Official Review: The King's Sword by C. J. Brightley

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 15 Feb 2015, 15:04

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The King's Sword" by C. J. Brightley.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

The King’s Sword by C.J. Brightley is the first book in the Erdemen Honor series, which has three books currently available for purchase. The book falls squarely in the Fantasy genre and is written to appeal to Teen/Young Adult and Adult readers. The story is told from the perspective of Kemen Sendoa, a retired soldier who happens upon the young prince, Hakan Ithel, who is fleeing from the palace in the wake of his father’s death and imminent danger to his own life, ostensibly from the usurper to his father’s throne, Vidar.

It is clear to Kemen that the pampered prince lacks the skills to survive on his own, and he takes an ungrateful Hakan into his protection. As Kemen helps him to make the physical and mental journey to reclaim Hakan’s birth right, they uncover a devious plot that will lead the nation into war if it is not stopped.

Kemen Sendoa is a character I immediately became attached to. The consummate hero, Kemen has made his life about honor, courage, and self-denial. His gruff and intimidating exterior belies the purity and kindness of his thoughts. Hearing Hakan’s story through Kemen’s eyes was refreshing, and was a brilliant choice of narrative on the part of the author.

One of the things I loved most about Kemen’s character was the way he thought of women. Many shied away from him, but instead of resenting their actions he thought of them with something akin to reverence. He suffered from a lack of confidence, and internally berated himself as ugly, which is generally not an attractive quality, but I thought it was an interesting character choice. He was steadfastly honest with Hakan, and even gave him a little tough love, but was ever careful not to hurt his pride when the prince needed confidence. This character is good to the very core of his being, but instead of coming off as cheesy, the internal struggles make him seem very real.

Hakan was a little more difficult for me to like, initially, but when I gave it some thought I found that I related most closely to his character. Despite the fact that I am in a decidedly lower class than Hakan, I too have led a fairly privileged life, and would be unable to survive on my own in a situation like his. Certainly I would complain about the circumstances more often than not. Knowing what my own actions would be in his situation helped me to appreciate the depth and worth of his character in a realistic way, rather than seeing a one-dimensional spoiled brat.

On the author’s website, I read some fun random facts that she posted on her page. One fact on that list indicated that she has been training in various styles of Martial Arts for approximately 19 years, including use of weapons. Her impressive knowledge is apparent in her minute description of weaponry, and in describing Kemen’s exercise routine and fighting style. I was really able to feel like I was in his head while that was happening, and that is evidently because the author is also a warrior of sorts, and can speak from experience.

The King’s Sword integrates corrupt politics, racism, and fighting throughout the book, and I suspect that they are recurring themes in the rest of the series. Discrimination based on race or appearance is something that happens soon, and frequently throughout the story. The parallels to the lack of equality in our world are clear, but the biased reactions are primarily disgust or fear, and devoid of the violence that is a part of our own world history.

I don’t recall any actual profanity being used throughout the book, but there is some violence. It is descriptive, but not cringe worthy, which is why I assess that this book would be enjoyable for a younger crowd in addition to adult readers.

It was very interesting to me that there was no romance in this story. The plot actually wasn’t missing anything by the lack of a love interest, but I found myself hoping there would be one. In fact, that is the first of many reasons I will continue reading this series. I liked the characters so much that I can’t be satisfied not knowing what happens in their lives next.

There are a few typos to be found, but no glaring errors. My one complaint is that occasionally I felt the written dialogue didn’t stay in character. This was mostly in the first section of the book, and particularly with Kemen’s character. While his character was initially being developed in the story, the language would sometimes become too modern. As the story moves along, those slips become very infrequent. This is C.J. Brightley’s first published book, and I can see she took great care to smooth out any discrepancies.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. If I could rate this book by half stars, I might’ve taken off half a point because of the previously mentioned dialogue issue. I am happy to bump that rating up to a solid 4 out of 4 stars because this book is very worth recommending.

******
The King's Sword
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble

Like Janiac02's review? Post a comment saying so!

Duende Knocking · Post by **Duende Knocking** » 22 Feb 2015, 00:37

Great, detailed review! This sounds like a very enjoyable book.

I like it when stories explore such issues such as discrimination and race relations in a fantasy realm, and the lack of romance playing a major role is always a bonus. But I am curious - do people tend to shy away from Kemen because of his ugliness, or is there more to the story there?

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 22 Feb 2015, 13:36

Thank you for the compliment. I really did enjoy reviewing this book!

You are right that there is more to the story than people shying away from Kemen because he is ugly. That is only his perception of himself. He is Dari, and there are not many of his race in the Erdemen nation. He is a hulking, fierce looking soldier, with dark skin and green eyes (which are fabled to be a sign of demonic presence). He usually works to school his features into a non-threatening facade but finds that to be a losing battle more often than not when making a new acquaintance.

CJBrightley · Post by **CJBrightley** » 24 Feb 2015, 10:59

Thank you for such a lovely review! I'm really glad you enjoyed the book.

If you would be willing to post an abbreviated review on Amazon (or a link to this review, or something), I would really appreciate it! If not, that's fine... it's just that it's so nice to have such a great review that I'd love more people to see it.

I know the full review is exclusive to this site, so please do whatever you think is appropriate. Thanks again!

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 24 Feb 2015, 12:49

Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you liked my review! I will absolutely post a review or link on Amazon. I sent a message to Scott to see what would be acceptable. If you are on any social media sites please feel free to share a link to this review there. The share icons are just below the picture of the book cover.

Since you are here, I'm hoping you wouldn't mind answering a question for me:

I saw that there are two more books in this series that are already published. Are there more coming? I'm pretty sure I won't be ready for the series to end after three books

CJBrightley · Post by **CJBrightley** » 24 Feb 2015, 13:07

Awesome! Thank you so much.

I have a fourth book drafted and am hoping to publish it maybe late this year or early next year. Although it's in the same world, it is set much later and has different characters (the ones from the short story Street Fox). I'm not sure if Kemen and Hakan will appear in a later book; I don't have one planned with them, but I'm open to ideas. I'd be happy to send you a copy of A Cold Wind (book 2) and Honor's Heir (book 3) if you want them (and if that's allowed).

Right now I'm working on the very last line edits for the second book in my other series, A Long-Forgotten Song. I have to get the third book in that series out too before I can look back at Erdemen Honor. That series is a darkish (but not very dark) urban Christian fantasy. Erdemen Honor is a series of more-or-less separate stories with the same characters (obviously they're related, but there's closure, you know?). A Long-Forgotten Song is a four book series like The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy... it's really one big story divided for the sake of publishing. I don't want to leave readers hanging too long between books!

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 24 Feb 2015, 15:20

Thank you, that's a really nice offer. I don't think that is allowed, as private conversations between authors who have requested a review and the review team are prohibited. I'm still rather new, so I'm learning the ropes, but that is my best guess.

As long as there is closure, I'll be happy. It is hard to say goodbye to characters you've become acquainted with, but I could live with that. I'll check out A Long-Forgotten Song. That will give me something else to read between books I'm reviewing. Thanks again!

CJBrightley · Post by **CJBrightley** » 24 Feb 2015, 15:44

Ahhh, that makes sense. I'll request a review and hope it goes to you, then.

Oh, just to clarify, the series title is A Long-Forgotten Song, and the first book is Things Unseen.

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 26 Feb 2015, 20:49

Just to keep you updated ,I wrote a new blurb and posted it as an Amazon review. I did not link back to this review per Amazon's review guidelines.

Also, I did find Things Unseen-thanks for clarifying!

CJBrightley · Post by **CJBrightley** » 27 Feb 2015, 16:38

Thank you!

csimmons032 · Post by **csimmons032** » 05 Mar 2015, 21:32

This review is very detailed and informative. It sounds like a very interesting book that I would enjoy reading. I definitely plan to check it out at some point.

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 05 Mar 2015, 22:09

Thank you for saying so! I'm glad you're interested in checking the book out. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

debo9967 · Post by **debo9967** » 06 Mar 2015, 03:03

A very well written review. This book seems really interesting.

Janiac02 · Post by **Janiac02** » 06 Mar 2015, 05:39

Thank you very much

Cee-Jay Aurinko · Post by **Cee-Jay Aurinko** » 29 Mar 2015, 02:30

Good analytic piece of work! Kemen sounds like a character I would love to meet. You said that there's no romance, and maybe Kemen's view of himself as being ugly has something to do with it, but I can't help but wonder if somewhere near the end of the novel, there's any growth or end to how Kemen views himself.

I love epic war stories, and if this is one than it has already won me over with one point. I wonder how the author integrates her training into this novel. But I hope she doesn't use too much of her knowledge; fiction can be ruined when it comes across as a manual.