I've read this sequel when it first came out. I was on the verge of reading The Blood Coldfrost, but since I'm never a fan of prequels, I opted for this book instead. I'm instantly hooked after The Sword and the Dragon, but after Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools I was disheartened to find out that the third book would not be available until next year. The Wizard and Warlord was also an astonishing read, but I'll leave that for some other time. There's a lot going on in this book, and this may not appeal to new fantasy readers. An amalgamation of different elements and themes were presented in a delicate manner. I lavish with the beauty of Mathias writing. How he managed to make magic, wizardry, demon-fighting and dragons all play in a wonderful tapestry of realism is beyond me. A bit slow paced compared to his other works, but equally gratifying. This is more than a battle between good and evil. You wouldn't even guess what true evil is. "In life, sometimes the rabbit is really a lion in disguise." This is highly recommended to fans of epic word building fantasy. This book and I would say the whole series is heavy reading. By heavy reading I mean it is crammed full to the brim with characters and details. It overwhelmed me at times. I thought the story was well thought out and should have been a slam dunk but the overwhelming details overshadowed the story at times. If you can winnow through those you can get down to the meat of the story and it is a darn good one.The level of fantasy in this book is off the charts. There are dragons, magicians, and all sorts of fantastical elements. It is like the author took every known fantasy element and tried to put them all in here. He does add some of his own twists to things so it is different at the same time as being typical.I did have a fun time with the story and am not sad I read it. It is not perfect but it is still a good story to read.
What do You think about Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools (2012)?
good continuation of the story, and leaves you wanting to know how it all ends in the finale.
—coekalo
Another great fantasy installment by M.R. Mathias! Non-stop action from beginning to end!
—adunc24
