do have a copy of In the Darkest Midnight which was part of the anthology Amid the Winter Snow. I didn’t finish any of the stories besides Thea Harrison’s because I had a hard time jumping into the worldbuilding for the other authors, but now that I have been introduced to the Wraith Kings universe, I think I am going to dust that one off.
