I don’t know why I put off reading The Demon King for that long. Eons ago, back when I was a young and naive first year journalism student (dear me, it was a lifetime ago). I decided to read this book. I can’t remember how I heard about this book. Back then, I really wanted to improve my English and I thought that an Audio book which everybody seemed to be crazy about at the time would help me in my quest to master Shakespeare’ tongue. Can you guess what’s coming?Yeah, well I decided to listen to The Demon King. It took me less than a minute to realize that my relationship with Audiobook was doomed to fail. To this day, I still can’t wrap my head around how people can listen to books. To me it’s a physically and mentally impossible feast. Anyway, I don’t know if it’s my bad experience with talking books or my ever increasing TBR list, but since then, I’d always kept the first book in The Seven Realms series at bay, until my recent trip to a Chinese library in Central London.Let me explain, I had arrived extremely early for an appointment. With long hours to kill and nothing to do, I decided to search for the nearest library (once again my phone GPS saved my day). The library had an English name but I came in, I immediately realized that I had stepped into a different culture. For starter, there rows and rows of books in Chinese and at the back some small children were being taught Chinese. Considering that I was in the London’s Chinese quarter, all of that isn’t very surprising. Thanks God for me, there were books in English. As I rummaged the fantasy section, I noticed The Demon King and I thought it was perhaps time to rekindle with some lost love.It was the second best decision I made in all week (my first best decision was to buy the Origins charcoal mask. This is yet another story).Cinda Chima Williams is a very good storyteller. It wasn’t without flaws, but her story nonetheless managed to capture my attention. Han Allister former streetlord wants to leave his old life behind for good while being able to support his mother and little sister. Raisa ana Marianna, princess of the Fell would like to follow in her ancestor Hanalea’s steps and become a loved and shrewd queen. Those two are the main characters in the story. Han is a street rat, born and raised in poverty who’ve always had to fight hard just to survive whereas Raisa is a princess born into wealth and privilege. Their life couldn’t be further apart yet those two seems to be bond to collide. Will Han and Raisa become love interest? Certainly. But rest assured, The Demon King isn’t a romance book, and even though there is some kissing and some flirting here and there, I couldn’t find anything romantic in it. To me it was more akin to teenagers experimenting with each other rather than a burgeoning, maddening and suffocating love story.Though the characters have goals and ambitions, the Demon King doesn’t have a clear plot. However, there is a triggering moment or as we like to say in French un element perturbateur, something that perturbs the hero’s everyday life. At the beginning of the novel, after a rift with him, Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, the son of the High wizard.This amulet only takes the limelight toward the end of the book.Even though there are wizards and a school for them is mentioned, there isn’t actually much magic. But it’s all right. The political intrigue, world building and characters totally make up for it.The characters were the reasons why I got hooked by The Demon Stone. They all had a very distinctive voice, even those who didn’t get much book time. Also, they had very recognizable character traits. For example at some point in the story Raisa thought that Micah Bayar was attractive, fun but impossible to trust. I wholeheartedly agreed with her. A problem I have with some books is that the narrator may mention that such character is smart or arrogant or whatever, as the reader I don’t see any of these traits. I didn’t encounter such problem in The Demon King.My favourite character was definitely Han. I loved his street wise attitude, his kindness and the fact that he knew how to handle his own. At times, I found that his willingness to help other slightly pushy, but it didn’t irritate me.I really enjoyed Raisa, too. She is neither your strong-willed princess who is a political genius nor a silly maiden completely ignorant of the world around her. Raisa is a young girl, she’d like to be a good queen for her people, she doesn’t know everything, she makes mistakes but she’s willing to learn. In that sense, she was very relatable. She’s extremely stubborn though and sometimes it did get on my nerve. However, I always forgave her.I also have a soft spot for Micah Bayar. He’s actually Raisa’s main love interest throughought the book, however I can’t say he’s a good guy or even trustworthy. As a matter of fact, Raisa echoed my feeling at some point in the book. I loved how ambiguous he was and I could understand why Raisa was always eager to indulge in some tongue rolling with him.As I mentioned earlier The Demon King contains some flaws, like why does almost every guy in the book swoons around Raisa? Did that woman just helped the hero, isn’t it a tad too convenient? Did the author watch too much Gossip Girl? Pretty much every teen of opposed sex in this book are frolicking with each other.Dude, I’m not actually complaining. These little irks were easily overlookable (in my opinion). All I can tell you guys is read this book for yourself. I think it’ll be a good addition to YA fantasy lover TBR list. The Demon King follows two protagonists who are almost complete opposites in every way: an ex-gang member with a reputation for thievery (Hanson Alister) and a sheltered princess who wants to stand on her own (Raisa). Each character tells parts of the story, splitting roughly half of the book between the two.Certain aspects of the story were interesting, such as the silver bracelets that grow with Han and are unable to be removed. I also enjoyed the little world building that was present, particularly the culture of the clans. However, the rest of the world seemed irrelevant. The world-building that should have been present, such as the structure and tenants of the wizards (How and by whom were their activities and stockpiles of magical items monitored? How and where were they trained? What were they expected to do when they weren't actively fighting in wars?) who were supposedly considered constant threats to the world and kingdom, yet had little to no guidelines about being in the court or wandering the world. For a world that supposedly fears wizards, they get an awful lot of freedom.So many things were wrong with the characters. For one, both characters were insufferable. Raisa constantly throws herself at whatever man is in front of her, be it her best friend, the crush that she doesn't actually care about, a prince she's only just met, or a street rat. (This is especially ridiculous considering that she gets jealous when one of her many love interests gets hit on.) As if that's not irritating enough, she always needs someone to save her. She can't do anything by herself. I get that she's a sheltered princess, but come on. To top all of that off, she takes advantage of the people who love her and gets them into trouble at her expense, especially her best friend. Han was also a weird and conflicted character. He's awfully clingy to his love interest, yet there's nothing he does or says that suggests he actually cares about her beyond kissing and sneaking a look or two at her legs. He also seems to get swept up in events rather than actively doing anything, which makes him a pretty boring protagonist. Both characters need someone else in order to do anything, and it gets frustrating after a while.The story itself was full of missed opportunities. First, there was no courtly intrigue. Most of these scenes didn't seem real. People were too blunt or honest for the dangerous and exciting aspects of court to take the center stage. Not to mention that the court scenes weren't important and only take up about 2-3 pages. In a story such as this one (where the southern countries are at war and the crown is divided), courtly intrigue would really add to the story and bring the tension to a whole new level. Second, the action scenes were boring. There was little to no fighting and what was present was extremely boring, over in less than two pages. The chase scenes did not make me worry about the protagonists. This story was rife with possibilities, especially considering that the world was set up as an unfair and ugly place, with lots of people being killed, tortured, and beaten just because. Where are the descriptions? Where are the examples? Show, don't tell! That's one of the first rules as an author. Third, people are constantly worried about Raisa's "marriage prospects" and reputation. They don't want her to see a person of the opposite sex at night or alone, yet they don't care if she makes out with someone in front of all of the nobility? Really? There are numerous examples of these confusing exceptions.Despite all that, I somehow managed to finish this book. Would I recommend it? Probably not, but at least it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read.
What do You think about The Demon King (2009)?
My heart wasn't really into it the first few chapters. It was so slow-paced, a lot of unimportant things were explained in great detail, there were a lot of names of people, places, and other things that it got so confusing. Add the fact that I have no idea how some of the words are supposed to be pronounced, it's hard to memorize all of them. But I guess you really don't have to memorize them, you just have to get INTO the story. And that's exactly what happened to me near the middle. I can't explain how it happened, but it just did and I was suddenly sucked into this world of clans, wizards and royalty. I'm glad it happened when it did or else I would've discontinued this book. Reading it in two very different perspectives - Han Alister's hard streetlife and the princess heir Raisa's life of royalty - I was able to see and understand more the characters and their actions. Magic has always interested me and I was glad that as the story progresses I encountered more of it. I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens with Han and Raisa. In fact that's what I'll be doing after finishing this review :) Man this would be interesting! Just a heads up for those who will read this book btw (and yes I suggest you do)... Raisa's a total slut! Not a hater here, it's my own opinion just saying LOL.
—Rashaan
I found this book to be really well written. There is a complex storyline but the writing is easily digestible, so that it appears effortless, and the readers consumes the pages! This book is a great pick for fans of high fantasy!The story is told from the viewpoint of two very different characters, one is a princess, born into privilege, and the other is a former streetlord, barely having enough food to get by without being tempted by thievery. Our protagonist have something in common. Each seem to keep getting themselves into trouble or perhaps trouble just likes to find them.
—Kieubui
Most AMAZING series ever. I absolutely loved the world and the characters
—leanne
Just the right mix of fantasy, romance, and adventure.
—bre106
