Kingdoms: The Birth of Death by Michael Sidden
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sarahmeeks
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Kingdoms: The Birth of Death by Michael Sidden
This is my first real review so if it is all over the place you will have to excuse me. Kingdoms: The Birth of Death is Michael Sidden’s debut novel and while it does show in parts that it is his first actual novel (his others are collections and minis) I feel it doesn’t ruin the overall experience. The book transports you the world of Merfintide where we are quickly introduced to a race of people known as the Volock. The best way I can describe them as a whole is a cross between a wizard and a jedi, especially since they use element swords. I’ll be honest here, I am a huge Star Wars fan so the element swords were a nice touch and he goes in great detail about them. There is a lot of drama mixed with a decent amount of action and there are times were his greatest strength as a writer comes into to play. Michael Sidden writes the most incredible erotic scenes I have ever read (taste is objective, and for me he hits my sweet spot) and his passion really shines here! It’s never forced and it flows naturally with the story, although there are a few parts that appear to be random, it makes sense when the main villain explains her motive. Speaking of the villain, or in this case villains, nearly every character here is shady. I think it perfectly accents how everyone is flawed, but I truly think everyone here is serving their own agenda with the exception of our main love interest. Ashlyn is a sweet, innocent, and very naïve girl and she is by far the best character in the book. As I read it I felt she was the only one that wasn’t trying to manipulate our hero.
That brings us to our hero, Latavian. He is by far the most flawed of all the characters and I believe it has more to do with those around him. Everyone seems to be pulling him one way or another and he is constantly torn. He is a member of the Order of Light but it is clear very early on he has a huge amount of darkness in him. There are several scenes where he overkills and often in brutal ways. I hate to use another Star Wars reference, but think Vader and you have Latavian. He is said to be the most powerful of the Volock and trust me when he lets loose his true power shows big time. While I’m speaking of him I will say one of my personal flaws is when he finally cuts his strings the book ends. I can understand in this day of small attention spans for most why he left under 500 pages, but I really wish he hadn’t. It doesn’t spoil anything, it just makes you want the second volume more.
I will go over a bit of the negatives now and there are a few of them. First off it is obviously clear this is his first novel. I don’t mean that it is poorly written because it is very well written and does the job of transporting you to the world and making you feel like a part of it. It just lacks that professional polish I have read in other more accomplish writers. I know little nags like that turn some people off which is why I feel the need to put that out there. Another problem is a few plot holes here and there but that is forgiving because I have yet to read anything that didn’t have that same problem. There are a few things about the Volock’s magic that was confusing and you often wonder why they didn’t use certain abilities for certain situations. My friend says the book explained it to an extent but if it did it was one quick sentence that I apparently overlooked. I feel like he should have at least spent a page or two explaining their power more.
The positives are many here and the characters are all interesting. De’Shawna is a princess and a spoiled brat who has a wicked vindictive side. Amellick is by far one of the most interesting as I am still not convinced what her real motives are and I often found myself wondering if she was the main cause of all the chaos later on. The obvious villains here are very well written and their motives clearly laid out with the exception of the Shadow people. The author does villains really well and every obvious villain here is evil to the core, a few of which you will want to see killed. I would have to say the biggest reason I love this book is because it made me scream no out loud towards the end. That’s how invested I was by the end and any book that can do that, despite it’s flaws, is a winner. I rate the book 4 out of 4 and if you love fantasy then you will love, or at the very least like this book. It does have erotic overtones in certain parts and some of the action leads to some pretty brutal scenes but the story is amazing and you will be glad you gave it a try. Thanks for reading and I am sorry it was all over place.
That brings us to our hero, Latavian. He is by far the most flawed of all the characters and I believe it has more to do with those around him. Everyone seems to be pulling him one way or another and he is constantly torn. He is a member of the Order of Light but it is clear very early on he has a huge amount of darkness in him. There are several scenes where he overkills and often in brutal ways. I hate to use another Star Wars reference, but think Vader and you have Latavian. He is said to be the most powerful of the Volock and trust me when he lets loose his true power shows big time. While I’m speaking of him I will say one of my personal flaws is when he finally cuts his strings the book ends. I can understand in this day of small attention spans for most why he left under 500 pages, but I really wish he hadn’t. It doesn’t spoil anything, it just makes you want the second volume more.
I will go over a bit of the negatives now and there are a few of them. First off it is obviously clear this is his first novel. I don’t mean that it is poorly written because it is very well written and does the job of transporting you to the world and making you feel like a part of it. It just lacks that professional polish I have read in other more accomplish writers. I know little nags like that turn some people off which is why I feel the need to put that out there. Another problem is a few plot holes here and there but that is forgiving because I have yet to read anything that didn’t have that same problem. There are a few things about the Volock’s magic that was confusing and you often wonder why they didn’t use certain abilities for certain situations. My friend says the book explained it to an extent but if it did it was one quick sentence that I apparently overlooked. I feel like he should have at least spent a page or two explaining their power more.
The positives are many here and the characters are all interesting. De’Shawna is a princess and a spoiled brat who has a wicked vindictive side. Amellick is by far one of the most interesting as I am still not convinced what her real motives are and I often found myself wondering if she was the main cause of all the chaos later on. The obvious villains here are very well written and their motives clearly laid out with the exception of the Shadow people. The author does villains really well and every obvious villain here is evil to the core, a few of which you will want to see killed. I would have to say the biggest reason I love this book is because it made me scream no out loud towards the end. That’s how invested I was by the end and any book that can do that, despite it’s flaws, is a winner. I rate the book 4 out of 4 and if you love fantasy then you will love, or at the very least like this book. It does have erotic overtones in certain parts and some of the action leads to some pretty brutal scenes but the story is amazing and you will be glad you gave it a try. Thanks for reading and I am sorry it was all over place.
