Yes, I picked up another fantasy and now I’m gonna complain about it.

I can’t review a book without spoilers and this one is going to contain the whole plot. You have been warned.

Okay, so I decided to read more diversely and picked up a fantasy fiction by a male author, what can I say, it’s been a while. This series by Morgan Rice has a number of sequels, I was interested in the fact before I finished the book, but there is no way I’m going to finish the whole series at this point. I think that gives away the tone of this review if the title didn’t.

It’s a book about a shepherd, who doesn’t want to be a shepherd. This book also has a point of view narrator who was a king, and unsurprisingly, did not want to remain king. In a time of harmony, this king fears war, somewhat erratically, yet he doesn’t really do anything to stop the war from brewing, he goes on to plant more seeds of unrest within his country and court.

The magical element of the plot so far has been Druids, they have magic and a position at court, bringing both the magical and the political worlds together.

The mysteries of the world are hinted at with very vague allusions to what is beyond this kingdom and the ring walls that apparently protect the kingdoms from the external threat, whatever that may be. There is questionable lineage and newfound power that becomes symbolic in a changing world.

The king has a number of heirs to choose his successor from. The gay prince is characterised as the scheming and evil one and I have so many questions for the author. I think, this is where I lost interest. Nevertheless, the king takes pride in his youngest daughter, but she can’t succeed him, well, because she’s a woman. I think, I read on after this point to just criticise it and it got worse. So, the king’s eldest son is a bastard so he won’t be succeeding him either, the eldest legitimate son is the scheming gay one so not him either. The second legitimate son is idle and drunk. The youngest son is the best but he is too young. You see the king’s problem? So between the bastard, the deviant, the drunk, and the too young male contenders of the throne, the king names his youngest daughter as his successor, how feminist of him. So now, the youngest daughter inherits the throne and declines the offer saying that she can’t accept it because she’s a woman. Her brother agrees with her. This becomes the primary plot of the first book, giving away the throne and not wanting it.

There is too much screaming, the characters are incapable of talking in a normal voice, the author always has a cue of “screamed he”, “she screams” after every other dialogue. It’s too chaotic.

Back to the throne, the deviant son issues a veiled threat against the father. This veiled threat is worked upon to give the plot more depth.

Thor, the male protagonist of the book, shows up uninvited to tryout for the elite warrior squad, the Legion. Proves his indomitable spirit despite being small of stature. He has an encounter with a royal and gains a chance to prove himself, there’s an exception made to the rules for him, no surprise here, he is supposed to be special. Thor is able to prove his worth. He has a terrible upbringing and his brothers are in the same squadron, belittling him at every chance they get. The two storylines collide when he joins the Legion and meets the princess.

The story has too many pov characters, in that way, it reminds me of GoT. This plot is equally violent and filled with conspiracy, but lacks execution. It wasn’t as gripping as some of the best plots of the fantasy world. Amidst bullying and daily beatings, Thor already wonders if he has made the right decision joining the Legion.

Gwen, the little princess and heir to the throne takes a liking to him as soon as she comes across him and takes his side from the get go despite or maybe because of her mother warning her not to do so. The queen depicts the us and them segregation while ordering Gwen away from Thor. But Gwen has had a taste of power now and she knows her own authority. This change is too sudden, from a princess who did not want a crown to telling the queen that she will do what she wants, it’s abrupt to say the least. Gwen is surprisingly brave except when it comes to the crown. Though the mystery deepens around Thor as the queen refuses to shelter him under the same roof and orders Gwen away everytime she sees them together. The us and them divide is strong within the kingdoms of the Ring as well as the outside.

As the king attempts to buy peace between the two kingdoms with a marriage of the eldest daughter to the rival kingdom, a very unstable peace agreement is reached which does not even last the length of this book.

Meanwhile, Thor remains the outcast even within the Legion because of the special favours he has been granted. His acceptance from his peers comes from a display of bravery as the romance ploy develops at the backdrop. Thor begins to collect mythical creatures like Pokemon as he is sent out on the Ring wall for a mission. A murder plot is brewing under all the action and the king’s death has been foretold too many times by this point in the book.

I am not too fond of Thor as well. He is too self-important and presumptive with a saviour complex to be really likable. There is also something that doesn’t quite fit with the world order– Gwen’s rejection of Thor after getting to know about his brothel expedition. It is a misunderstanding to give the plot more dimension but in a world where women are categorically oppressed and her own father shows little to no fealty to her mother, it seems like an overreaction to simply reject the advances of Thor following the big reveal, specially given that the intel comes from unreliable sources. She knows her mother is trying to split them apart and she still chooses to not let Thor present his side of the tale.

I did not find much literary importance to this book but would like to know how things turn out for the characters introduced here. This was a weak exposition to the series to say the least and had immense potential to make the narrative more interesting in terms of plot, story-telling and character building. It simply felt like the author focused on too many things at once. I did not like or relate to Thor’s chapter at all, he pitied himself so much that there wasn’t room left for the reader to feel any kind of empathy for him. Eric, Thor’s sponsor and the knight he was squiring for left at a really convenient place in the plot to clear up the way for the rest of the catastrophe.

The book ends with Thor being thrown in the dungeons without any friend, love or power left in the court with the first queen of the kingdom on the throne. As the neighbouring kingdom threatens war soon after the marriage alliance, a rivalry between sisters is anticipated.

If I do pick up the next book of the series, it’ll be purely for the sake of finding out how ridiculous this whole thing can get. I give this exposition book one star for its lack of ingenuity and imagination as a book of fantasy.