Tuesday 13 April 2010

FANTASY REVIEW: The King of Crags - Stephen Deas

BOOK BLURB:

Prince Jehal has murdered, poisioned and betrayed his way to the top. There is a new speaker for the realms, his opposition has been crushed, now he just has to enjoy the fruits of power. And yet . . . He feels more for the wife he married for power than perhaps he should and his lover knows it. And out in the realms those loyal to the old regime are still plotting. and there are rumours that the Red Riders, heralds of revolution and doom are on the ride. And still no-one has found the famous white dragon. The dragon that, if it lived, will have long since recovered from the effects of the alchemical liquid fed to the the dragons of the realms to keep them docile, to block their memories of a time when they ruled and the world burned . . . Stephen Deas has created an epic world, vivid characters, a plot full of betrayals and the most awesome dragons fantasy has seen.


REVIEW:

Having loved Stephen’s original novel, I just had to rip the packaging off this one to get to the meat of the tale as soon as it landed. What I got was an even bigger tale of politics, double-dealing, murder and mayhem than was present in his first tale and was pretty much glutted by the final page.

Beautifully written, excellently plotted and above all a descriptiveness for the world that is almost photographic. Bind that with a passion for the scope of the tale and you really will not go far wrong. As a now firmly established fan of the series, I really cannot wait to see where it goes. If you like political manipulation, cracking combat and a massacres worth of blood with solid storytelling then few do it like Deas. A real pleasure.

No comments: