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King's Dark Tidings #6
Rycerz cieni
Świat nie potrzebuje bohatera. Potrzebuje kogoś, kto przetrwa w cieniu.
Rezkin poległ. Tak sądzą wszyscy - przyjaciele, wrogowie, cały świat. Armia upadła, tron opustoszał, a cesarstwo chwieje się w posadach. Ale cień, który padł na Souelian, nie zniknął. Skryty w mroku, Rezkin działa poza światłem koron i zasad, wolny od obowiązków, ale związany przysięgą złożoną tym, których nie zdołał ochronić.
W królestwach trwają podchody o władzę, a pustka po Rezkinie rodzi więcej chaosu niż jego istnienie.
Lecz Rezkin nie szuka już tronu. Szuka zemsty. I odpowiedzi, które mogą spalić świat do gołej ziemi.
Aby ocalić to, co jeszcze zostało, musi zapomnieć, kim był.
I stać się tym, którego nikt nie chciałby spotkać po zmroku - Rycerzem Cienia.
Rezkin poległ. Tak sądzą wszyscy - przyjaciele, wrogowie, cały świat. Armia upadła, tron opustoszał, a cesarstwo chwieje się w posadach. Ale cień, który padł na Souelian, nie zniknął. Skryty w mroku, Rezkin działa poza światłem koron i zasad, wolny od obowiązków, ale związany przysięgą złożoną tym, których nie zdołał ochronić.
W królestwach trwają podchody o władzę, a pustka po Rezkinie rodzi więcej chaosu niż jego istnienie.
Lecz Rezkin nie szuka już tronu. Szuka zemsty. I odpowiedzi, które mogą spalić świat do gołej ziemi.
Aby ocalić to, co jeszcze zostało, musi zapomnieć, kim był.
I stać się tym, którego nikt nie chciałby spotkać po zmroku - Rycerzem Cienia.
Paperback
First published October 8, 2024
804 people are currently reading
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About the author
Kel Kade
14 books3,485 followersKel Kade lives in Texas and occasionally serves as an adjunct college faculty member, inspiring young minds and introducing them to the fascinating and very real world of geosciences. Thanks to Kade’s enthusiastic readers and the success of the King’s Dark Tidings series, Kade is now able to create universes spanning space and time, develop criminal empires, plot the downfall of tyrannous rulers, and dive into fantastical mysteries full time.
Growing up, Kade lived a military lifestyle of traveling to and living in new places. These experiences with distinctive cultures and geography instilled in Kade a sense of wanderlust and opened a young mind to the knowledge that the Earth is expansive and wild. A deep interest in science, ancient history, cultural anthropology, art, music, languages, and spirituality is evidenced by the diversity and richness of the places and cultures depicted in Kade’s writing.
Growing up, Kade lived a military lifestyle of traveling to and living in new places. These experiences with distinctive cultures and geography instilled in Kade a sense of wanderlust and opened a young mind to the knowledge that the Earth is expansive and wild. A deep interest in science, ancient history, cultural anthropology, art, music, languages, and spirituality is evidenced by the diversity and richness of the places and cultures depicted in Kade’s writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
October 10, 2024
feels like it was written by a different person.
This is one of my favorite series. However, this book feels like the author has lost interest in their own story.
One of my favorite elements to Kel’s writing is their sharp sense of wit and irony, which was sorely lacking in this installment. The depth of each character feels reduced from the previous installments, particularly Rezkin. The story used to feel like an accessible and fun drama, but this one has stepped firmly into cringy melodrama territory
This is one of my favorite series. However, this book feels like the author has lost interest in their own story.
One of my favorite elements to Kel’s writing is their sharp sense of wit and irony, which was sorely lacking in this installment. The depth of each character feels reduced from the previous installments, particularly Rezkin. The story used to feel like an accessible and fun drama, but this one has stepped firmly into cringy melodrama territory
November 16, 2024
Guys, I'm so sad. I feel like I should make a joke here, but I'm genuinely disappointed and I really don't have it in me.
My relationship with this series has been a wild up-and-down ride since the beginning. I have LOVED these books. I spent an embarrassing amount of money this year on a special edition of book 1. Book 5 was the comeback kid after a Lon Leresh-shaped lull in book 4. I was so excited about where we were going. The end of book 5 was such a cliffhanger!
But unfortunately, I think this might be where I have to part ways with Rezkin for good.
This book felt like a MASSIVE step back for Rezkin's character and for the series. After the end of the previous book, he spent this entire book undercover as the Raven, free as a bird, fast-traveling his way across the entire continent in mere blinks of an eye. We didn't make any progress towards defeating Caydean, we didn't make any progress interpersonally with the characters' relationships (with one notable exception!), and we didn't make much progress in Rezkin's own development as a character (with one notable exception?).
Honestly, it feels like the author is bored with her own story.
This series has always been very seriously flawed. I've seen the prose described as "grin and bear it" in another review here, which I think is very accurate, but it made up for these issues in sheer screaming fun. I'm not sure if it's just me, but that latter element was absolutely nowhere in my experience of reading this book. The story felt lifeless and empty, like the author was just rushing to hit necessary points and get it over with. The usual stupidity seemed extra stupid, and the heart and enjoyable hijinks were absent.
Everything from here on out is a spoiler.
Things I did like in this book:
That's pretty much it for what I liked. Things that bummed me out:
This is such a sad, sad day. I want to say that I hope the next book will redeem whatever's going on here, but the truth is I'm not sure if I will pick up the next book. After six books, it almost seems like Rezkin is no closer to defeating Caydean than he was at the beginning, and even if Caydean is brought down there will still be the fae vs demon war to win. I'm beginning to doubt whether my investment can hang on for that long, and whether the author's can either.
My relationship with this series has been a wild up-and-down ride since the beginning. I have LOVED these books. I spent an embarrassing amount of money this year on a special edition of book 1. Book 5 was the comeback kid after a Lon Leresh-shaped lull in book 4. I was so excited about where we were going. The end of book 5 was such a cliffhanger!
But unfortunately, I think this might be where I have to part ways with Rezkin for good.
This book felt like a MASSIVE step back for Rezkin's character and for the series. After the end of the previous book, he spent this entire book undercover as the Raven, free as a bird, fast-traveling his way across the entire continent in mere blinks of an eye. We didn't make any progress towards defeating Caydean, we didn't make any progress interpersonally with the characters' relationships (with one notable exception!), and we didn't make much progress in Rezkin's own development as a character (with one notable exception?).
Honestly, it feels like the author is bored with her own story.
This series has always been very seriously flawed. I've seen the prose described as "grin and bear it" in another review here, which I think is very accurate, but it made up for these issues in sheer screaming fun. I'm not sure if it's just me, but that latter element was absolutely nowhere in my experience of reading this book. The story felt lifeless and empty, like the author was just rushing to hit necessary points and get it over with. The usual stupidity seemed extra stupid, and the heart and enjoyable hijinks were absent.
Everything from here on out is a spoiler.
Things I did like in this book:
• Movement on the Frisha issue! Frisha finally escaped and her golem was defeated. That's a huge relief to me, as this situation was very stressful. However, Tieran acted like an irrational, angry blockhead during this entire episode, and I'm not sure I will forgive him for it.
• I thought it was really funny when Caydean's bloody, over-the-top ritualistic demon summoning ended with all the demons wishing death on fae and humankind and then Avikeev is like "AND WESSON IN PARTICULAR." Like wow somebody's obsessed.
• I thought it was REALLY funny when Rezkin tries to impersonate a ladies' maid and gets called out for not walking right and it says, "Disappointed that he had failed in his femininity, Rezkin retreated." CRIT FAIL on femininity roll.
• I still like Wesson a lot.
That's pretty much it for what I liked. Things that bummed me out:
• Rezkin's elvish powers have leaped so far forward now that he was able to do all his subterfuge and spying as the Raven with magical disguises and illusions. Kinda neat, but also is just a massive shortcut for him and the playing field didn't seem to be leveled by the opposition of demonic powers as much as it might have been.
• Seena as baby dragon companion was fine. I like her taking the place of Cat as the companion animal that Rezkin loves almost against his will. I even like her functioning as one of the mental/spiritual ties that is shielding him against the elven madness. "Rezkin was saved from the madness by his early emotional repression, and now that he is becoming more open it is connection to others that saves him" is a GREAT development along a theme, I think. HOWEVER, Seena's actual purpose, which is to act as a convenient fast travel mechanic, is not nearly as great. There were times when I genuinely didn't know where Rezkin was for several paragraphs because he was jumping so frequently from city to city. It just felt cheap.
• After being saved from Lon Leresh (my beloathed) in the previous book, what did we do in this book but go RIGHT BACK to that cursed land! We spent a full half of the book there. I like Yserria and I don't mind what she and Malcius have going on. It's kind of cute. But oh my goodness the queenship contest was mind-numbingly stupid. The arena fight and parallel Godzilla vs Kong match that was going on in the city just had me flipping pages as fast as possible out of monotony rather than suspense. And after all that, we didn't even uncover Caydean's real purpose in Lon Leresh. What are we doing? What are we accomplishing? It felt like this book used so many pages and so many words to barely take one half of one step forward.
• Developments on the Tam front? What even WAS that? He's barely back after FINALLY being rescued, and now he's missing again, captive again? And we don't even hear about it until halfway through the book? Does nobody in this WORLD care about Tam except Rezkin? And then he found him after like one chapter, and again nothing at all was resolved.
• Entire massive swaths of characters were offscreen for this entire book. The cast may have reached a point of critical overload, if this is the best we can do. The strikers? Reaylin? Anything going on in Cael that's not Tieran fighting with Frisha's golem? What about that other kingdom Rezkin conquered, with the sword? The wolves, from last book? There are so many tangled threads we have to pull on, and instead we chose to spend half the book on Lon Leresh and all of our relationship-exploring points on Azeria.
• AZERIA. I don't mind Azeria as a character. She doesn't fawn over Rezkin and she stands up to him. Other than that, there's not much to her, which to be fair isn't that unusual in this series. However, what I DO mind is our incredibly fast, unearned speedrun of Rezkin and Azeria suddenly becoming this endgame couple with an unbreakable yearning bond. Need I remind anyone that this is the sixth book in this series, and we met Azeria JUST LAST BOOK?
As I said before, there are SO MANY TANGLED THREADS. Not only in a plot sense, but in a relationship sense! I am wild to see developments on the fronts of Frisha, Tam, Rezkin's mom, Striker Farson, even Rezkin meeting Thresson! We have spent such a long time seeing these tiny little cracks open up in Rezkin's impenetrable facade as he learned how to be vulnerable and care about people. (Temporary blindness in book 3, my beloved!!!) To do all that and then have all the characters I care about either offscreen or completely separated from one another, while Rezkin is suddenly pledging unfettered honesty, vulnerability, and faith to a character I met ONE BOOK AGO feels like a total farce.
There just doesn't seem to have been even a token effort at making this relationship something load-bearing, and because of that a large part of this book falls completely flat. Rezkin's incognito meetup with Azeria has none of the irony or bittersweet feeling that it should carry. Azeria's supposed sorrow and Rezkin's supposed yearning failed to provoke a single answering emotion in me. Rezkin's final reveal of himself to Azeria lacked all of the drama, pathos, and swelling triumphant music in the background that should have accompanied that moment. There's just nothing there, and there never has been.
This is such a sad, sad day. I want to say that I hope the next book will redeem whatever's going on here, but the truth is I'm not sure if I will pick up the next book. After six books, it almost seems like Rezkin is no closer to defeating Caydean than he was at the beginning, and even if Caydean is brought down there will still be the fae vs demon war to win. I'm beginning to doubt whether my investment can hang on for that long, and whether the author's can either.
December 21, 2024
4.5 stars
October 21, 2024
Loved the first 4 books in this series. The 5th was okay, but I was really disappointed in this 6th installment. Almost a DNF. The plot goes nowhere. The dialog was weak at best and the fight scenes left much to be desired.
January 10, 2025
The King’s Dark Tidings series continued to deliver with Knight of Shadows, the sixth installment in Kel Kade’s addictive fantasy saga. This book maintained the high quality of the previous books in the series by offering a fun mix of action, adventure, intrigue, and character development while expanding the world further and keeping the stakes high.
The story picked up after the cliffhanger ending of Demons and Dragons, with Rezkin presumed dead by both his friends and enemies. This secrecy set the stage for a series of solo adventures as Rezkin worked behind the scenes to maneuver against his enemies. While the lack of group interactions was a slight departure from the usual dynamic it did not really impact the quality of the story or make reading it any less addictive! Rezkin did have one new companion: a baby dragon! It was cute, and had some fun powers, but you can definitely tell it will be straight up wrecking folks just like Rez once it gets bigger!
While Rezkin went solo for much of this book his usual companions weren’t left out. Wesson, Frisha, Azeria, and the duo of Yserria and Malcius all had prominent story arcs and each was enjoyable to follow. Their efforts to hold things together in Rezkin’s absence added tension and kept the story interesting and engaging. Kade has really done a great job of adding depth to the support characters over the course of this series. The rising threat of Caydean and the demons created chaos across multiple kingdoms, while political instability in Rezkin’s empire, fueled by the belief that he was dead, kept the stakes high.
The pacing remained good and the mix of action, intrigue, and humor kept things engaging from start to finish. While the solo nature of Rezkin’s journey was a change of pace it was still fun to watch him work his unique brand of brilliance on his enemies.
I’m still not sold on the Rez/Azeria romance but I did feel like Azeria having a story arc of her own in this one was a good thing and helped us get to know her character a bit better.
I liked that Frisha was more proactive in this tale and her story arc was pretty fun but I’m still not feeling her new romance either.
All in all, Knight of Shadows was another engaging entry in this fantastic series. It might not have reached the heights of the first couple of books but it kept the momentum going and left me eager for the next installment.
Rating: 4.5 stars. This series might have a few more flaws now than it did in the early books but it remains very easy to read and still definitely a favourite fantasy series of mine.
The story picked up after the cliffhanger ending of Demons and Dragons, with Rezkin presumed dead by both his friends and enemies. This secrecy set the stage for a series of solo adventures as Rezkin worked behind the scenes to maneuver against his enemies. While the lack of group interactions was a slight departure from the usual dynamic it did not really impact the quality of the story or make reading it any less addictive! Rezkin did have one new companion: a baby dragon! It was cute, and had some fun powers, but you can definitely tell it will be straight up wrecking folks just like Rez once it gets bigger!
While Rezkin went solo for much of this book his usual companions weren’t left out. Wesson, Frisha, Azeria, and the duo of Yserria and Malcius all had prominent story arcs and each was enjoyable to follow. Their efforts to hold things together in Rezkin’s absence added tension and kept the story interesting and engaging. Kade has really done a great job of adding depth to the support characters over the course of this series. The rising threat of Caydean and the demons created chaos across multiple kingdoms, while political instability in Rezkin’s empire, fueled by the belief that he was dead, kept the stakes high.
The pacing remained good and the mix of action, intrigue, and humor kept things engaging from start to finish. While the solo nature of Rezkin’s journey was a change of pace it was still fun to watch him work his unique brand of brilliance on his enemies.
I’m still not sold on the Rez/Azeria romance but I did feel like Azeria having a story arc of her own in this one was a good thing and helped us get to know her character a bit better.
I liked that Frisha was more proactive in this tale and her story arc was pretty fun but I’m still not feeling her new romance either.
All in all, Knight of Shadows was another engaging entry in this fantastic series. It might not have reached the heights of the first couple of books but it kept the momentum going and left me eager for the next installment.
Rating: 4.5 stars. This series might have a few more flaws now than it did in the early books but it remains very easy to read and still definitely a favourite fantasy series of mine.
December 20, 2024
97% fluff and filler. The first 80% of the book adds absolutely nothing to the story and does move the plot forward. There are time jumps, the characters are scattered across the world and the story feels...disconnected from previous books. Characters who are previously very disciplined are much less so and almost feel like different people, everyone else seems.... dumbed down to make the story work. Kade feels like she is just making a money grab with this one. She is so focused on her new series she is not moving the plot in this series. Book 6 feels like she is just milking the cow.
This is 100% a book you can skip, wait 3 years for her to get around to book 7 and hopefully pick up the story there.
This is 100% a book you can skip, wait 3 years for her to get around to book 7 and hopefully pick up the story there.
December 16, 2025
Mam wrażenie, że ta seria zgubiła wątek...
June 11, 2025
I LOVED this series to DEATH, is my Favorite series of all time, but mannn i got to say this shit moving SLOW as hell! this book is a whole lot of nothing other than the event at the end. also can we get more Rezkin! man i dont give a fuck about Frisha, wesson, tam,Yserria or anyone pov who's situation is not related to Rezkin. Azeria the only one that was enjoyable to read other than Rezkin ofcourse. I read this book for Rezkin. Also you could of gave us Rezkin Pov as the raven instead of spending time on Boring Frisha situation or whatever is going with her or anyother Pov,
This is disappointing .
This is disappointing .
November 7, 2024
I was extremely disappointed with this book. I reread the ENTIRE series to read this installment and found it lacking. This book felt like it was written by a completely different person. The wit and attention to detail was completely different. Some things just seemed highly unnecessary like when Tam goes missing AGAIN! This felt like a rush job that we ended up waiting 2 years for. The world building and story telling of the last 5.5 books seemed to have been forgotten.
Then you have the problem that some characters seemed to have been completely forgotten. The beginning of the book was promising but then the addition of fast travel takes away the grand adventures themes of the book.
Then you have the problem that some characters seemed to have been completely forgotten. The beginning of the book was promising but then the addition of fast travel takes away the grand adventures themes of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2024
I touch disappointed
I absolutely love the KDT series and have eagerly awaited this latest installment. Unfortunately I feel the story was a bit rushed in this one. So much happened, but so quickly and lacking details, I don't think I really absorbed what I read. I will give it a reread to see if my second time around is better but I guess I will hope for a better ending in book 7.
I absolutely love the KDT series and have eagerly awaited this latest installment. Unfortunately I feel the story was a bit rushed in this one. So much happened, but so quickly and lacking details, I don't think I really absorbed what I read. I will give it a reread to see if my second time around is better but I guess I will hope for a better ending in book 7.
October 9, 2025
Entertaining, but Kel Kade certainly knows how to drag out a story. Now I wait for book seven to be released mid-November this year. Ritual of Ruin
More interaction with other cultures in the soon to be empire. Yet our mad king (what this saga is about to begin with) continues with his mad plans to conquer all.
I give Ms Kade credit, though. She is selling books.
More interaction with other cultures in the soon to be empire. Yet our mad king (what this saga is about to begin with) continues with his mad plans to conquer all.
I give Ms Kade credit, though. She is selling books.
October 18, 2024
Not a proper review, just some takeaways so I won't forget:
* There were moments in it that felt like the first books, with Rezkin doing his thing and being a badass.
* Unfortunately, it fell into the trap of giving the characters fast travel, which makes the story very disjointed, with people going all over the world all the time.
* The book glossed over a lot of things. You see the characters preparing for something, and then "so they did this, and it went like this, and let's move on and not spent too much time here". It happened multiple times, and although I get that if we got a PoV for everything, then the pacing would be too slow. But it still sucks to see the story told like that.
* The "cast too big" problem was carried over from the previous book, with many characters not even being mentioned.
* Some progress on the romance front, although I still don't like it. Rezkin had many potential partners that were around for a long time, all for Azeria to suddenly show up and now magically they're in love.
So, on the positive side, a lot of time felt like the first books, but on the negative, it felt like the story glossed over a lot of things and also felt very disjointed with all the teleporting.
* There were moments in it that felt like the first books, with Rezkin doing his thing and being a badass.
* Unfortunately, it fell into the trap of giving the characters fast travel, which makes the story very disjointed, with people going all over the world all the time.
* The book glossed over a lot of things. You see the characters preparing for something, and then "so they did this, and it went like this, and let's move on and not spent too much time here". It happened multiple times, and although I get that if we got a PoV for everything, then the pacing would be too slow. But it still sucks to see the story told like that.
* The "cast too big" problem was carried over from the previous book, with many characters not even being mentioned.
* Some progress on the romance front, although I still don't like it. Rezkin had many potential partners that were around for a long time, all for Azeria to suddenly show up and now magically they're in love.
So, on the positive side, a lot of time felt like the first books, but on the negative, it felt like the story glossed over a lot of things and also felt very disjointed with all the teleporting.
November 30, 2025
Chyba najlepsza część serii. Albo druga najlepsza (bo chyba jednak pierwsza była najlepsza 🤔)
Ale była naprawdę świetna!! Nie mogę się doczekać kolejnego tomu!!
To był trochę powrót do początków, ale z dodatkowymi elementami, które były baaardzo na plus
Ale była naprawdę świetna!! Nie mogę się doczekać kolejnego tomu!!
To był trochę powrót do początków, ale z dodatkowymi elementami, które były baaardzo na plus
December 12, 2025
audiobook
January 19, 2025
This felt like Kingdoms and Chaos 2.0 ~ Subterfuge edition. It was great seeing Rezkin once again flex all his stealthy training to manipulate things behind the scenes while his companions took on some more dynamic roles and got a jump in their character arcs. The only flaw is that the prose gets a bit rough at points (maybe a little rushed?), but the mid-to-end of the book is just straight excellence. 5 speed-running companion quests out of 5.
November 16, 2025
3.5/5 ⭐
tak jak poprzednie część mnie od razu wciągnęły tak tutaj miałam bardzo duży problem, żeby się zainteresować fabułą (może to przez bardzo długą przerwę po skończeniu 5 tomu?).
i niestety nie bardzo widzę sens powstania tej książki, niewiele wniosła ona do historii i wydaje mi się że autorka przedłuża tę serię na siłę.
mimo wszystko jednak dobrze było wrócić do tego świata i to tych bohaterów i z niecierpliwością czekam na kolejny tom!
tak jak poprzednie część mnie od razu wciągnęły tak tutaj miałam bardzo duży problem, żeby się zainteresować fabułą (może to przez bardzo długą przerwę po skończeniu 5 tomu?).
i niestety nie bardzo widzę sens powstania tej książki, niewiele wniosła ona do historii i wydaje mi się że autorka przedłuża tę serię na siłę.
mimo wszystko jednak dobrze było wrócić do tego świata i to tych bohaterów i z niecierpliwością czekam na kolejny tom!
February 23, 2025
In some ways, this story was getting too big. Thankfully this book does exactly what the series needed by returning to the roots of what originally made it good. Of following the MC in a setting similar to the first few books. It takes a step back and a deep breath before moving forward once again. Perfect! I loved it. Well done, Kel Kade. I can't wait for the next book to be released!
October 22, 2024
“You shall
know all that I am, all that I have ever been, and all that I become.”
know all that I am, all that I have ever been, and all that I become.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
April 18, 2025This was probably my least favorite of the series. Still entertaining but I felt confused by some plot lines and the necessity of them. Maybe things will make more sense in the 7th book.
May 10, 2025
I need to know what happens next!
December 1, 2025
Moje obiektywne wrażenie? Ta książka nie wnosi nic fabularnie do serii, może z wyjątkiem przejęcia władzy w jednym królestwie. Subiektywnie - świetnie się bawiłam a na zakończeniu myślałam, że padnę.
November 20, 2024
Being dead is a curse and a blessing.
Your loved ones mourn you but your enemies forget about you. Being thought dead allows you freedom to accomplish many things in secret. But now our hero realises how much his friends mean to him.
Your loved ones mourn you but your enemies forget about you. Being thought dead allows you freedom to accomplish many things in secret. But now our hero realises how much his friends mean to him.
October 8, 2024
I enjoyed this book.
This was a great read. I didn’t enjoy book 5 that much but I liked this one and it brought the story back for me. I eagerly await book 7
This was a great read. I didn’t enjoy book 5 that much but I liked this one and it brought the story back for me. I eagerly await book 7
January 22, 2025
I am living for these audiobooks. I am HOOTIN AND HOLLERIN at the romance, I am gasping at every plot turn, I am cackling out loud in my car like a crazy woman. Nick Podehl's narration is sublime.
January 27, 2025
There are mix reviews on this latest installment of the King Dark Tidings series. But I enjoyed it very much! I love all the intrigue, action, magic, the character development of some of the other characters and the baby dragon! I look forward to seeing how much more powerful Rezkin will become with Azeria fighting with him!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2025
i loved this series so much. i loved rezkin so much. but this book was such a disappointment. the plot seemed to go forward a little bit, but i just saw too little of all the characters i was interested in. maybe instead of time passing, more could be written about the characters. also, tam was taken again? ridiculous. i feel like rezkin's reason to stay away from his friends was weak. also, he is way OP. he has mastered all the skills, has a dragon, wild elvish powers, can look like whoever he wants, can make whoever look like whatever he wants (seena), and can basically teleport to wherever he wants. i'm interested to see if this series can be recovered with the next book but, if it's more of the same, i'm really not looking forward to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2024
Definitely looking forward to this new book. Kel kade is a great fantasy author.
November 25, 2024
Not Kel's Best Work
Quite frankly, this felt like a transition novel to the next book. Rezkin operates from the shadows, but nothing really that interesting happens. Every time he needs to find someone or something out, Rez just happens to be attacked by or overhear just the right person. It's lazy writing and the story feels thin. When at last we get a climax it comes via the most ridiculously manufactured pretext of a life or death popularity contest to select a queen. I honestly struggled to finish it, where previously I was gripped by the other books. Really hope the next one is better.
Quite frankly, this felt like a transition novel to the next book. Rezkin operates from the shadows, but nothing really that interesting happens. Every time he needs to find someone or something out, Rez just happens to be attacked by or overhear just the right person. It's lazy writing and the story feels thin. When at last we get a climax it comes via the most ridiculously manufactured pretext of a life or death popularity contest to select a queen. I honestly struggled to finish it, where previously I was gripped by the other books. Really hope the next one is better.
October 28, 2024
New Rezkin, same problems
These books are such an interesting conundrum. The force that keeps them going is Rezkin; his single-handed obliteration of every obstacle in his path is the best part of the series, and though he’s now battling more challenging opponents who can match him, Kade has successfully made him a more likable character though he appears less competent.
But… the perennial problems plaguing this are the prose and the plot, two fundamental components of a book. Kade’s writing has improved over time, but the prose is still “grin and bear it” levels of readable, and the dizzying cast of characters is getting unmanageable. That and some questionable decisions — Rezkin moved heaven and earth to save Tam from slavers, and now Tam’s been missing for months and we don’t even hear about it till halfway through the book? — make this a frustrating series to read. The potential is there to be so much better.
These books are such an interesting conundrum. The force that keeps them going is Rezkin; his single-handed obliteration of every obstacle in his path is the best part of the series, and though he’s now battling more challenging opponents who can match him, Kade has successfully made him a more likable character though he appears less competent.
But… the perennial problems plaguing this are the prose and the plot, two fundamental components of a book. Kade’s writing has improved over time, but the prose is still “grin and bear it” levels of readable, and the dizzying cast of characters is getting unmanageable. That and some questionable decisions — Rezkin moved heaven and earth to save Tam from slavers, and now Tam’s been missing for months and we don’t even hear about it till halfway through the book? — make this a frustrating series to read. The potential is there to be so much better.
March 22, 2025
What?
Good grief! I thought the series would stop here. Not that I don’t like it. I like it very much so I read it.
But it’s got to stop sometime, much as I like the main characters! Oh NO! Book 7 isn't out yet apparently? Nothing on Amazon, anyway.
Oh well. Meanwhile, for fantasy writers everywhere, there is no such word as snuck, try sneaked crept, slithered, insinuated him or herself, slid, lurked, skulked, side-stepped, anything but snuck!
Use like to compare nouns and as or as if to compare any other word function. knocked is for doors, nocked is for arrows. Shined is for shoes. Shone is for other things. Hanged is for people, hung is for clothing Scarfed is a modernism that appeared in the 1960's. Lay is for putting something down. Lie for lying down for a nap etc. (also for untruths) Laid is for putting something down. Lain is for past tense of lie as in lying down. Edit very carefully if you are using talk to text to write! Weird stuff happens
Good grief! I thought the series would stop here. Not that I don’t like it. I like it very much so I read it.
But it’s got to stop sometime, much as I like the main characters! Oh NO! Book 7 isn't out yet apparently? Nothing on Amazon, anyway.
Oh well. Meanwhile, for fantasy writers everywhere, there is no such word as snuck, try sneaked crept, slithered, insinuated him or herself, slid, lurked, skulked, side-stepped, anything but snuck!
Use like to compare nouns and as or as if to compare any other word function. knocked is for doors, nocked is for arrows. Shined is for shoes. Shone is for other things. Hanged is for people, hung is for clothing Scarfed is a modernism that appeared in the 1960's. Lay is for putting something down. Lie for lying down for a nap etc. (also for untruths) Laid is for putting something down. Lain is for past tense of lie as in lying down. Edit very carefully if you are using talk to text to write! Weird stuff happens
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