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The Lost and Founds #4
King John
English attorney Alistair Robertson can’t quite believe an astonishing tale of kingship and transformation he hears at Burning Man, the annual counter-culture art festival in the Black Rock desert. Who are the Found Kings? Is “being kinged” as magical as it sounds?
Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”
Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral into uncontrollable, explosive directions.
In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns.
Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”
Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral into uncontrollable, explosive directions.
In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns.
245 pages, ebook
First published September 10, 2015
100 people want to read
About the author
Edmond Manning
15 books166 followersEdmond Manning has always been fascinated by fiction: how ordinary words could be sculpted into heartfelt emotions, how heartfelt emotions could leave an imprint inside you stronger than the real world. Mr. Manning never felt worthy to seek publication until recently, when he accidentally stumbled into his own writer’s voice that fit perfectly, like his favorite skull-print, fuzzy jammies. He finally realized that he didn’t have to write like Charles Dickens or Armistead Maupin, two author heroes, and that perhaps his own fiction was juuuuuuust right, because it was his true voice, so he looked around the scrappy word kingdom that he created for himself and shouted, “I’M HOME!” He is now a writer.
In addition to fiction, Edmond enjoys writing non-fiction on his blog, www.edmondmanning.com. When not writing, he can be found either picking raspberries in the back yard or eating panang curry in an overstuffed chair upstairs, reading comic books.
In addition to fiction, Edmond enjoys writing non-fiction on his blog, www.edmondmanning.com. When not writing, he can be found either picking raspberries in the back yard or eating panang curry in an overstuffed chair upstairs, reading comic books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
September 24, 2015
*4.5 stars*
The 4th book in the Lost and Founds series takes place in 2002 at Burning Man. Now, I was only vaguely familiar with Burning Man before this book (I watched a very sandy flash mob marriage proposal there on youtube and that was the extent of it), but with a little help from Wikipedia, I got the gist. Burning Man is SO the logical place for Vin to be. It is eccentric and full of life and energy, so I wasn't surprised at all that he gravitated there. Through a set of unusual and fortuitous circumstances (duh, it's a Lost and Founds book), Vin meets a man named Alistar, who recognizes Vin and insists that Vin king him.
I think I start off every book in the series the same way. I always sort of loath the main character, the guy getting Kinged, for the first half of the book. The Lost Kings always seem so selfish, so indifferent to my man, Vin Vanbly, and his obvious sacrifices. I'm always indignant on his behalf, and with King John, it was no different. Alistar is eager, way too eager, and too big, too inquisitive, just too. I had trouble loving him, and I was impressed when Vin found a way to love him.
For about 40% of the book I was feeling a bit checked out. The writing was amazing, but I was getting frustrated with the back and forth between Vin and Alistar. Then, things took a turn for the worst. Something HAPPENS. Something big. After that point, when the action started really going, I could NOT put this book down.
Many things happened that really made me love this book. I learned to love Alistar, like really love him, which I doubted I could do at the start. We also learn so much about Vin, more than ever before, though everything we learn about him is heartbreaking. We see Vin's humor, his resilience, his self-loathing, his generosity, and his spirit. There are some magical elements in this one, to be sure, but I liked them a great deal more than in The Butterfly King.
That ending though... be prepared for a major cliffy. You'll finish this book not sure if you want to strangle Edmond Manning for leaving you in the lurch or love him for dreaming up such an emotional, well conceived story.
**Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**
The 4th book in the Lost and Founds series takes place in 2002 at Burning Man. Now, I was only vaguely familiar with Burning Man before this book (I watched a very sandy flash mob marriage proposal there on youtube and that was the extent of it), but with a little help from Wikipedia, I got the gist. Burning Man is SO the logical place for Vin to be. It is eccentric and full of life and energy, so I wasn't surprised at all that he gravitated there. Through a set of unusual and fortuitous circumstances (duh, it's a Lost and Founds book), Vin meets a man named Alistar, who recognizes Vin and insists that Vin king him.
I think I start off every book in the series the same way. I always sort of loath the main character, the guy getting Kinged, for the first half of the book. The Lost Kings always seem so selfish, so indifferent to my man, Vin Vanbly, and his obvious sacrifices. I'm always indignant on his behalf, and with King John, it was no different. Alistar is eager, way too eager, and too big, too inquisitive, just too. I had trouble loving him, and I was impressed when Vin found a way to love him.
For about 40% of the book I was feeling a bit checked out. The writing was amazing, but I was getting frustrated with the back and forth between Vin and Alistar. Then, things took a turn for the worst. Something HAPPENS. Something big. After that point, when the action started really going, I could NOT put this book down.
Many things happened that really made me love this book. I learned to love Alistar, like really love him, which I doubted I could do at the start. We also learn so much about Vin, more than ever before, though everything we learn about him is heartbreaking. We see Vin's humor, his resilience, his self-loathing, his generosity, and his spirit. There are some magical elements in this one, to be sure, but I liked them a great deal more than in The Butterfly King.
That ending though... be prepared for a major cliffy. You'll finish this book not sure if you want to strangle Edmond Manning for leaving you in the lurch or love him for dreaming up such an emotional, well conceived story.
**Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**
September 11, 2015
Another lovely book in this series.
One of the things I really appreciate about The Lost and Founds series is that each book has a different flavor. Each one shares the main character of Vin Vambly, the theme, the story arc. Each has the same playfulness, with a marvelous joy in language, with moments of humor and moments of deep emotion, but they resonate with me in different ways.
If you have not yet read these, begin with book 1 - King Perry - In this book we meet Vin Vanbly, magician, mystic, prankster, and adventurer, who finds the true hearts of lost men and helps them find themselves as Kings. The first book is glittering mirrors and breathless moments, unexpected, delivering laughter and heartache in sucker-punches, sometimes in the same damned paragraph.
Then King Mai, warmer, softer, sweeter, with a Vin who is less sure, more human. Then The Butterfly King, with Vin younger yet, moving back in time. Vin is shown grappling with his own issues, as he tries to find the vulnerabilities in a man of strength without breaking him beyond repair. That book had hurt and power and hidden depths.
And now this one... (beware, spoilers for the first books.)
King John shows us Vin in 2002, after the events of the three previous books. Vin is at Burning Man, the annual desert festival of self-expression and art, nonconformity and radical inclusion. Vin says it's the one place he feels at home, and it's clear why. This is one place where a man who bear-walks down the street will not just be met with smiles, but would probably find a couple of other people trying it out too, alongside him. Here, a man who considers himself a bit of a freak is among a crowd of such variety and such acceptance that he would find it almost impossible to really stand out. Here at last, all of Vin's tricks and masks can become normal, even though he doesn't let go of them.
With each book, I've become more and more fond of Vin. He's gone from sparkling, polished showman to a damaged, lonely, dedicated man who is doing his best at a task he himself only half-understands. We've seen glimpses here and there of his childhood, and the monsters that lurked there. Each book we get a better feel for how isolated Vin has always been, and how he has worked to keep an optimistic heart, and to explore the world for all the good things in it.
This book, for the first time, gave me a second main character and foil to Vin whom I didn't like at first. Don't get me wrong, I was fascinated by the story, loving Vin, and seduced by the language and writing. But Alistair? He annoyed me.
After a while, I realized that part of the reason was because I could see a lot of myself in him. Not in his lack of trust, but in his need to question everything. That sharp intellectual approach to the world that can't just go along, but must always ask "why?" and say, "yes, but what if...?" and which demands the reassurance of logical analysis. So in watching Alistair, I saw the reverse side of that - the way it gets in between a person and the experience. Plus he was bugging my beloved Vin, and demanding a lot from him on the one hand, while giving nothing back on the other. Grrr.
As time went on, of course, the story unearthed both the deeper, softer side of Alistair, buried beneath his need for appearances and need for control. And I learned more about Vin, saw that in these post-Perry days, he's in some ways going backward, losing his certainties in new mysteries. Vin has successfully guided many Lost Kings to become Found Kings, but the toll it's taking on him is starting to show at every level. Something will have to change...
In the next book, I suppose.
And so with a sigh, I finished reading "King John." As with every book in this series, I saw redemption and change, loss and gain, in an unfamiliar setting I could almost feel and taste. I laughed at the word play, smiled at the absurdities, hurt for the boy Vin was and the man he still is, and loved the journey. I'll even forgive Edmond Manning for the little unresolved hints at the end - not cliffhangers, because the main plot thread is set in its path, but just a bit more mystery than ever before.
And so now I'll wait for Chapter 12 of King Daniel-book 6... If you haven't yet found King Daniel, go to Edmond's website and do so; it's coming out a little at a time, between volumes, whetting our appetite with hints of joy and pain, and more freaking mysteries... such fun. And then book 5 to come, and more of Vin Vambly's adventures Finding the Lost Kings. A favorite series, now one glorious, magical, hot, dry, sandy, fascinating installment longer.
One of the things I really appreciate about The Lost and Founds series is that each book has a different flavor. Each one shares the main character of Vin Vambly, the theme, the story arc. Each has the same playfulness, with a marvelous joy in language, with moments of humor and moments of deep emotion, but they resonate with me in different ways.
If you have not yet read these, begin with book 1 - King Perry - In this book we meet Vin Vanbly, magician, mystic, prankster, and adventurer, who finds the true hearts of lost men and helps them find themselves as Kings. The first book is glittering mirrors and breathless moments, unexpected, delivering laughter and heartache in sucker-punches, sometimes in the same damned paragraph.
Then King Mai, warmer, softer, sweeter, with a Vin who is less sure, more human. Then The Butterfly King, with Vin younger yet, moving back in time. Vin is shown grappling with his own issues, as he tries to find the vulnerabilities in a man of strength without breaking him beyond repair. That book had hurt and power and hidden depths.
And now this one... (beware, spoilers for the first books.)
King John shows us Vin in 2002, after the events of the three previous books. Vin is at Burning Man, the annual desert festival of self-expression and art, nonconformity and radical inclusion. Vin says it's the one place he feels at home, and it's clear why. This is one place where a man who bear-walks down the street will not just be met with smiles, but would probably find a couple of other people trying it out too, alongside him. Here, a man who considers himself a bit of a freak is among a crowd of such variety and such acceptance that he would find it almost impossible to really stand out. Here at last, all of Vin's tricks and masks can become normal, even though he doesn't let go of them.
With each book, I've become more and more fond of Vin. He's gone from sparkling, polished showman to a damaged, lonely, dedicated man who is doing his best at a task he himself only half-understands. We've seen glimpses here and there of his childhood, and the monsters that lurked there. Each book we get a better feel for how isolated Vin has always been, and how he has worked to keep an optimistic heart, and to explore the world for all the good things in it.
This book, for the first time, gave me a second main character and foil to Vin whom I didn't like at first. Don't get me wrong, I was fascinated by the story, loving Vin, and seduced by the language and writing. But Alistair? He annoyed me.
After a while, I realized that part of the reason was because I could see a lot of myself in him. Not in his lack of trust, but in his need to question everything. That sharp intellectual approach to the world that can't just go along, but must always ask "why?" and say, "yes, but what if...?" and which demands the reassurance of logical analysis. So in watching Alistair, I saw the reverse side of that - the way it gets in between a person and the experience. Plus he was bugging my beloved Vin, and demanding a lot from him on the one hand, while giving nothing back on the other. Grrr.
As time went on, of course, the story unearthed both the deeper, softer side of Alistair, buried beneath his need for appearances and need for control. And I learned more about Vin, saw that in these post-Perry days, he's in some ways going backward, losing his certainties in new mysteries. Vin has successfully guided many Lost Kings to become Found Kings, but the toll it's taking on him is starting to show at every level. Something will have to change...
In the next book, I suppose.
And so with a sigh, I finished reading "King John." As with every book in this series, I saw redemption and change, loss and gain, in an unfamiliar setting I could almost feel and taste. I laughed at the word play, smiled at the absurdities, hurt for the boy Vin was and the man he still is, and loved the journey. I'll even forgive Edmond Manning for the little unresolved hints at the end - not cliffhangers, because the main plot thread is set in its path, but just a bit more mystery than ever before.
And so now I'll wait for Chapter 12 of King Daniel-book 6... If you haven't yet found King Daniel, go to Edmond's website and do so; it's coming out a little at a time, between volumes, whetting our appetite with hints of joy and pain, and more freaking mysteries... such fun. And then book 5 to come, and more of Vin Vambly's adventures Finding the Lost Kings. A favorite series, now one glorious, magical, hot, dry, sandy, fascinating installment longer.
September 15, 2015
King John is the 4th installment in the The Lost and Found series. But if you think that after reading the previous three books you're smart enough to know much about a King Weekend or at least how it works, be prepared for a big surprise. Because King John doesn’t follow any rules and any schema.
And it is probably the most intriguing thing about King John.
Was it a right decision? I don’t know.
It has its pros and cons, and it will have its admirers and naysayers.
Edmond Manning is an exceptionally talented storyteller, and I know no other writer who can write fairy tales for adult, young at heart, dreamers in the same fascinating way as Edmond Manning. Monsters, magicians, or weird stuff alone are not enough to create MAGIC.
To write and find magic in our everyday life, in ordinary things, and make readers to believe in it, that is MAGIC.
And this author can it. Oh, yes he can.
King John has a very interesting location. I have to thank the author for introducing me to Burning Man. I have never heard about this event before. And I have to confess, that I was irritated reading the first pages. Was Vin hallucinating, dreaming, what the hell was he talking about?! Luckily we have the Internet - I googled, and for pretty long hours after completely immersed in the world of Burning Man. This place was perfectly chosen by the author for a King Weekend. What could be more suitable for Vin than a really weird environment, full of droll characters, bizarre scenes and odd images?
My issues with the fourth book were not the writing and not the surroundings - I hope, I clarified this point.
My issues with this book was the King Weekend itself.
Nothing happened almost for the first half of the book, and even if the second part was much better, I had still difficulties to focus on the story. The concept of the series is based on a King's personality. You have to be fond of a man, whom Vin kings,to enjoy the book. We all have our favourite and less favourite Kings, but what if you feel...indifference to the chosen person?
Alistair aka John was not my King.And it is why I had problems with Vin kinging John. No, not because I’m too old fashioned aboutmy Vin’s Kings, and not because I stick to old rules or schemas considering a King Weekend, but simply because I prefer Vin himself to chose whom he kings as the next. Why? I felt MORE emotional connection between Vin and his elected man, when his kings were not just occasional people from the street, he learned a lot about them BEFORE he met them, he gathered all kind of Information he could get about them, he prepared himself thoroughly for this special King Weekend. It was the way WHERE and HOW this invisible intern connection was made. In this book there are a lot of improvisations, and a very few moments when Vin and John were alone, by themselves. They were always surrounded by people, bad and good, and strange and bizzare. It is why it was difficult for me to buy "love" between them. Vin repeated again and again in his thoughts how he loved John. NO, I didn't feel it. There were just words.
No, I never disliked John, he was okay, but his story didn't touch me. He is tired to be a normal/usual person? Really? An attractive lawer who is whinnig because he is an ordinary man? Asks too many questions and not actually ready to be kinged? HE didn't really deserve to be kinged, IMO. And even his big sad secret wasn't able to convince me. BUT WHY, after too less physical and emotional connection they had, Vin opened himself so much to him? It will remain a great mystery for me.
As much as I enjoy the writing, I have to admit, that King John didn't meet my hopes and expectations.
Except the ending.
The ending was SPECTACULARE.
It terrified me.
And gave me a new hope, that the next installment COULD be my favorite one.
*Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
*This review has been crossed posted to Jessewave*
And it is probably the most intriguing thing about King John.
Was it a right decision? I don’t know.
It has its pros and cons, and it will have its admirers and naysayers.
Edmond Manning is an exceptionally talented storyteller, and I know no other writer who can write fairy tales for adult, young at heart, dreamers in the same fascinating way as Edmond Manning. Monsters, magicians, or weird stuff alone are not enough to create MAGIC.
To write and find magic in our everyday life, in ordinary things, and make readers to believe in it, that is MAGIC.
And this author can it. Oh, yes he can.
King John has a very interesting location. I have to thank the author for introducing me to Burning Man. I have never heard about this event before. And I have to confess, that I was irritated reading the first pages. Was Vin hallucinating, dreaming, what the hell was he talking about?! Luckily we have the Internet - I googled, and for pretty long hours after completely immersed in the world of Burning Man. This place was perfectly chosen by the author for a King Weekend. What could be more suitable for Vin than a really weird environment, full of droll characters, bizarre scenes and odd images?
My issues with the fourth book were not the writing and not the surroundings - I hope, I clarified this point.
My issues with this book was the King Weekend itself.
Nothing happened almost for the first half of the book, and even if the second part was much better, I had still difficulties to focus on the story. The concept of the series is based on a King's personality. You have to be fond of a man, whom Vin kings,to enjoy the book. We all have our favourite and less favourite Kings, but what if you feel...indifference to the chosen person?
Alistair aka John was not my King.And it is why I had problems with Vin kinging John. No, not because I’m too old fashioned about
No, I never disliked John, he was okay, but his story didn't touch me. He is tired to be a normal/usual person? Really? An attractive lawer who is whinnig because he is an ordinary man? Asks too many questions and not actually ready to be kinged? HE didn't really deserve to be kinged, IMO. And even his big sad secret wasn't able to convince me. BUT WHY, after too less physical and emotional connection they had, Vin opened himself so much to him? It will remain a great mystery for me.
As much as I enjoy the writing, I have to admit, that King John didn't meet my hopes and expectations.
Except the ending.
The ending was SPECTACULARE.
It terrified me.
And gave me a new hope, that the next installment COULD be my favorite one.
*Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
*This review has been crossed posted to Jessewave*
April 26, 2016
"I don’t know what the fuck is happening anymore. But I am catching on.”
That is a King Weekend in a nutshell. Can't be explained, must be experienced. But don't be fooled, this isn't some half-assed adventure. To paraphrase Ingmar Bergman, only someone who is well prepared is able to improvise.
Vin has kinging down, but he's got a tough nut to crack this time. Manning lets you laugh freely and then steals your breath away. Like goofing around when you careen into a table and all you see in that split second is that you can't fix it... and the CRASH!
Alistair's secret, what can I say, we all have fears and this taps into the unfixable and rings my major interpersonal bell--shit.
Manning knows the beauty and importance in touch. The reverence and care, the love that whispers across another's skin--that acknowledges another wordlessly. An acceptance which we all crave and Vin gives so freely. Not that there aren't challenges with every kinging, but Vin is scrambling harder than ever.
Alistair and Vin are a bit
And shit goes all kinds of sideways.
Talk about utterly frustrating, at least The Dread Pirate Roberts knocked people unconscious and moved on, unfortunately, that's not an option here. Of all the king stories, this one actually took me beyond being displeased and bordering incensed. Vin, I'm on my fucking knees.
“I love you like fire”
When you allow someone else to own your song nothing else matters. Inside, like a seashell to the ear we all have the harmony, a rhythm coursing through our cells and blood--you can't let someone else conduct that. You can't.
And even here, my love of Moby Dick finds a way, or maybe I find a way of seeking it out:
With La Contessa chasing the white whale bus around the desert all week, an accident seems not only possible but probable.
The setting is so omnipresent, a character itself. Stark and unforgiving, but awe-inspiring and the night sky absent civilization is tremendous. We dampen it with our creations to make ourselves larger, and the desert is much like the middle of ocean at night--it's like space. You have no way to register yourself, so you float in nothingness.
Words to live by:
To stop filtering through someone else’s reality and find our own.
I hate these stories because they hit too close, like a bone bruise no one can see. But, BUT... I love these stories for Vin's reckless abandon and sacrifice. There's an exquisite life affirming intimacy in these pages that make me hope. Even though the ending devastated me, utterly and completely. And that's why it's four stars and not five.
Overall, a king rises during the Dionysian fervency of Burning Man.
September 15, 2015
“Men fall down. Kings get back up.”
Being an unplanned kinging, this was different. Manning and through him Vin are usually focused, sure what they are doing, ready to leave us and the king-in-waiting on our toes, faltering about. Not so this time, this time it is Vin who is unsure, frustrated.
This is as much Vin’s book as it is the king’s and I surely don’t mind that. It was about time that we had some more of Vin. OK I know he needs to hide but it’s time because all this is taking its toll on him. Alistair pushing him with all his questions did not help Vin but it did make me realise how much we loose sometimes by asking questions all the time instead of living, savouring an experience.
Apart from appreciating this story in particular and the series as a whole, I also connect with the writing because of what, how Manning writes:
“No, that’s a mess of letters flung together without any regard for their personal safety.”
“So much better to apply our own meaning, our own experience, to stop filtering through someone else’s reality and find our own.”
An unplanned read with Maya – great as always.
Interview with EM
September 20, 2015
When you are loved, you cannot possibly be boring.
For me, this was a slow reveal through the first half of the book. Not in a frustrating way but it was deign to give up what was really going on here before it was time, especially regarding Vin. When it happened, it didn’t hit me like a freight train, that’s now how Manning tells stories. Instead, it gently enveloped me, swirling and then finally landing, like a soft blanket, settling down and warming me, cozying around me.
Here’s how it happened.
Vulnerability. It’s real, we all know what it feels like and many of the things that make most of us experience it, forcing itself upon us. They’re different for everyone, the exact causes, but there are some we have in common, like grief, fear, and love. We’re able to sense it in someone else. What we do with that knowledge automatically gives us power. One of the most difficult things to do with that power is forgive. More importantly is when we use it to forgive someone when they really need it and are unable to grant it for themselves.
Both Alistair and Vin are the walking talking examples of this, the changing tides in a relationship fraught with the need, and the power, of forgiveness.
The glaring dichotomy inside each of Vin and Alistair is they’re slow on the uptake, considering how powerfully in tune they can be, and yet they’re so ready to use their energy on someone else who needs it. This goes hand in hand with their shared talent of self-denial. The facts of their lives are quite different but they are cut from the same cloth. (I just looked in my notes… even Vin knows this to be true.) That these two men meet at a time when neither is at their strongest, when their defenses are at their thinnest, is impactful and unpredictable in terms of outcome. I was unprepared.
As usual, Manning’s way with word combinations feel fresh, enlightening, and it creates a direct conduit to emotions, putting forth long-known truths.
One of those times where you feel you belong here, like the universe is magic, and you were meant to chill out with these exact people.
The note next to this highlighted passage on my kindle? “Yes!!!!!!” You can experience your “burning man” home of a connection anywhere. You can find your tribe anywhere. When you meet those of your tribe, you know it. The joy splits your face with all the smiling and barely constrainable feelings of belonging, relief, and HELL YEAH. It can happen at any point in your life. Burning Man, and everything and everyone within it, feels like ‘tribe’ for Vin.
Also, did you catch that ‘magic’ bit? Magic is a tricky ingredient in this story. Squirrely and unavoidable. It feels like it’s everywhere and yet invisible and not quite believable. Is this how Vin feels? I think more and more, yes.
Home. Just saying the word pulls emotions quickly to the surface, all of them rushing ahead, wanting to be the first in line to be recognized and become the energy it takes to do everything. This, more than anything, squeezes my heart and makes me cry with Vin. I cried. It also made me angry. Angry on Vin’s behalf, as if it could somehow give him strength, or the knowledge of his own strength. Does that even work? I don’t know, but it’s how I felt. Maybe “home” will happen for Alistair. Maybe for Vin? I desperately want it for Vin. I want him to recognize that he does have the strength to see it. And live it. He’s worthy.
*shakes it off*
How about more of those beautiful word type things as we take a deep, cleansing breath, eh?
With the sun running in slow motion to the horizon…
Ok, there we go, much better.
Now then, one of the many things I love about Vin is his appreciation and usage of proper curses words that fit the occasion. Maybe it’s because like recognizes like. Curse away, my friend, let ‘em fly. Sometimes it’s the best thing to do in certain situations.
I also enjoy his humor. Interestingly, he’s at his best when he’s around other people, when they’re a part of it, as opposed to when he’s alone and it’s internalized. Huh. Another sign, Vin? Hmmm? Me thinks so.
Could Alistair be like me? Is he – is he a King Finder?
The note on my kindle for that? Also one word: “Interestinggggggggggggg”. *pats word gently* I’ll just leave that right here.
Know what else is interesting? I just realized what I was doing with that gesture up there: using sarcasm in an attempt to hide my own vulnerability that I’m still feeling after having experienced this story. My comment is straight forward, but the gentle patting is sarcasm working as the handy tool that it is in the way I use it.
Back to that Vin being worthy thing…
I think we’re all connected, and the more attuned I become to the connection, the more I feel it.
Let it in, Vin. Let them in.
This is the deepest in crisis I’ve ever seen Vin. It’s right at the surface. Further, he has Alistair who is someone more like Vin than any other King or potential King I’ve encountered. He’s right there with Vin. Seeing him. And the fiends at Burning Man, they’re getting to know Vin, the real him. It’s all so much. Too much? Or is it right thing at the right time, is it what HE needs in order to finally start his own journey towards getting Kinged?
Vin is a contradiction, something I touched on earlier. He cares so deeply, often knowing instinctively what someone needs, not just what they want but what they need. He knows what should be done, how to attempt to save someone. Yes, he falters and isn’t right all the time. No one is. Yet, he doesn’t do any of this for himself, he doesn’t allow anyone else to try for him. My heart is crying out for someone to do this, for him to allow someone to do this.
He’s at a turning point. He’s at a breaking point, Vin is. When will he realize he can do this? Who will be the one to help him? When he does, when he realizes of what he’s truly capable, truly worth… oh my gosh, I got chills. He’s valuable. He’s worthy.
What about Mai? I kept thinking about him while reading this. I wonder what that means? Is he to be the one? Will he be a part of Vin’s crossing the gate, to see Vin’s sparks? Vin deserves a witness, a companion, a love that will see his sparks.
There’s a large part of this story I feel I shouldn’t even mention, for it could be quite a spoiler. I just know that I experienced exclamations ranging from, pinballing back and forth between “bloody brilliant!” and “omg Vin… Vin” and “what does this mean??” and “joy just might have a shot” and “forgiveness… powerful, exhausting, and challenging”.
When two magicians dance, it’s hard to say.
You ain’t kiddin’.
At the end, I had this strange and unexpected mixture of feelings. I was bereft and yet peaceful, uncertain and hopeful, angry and loved, gutted and giggling, and back to angry. How in the world am I supposed to reconcile all of that? How do I wait to find out? How can I be ok, knowing what Vin’s feeling? I don’t like it and yet I love it.
That’s King John for me.
For me, this was a slow reveal through the first half of the book. Not in a frustrating way but it was deign to give up what was really going on here before it was time, especially regarding Vin. When it happened, it didn’t hit me like a freight train, that’s now how Manning tells stories. Instead, it gently enveloped me, swirling and then finally landing, like a soft blanket, settling down and warming me, cozying around me.
Here’s how it happened.
Vulnerability. It’s real, we all know what it feels like and many of the things that make most of us experience it, forcing itself upon us. They’re different for everyone, the exact causes, but there are some we have in common, like grief, fear, and love. We’re able to sense it in someone else. What we do with that knowledge automatically gives us power. One of the most difficult things to do with that power is forgive. More importantly is when we use it to forgive someone when they really need it and are unable to grant it for themselves.
Both Alistair and Vin are the walking talking examples of this, the changing tides in a relationship fraught with the need, and the power, of forgiveness.
The glaring dichotomy inside each of Vin and Alistair is they’re slow on the uptake, considering how powerfully in tune they can be, and yet they’re so ready to use their energy on someone else who needs it. This goes hand in hand with their shared talent of self-denial. The facts of their lives are quite different but they are cut from the same cloth. (I just looked in my notes… even Vin knows this to be true.) That these two men meet at a time when neither is at their strongest, when their defenses are at their thinnest, is impactful and unpredictable in terms of outcome. I was unprepared.
As usual, Manning’s way with word combinations feel fresh, enlightening, and it creates a direct conduit to emotions, putting forth long-known truths.
One of those times where you feel you belong here, like the universe is magic, and you were meant to chill out with these exact people.
The note next to this highlighted passage on my kindle? “Yes!!!!!!” You can experience your “burning man” home of a connection anywhere. You can find your tribe anywhere. When you meet those of your tribe, you know it. The joy splits your face with all the smiling and barely constrainable feelings of belonging, relief, and HELL YEAH. It can happen at any point in your life. Burning Man, and everything and everyone within it, feels like ‘tribe’ for Vin.
Also, did you catch that ‘magic’ bit? Magic is a tricky ingredient in this story. Squirrely and unavoidable. It feels like it’s everywhere and yet invisible and not quite believable. Is this how Vin feels? I think more and more, yes.
Home. Just saying the word pulls emotions quickly to the surface, all of them rushing ahead, wanting to be the first in line to be recognized and become the energy it takes to do everything. This, more than anything, squeezes my heart and makes me cry with Vin. I cried. It also made me angry. Angry on Vin’s behalf, as if it could somehow give him strength, or the knowledge of his own strength. Does that even work? I don’t know, but it’s how I felt. Maybe “home” will happen for Alistair. Maybe for Vin? I desperately want it for Vin. I want him to recognize that he does have the strength to see it. And live it. He’s worthy.
*shakes it off*
How about more of those beautiful word type things as we take a deep, cleansing breath, eh?
With the sun running in slow motion to the horizon…
Ok, there we go, much better.
Now then, one of the many things I love about Vin is his appreciation and usage of proper curses words that fit the occasion. Maybe it’s because like recognizes like. Curse away, my friend, let ‘em fly. Sometimes it’s the best thing to do in certain situations.
I also enjoy his humor. Interestingly, he’s at his best when he’s around other people, when they’re a part of it, as opposed to when he’s alone and it’s internalized. Huh. Another sign, Vin? Hmmm? Me thinks so.
Could Alistair be like me? Is he – is he a King Finder?
The note on my kindle for that? Also one word: “Interestinggggggggggggg”. *pats word gently* I’ll just leave that right here.
Know what else is interesting? I just realized what I was doing with that gesture up there: using sarcasm in an attempt to hide my own vulnerability that I’m still feeling after having experienced this story. My comment is straight forward, but the gentle patting is sarcasm working as the handy tool that it is in the way I use it.
Back to that Vin being worthy thing…
I think we’re all connected, and the more attuned I become to the connection, the more I feel it.
Let it in, Vin. Let them in.
This is the deepest in crisis I’ve ever seen Vin. It’s right at the surface. Further, he has Alistair who is someone more like Vin than any other King or potential King I’ve encountered. He’s right there with Vin. Seeing him. And the fiends at Burning Man, they’re getting to know Vin, the real him. It’s all so much. Too much? Or is it right thing at the right time, is it what HE needs in order to finally start his own journey towards getting Kinged?
Vin is a contradiction, something I touched on earlier. He cares so deeply, often knowing instinctively what someone needs, not just what they want but what they need. He knows what should be done, how to attempt to save someone. Yes, he falters and isn’t right all the time. No one is. Yet, he doesn’t do any of this for himself, he doesn’t allow anyone else to try for him. My heart is crying out for someone to do this, for him to allow someone to do this.
He’s at a turning point. He’s at a breaking point, Vin is. When will he realize he can do this? Who will be the one to help him? When he does, when he realizes of what he’s truly capable, truly worth… oh my gosh, I got chills. He’s valuable. He’s worthy.
What about Mai? I kept thinking about him while reading this. I wonder what that means? Is he to be the one? Will he be a part of Vin’s crossing the gate, to see Vin’s sparks? Vin deserves a witness, a companion, a love that will see his sparks.
There’s a large part of this story I feel I shouldn’t even mention, for it could be quite a spoiler. I just know that I experienced exclamations ranging from, pinballing back and forth between “bloody brilliant!” and “omg Vin… Vin” and “what does this mean??” and “joy just might have a shot” and “forgiveness… powerful, exhausting, and challenging”.
When two magicians dance, it’s hard to say.
You ain’t kiddin’.
At the end, I had this strange and unexpected mixture of feelings. I was bereft and yet peaceful, uncertain and hopeful, angry and loved, gutted and giggling, and back to angry. How in the world am I supposed to reconcile all of that? How do I wait to find out? How can I be ok, knowing what Vin’s feeling? I don’t like it and yet I love it.
That’s King John for me.
August 21, 2016
I've never been to burning man and I have no desire, but I'm glad I was able to experience it by proxy through John's kinging. As usual, several questions answered, many not. It's my dumb luck that I finished this just befor the next one comes out. Question for the king weekend veterans... Should I read the Daniel stories before I dive into the last one?
September 23, 2015
I was palpitating in anticipation of Edmond’s latest book. Once I got my hands on it I plunged right in, and managed to read all of it over a two-day period—one of them a strange half-working day that took me into NYC on the train and all over the city in a taxi and on the subway. It was the anniversary of 9/11, and the setting for “King John” is a year after 9/11, which is very much on Vin Vanbly’s mind as he walks the dusty avenues of Burning Man, 2002.
Before I started writing this, I used the miracle of Google and looked up pictures of Burning Man, 2002. Manning’s description is faithful, excellent, in fact; but I’m a visual person and I wanted pictures of some of the things he describes. I’ve got friends who have been Burning Man aficionados for years. It never sounded like my thing – but it is clear to me how it is their thing. It’s also evident why Edmond Manning set his latest in the Lost and Found Kings series at Burning Man. It tells us a great deal about Vin Vanbly and, quite honestly, is the only place this particular episode in the Vin Vanbly epic could possibly take place.
Dressed as a Bedouin, Vin strolls through the untrammeled hedonism of Burning Man, reveling in its gift economy (no cash exchanged) and atmosphere of radical acceptance (Burning Man, like the world at large, is mostly straight people, but gay people are welcomed, unlike the world at large, even now). He is on the hunt for a potential king; but what he discovers throws him off track. Faithful Manning readers know that Vin is always fumbling forward – forever making mistakes that force him to rethink his plans and create new machinations to succeed in finding his king. But this book takes it a step further. Vin is off track for most of the plot; we see him so completely disoriented that we understand this is a very different story than the others. Once again, because we see everything through Vin’s eyes, we are dragged into his bewilderment just as we share in his joy. There is nothing more emotionally distressing than a control freak who’s completely lost control. “King John” becomes as much about Vin’s kingship as about the subject of his attention. It is a lot of fun – if you find emotional rollercoasters fun.
You have to be a certain kind of person to embrace Manning’s world of lost and found kings. You have to be somewhat silly; but you also have to have the kind of emotional makeup that allows you to tap into deep personal emotions as you read. As a reader, you have to participate in the book personally. You have to be willing to cry on the NYC subway.
Confession: Burning Man is the kind of purgatory I imagine I’ll end up in if I’m punished for sins in my lifetime. All my life I’ve been about control, carefully groomed outward appearance, scripted public behavior. There isn’t much appeal to me in a place where all my calculations are thrown out the window. And the lack of access to showers and plumbing. *shudder* This is why the notion of Woodstock never appealed to me, either. But somehow, I know that if I was kidnaped and taken to Burning Man, it would do me good; just like reading Edmond Manning’s books does me good. Through Vin’s adventure I can vicariously shed all my armor and let loose all my fears. There is always something cathartic about reading these Lost and Found Kings books. This is Manning’s genius – and it derives from the great heart this writer clearly has.
So why only four stars? Manning has chosen to end this book with a sort of emotional cliff-hanger unlike the endings of his previous books in the series. Intellectually I see why; indeed the ending made me anxious to read the next volume. But the calculated choice to end his book on a note of psychological and emotional suffering undermined the exaltation that preceded it. I didn’t feel better at the end of this book. I don’t think Edmond had any choice. He did what he had to do. But sometimes authors have to take a few hits when they do what they have to do.
That doesn’t mean I love him any less.
September 4, 2015
I was lucky enough to be a proofreader of this book. It was definitely different from anything I've ever read, and I wish I had gotten to read the previous books before, but then again, I guess I am able to have an interesting perspective on this since I didn't read anything other in the series and still managed to get it.
Thank you, Edmond, for letting me be a part of the process of this book. It was a joy.
Thank you, Edmond, for letting me be a part of the process of this book. It was a joy.
July 31, 2019
Each one of the books made me ache. I still have no words for this experience.
December 9, 2015
There are not enough stars on gr to show how much I love Vin Vanbly. Review previously at bmbr.
I've only read book one and four in this series and I absolutely need to remedy that. This book is brilliant. BRILLIANT. Edmond Manning writes prose to make my heart sing. The escapism of his stories is so complete that I find myself wandering lost beside his characters.
Vin Vanbly is back. Back with his unique take on humanity and people and living. This time though it is not him who has chosen the person to be Kinged, rather the person has sought him out. Alistair wants to be Kinged. He's spoken with other Kings and knows a little of the gift Vin gives them; the ability to recognise their true self; the ability to face fear - and he wants in. Vin's utter gift for reading people means he is unsure if Alistair has what it takes to be Kinged. He's hiding too much; from himself and from Vin.
Set against the background of the Burning Man event, Vin and Alistair start this journey. I loved the setting of the tale. This mass meeting in the desert where people can be the them they feel inside. The person they long to be when society isn't forcing them inside the boxes it loves so much. The traditions of the event, plus the beautiful descriptions of people and their interactions is stunning.
I think of this story as colour. It is bright and vivid and orange and red and yellow. Not in an autumn way but in a lively vibrant summer way. Deep blues and sharp light. Noise and smell and festival. When I think of this story, this is the impression I am left with. It's as clear to me as if a painter had painted the scene of the Burning Man in front of me. Something that vivid is as much a character in the story as the characters are.
And I love the characters. Especially Vin. Edmond Manning teases and tempts with what seem to real insights into the main character of the stories, yet really Vin is an enigma. An enigma I want to solve. I want to know him, everything about him.
We were talking at work the other day about magicians. Not the kind in fantasy novels, but the kind that do shows or tabletop magic. The kind you know is done by sleight of hand and trickery. Well I hate watching them, unless the tricks are explained to me. (Vin and I would NOT get on!!) I want to know how things are done as much as why things are done, and this is how I feel about Vin. It's like Manning has written around him, he seems solid but when it comes to it he's just a puff of smoke; a magic trick. AND I NEED TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS. All the things about Vin.
I devoured the story (and book one) gleaning information about this MC like my life depended on it. And it wasn't - isn't - enough. Except, truly, the author has done his job. He has me well and truly hooked. The story is a complete. We find out about Alistair and King John and the story arc is solid and true, there's no cliff hanger ending... but I still need more.
So I'll wait for the next book. I'm lucky, I have books two and three to keep me from being starved of Vin. I'm still waiting for another story because as well as wanting to know the ins and outs of Vin's arse (figuratively) I also want him to get an HEA. I want him to receive what he so generously bestows on others.
I want. I want. I want. I know... but I do!
If you've not read this series... well you need to. It's fabulous.
A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
I've only read book one and four in this series and I absolutely need to remedy that. This book is brilliant. BRILLIANT. Edmond Manning writes prose to make my heart sing. The escapism of his stories is so complete that I find myself wandering lost beside his characters.
Vin Vanbly is back. Back with his unique take on humanity and people and living. This time though it is not him who has chosen the person to be Kinged, rather the person has sought him out. Alistair wants to be Kinged. He's spoken with other Kings and knows a little of the gift Vin gives them; the ability to recognise their true self; the ability to face fear - and he wants in. Vin's utter gift for reading people means he is unsure if Alistair has what it takes to be Kinged. He's hiding too much; from himself and from Vin.
Set against the background of the Burning Man event, Vin and Alistair start this journey. I loved the setting of the tale. This mass meeting in the desert where people can be the them they feel inside. The person they long to be when society isn't forcing them inside the boxes it loves so much. The traditions of the event, plus the beautiful descriptions of people and their interactions is stunning.
I think of this story as colour. It is bright and vivid and orange and red and yellow. Not in an autumn way but in a lively vibrant summer way. Deep blues and sharp light. Noise and smell and festival. When I think of this story, this is the impression I am left with. It's as clear to me as if a painter had painted the scene of the Burning Man in front of me. Something that vivid is as much a character in the story as the characters are.
And I love the characters. Especially Vin. Edmond Manning teases and tempts with what seem to real insights into the main character of the stories, yet really Vin is an enigma. An enigma I want to solve. I want to know him, everything about him.
We were talking at work the other day about magicians. Not the kind in fantasy novels, but the kind that do shows or tabletop magic. The kind you know is done by sleight of hand and trickery. Well I hate watching them, unless the tricks are explained to me. (Vin and I would NOT get on!!) I want to know how things are done as much as why things are done, and this is how I feel about Vin. It's like Manning has written around him, he seems solid but when it comes to it he's just a puff of smoke; a magic trick. AND I NEED TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS. All the things about Vin.
I devoured the story (and book one) gleaning information about this MC like my life depended on it. And it wasn't - isn't - enough. Except, truly, the author has done his job. He has me well and truly hooked. The story is a complete. We find out about Alistair and King John and the story arc is solid and true, there's no cliff hanger ending... but I still need more.
So I'll wait for the next book. I'm lucky, I have books two and three to keep me from being starved of Vin. I'm still waiting for another story because as well as wanting to know the ins and outs of Vin's arse (figuratively) I also want him to get an HEA. I want him to receive what he so generously bestows on others.
I want. I want. I want. I know... but I do!
If you've not read this series... well you need to. It's fabulous.
A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
March 3, 2017
I’ve loved the Lost and Founds books. They’re playful, clever stories full of word-play and riddles, and deeply compassionate loving adventures as well. What makes them special, I think, is the invitation the author makes to readers to empathise with the protagonists. The lost-and-soon-to-be-found kings are a bit Everyman; most readers, I think, would find fitting into their shoes quite comfortable. To one degree or another, I do, anyway.
King John is uniquely so to me. I’m sure I’m not giving up too much of the story to say that all Alistair’s intellect, affectation and bluster must hide something. Of course it is, since, after all, don’t we all employ his techniques to keep reality at bay? I know his tricks because they are my own. I’m hardly unique: they’re tricks we all employ.
So it’s not just Alistair’s quest, or even Vin’s (for he is on is own whether he likes it or not), but it’s a quest we must all make. Which means that I found myself not just observing, but along for the ride. It’s a special book that allows that kind of engagement. It’s mythical quest, yes, but one updated to resonate with a modern reader. There’s a lot of writing craft a work which made it so successful for me.
King John is uniquely so to me. I’m sure I’m not giving up too much of the story to say that all Alistair’s intellect, affectation and bluster must hide something. Of course it is, since, after all, don’t we all employ his techniques to keep reality at bay? I know his tricks because they are my own. I’m hardly unique: they’re tricks we all employ.
So it’s not just Alistair’s quest, or even Vin’s (for he is on is own whether he likes it or not), but it’s a quest we must all make. Which means that I found myself not just observing, but along for the ride. It’s a special book that allows that kind of engagement. It’s mythical quest, yes, but one updated to resonate with a modern reader. There’s a lot of writing craft a work which made it so successful for me.
October 15, 2015
Allow me to start this review at the end: Really, Edmond Manning, I mean really? You’re leaving me hanging on not one but two cliffhangers? I’ve killed for less—that’s all I say.
Okay, now I have gotten that off my chest I should probably warn you that the chances of this turning into a coherent review are slim at best. It’s far more likely to turn into a quote-riddled gush fest, and you want to bear in mind I will have deleted numerous quotes which touched me as much as the ones I’ll keep did because, well, because this is supposed to be a review, not a novella J
I don’t want to say a lot about the story beyond what you can find in the blurb, I’m not sure I could do the story justice. My words are too clumsy, my interpretations too personal. Besides, the stories in this series should be experienced by the reader. It is more than ‘just’ an amazing reading experience. The Lost and Founds books provide us not only with fascinating characters and settings, they also force us to look at ourselves, our lives and the people around us. They invite us to ask ourselves if we are limiting ourselves and if yes, why we are doing that.
“Alistair, quit pressuring yourself. Kingship means something different for every man. Quit trying to box it up and get it right.”
As true as this is for Alistair in the book, I believe it’s equally true for us readers. I think while we all get the general message from these pages, we all discover individual truths in its words as well.
This is the fourth King story but it felt different from the previous three. The men in earlier books, Perry, May and Terrance, didn’t know they wanted or needed to be kinged, didn’t even know there was such a thing. Vin’s struggle was to keep them on a course towards a destination they didn’t know they wanted or needed.
Alistair on the other hand wants to be kinged. He searches out Vin and then refuses to follow Vin’s rules. This time it is Vin who needs to be constantly reassured that his protégé indeed wants what he says he wants, and realizes there’s a price to pay; a price both Vin and the reader fear may be too high for Alistair. But dealing with a man eager to find his inner King while reluctant to surrender to the process also forces Vin to look deeper into himself; is this hard because he’s dealing with a fraud or because he’s looking into a mirror showing him everything he needs to overcome in order to stop being a lost King?
“His King Weekend will be a huge disappointment, unless he stops seeking approval outside himself.”
“He wants to be discovered. He wants someone to find him, to reach beyond the iron fortifications he constructed, and see him. Love him, I know. We are cut from the same cloth.”
Alistair may be a lot like Vin, I think he’s also a lot like many of us, trying to learn lessons most of us could benefit from.
“The problem with a man like Alistair is no amount of praise, flattery of loving from the outside with impact his core. Not love from me, not love from any of the kings.”
“I don’t need you to be sorry, Alistair. I need you to understand the price you pay for getting your way. For choosing not to submit.”
“I don’t need to know your secrets, but as long as you don’t let anyone in, you’re trapped with them.”
This story hit me harder than the previous books did, the subjects it deals with are darker—dare I say it—uglier. And yet, while the tension grips you and the fear makes you read faster, they are dealt with in a loving, if not necessarily beautiful, way. It is tempting to go on about this. To spell out exactly what I mean, but I can’t do that without revealing those issues and that would mean spoiling the story for others, so that's a no go. I ask you to just trust me, to take my word for it. This story will shake you, may at times become very hard to read, and yet it will open your eyes and heart.
“Maybe I can’t become a Found King because I don’t remember who lives underneath this façade. Maybe this isn’t a façade at all and the real me is just really lost.”
“The more a man knows about his kingship, the less likely he himself will cross over.”
And Vin—oh Vin—I want to wrap him in my arms, hug him close and whisper in his ear that he already is a Found King. Because it takes one to know one. Because his love is huge. That all he needs to do is believe and it will be true. I want to tell him he makes me cry every time he recognises that another man is blocked because he’s made something huge out of a circumstance or past occurrence he never had any power over, while failing to see the same applies to him. Vin touches me in ways few, if any, fictional characters touch me. He’s more real to me than fictional characters have any right to be.
It’s the quiet, easy to miss, observations Vin makes about himself that break my heart. They’re in the story as if they’re passing thoughts, hardly worth our notice, and yet I feel they hold the key to the deeper truth Vin is looking for.
“I revel in how ordinary this feels, as if I could do this back home. Take a date out dancing. Hang out with friends. I can’t. But here—here at Burning Man—freaks fit in. I’m one of the gang. I’m normal.
Burning Man is the closest I’ve ever come to family.
Burning Man is like home.”
As with the previous Lost and Founds books, King John has left me both shaken and stirred. I’m emotionally wrecked and cursing the fact I’ll have to wait several months at least before the story will continue. And yet I feel enriched too. It is as if my heart has expanded, as if I can now see, understand and feel things that were just beyond my grasp before I started reading. And for that I am grateful. I thank Edmond Manning for making me think and feel, for allowing me to look at the world through a different lens and thus showing me things which were always there, just not always visible. I bless the day these books were suggested to me and will treasure them for as long as I have eyes to read or a brain to remember them with.
Okay, now I have gotten that off my chest I should probably warn you that the chances of this turning into a coherent review are slim at best. It’s far more likely to turn into a quote-riddled gush fest, and you want to bear in mind I will have deleted numerous quotes which touched me as much as the ones I’ll keep did because, well, because this is supposed to be a review, not a novella J
I don’t want to say a lot about the story beyond what you can find in the blurb, I’m not sure I could do the story justice. My words are too clumsy, my interpretations too personal. Besides, the stories in this series should be experienced by the reader. It is more than ‘just’ an amazing reading experience. The Lost and Founds books provide us not only with fascinating characters and settings, they also force us to look at ourselves, our lives and the people around us. They invite us to ask ourselves if we are limiting ourselves and if yes, why we are doing that.
“Alistair, quit pressuring yourself. Kingship means something different for every man. Quit trying to box it up and get it right.”
As true as this is for Alistair in the book, I believe it’s equally true for us readers. I think while we all get the general message from these pages, we all discover individual truths in its words as well.
This is the fourth King story but it felt different from the previous three. The men in earlier books, Perry, May and Terrance, didn’t know they wanted or needed to be kinged, didn’t even know there was such a thing. Vin’s struggle was to keep them on a course towards a destination they didn’t know they wanted or needed.
Alistair on the other hand wants to be kinged. He searches out Vin and then refuses to follow Vin’s rules. This time it is Vin who needs to be constantly reassured that his protégé indeed wants what he says he wants, and realizes there’s a price to pay; a price both Vin and the reader fear may be too high for Alistair. But dealing with a man eager to find his inner King while reluctant to surrender to the process also forces Vin to look deeper into himself; is this hard because he’s dealing with a fraud or because he’s looking into a mirror showing him everything he needs to overcome in order to stop being a lost King?
“His King Weekend will be a huge disappointment, unless he stops seeking approval outside himself.”
“He wants to be discovered. He wants someone to find him, to reach beyond the iron fortifications he constructed, and see him. Love him, I know. We are cut from the same cloth.”
Alistair may be a lot like Vin, I think he’s also a lot like many of us, trying to learn lessons most of us could benefit from.
“The problem with a man like Alistair is no amount of praise, flattery of loving from the outside with impact his core. Not love from me, not love from any of the kings.”
“I don’t need you to be sorry, Alistair. I need you to understand the price you pay for getting your way. For choosing not to submit.”
“I don’t need to know your secrets, but as long as you don’t let anyone in, you’re trapped with them.”
This story hit me harder than the previous books did, the subjects it deals with are darker—dare I say it—uglier. And yet, while the tension grips you and the fear makes you read faster, they are dealt with in a loving, if not necessarily beautiful, way. It is tempting to go on about this. To spell out exactly what I mean, but I can’t do that without revealing those issues and that would mean spoiling the story for others, so that's a no go. I ask you to just trust me, to take my word for it. This story will shake you, may at times become very hard to read, and yet it will open your eyes and heart.
“Maybe I can’t become a Found King because I don’t remember who lives underneath this façade. Maybe this isn’t a façade at all and the real me is just really lost.”
“The more a man knows about his kingship, the less likely he himself will cross over.”
And Vin—oh Vin—I want to wrap him in my arms, hug him close and whisper in his ear that he already is a Found King. Because it takes one to know one. Because his love is huge. That all he needs to do is believe and it will be true. I want to tell him he makes me cry every time he recognises that another man is blocked because he’s made something huge out of a circumstance or past occurrence he never had any power over, while failing to see the same applies to him. Vin touches me in ways few, if any, fictional characters touch me. He’s more real to me than fictional characters have any right to be.
It’s the quiet, easy to miss, observations Vin makes about himself that break my heart. They’re in the story as if they’re passing thoughts, hardly worth our notice, and yet I feel they hold the key to the deeper truth Vin is looking for.
“I revel in how ordinary this feels, as if I could do this back home. Take a date out dancing. Hang out with friends. I can’t. But here—here at Burning Man—freaks fit in. I’m one of the gang. I’m normal.
Burning Man is the closest I’ve ever come to family.
Burning Man is like home.”
As with the previous Lost and Founds books, King John has left me both shaken and stirred. I’m emotionally wrecked and cursing the fact I’ll have to wait several months at least before the story will continue. And yet I feel enriched too. It is as if my heart has expanded, as if I can now see, understand and feel things that were just beyond my grasp before I started reading. And for that I am grateful. I thank Edmond Manning for making me think and feel, for allowing me to look at the world through a different lens and thus showing me things which were always there, just not always visible. I bless the day these books were suggested to me and will treasure them for as long as I have eyes to read or a brain to remember them with.
October 2, 2015
I must admit--I am not very clever, not when it comes to riddles or subtle clues. For some reason, while I can often suss out who the bad guy is in a mystery novel, I really do very poorly at picking up clues in any other form of writing. For this reason, I hesitated to review the latest novel in Edmond Manning's Lost Kings series, King John. I was afraid I could not do it justice--not give it the credit it deserved as being a clever and multi-layered work of fiction. With these thoughts in the back of my mind I moved on, knowing full well I would read this lyrically beautiful piece of fiction whether for purposes of reviewing it or not. There is a good reason for this. You see, I am a "kingite", a hardcore fan of this series and this author. And, yes, I just made that title "kingite" up and I rather like it!
So, here would be the place I attempt to provide a succinct synopsis of this incredible tome that spans a mere few days but feels as though it has exposed more raw emotional material than ever before. Returning to the place where he has truly felt at home for the only time in his life, Vin partakes of the Burning Man festival held in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. A seven day exploration of self expression that has few boundaries and is geared toward inclusion, self-reliance and the idea that they will leave no trace of themselves after the end of their time in the desert. Everything that can burns in the end, including the gigantic man who is built to herald in the event and mark it’s closing.
Vin meets all manner of people but as in the past with this man there is always an edge of worry—for you see this is not his first year and he has a reputation that precedes him—he has made an enemy. A ranger discovered Vin many years before when he broke the law and jumped the barrier that keeps the burning man participants safe from wandering off and getting lost in the desert. The fence is also a way to contain those who attend the festival so that there can be some stability in what appears to be well established chaos. The rangers do not like rule breakers and poor Vin is a veteran rule breaker
So he moves about the festival happy in many ways and yet cautious, for this is the Vin we know from previous novels: controlled, careful, self-critical and condemning, lost while still being the near perfect guide for men in need of rediscovering their kingship. While this was not meant to be a king weekend, Vin will be approached by a man desperate to become just that—a found king. Alistair is an enigma, a British lawyer on American soil who has met one of Vin’s success stories, another found King, Liam.
Alistair is positive he knows it all—has got a fix on Vin and his many bag of tricks—his “magic”. Alistair pursues Vin who almost grudgingly gives in and sets the wheels in motion for this lost king to find his way to cross over and return to his destiny. But Alistair is full of questions and resists Vin’s best attempts to guide him on the right path. In fact, Alistair will be the linchpin to cracking wide open a time in Vin’s past that he has kept hidden for so long. Vin will be forced to share a memory that to this day still has the power to gut his soul and remind him of the failure he is so certain he is—a lost king that will never be found.
King John begins slowly, unwrapping the festival and establishing it’s background, setting the scene for us. Even when Alistair arrives to make Vin’s final days at Burning Man a frantic scramble for setting up a king weekend the story almost lazily takes on the challenge set before Vin. Then something happens. I am not sure at what point this story became so intense but the moment it did I could not put this book down. So much was at stake suddenly, lives in peril, a dredged up past threatening to destroy the fragile equilibrium that Vin clings to in order to not see how horribly he does not belong. All of a sudden this is not about Alistair but rather about survival and not only Vin’s.
This was perhaps the most gut wrenching King novel to date. In previous books, we had been privy to Vin’s great moments of self-doubt and frantic worry that he was not going to do right by his lost king—that he would be the thing to prevent a king from crossing over due to his fumbling, heavy handed acts that were meant to aid his King rather than hinder. This was the Vin we had grown used to—the one that we would shout at again and again to stop berating himself, stop worrying, stop running away from his own destiny. In this novel, author Edmond Manning has done the unthinkable—he has lulled us into this false sense of security. He’s come along side us and with a nudge and a wink assured us that Vin was just doing that “Vin stuff” he does and all would work out in the end. Till now. Till King John. Till an ending so shocking that I actually dropped my kindle. No, say it is not so, Mr. Manning—say it is all just another elaborate clue that will lead to a happy ever after for our Vin--our lost king who surely will get found.
Instead we got…I am afraid you will have to read this novel to complete that sentence for yourself. Is this long trek into madness and mayhem in the desert worth the emotional wreckage it might leave behind with you? I must say, it is. There are such wonderful moments in this story and there are such heart breaking times as well. However, it is the journey—as always it is the journey that will make you race through this novel and once again recognize just a piece of your own humanity within its pages. I bid you calm winds and cooler days as you traverse this desert with Vin. Every second with this story is a second well spent.
So, here would be the place I attempt to provide a succinct synopsis of this incredible tome that spans a mere few days but feels as though it has exposed more raw emotional material than ever before. Returning to the place where he has truly felt at home for the only time in his life, Vin partakes of the Burning Man festival held in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. A seven day exploration of self expression that has few boundaries and is geared toward inclusion, self-reliance and the idea that they will leave no trace of themselves after the end of their time in the desert. Everything that can burns in the end, including the gigantic man who is built to herald in the event and mark it’s closing.
Vin meets all manner of people but as in the past with this man there is always an edge of worry—for you see this is not his first year and he has a reputation that precedes him—he has made an enemy. A ranger discovered Vin many years before when he broke the law and jumped the barrier that keeps the burning man participants safe from wandering off and getting lost in the desert. The fence is also a way to contain those who attend the festival so that there can be some stability in what appears to be well established chaos. The rangers do not like rule breakers and poor Vin is a veteran rule breaker
So he moves about the festival happy in many ways and yet cautious, for this is the Vin we know from previous novels: controlled, careful, self-critical and condemning, lost while still being the near perfect guide for men in need of rediscovering their kingship. While this was not meant to be a king weekend, Vin will be approached by a man desperate to become just that—a found king. Alistair is an enigma, a British lawyer on American soil who has met one of Vin’s success stories, another found King, Liam.
Alistair is positive he knows it all—has got a fix on Vin and his many bag of tricks—his “magic”. Alistair pursues Vin who almost grudgingly gives in and sets the wheels in motion for this lost king to find his way to cross over and return to his destiny. But Alistair is full of questions and resists Vin’s best attempts to guide him on the right path. In fact, Alistair will be the linchpin to cracking wide open a time in Vin’s past that he has kept hidden for so long. Vin will be forced to share a memory that to this day still has the power to gut his soul and remind him of the failure he is so certain he is—a lost king that will never be found.
King John begins slowly, unwrapping the festival and establishing it’s background, setting the scene for us. Even when Alistair arrives to make Vin’s final days at Burning Man a frantic scramble for setting up a king weekend the story almost lazily takes on the challenge set before Vin. Then something happens. I am not sure at what point this story became so intense but the moment it did I could not put this book down. So much was at stake suddenly, lives in peril, a dredged up past threatening to destroy the fragile equilibrium that Vin clings to in order to not see how horribly he does not belong. All of a sudden this is not about Alistair but rather about survival and not only Vin’s.
This was perhaps the most gut wrenching King novel to date. In previous books, we had been privy to Vin’s great moments of self-doubt and frantic worry that he was not going to do right by his lost king—that he would be the thing to prevent a king from crossing over due to his fumbling, heavy handed acts that were meant to aid his King rather than hinder. This was the Vin we had grown used to—the one that we would shout at again and again to stop berating himself, stop worrying, stop running away from his own destiny. In this novel, author Edmond Manning has done the unthinkable—he has lulled us into this false sense of security. He’s come along side us and with a nudge and a wink assured us that Vin was just doing that “Vin stuff” he does and all would work out in the end. Till now. Till King John. Till an ending so shocking that I actually dropped my kindle. No, say it is not so, Mr. Manning—say it is all just another elaborate clue that will lead to a happy ever after for our Vin--our lost king who surely will get found.
Instead we got…I am afraid you will have to read this novel to complete that sentence for yourself. Is this long trek into madness and mayhem in the desert worth the emotional wreckage it might leave behind with you? I must say, it is. There are such wonderful moments in this story and there are such heart breaking times as well. However, it is the journey—as always it is the journey that will make you race through this novel and once again recognize just a piece of your own humanity within its pages. I bid you calm winds and cooler days as you traverse this desert with Vin. Every second with this story is a second well spent.
August 17, 2016
After each Lost and Founds book I’m always left speechless and saturated with emotion. Each book tells a story of a lost king and Vin Vanbly the man who makes them remember. Vin… I don’t know where to even begin with this character. He breaks my heart with every page. When he loves his kings it’s breathtaking, selfless. Though his wish is that they never leave him he is always the first to say goodbye. Every kinging takes a piece of him away, he gets further from his one true self.
King John is a challenge for Vin. One of if not the hardest kingings he has ever done. I wept with Vin and for him. It takes place in 2002 at Burning Man in Nevada. A special place for Vin and through Edmond Manning’s poetic writing it’s as if you’re there in each moment with Vin, with the burners, with the Found Kings.
I can look through a dictionary to help me find words to describe this outstanding story and still not express it properly.
Now, the ending…. I just. I was filled with rage. I was in awe of Vin’s bravery. I cried long after I closed my kindle and cry now writing this. Vin works so hard to be found and yet I’d happily be lost with him.
It is a cliffhanger, I wasn’t expecting that but I can only imagine how epic the next book is going to be. There’s always an angst to the Lost and Founds series because you follow Vin each time. My soul is shredded for him, I’d move mountains so he could see his kingdom. Never have I ever read a fictional character so deserving of being king.
Read this book. Read this whole series. You will cry and break. Though I never end one of these books feeling put back together I always end them asking myself the same question. Every. Single. Time. Would I sacrifice it all like Vin does?
Amazing, Edmond!
King John is a challenge for Vin. One of if not the hardest kingings he has ever done. I wept with Vin and for him. It takes place in 2002 at Burning Man in Nevada. A special place for Vin and through Edmond Manning’s poetic writing it’s as if you’re there in each moment with Vin, with the burners, with the Found Kings.
I can look through a dictionary to help me find words to describe this outstanding story and still not express it properly.
Now, the ending…. I just. I was filled with rage. I was in awe of Vin’s bravery. I cried long after I closed my kindle and cry now writing this. Vin works so hard to be found and yet I’d happily be lost with him.
It is a cliffhanger, I wasn’t expecting that but I can only imagine how epic the next book is going to be. There’s always an angst to the Lost and Founds series because you follow Vin each time. My soul is shredded for him, I’d move mountains so he could see his kingdom. Never have I ever read a fictional character so deserving of being king.
Read this book. Read this whole series. You will cry and break. Though I never end one of these books feeling put back together I always end them asking myself the same question. Every. Single. Time. Would I sacrifice it all like Vin does?
Amazing, Edmond!
September 19, 2015
I am a persistant passenger on the roller coaster that is the Lost and Founds series. King John does not disappoint. Series usually lose me after a while because each story slowly becomes just more of the same with the names changed to protect the not so innocent. Not so with the Lost and Founds. Edmond Manning has perfected the art of the lure. Each succeeding kinging is more unique than the last. You can't put it down because you are so drawn in to the journey of each new found king as your heart burns for Vin Vanably. I promise this, if you fail to cry at the end of this installment, you have no soul.
October 21, 2016
fantastic! I love this series, and the author writes so beautifully... the story just flows perfectly and grabs me in a very intense way. Gotta admit that sneaking, worried feeling that I haven't been able to shake since I started this series though - I don't trust Edmond Manning not to make me cry. It's like Vin is my friend, but I'm about to find out some things about him that I don't really like. (sorry Vin, it isn't your fault *wink*).
Excellent story!
Excellent story!
September 2, 2016
Kings are not born: they are made by universal hallucination. –George Bernard Shaw
I’ve been trying to wrangle my thoughts for days after finishing this book. It’s not working. My brain is scattered in so many directions right now with this book and this series in general. Take away: this book (the series, really) has made an impact.
How do I find the adequate words to describe the magnificence and brilliance that is The Lost and Founds series?
I don’t know that I can, but here is where I’ll try.
These are not your typical romance books. Yes, there is love. Lots of love. Yes, there’s some sex. Yes, there are two people finding their way. There is a journey, of sorts. There is betterment, of sorts. This is packed with a wild array of emotions that will have the reader laughing out loud and sobbing in their cheerios. Well, this reader at least; but it wasn’t cheerios, it was wine. There is way more to this book and series than what is found in anything else in this genre that I’ve encountered. Far, far more.
I don’t know to what extent the ‘far more’ reaches yet. I started reading the books in this series in May of this year and was instantly wowed, amazed, and enthralled. I knew these books weren’t typical. I think they’re a study in existential transformations, finding your authentic self, and being guided to those self-actualizations by the mostly manipulative, highly creative and intelligent, but thoroughly unreliable narrator called Vin Vanbly (not his real name). Again…there’s more to it.
The settings are important. The cities and landscapes are important. They’re characters in their own right. The surroundings are gorgeously designed metaphors for a lost king’s journey – what he’s coming from, what he’s finding in himself to be.
Also, the clever author who is Edmond Manning has tucked in little nuggets—Easter Eggs, if you will—of information, hints, teasers, puzzle pieces, that, if you’re paying attention, should start falling into place to give the reader a broader understanding to the entire world and construct of The Lost and Founds and the Kings who belong there.
I don’t think I was paying my full attention in the first few books. I don’t think I picked up on all of the clues—some, yes…erm, maybe. I must put it on the top of my “To Do’ list to go back and read all the books again.
I highly recommend reading the entire Lost and Founds series. Make sure to read them in the order they were published. I think that’s an important point. Open your heart and mind and let Vin lead the way through the first four vastly unique journeys. Even if you miss the clues and symbolism these books are a well written and wildly entertaining emotional journey.
Additional Observations and Random Thoughts
Hidden within spoiler tags mainly because of the absolute randomness of my mind, also…spoilers.
Read September 12-14, 2015 & partial review posted on: BackPorchReader.com
I’ve been trying to wrangle my thoughts for days after finishing this book. It’s not working. My brain is scattered in so many directions right now with this book and this series in general. Take away: this book (the series, really) has made an impact.
How do I find the adequate words to describe the magnificence and brilliance that is The Lost and Founds series?
I don’t know that I can, but here is where I’ll try.
These are not your typical romance books. Yes, there is love. Lots of love. Yes, there’s some sex. Yes, there are two people finding their way. There is a journey, of sorts. There is betterment, of sorts. This is packed with a wild array of emotions that will have the reader laughing out loud and sobbing in their cheerios. Well, this reader at least; but it wasn’t cheerios, it was wine. There is way more to this book and series than what is found in anything else in this genre that I’ve encountered. Far, far more.
I don’t know to what extent the ‘far more’ reaches yet. I started reading the books in this series in May of this year and was instantly wowed, amazed, and enthralled. I knew these books weren’t typical. I think they’re a study in existential transformations, finding your authentic self, and being guided to those self-actualizations by the mostly manipulative, highly creative and intelligent, but thoroughly unreliable narrator called Vin Vanbly (not his real name). Again…there’s more to it.
The settings are important. The cities and landscapes are important. They’re characters in their own right. The surroundings are gorgeously designed metaphors for a lost king’s journey – what he’s coming from, what he’s finding in himself to be.
Also, the clever author who is Edmond Manning has tucked in little nuggets—Easter Eggs, if you will—of information, hints, teasers, puzzle pieces, that, if you’re paying attention, should start falling into place to give the reader a broader understanding to the entire world and construct of The Lost and Founds and the Kings who belong there.
I don’t think I was paying my full attention in the first few books. I don’t think I picked up on all of the clues—some, yes…erm, maybe. I must put it on the top of my “To Do’ list to go back and read all the books again.
I highly recommend reading the entire Lost and Founds series. Make sure to read them in the order they were published. I think that’s an important point. Open your heart and mind and let Vin lead the way through the first four vastly unique journeys. Even if you miss the clues and symbolism these books are a well written and wildly entertaining emotional journey.
Additional Observations and Random Thoughts
Hidden within spoiler tags mainly because of the absolute randomness of my mind, also…spoilers.
Read September 12-14, 2015 & partial review posted on: BackPorchReader.com
August 10, 2018
What is it with you authors and cliffhangers? ARGH! Anyway. I didn't care for this one as much. Not so much not liking the book, as in I didn't care for this 'kinging’ as much. Maybe I'm used to Vin driving me nuts? Lol. The kinging was good. Don't get me wrong. Profound with a message as always, but it wasn't the same. What affected me more this time, was Vin himself. Especially the ending.
Alistair has been searching for 'the mechanic guy’ for the years. Ever since he heard of a mass named Liam telling a story of him being 'kinged’. He was totally entranced and enthralled by this story and wanted to be a king himself. This year, he did all he could to find out if 'Vin’ was going to be there. Now he just has to get up the nerve to ask. He does, but all his questions are putting Vin off. Vin knows he's hiding a few things as well. Things that are profound themselves. But the voice inside him says 'king him’, and he works a weekend in. But everything for Vin seems to be falling apart. A missing 16 year old, who is about to be raped, getting lost in the desert, and worst of all, having to see most of the men he has loved in one spot. They've got lives now, and no one seems to want Vin in it. At least that's how he sees it. And just when things seem to finally get better, something backfires on him in a way he never thought possible. Now he's truly in trouble and has never felt more alone.
In all the times in these books that Vin has drove me insane, this one he tears my heart out. He is so heartbroken, having to hear or say that he's a Lost King. He wants so much to be found. To be loved. No one quite believes him when he says he's not only loved just one man. He loves over a dozen. He's given so much of himself in each kinging. Whether wrong tactics or right, he gives so much of himself. But to hear all the time, he's nobody or a ghost. He doesn't belong. It's tearing him into pieces he can't put back together. And this weekend confirms how miserable he really is. He decides to King Alistair. He knows he has to dig through some crap. It's obvious that Alistair is holding back many truths, but he has to tear those walls down himself. And this is one time Vin can't help someone over. Alistair has to cross on his own. But everything that's happening over this weekend is messing up Vin’s judgement on so many things and I can't help but cry at how hopeless he feels. This book has confirmed for me how much I would love to be a friend for Vin. If only we could travel into these books, right? Shew.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you guys are not reading this series, you don't know what you're missing. It will change your life and your way of thinking. You never know when a kind word or smile or something could change someone's life. Be kind. Be loving. And remind yourself daily, you are somebody
http://lovebytesreviews.com
Alistair has been searching for 'the mechanic guy’ for the years. Ever since he heard of a mass named Liam telling a story of him being 'kinged’. He was totally entranced and enthralled by this story and wanted to be a king himself. This year, he did all he could to find out if 'Vin’ was going to be there. Now he just has to get up the nerve to ask. He does, but all his questions are putting Vin off. Vin knows he's hiding a few things as well. Things that are profound themselves. But the voice inside him says 'king him’, and he works a weekend in. But everything for Vin seems to be falling apart. A missing 16 year old, who is about to be raped, getting lost in the desert, and worst of all, having to see most of the men he has loved in one spot. They've got lives now, and no one seems to want Vin in it. At least that's how he sees it. And just when things seem to finally get better, something backfires on him in a way he never thought possible. Now he's truly in trouble and has never felt more alone.
In all the times in these books that Vin has drove me insane, this one he tears my heart out. He is so heartbroken, having to hear or say that he's a Lost King. He wants so much to be found. To be loved. No one quite believes him when he says he's not only loved just one man. He loves over a dozen. He's given so much of himself in each kinging. Whether wrong tactics or right, he gives so much of himself. But to hear all the time, he's nobody or a ghost. He doesn't belong. It's tearing him into pieces he can't put back together. And this weekend confirms how miserable he really is. He decides to King Alistair. He knows he has to dig through some crap. It's obvious that Alistair is holding back many truths, but he has to tear those walls down himself. And this is one time Vin can't help someone over. Alistair has to cross on his own. But everything that's happening over this weekend is messing up Vin’s judgement on so many things and I can't help but cry at how hopeless he feels. This book has confirmed for me how much I would love to be a friend for Vin. If only we could travel into these books, right? Shew.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you guys are not reading this series, you don't know what you're missing. It will change your life and your way of thinking. You never know when a kind word or smile or something could change someone's life. Be kind. Be loving. And remind yourself daily, you are somebody
http://lovebytesreviews.com
November 6, 2017
This was a rollercoaster. At first I thought I knew where this was going. I was all cocky in my corner thinking to myself "This is it!" and throwing confident glances at Edmond Manning to make him know he wasn't getting me this time around. Halfway through it all my theories were flushed down the toilet then I tried to salvage some of them and finally just accepted whatever Edmond was throwing my way. For the first time, I wanted Vin to fail. For most of the book I didn't want this kinging to happen. I guess that makes me a Lost Queen. But at the end I was all for it.
Finally, it's just... Is it John? I was Team Perry until I realized he's in Australia(?) being happy with somebody else. I could be Team Mai now. I know Terrance is a long shot but I definitely don't want it to be John. I just hope this Daniel guy is worthy.
I'm rambling. Vin is rubbing on me. Go read this book: that's all I should've said.
Finally, it's just... Is it John? I was Team Perry until I realized he's in Australia(?) being happy with somebody else. I could be Team Mai now. I know Terrance is a long shot but I definitely don't want it to be John. I just hope this Daniel guy is worthy.
I'm rambling. Vin is rubbing on me. Go read this book: that's all I should've said.
September 3, 2018
“I’ll never forget your face. Your freshly ironed shirt. You terrified all of us. You know we almost didn’t come back the next year because you fucking freaked everyone out. You walked out of the desert followed by three wolves. Three… dogs or whatever. They walked behind you at a distance. As soon as you reached people, they turned and ran off.”
Definitely some intriguing moments, a terror filled night in the desert and one heart-wrenching kinging. This one though moved quite slow for me compared to the others. But I am absolutely giddy about book #5 and completing Daniel! ❤️
December 26, 2018
★★★★★ ~ 5 Stars ~ ★★★★★ ~ 5 Star Series ~ 1st 5 Star Series in 8 Years on GR ~
King John's King Weekend is during the last weekend of the 2002 Burning Man which to be honest, I didn't know much about, but this author has a way of educating you during each King's weekend.
“Once there was a tribe of men,” I say in a strong voice, audible to none but him, “a tribe populated entirely of kings. Odd, you may think, and wonder how any work got done in such a society with everyone making rules. But these were not those kinds of kings.”
King John's King Weekend is during the last weekend of the 2002 Burning Man which to be honest, I didn't know much about, but this author has a way of educating you during each King's weekend.
“Once there was a tribe of men,” I say in a strong voice, audible to none but him, “a tribe populated entirely of kings. Odd, you may think, and wonder how any work got done in such a society with everyone making rules. But these were not those kinds of kings.”
September 17, 2015
Review can be read at It's About The Book
King John is the fourth book in the Lost and Found series. The books are not really standalone and should be read in order to gain the most understanding of the over-arching themes that are foundations the stories are built on.
It’s 2002 and Vin Vanbly is once again in his spiritual home – Burning Man, an annual week long festival held in a Nevada desert that celebrates art, uniqueness and radical acceptance. Amidst the space robots, sparkle ponies and the myriad of other colourful characters we meet fleetingly, Vin notices a man in a purple sarong who keeps popping up in his periphery. Alistair has been seeking the elusive “Kingmaker” for the last few years after hearing a story from a man named Liam at a previous Burning Man about the King Weekend that profoundly changed his life. When the Englishman in the purple sarong finally manages to catch Vin, he uses all of his formidable powers of persuasion gained from his profession as a lawyer to convince Vin to grant him a King Weekend. At first reluctant – he had no calling that there was a man ready to be Found, and Vin just knew there was something major Alistair was hiding – something pulls him towards the seemingly confident man who’s persistence has a hint of desperation wrapped in wistful determination. As the King Weekend progresses, it seems for all the desire Alistair has to become a Found King, his own insistence on questioning every move could be the sabotaging of his own Kinging.
Edmond Manning has a way of describing things so beautifully, yet so succinctly that you feel like you were there, that you saw it with your own eyes. The location in which each story is set has very much been a secondary character in previous books of this series, a rich backdrop for the story taking place. But in King John, that is lifted to a whole other level – Burning Man is an integral participant, alive and exuberant in its role. It abets and enhances the story with shining enthusiasm and does it gloriously.
Vin Vanbly is a wonderfully unreliable narrator. A master manipulator, as he must be to guide his men to their Kingship, who sees so little of his own value. He finds it so hard to believe he is worthy of being loved. To see that he is loved. We learn so much more about him in King John, yet we are left with more questions than ever. This enigmatic, damaged, beautiful man has a story full of pain yet he finds such joy in his amazing Kings. It is his inability to see the amazing within himself that is the most heartbreaking to me.
Alistair drove me crazy at times. His incessant questioning of everything and his selfish disregard to see the sacrifices Vin willingly makes to guide him made me want to shake him! A lot! When his refusal to truly submit to Vin and just listen results in a serious situation made worse, it becomes the tipping point for him to choose who he wants to be – Alistair the English lawyer, or the man he is truly meant to be. By the end, I had fallen as much in love with this King as I had Perry, Mai and Rance previously.
This book has a slightly different feel to it than the ones before it. They were very much focused on the men being Kinged. In this one there’s an added layer, a sense of momentum picking up, of building towards something Important (no, the capital I is not a typo).The ending feels like it’s setting up the next book to be a pivotal one. I love the layers, the subtleties, that are woven through the stories in this series and I’m eager to see where it all leads and what we learn of, and from, Vin and his Kings in future books.
The author, through Vin, takes not only the man being kinged, but also the reader on an amazing journey through the surreal, the ordinary, the pain of loss and the beauty of being Found. The words are beautiful, the imagery is stunning. King John is a carefully crafted story that weaves its song straight into your heart. I cannot recommend this remarkable book enough.
King John is the fourth book in the Lost and Found series. The books are not really standalone and should be read in order to gain the most understanding of the over-arching themes that are foundations the stories are built on.
It’s 2002 and Vin Vanbly is once again in his spiritual home – Burning Man, an annual week long festival held in a Nevada desert that celebrates art, uniqueness and radical acceptance. Amidst the space robots, sparkle ponies and the myriad of other colourful characters we meet fleetingly, Vin notices a man in a purple sarong who keeps popping up in his periphery. Alistair has been seeking the elusive “Kingmaker” for the last few years after hearing a story from a man named Liam at a previous Burning Man about the King Weekend that profoundly changed his life. When the Englishman in the purple sarong finally manages to catch Vin, he uses all of his formidable powers of persuasion gained from his profession as a lawyer to convince Vin to grant him a King Weekend. At first reluctant – he had no calling that there was a man ready to be Found, and Vin just knew there was something major Alistair was hiding – something pulls him towards the seemingly confident man who’s persistence has a hint of desperation wrapped in wistful determination. As the King Weekend progresses, it seems for all the desire Alistair has to become a Found King, his own insistence on questioning every move could be the sabotaging of his own Kinging.
Edmond Manning has a way of describing things so beautifully, yet so succinctly that you feel like you were there, that you saw it with your own eyes. The location in which each story is set has very much been a secondary character in previous books of this series, a rich backdrop for the story taking place. But in King John, that is lifted to a whole other level – Burning Man is an integral participant, alive and exuberant in its role. It abets and enhances the story with shining enthusiasm and does it gloriously.
Vin Vanbly is a wonderfully unreliable narrator. A master manipulator, as he must be to guide his men to their Kingship, who sees so little of his own value. He finds it so hard to believe he is worthy of being loved. To see that he is loved. We learn so much more about him in King John, yet we are left with more questions than ever. This enigmatic, damaged, beautiful man has a story full of pain yet he finds such joy in his amazing Kings. It is his inability to see the amazing within himself that is the most heartbreaking to me.
Alistair drove me crazy at times. His incessant questioning of everything and his selfish disregard to see the sacrifices Vin willingly makes to guide him made me want to shake him! A lot! When his refusal to truly submit to Vin and just listen results in a serious situation made worse, it becomes the tipping point for him to choose who he wants to be – Alistair the English lawyer, or the man he is truly meant to be. By the end, I had fallen as much in love with this King as I had Perry, Mai and Rance previously.
This book has a slightly different feel to it than the ones before it. They were very much focused on the men being Kinged. In this one there’s an added layer, a sense of momentum picking up, of building towards something Important (no, the capital I is not a typo).The ending feels like it’s setting up the next book to be a pivotal one. I love the layers, the subtleties, that are woven through the stories in this series and I’m eager to see where it all leads and what we learn of, and from, Vin and his Kings in future books.
The author, through Vin, takes not only the man being kinged, but also the reader on an amazing journey through the surreal, the ordinary, the pain of loss and the beauty of being Found. The words are beautiful, the imagery is stunning. King John is a carefully crafted story that weaves its song straight into your heart. I cannot recommend this remarkable book enough.
July 19, 2016
Like all of the Lost and Founds, King John has left me with a book hangover. I know that no matter what I read next, it won't pull the same raw emotions from me. Edmond's writing is brilliant and as with his other books, I felt as if I were right there at Burning Man with Vin and John.
Trying to explain anything in this series is futile so I won't but they're easily at the top of my highest list of favorite books. Defo recommend.
Trying to explain anything in this series is futile so I won't but they're easily at the top of my highest list of favorite books. Defo recommend.
September 26, 2015
Review to follow
February 26, 2016
more to come soon. AMAZING
October 11, 2024
Read 5+ times
Don't read the blurb if you want to read this book. It deserves the full surprise.
This modern fairy tale revolves around self-acceptance and control.
I had less enthusiasm reading this book for the first time than the previous books:
- It proceeds in a different way than the previous books because of the nature of the kinging.
- The book is much darker than the previous ones.
- Vin Vanbly is older and his wordplay is getting more out of control.
- John doesn't appeal to me in the first half.
Now that I've read it several times, I've come to really appreciate this story and these four points are no longer a real problem. (some wordplay are quite poetic and brilliant actually)
In a series of 6 books, I rank this one at the 5th position.
****
My review for King Perry still stands for King John:
This is not your usual romance. Don't expect this story to follow the usual development of standardized MM novels. Actually, you'll never guess what happens in the next pages. The narrator MC is also quite unusual, he's definitely not going to leave you indifferent.
This is a modern fairy tale. It takes you through every possible feelings in a crazy roller-coaster. However, as with a lot of old fairy tales there's a lot of love but also deep darkness sometimes.
For all these reasons, you're going to love or hate this book. I absolutely loved it.
I really liked everything in this book, but I especially enjoyed :
- the writing,
- the masculine touch of the writer.
The 1st person present tense is not a big favorite of mine, but the story wouldn't work as well without it and I got used to it rather quickly.
This is an amazing book, but it's even better when you have already read the whole series. There's an evolution of the MC's personality and there are plenty of unseen details that make the whole work shine even more.
It's best to read these books in the published order for the first time.
What did I forget?
- Once started I couldn't drop it,
- Read this book with an open mind and an open heart : it's only a fiction,
- On a personal note, each time I read this book I feel a bit healed.
Don't read the blurb if you want to read this book. It deserves the full surprise.
This modern fairy tale revolves around self-acceptance and control.
I had less enthusiasm reading this book for the first time than the previous books:
- It proceeds in a different way than the previous books because of the nature of the kinging.
- The book is much darker than the previous ones.
- Vin Vanbly is older and his wordplay is getting more out of control.
- John doesn't appeal to me in the first half.
Now that I've read it several times, I've come to really appreciate this story and these four points are no longer a real problem. (some wordplay are quite poetic and brilliant actually)
In a series of 6 books, I rank this one at the 5th position.
****
My review for King Perry still stands for King John:
This is not your usual romance. Don't expect this story to follow the usual development of standardized MM novels. Actually, you'll never guess what happens in the next pages. The narrator MC is also quite unusual, he's definitely not going to leave you indifferent.
This is a modern fairy tale. It takes you through every possible feelings in a crazy roller-coaster. However, as with a lot of old fairy tales there's a lot of love but also deep darkness sometimes.
For all these reasons, you're going to love or hate this book. I absolutely loved it.
I really liked everything in this book, but I especially enjoyed :
- the writing,
- the masculine touch of the writer.
The 1st person present tense is not a big favorite of mine, but the story wouldn't work as well without it and I got used to it rather quickly.
This is an amazing book, but it's even better when you have already read the whole series. There's an evolution of the MC's personality and there are plenty of unseen details that make the whole work shine even more.
It's best to read these books in the published order for the first time.
What did I forget?
- Once started I couldn't drop it,
- Read this book with an open mind and an open heart : it's only a fiction,
- On a personal note, each time I read this book I feel a bit healed.
May 29, 2017
this is my favourite so far. I really really connected with John. His stubbornness, the trust issues, the bravado-façade.
How John brings out the best/worst in Vin is stunning to read. God, he can be so annoying and yet, the love never stops. I felt so connected to people around me. and i felt the need to reconnect & to confirm the bonds. What this series does to me.. unbelievable.
Out of all the King-books this is probably the one i will re-read. the atmosphere is crafted with such skill, i'm impressed. I highlighted entire sections (i never ever do that!)
a book to devour, to enjoy afterwards...let it simmer a bit, it'll prove even better.
Also: mighty intrigued by the dogs and the events in the desert. D*mn!
How John brings out the best/worst in Vin is stunning to read. God, he can be so annoying and yet, the love never stops. I felt so connected to people around me. and i felt the need to reconnect & to confirm the bonds. What this series does to me.. unbelievable.
Out of all the King-books this is probably the one i will re-read. the atmosphere is crafted with such skill, i'm impressed. I highlighted entire sections (i never ever do that!)
a book to devour, to enjoy afterwards...let it simmer a bit, it'll prove even better.
Also: mighty intrigued by the dogs and the events in the desert. D*mn!
January 5, 2020
My self-imposed 3 year wait was worth it
Life doesn’t offer me much free time these days, and Edmond Manning’s books are stories I want to savor - not read one or two chapters at a time. So, I took 3 years to have an entire weekend or two free to immerse myself in this story. It was worth the wait. Within moments I was reminded why I find this series so magical and wonderful. Now I need to find time for the next two books. Hopefully it won’t take me years to finish. Ugh! Need. Them. Now. LOL!
Life doesn’t offer me much free time these days, and Edmond Manning’s books are stories I want to savor - not read one or two chapters at a time. So, I took 3 years to have an entire weekend or two free to immerse myself in this story. It was worth the wait. Within moments I was reminded why I find this series so magical and wonderful. Now I need to find time for the next two books. Hopefully it won’t take me years to finish. Ugh! Need. Them. Now. LOL!
March 20, 2025
If you find yourself here for the fourth time…
You must have some king or queen energy within yourself. I certainly did reading this fourth instalment. I chuckled, laughed out loud, wished I was there with them, and most of all - wished I had met my own real life Vin to queen/king me. I felt like I at least found the energy through these novels to start my own initiation into the Lost and Founds. I’ll be forever grateful to Edmond Manning for creating these marvellous series and initiating every reader word by word.
Spectacular. 1.5 more to go and I cannot wait.
You must have some king or queen energy within yourself. I certainly did reading this fourth instalment. I chuckled, laughed out loud, wished I was there with them, and most of all - wished I had met my own real life Vin to queen/king me. I felt like I at least found the energy through these novels to start my own initiation into the Lost and Founds. I’ll be forever grateful to Edmond Manning for creating these marvellous series and initiating every reader word by word.
Spectacular. 1.5 more to go and I cannot wait.
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