I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. When I first finished the debut novel Oathbreaker, I knew that any additional books published by this author would need to be read. This series takes place in the same world as Oathbreaker but on a new continent and explores a completely new cast of characters as they struggle for survival, power, and revenge. There will be alot of pain in misery in these pages so I would proceed with caution as the wild ending will keep you guess for what else is about to come.
We follow three POV characters in Season of Kings and I found myself enjoying all three at various points. More so to the point that my favorite characters would often shift as I kept reading. First we have Grimm, a brute of a man being hunted by his king for rape and murder. At least that is what the king believes happened. Grimm is the most fierce warrior in the land and no small group of soldiers can keep him at bay. Grimm wants nothing more than to leave his land until he comes across a dwarf child with the slave brand on her body. Against his better judgement, Grimm decides to look after the girl on his journey no matter how bloody it may get.
Anna lives in the wilds with her father. Trained as a hunter and survivor in the even the most darkest of circumstances. When Anna’s world turns upside down, she travels to the city of Winterhelm to find her long lost aunt. Little does Anna know that her world will be turned upside down forever. Finally we have Elbert, stuck up and self-centered jackass who becomes King of Winterhelm after his fathers death. Soon after, he looses the ability to use his legs and his rule is percieved to be weak. In order to gain back control of the city, he must clean house of the treachery and launch a war against the northern clans even though it is a suicide mission. Don’t blink for one second or your will miss all the action!
A.J. Rettger is not afraid to explore the darkest aspects of human behavior. Whether that being vengence, pride, betrayals, slavery, and so much more for you are in for some very grim pages. The begining of the story is slow and didn’t grip me right away until the midway point where I could see the puzzle pieces starting to come together. Writting style is reader friendly and very action oriented but you need to give the plot several chapters to breath. I must say that Season of Kings is an excellent second novel by A.J. Rettger and If you enjoyed Oathbreaker then this is a must read.
With two active series now in the works, A.J. Rettger is certainly making a name for himself in the fantasy community. Grimdark fans will get a kick out of these two series so do yourself a favor and strike while the iron is hot!
Cheers!
Under The Radar SFF Books 