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Kingdom of Ghosts #1
A Rumor of Kings: An Epic Fantasy Series
He's a gambler, womanizer, opportunist, and inebriate ... and the kingdom's only chance.
Greymond, the Scattered Kingdom has been without a king for hundreds of years, a place ruled by squabbling barons and dukes. Occasionally, rumors arise: a king of the old blood has returned to claim his throne. These days, such claims are met with groans and eye-rolls. Pretenders abound … and are generally ignored.
But scheming powers are plotting, machinations that have been in the works for years, and this time …
Enter Merrik Niles. A thief hired by dangerous people to steal a map, he instead keeps it for himself, hoping to follow it to some mysterious prize.
The treasure turns out to be an ancient artifact connected to Greymond’s last king, and when Merrik touches it, he triggers long-dormant magic. Now, three ghosts have taken up permanent residence inside his mind: A cunning, smart-mouthed jester. A master swordsman. And a powerful wizard.
At first, Merrik believes he’s going mad, but at times, these troublesome ghosts lend him their powers... for good or for bad.
Merrik is swept along in a scheme to put a fair-haired pretender on the throne of Greymond, making him the target of powerful enemies across the Scattered Kingdom who prefer the realm as it is.
All the while, a new army rises across the mountains … and they’re coming.
Follow Merrik’s exploits as a reluctant hero in the next Epic Fantasy series by Victor Gischler, the bestselling author of Ink Mage. It's perfect for readers of Mark Lawrence, Brent Weeks, and Jay Kristoff.
Greymond, the Scattered Kingdom has been without a king for hundreds of years, a place ruled by squabbling barons and dukes. Occasionally, rumors arise: a king of the old blood has returned to claim his throne. These days, such claims are met with groans and eye-rolls. Pretenders abound … and are generally ignored.
But scheming powers are plotting, machinations that have been in the works for years, and this time …
Enter Merrik Niles. A thief hired by dangerous people to steal a map, he instead keeps it for himself, hoping to follow it to some mysterious prize.
The treasure turns out to be an ancient artifact connected to Greymond’s last king, and when Merrik touches it, he triggers long-dormant magic. Now, three ghosts have taken up permanent residence inside his mind: A cunning, smart-mouthed jester. A master swordsman. And a powerful wizard.
At first, Merrik believes he’s going mad, but at times, these troublesome ghosts lend him their powers... for good or for bad.
Merrik is swept along in a scheme to put a fair-haired pretender on the throne of Greymond, making him the target of powerful enemies across the Scattered Kingdom who prefer the realm as it is.
All the while, a new army rises across the mountains … and they’re coming.
Follow Merrik’s exploits as a reluctant hero in the next Epic Fantasy series by Victor Gischler, the bestselling author of Ink Mage. It's perfect for readers of Mark Lawrence, Brent Weeks, and Jay Kristoff.
- GenresFantasy
496 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 17, 2022
167 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Victor Gischler
369 books413 followersVictor Gischler is an American author of humorous crime fiction.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.
He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.
Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.
Gischler's debut novel Gun Monkeys was nominated for the Edgar Award, and his novel Shotgun Opera was an Anthony Award finalist. His work has been translated into Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. He earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His fifth novel Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse was published in 2008 by the Touchstone/Fireside imprint of Simon & Schuster.
He has also writes American comic books like The Punisher: Frank Castle, Wolverine and Deadpool for Marvel Comics. Gischler worked on X-Men "Curse of the Mutants" starting in the Death of Dracula one-shot and continued in X-Men #1.
Gun Monkeys has been optioned for a film adaptation, with Lee Goldberg writing the script and Ryuhei Kitamura penciled in to direct.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 4, 2023
Merrik Niles would like nothing more than to get rich and live in a beautiful estate somewhere warm with some servants and pretty faces for company. Unfortunately he owes some bad men some money. In return for not brutally murdering Merrik, they set him on a path to steal a map for them. Merrik being the opportunist he is, does more than he was asked to do. He ends up with a strange artifact that left him with three distinct voices in his head that do more than just talk to him. Merrik also finds himself in the way of an army and now, against his better judgment, he finds himself helping to save the Scattered Kingdom.
I have read numerous books (and a comic book or two) written by Victor Gischler. A Rumor of Kings however was the first book that I had read outside of his Ink Mage books. The book wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for. It had some familiar elements like more current word usage and a womanizing opportunist who helps more than he intended to, but outside of that things were different. This book felt scattered. 6 chapters into the book I was sure it was going to be told as a single point of view book until all of a sudden there are additional point of view characters. These characters hadn't recently been met or even talked about, the story just jumps to new point of view characters out of seemingly nowhere.
There wasn't anything bad about the story, but I didn't feel very compelled to keep reading. The pacing wasn't nearly as fast as I would have preferred and the story elements didn't drive me to keep going. I didn't know anything about the Scattered Kingdoms or have any reason to care. The reader like Merrik is forced into caring when each may have rather not gotten involved. I didn't want to see Merrik and Padraig die, otherwise everyone else could've dropped dead and I wouldn't have spared them another thought. The Scattered Kingdoms could've fallen, but as long as they were fine I was good with whatever happened next.
Some of the characters like Merrik, Rugger, and Red William were interesting while many of the others were forgettable. Merrik seems to be one of Gischler's preferred archetypes. The rogue who cares more than he admits. Rugger is a thug with some heart. Red William is a complete sociopath that is easy to route against. The other villains don't really merit any attention as neither side seems inherently right or wrong outside of a few actions taken in the book. The mystery revolving around the voices in Merrik's head however is the one aspect that I would love to learn more about.
A Rumor of Kings was an ok book. I don't feel any compulsion to pick up the next book in the series which is not a great sign.
I have read numerous books (and a comic book or two) written by Victor Gischler. A Rumor of Kings however was the first book that I had read outside of his Ink Mage books. The book wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for. It had some familiar elements like more current word usage and a womanizing opportunist who helps more than he intended to, but outside of that things were different. This book felt scattered. 6 chapters into the book I was sure it was going to be told as a single point of view book until all of a sudden there are additional point of view characters. These characters hadn't recently been met or even talked about, the story just jumps to new point of view characters out of seemingly nowhere.
There wasn't anything bad about the story, but I didn't feel very compelled to keep reading. The pacing wasn't nearly as fast as I would have preferred and the story elements didn't drive me to keep going. I didn't know anything about the Scattered Kingdoms or have any reason to care. The reader like Merrik is forced into caring when each may have rather not gotten involved. I didn't want to see Merrik and Padraig die, otherwise everyone else could've dropped dead and I wouldn't have spared them another thought. The Scattered Kingdoms could've fallen, but as long as they were fine I was good with whatever happened next.
Some of the characters like Merrik, Rugger, and Red William were interesting while many of the others were forgettable. Merrik seems to be one of Gischler's preferred archetypes. The rogue who cares more than he admits. Rugger is a thug with some heart. Red William is a complete sociopath that is easy to route against. The other villains don't really merit any attention as neither side seems inherently right or wrong outside of a few actions taken in the book. The mystery revolving around the voices in Merrik's head however is the one aspect that I would love to learn more about.
A Rumor of Kings was an ok book. I don't feel any compulsion to pick up the next book in the series which is not a great sign.
June 13, 2022
How did he create a new world and make it come alive? Every time I read a book by Victor Gischler I get so wrapped up in the story I don't realize I'm close to the end. I love how this novel changes direction but every turn keeps moving the story forward.
August 16, 2022
great
This is an awesome book. I loved the characters and plot twists. I could not put it down. A very fun read.
This is an awesome book. I loved the characters and plot twists. I could not put it down. A very fun read.
November 19, 2024
I listened to this audiobook on Audible, and it was a solidly entertaining story. I was always interested to continue, never bored. The plot was unique and engaging. The characters were interesting from the start, and only became more endearing as I got to know them. One thing I struggled with was that there were too many characters and POVs to easily keep track; you have to really pay attention to keep them straight, as they'd be introduced in groups and then you might not hear from that set again for a while. That was irksome to me because I have bad memory, but the story weaved among all the characters did benefit by shuffling the POV.
The writing in this book is good, with just a few noticeable areas it could have been better refined.
The narrator was pretty good. There was a tempo to the reading that dropped some sounds, making me turn up the volume louder than I typically would for a book, and it gave most characters similar speech patterns instead of distinct ones. There were different voices and some varying accents, but the way they spoke was too similar, with that dramatized cadence. It was still an excellent reading.
This kept my attention throughout, gaining more of it as the story progressed. I will for sure be continuing the story in book 2.
The writing in this book is good, with just a few noticeable areas it could have been better refined.
The narrator was pretty good. There was a tempo to the reading that dropped some sounds, making me turn up the volume louder than I typically would for a book, and it gave most characters similar speech patterns instead of distinct ones. There were different voices and some varying accents, but the way they spoke was too similar, with that dramatized cadence. It was still an excellent reading.
This kept my attention throughout, gaining more of it as the story progressed. I will for sure be continuing the story in book 2.
January 28, 2024
solid Book
At first I was slightly bored but as the book developed and the plot thickened I was quickly sucked in.
The world building was good and provided me a good view of the world while leaving room for further development and discoveries.
As Merrick had a bit of a character arc and started to tap into the abilities offered by the scepter I became increasingly captured in he story.
All in all a pretty good book I will order the next one on kindle unlimited.
At first I was slightly bored but as the book developed and the plot thickened I was quickly sucked in.
The world building was good and provided me a good view of the world while leaving room for further development and discoveries.
As Merrick had a bit of a character arc and started to tap into the abilities offered by the scepter I became increasingly captured in he story.
All in all a pretty good book I will order the next one on kindle unlimited.
August 29, 2023
a rumor of kings
A really good book because it was fast paced and I enjoyed the characters and the action of each player
A really good book because it was fast paced and I enjoyed the characters and the action of each player
Read
February 3, 2024DNF audiobook 1ht
October 27, 2025
Good characters, well written. I will continue this series
August 9, 2024
Great read
Really engaging story! I couldn't stop reading it! I felt each characters' pain and joy! I will tell all my friends about it!
Really engaging story! I couldn't stop reading it! I felt each characters' pain and joy! I will tell all my friends about it!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews