Review: The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Seven Realms #1

Release Date: October 6^th, 2009

Number of Pages: 506

Publisher: Hyperion Books

When 16-year-old Han Alister and his Clan friend Dancer encounter three underage wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea, he has no idea that this event will precipitate a cascade of disasters that will threaten everything he cares about.

Han takes an amulet from one of the wizards, Micah Bayar, to prevent him from using it against them. Only later does he learn that it has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. And the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back

Han’s life is complicated enough. He’s the former streetlord of the Raggers—a street gang in the city of Fellsmarch. His street name, Cuffs, comes from the mysterious silver bracelets he’s worn all his life—cuffs that are impossible to take off.

Now Han’s working odd jobs, helping to support his family, and doing his best to leave his old life behind. Events conspire against him, however. When members of a rival gang start dying, Han naturally gets the blame.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna has her own battles to fight. As heir to the Gray Wolf throne of the Fells, she’s just spent three years of relative freedom with her father’s family at Demonai Camp—riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Now court life in Fellsmarch pinches like a pair of too-small shoes.

Wars are raging to the south, and threaten to spread into the high country. After a long period of quiet, the power of the Wizard Council is once again growing. The people of the Fells are starving and close to rebellion. Now more than ever, there’s a need for a strong queen.

But Raisa’s mother Queen Marianna is weak and distracted by the handsome Gavan Bayar, High Wizard of the Fells. Raisa feels like a cage is closing around her—and an arranged marriage and eroded inheritance is the least of it.

Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. With the help of her friend, the cadet Amon Byrne, she navigates the treacherous Gray Wolf Court, hoping she can unravel the conspiracy coalescing around her before it’s too late.

I finally read The Demon King, a book I had been excited to read for a while. I did enjoy it, but I sadly didn’t love it. I don’t know if I was just expecting too much from this series, but I felt like there was a little something missing to live up to its reputation.

One of the things I really liked about the book was the dual point of view. I found it interesting to get both Raisa’s and Han’s point of view. It thought Raisa was an interesting character. She was strong, forceful, and I liked that she was able to made up her own mind. She can be a little annoying when she wants her way, but it is easy to understand why she was that way. After all, she is a Princess, and she will be soon Queen. Han was interesting to me mostly for his interaction with the clan and his family. I found it great to see him be good when his past was full of mistakes. The characters were well written in my opinion. They felt so complete, and they were so easy to either love, or love to hate.

It took me a while to really get into the novel. I can’t really explain why the story couldn’t hook me. Still, once I was addicted, I couldn’t stop reading. I really enjoyed the writing and, of course, the world Cinda Williams Chima created. One thing I have to say is even if you have trouble getting into the story, give it a try. It really got a lot better the more I read.

I hadn’t read that many high fantasy novels. I did enjoy this book, but this series won’t become my favorite series. Still, fan of high fantasy will enjoy this book. Overall, it is a great and interesting world,