In what should have been an epic fantasy, twins Byren and Lence find their world and beliefs at a crossroads. Lence is King Rolan the Implacable's Heir while Byren is his younger twin, content to be in his brother's shadow and watch him be great. When a seer predicts his killing Lence he laughs it off and thinks nothing else on it. Unfortunately with the madness sweeping the lands, a neighboring country's desperate attempts to either form an alliance or lay seige and circumstances conspiring against him Byren's wish to thwart fate turns out to be anything but simple.

I had really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I have a fondness for twins in stories and it has been a while since I read a fantasy with them. In a lot of ways this felt more like a shell of an epic fantasy--as if someone was relaying to me the events that happened, but without any emotion.

Daniells writing falls flat was the problem. Despite the varying third person viewpoints, we never really understand any of the characters or what motivates them. Daniells relays to the reader the why of the motivations, but never the feelings behind them. For instance, near the end, Byren and Orrade are discussing a previous event and Orrade doesn't understand why Byren accepts his Affinity (magic) so easily. Byren shrugs and says why wouldn't he? Well here's the problem we don't know. Would he not accept his friend and companion's power because society says it’s wrong? Because he has a personal problem with it? Because he thinks his friend will misuse it? The rest of the novel doesn't make the reader think 'Oh it’s because Byren is like this or that'.

That's only one instance however. As the book goes on there's a lot of such things that happen--significant moments in the lives of the characters that doesn't resonate on a personal or emotional level.

This was a quick and easy read however, which both works for and against the book. It’s good because it doesn't get bogged down by a sagging middle, but it’s bad because the books feels rushed to an early and superficial conclusion. Byren is suddenly facing the enemy, pleading with them and then it’s all over. I honestly thought my book was missing pages because something happens that should have been much more momentous then it was, but it was over and done with in less than a paragraph. Only another character asking about it did I realize something had happened.

In the end I couldn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to and I honestly have no real interest in continuing the trilogy. Why should I? I don't feel invested in the characters.

Review originally posted at Night Owl Reviews ( )

A very slow start but got better as the story went on. ( )

Þokkaleg fantasía en með nokkuð einföldum steríótýpum. Pólitískar flækjur gefa þó sögunni ágætis vinkil. ( )

The King's Bastard is the first book of the King Rolen's Kin trilogy. Like most books, I picked it out originally because the cover art interested me. I mean, being a fan of sword & magic fantasy, then seeing this cover ... surely it had to be a good read. Reading the synopsis on the back of the book made me decide to get it, and the others in the series.

The first book here introduces us to the characters we are going to be seeing, most of them being the four children of the current king of Rolencia, King Rolen. The oldest two, Lence and Byren, are twins, with Byren being 7 seconds later, thus Lence will inherit the throne. They are both grown to about twenty years of age, I would guess. The younger brother Fyn, is magically afflicted (called Affinity) and has been raised at the monks for Halycon. The youngest, and only girl, is Piro.

At the start of the story, Byren is confronted by a seer, and Fyn is as well, seemingly the same one, at approximately the same time. From there, Byren is trying his best to not let the seer's prophecy come true, as is Fyn. During this process, their 'cousin' Illien comes to Rolencia, and is accepted back into the family. Illien's father was years previously banished for ... oh, that's a long story. Either way. Illien is here now, and spreading dissention between Lence and Byren.

I don't want to ruin any details of the story. No spoilers here. Daniels has written the start of a decent story using what I feel is an old story line. The writing style I felt was a bit more for the Young Adult crowd, but still enjoyable and quickly read by adults. Looking forward to the next books, and novellas, in this series. ( )

One of those slick page-turner fantasies, quick and easy to read, nothing really wrong with it, just not amazing. (Australia produces a lot of these, and I used to be less picky about it than I have become in my cantankerous old age.) I liked the wintry setting (Vikings on skates!) and the story was entertaining, but I just wish there was more to it. I wish it had made more of the suggestion that stigmatising homosexuality makes other forms of betrayal more likely. I wish it had dug more deeply into the hard truths and settings of the younger siblings (Fyn's compulsory holy orders, Piro's compulsory useful marriage, both of their stories more interesting to me than the older brothers). And I wish it hadn't conformed quite so readily to the "rough and ready honest folk versus those smooth-tongued tricksy bastards" stereotypes.

But it was fun to read. ( )