One Land, One King

by Yasser S. Hassan

After their grisly battle for supremacy over the One Land, the king and his five knights anticipate peaceful times ahead of them. Then, almost before they can rest their bloody swords on the ground, angels and demons—masquerading as humans—begin to carouse the Earth, vying for human souls before their very eyes, powerless to stop it. While the king and his knights are without equal on the battlefield, this war is different from all the others they have had to face. It takes place in the heart of their cities and of their people. A secret war of influence has started with the rise of the One King, and the outcome, the doom or salvation of their world, is to be determined by Yan, a boy with unimaginable powers chosen to be the scale on which the actions of men shall be weighed.

Genres: Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2010

About the author

Y. S. Hassan is a mystic/scientist who was taught the ancient ways in the East and modern science in the West. This uncommon mix gave birth to an incredible imagination...not so unrealistic.

Reviews

[new_user · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have made a good comic book. Or YA fantasy. Ultimately, I think this novel couldn't decide.

Flame-flinging swords, duels to the death, and boss fights inspired by Japanese animated TV shows lend a compelling immediacy to Y.S. Hassan's debut work following a king's plight as he fights to save the land from the influence of demons. If fighting the influence of demons sounds spiritual, then that's because it is. One Land, One King does address some morality, and the classic struggle of good vs. evil would appeal to younger audiences, as well as the potential of youth stressed here.

Older readers will also appreciate a more nuanced portrayal of "evil": a woman doubting her lover, a teacher despairing of teaching his students, unethical competition, etc. "How does one battle what he cannot see or even start to understand?" Knight Khazar asks. One might ask the same of any internal struggle.

They may also appreciate the rare emphasis on family. However, tailoring this to a younger audience would necessitate addressing some sexist notes in the novel, e.g. when a male character laughs, "Oh, be quiet, woman!" I think we know this condescencion is unacceptable for teens already immersed in a society where women are a marketing gimmick.

One Land, One King, however, definitely presents some engaging lessons. Hassan constructs King's values from a patchwork of sometimes opposing principles -reincarnation, free will, and predestiny all within the same 288 pages- but I was fascinated by the philosophies in play. On the one hand, "the Land" inexplicably invests some men with kingship above others, and this king determines the fate of the land, suggesting with Tolstoy-esque fatalism that only a few great men decide our fate and the rest of us lesser ants, or in the words of royal advisor Daronom, "us ordinary people," soldier on.

On the other hand, King Jirgar descends from farmers, even if he does tell them he's destined for bigger and better things, and the struggle for the soul of the people, i.e. within every man and woman, takes as much precedence as Jirgar's grand efforts.

This is the less glamorous fight, the effort to keep the people from despair when their crops fail -how relevant to us post-Great Recession- the attempts to keep them from the easier, less ethical path. I appreciated the emphasis on the ruler's responsibility to produce a better environment for his people: "Failing to make of this Earth a proper ground for human souls to grow in will inevitably lead to destruction and evil."

When a new Knight or King steps forward, their personality affects the Land for better or worse, and a Knight bringing hope and order to the land seals it against demons.

However, while King broaches compelling topics, the prose suffers from vague and abstract language where more concrete, striking visualizations could enrich the narrative. For example, describing the dining room of a castle, Hassan writes,

"...it was a very exquisite mix of stone and wood with rich paintings retracing the main events of the royal families...and the silverware of the most distinguished designs...The music and wines were abundant... he had ordered a huge banquet..."

Instead of informing his audience that the room was exquisite and penning the generic skeleton expected of a king's dining hall, he might have convinced his audience with specific images. What kind of stone and wood, what kinds of events? What are distinguished designs? Instead of saying that the music and wines were abundant, he might have given a list to convey the same to his audience.

A list would also have offered some variety to his sentence structure and given some breath to his writing. King also lacks characterization. Characters like Daronom the advisor and Soel the angel interested me -Soel was more human than the Knights- but I would have liked to see more of their eyes and mannerisms, etc. I would have liked further insight into them. All the characters and the world could have benefited from further development.

So, all told, I enjoyed King's engagement of Good and Evil, even shades of grey. I liked King's message that the most important battle takes place in hearts, in their swings between despair and hope and so on, but I believe that Hassan's delivery requires more finesse and more visualization and that this would be best targeted toward a young adult audience. 3/3.5 stars.

[Bookwatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Hassan surprised me! For few days I live in his fantastic world and I love it!


About the story Without spoilers
This book is divided in two moments. Book one, starting with two kings and 10 knights fight, and Book two, seventeen years after the winner became the only king of the land.

The book one was bloody and amazing! The fights were so well written and you will read it without stop. Before the final (and incredible) fight between the two kings there is a little time to breath, and with a flashback you will know about King Jirgar past. Reading that I was lost... I really was in love with that character. I warn all impatients that only at the end of the final fight everything will be explain, and a new great mystery will be create. A strange newborn boy, that will be the mystery the second part of the book.

The book two was more "slow" even if there is no boring or useless scene there. Sorry if I'll offend some fantasy readers but I really love fantasy books that don't waste pages and pages talking about a damn mountain and all (each, one by one) trees there. I want a dynamic fantasy book, where the writer explain me what I need to know to understand the characters. Mr Hassan is my type of fantasy writer, and I never get bored. Plus, this second part of the book is full of secondary stories. Normal and common humans will be tempted by demons. Was so incredible, jump from one to another, and read this "independent" facts.

But, what I most appreciate reading the Book Two was learn about the knight Yanas. He will surprise you, and I guarantee that will be hard to decide who is the best character of this book... he or the king...

About the theme of this book
Angels and demons... human souls is the main trophy... who will win? The good or the evil? The light or the darkness?

Ok, I know very well what you are thinking:

"Again? Boring... let me check another book and eat some popcorn ".

DON'T DO IT! YOU MAY LOST A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. And eat the popcorn (I loooooooove popcorn!)


Please, I don't want to start the never ending discuss about religion. So, reading it without religion bias I thought this theme was perfect. Love the soul maturating thing, and the devil or good fight.
I don't want to ruin the fun of your reading so I'll stop here. The pleasure was all the mystery that surround the characters, and why there is this immense desire to fight for human souls. I enjoy it, and I hope you do it too.

I also find very creative the mental link between the king and the knight. At the beginning I thought a little oppressive the existence of such mental way to commands or "force" people do what they want... but don't despair, I was wrong. Was not oppressive, but wonderful!

Minor critic
The use of the expression "with his will".
It's a repetition that tired me. "He strike with all of his will"; "with all of his will he attack" and go on... I understand that was necessary the use of this expression, but some times I really got tired of all their "wills" here and there and here and there again...

My judgment is:
Great Imagination.
Good writing.
Surprising end (and so cuuuuuuute! I love it!)
Amazing fantasy book.
I recommend it to all fantasy readers!

5 stars.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because the author sent it to me through goodreads, and after a year I finally found time to read it! While reading it I found it pretty easy to get through and at times hard to put down. The beginning hooked me in, then it threatened to shake me off, but I hung through the slow parts and finished it!

Overall there were two chapters (out of ten) that were kind of slow and drawn out. They were difficult to get through, but once I did the following chapters were great. For an author’s first book, this is amazing. Very few writing problems, and the story is awesome for fantasy lovers!

Essentially the book starts out with the fight between two sides of five knights (two fight each other and the victor gets a spot as one of the five knights of the One Land, until each spot is filled; aka five knights are victors) and then the two kings fight for the position of the One King of the One Land. It’s creative and descriptive, allowing you to picture the fight perfectly. After the knights and king are determined, they later find out that the demons are wanting to take over earth and there’s a special boy, Yan, being born that will decide the fate of the One Land.

Based on the description I thought it would be alright, but I was a little unsure. But once I got into it I had trouble putting it down (I started reading it on the trip back from the beach and ending up reading it for 4 hours cause I got so into it). So if you like Fantasy, magic, battles, or anything awesome, you should read this book!

[Valentina · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a quirky, quirky, book. I just finished it and I’m still circling it like an animal, not quite sure what to make of it. This is not a bad thing. Books that make you think are never a bad thing.

Let’s begin with the good: the story is unique, with vivid action scenes, that while detailed, were not boring or clichéd. The characters were interesting and tightly crafted, and the storyline well thought out. The ending was pleasant, with a nice amount of tension to make us doubt about how it would all resolve.

I had a problem with the adverbs. This is a pet-peeve of mine, so if it doesn’t bother you, please ignore these sentences. For me, they are unnecessary and they hinder the “showing” of the story. Unfortunately, there are lots of those pesky creatures in this book’s pages, which made me grit my teeth a bit. Again, this might not bother another reader, so take it as you will.
Another thing that irked me a bit was the amount of names thrown at the reader in the first few pages. They were hard to keep straight. As the story progresses and we get to know these characters better, the confusion dissipates, but it’s quite a shock at the very beginning.

I did enjoy reading this novel, one of the more unique stories I’ve read in a bit, so I can recommend it without problem to anyone who likes things a bit on the unusual side.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks Goodreads for another First Reads win!

One Land, One King is a fantasy like many others where the fate of humanity hangs in the balance and the story builds toward the final battle between good and evil. Much of the philosophy of the tale rings true, especially the concept that a slight variation of presentation can conceal evil intent. It is common both in real life and in this book for people to be unable to see behind the many masks that hide the core value of a person or idea.

My favorite books in the fantasy genre develop detailed and complex worlds with multi-faceted characters inhabiting them. Unfortunately, in this work, detail is sacrificed in an attempt to move the plot quickly by telling the reader what has happened rather than showing them. I think that this book would have been improved if Hassan had more fully described the One Land, it's people and customs. The primary characters, although strong images, are too one dimensional and need more interaction between them. I gave this book three stars, but if I had the option, I would have said two and one half.

[Nafiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Land One King is Hassan’s debut novel and this might explain a certain rawness about his prose. This rawness, however, does not keep the story from being compelling. There’s a certain solemnity, a gravity that the characters are effused with that reaches out through the pages and paints the readers until they too are feeling the same nervousness, the same shortness of breath that the actual characters might be feeling. Hassan is particularly creative in his creation of the Knights and the King, giving them certain different attributes that elevate them in separate ways as being wholly essential to the world they live in. Though the plot is a bit formulaic, it strives to keep the narrative moving. A note though, that while the characters are individuated, they need some more work for them to transcend their two dimension existences and become fully formed in the minds of the readers.

It was an interesting read; thought provoking and immersing. I look forward to seeing what Mr. Hassan comes up with next.

[Dáithí's · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well planned adventure story that captures the imagination. For me, it was off to a slow start, but quickly picked up and held my attention. Plot was well formulated and left me wanting more at the end. Characters were easy to relate to and were filled woth depth. Look forward to more from Mr. Hassan.

[Rodolfo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has interesting ideas. Yet the writing style is hard for me to get into. It is written like an old fairy tale with more broad stroke as opposed to taking you through the story with the characters. I am doing my best to get through it but the flatness of it is making it tough. Which bums me out because I really like the concept.....

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm being generous in giving this book its third star. In its present form, it's a 2 1/2 at best, but the author has potential and I want to see what he writes next.
The editors let the author down at key spots near the end of the book, permitting clumsy word choices and bad punctuation to damage a few key scenes. These dragged me out of the flow of the story, which was annoying. Having to stop to mentally insert a comma, in order to help a broken sentence to make sense, interrupts the flow of reading.
The concept of this book was extremely interesting, and I found myself drawn in for most of the story. There were weaknesses in spots, but the author set himself the difficult challenge of writing a fantasy in the same genre as the novels of Charles Williams, the literary friend of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. This is a deeply religious and philosophical fantasy set in an almost Arthurian land, but with its own rules. The story is the battle for an individual who is, in some ways, the soul of the entire land.
One of the best parts of the book was the author's handling of angels and demons, as agents of change trying to nudge the land and the people toward their own side. That is a difficult concept to portray convincingly in a fantasy novel, but he pulled it off fairly well.
Other than that, I found I had problems accepting the overall plot in a few places. For instance, there are mysteries that run through the story, but at the end we're told that the answer to one of them is roughly "because God says so," which I found to be unsatisfying.
Also, I'm not sure the author realizes how disturbing the setting is. It would be much harder to root for, say, King Arthur if Camelot did not hold the moral and ethical high ground. The setting of One Land One King (note the lack of comma in the title...what does the title mean, then?) is a bloodthirsty land where might literally makes right. The wars, while more civilized than most, are between kings and their champions. Whoever wins these fights rules the land AND the souls of the people tied to that land. That's a remarkably sinister kind of serfdom. When an evil champion wins, the people turn to evil. The land apparently has little use for free will. It does, however, want blood. Fights between champions are required to be to the death, even when the victor would prefer otherwise.
So, the reader is required to care about the fate of a bloodthirsty land which is, by some standards, evil by its nature, or at best "chaotic neutral." Worse, the means of promoting warriors and champions gives an advantage to anyone who would win at all costs. The author even admits this, but seems to think it's rare that the bad guys would win. If anything goes, and cheaters do prosper, then why would the good guys, the moral guys, win most of the fights? If it's another one of those "because God says so" kind of answers, then the story loses much of its impact.
The physical format of the book is unfortunate, an overpriced trade paperback ($22).

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn about this book.

It's a story about a quest; there's a reason that's a classic storyline. King Jirgar and his Knights think they have reached the end of their quest at the beginning of the book, and they will rule over a land that is finally peaceful. They find out that they are wrong and there is a new war, one that only they know about, between angels and demons for the souls of humans, with the ultimate prize being the soul of one boy, Yan, who no one can go near. The King and Knights cannot fight this war directly; they can only lend their people their strength, and only if the people are open to it. This goes on for seventeen years while Yan grows. At the end, the angels leave the people to fight the demons on their own without help, as the 'will' that the King and Knights use to help them vanishes also. The state of Yan's soul is decided by the King and one of his Knights' battle with the Angel of Darkness.

It's a great story, but while I love reading quests, I have the same problem I always have when I'm done: huge holes in the plot and unanswered questions. Why did the angels train the King and Knights to rely on both them and the will and then take them both away when they were most needed? Why is it called the age of reason if the decision of whether Yan is good or bad is based on the outcome of someone else's fight? Why did people have to choose between the angels and the demons if, in the end, Yan erased all of the angels and demons' influence on their souls, and the King wished away all evil influence? What was the point of the seventeen years of misery and hardship? And if there is no evil influence, why is the King still there over a century later?

I won this book on First-Reads.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this in the First Reads giveaway. The concept of the book was interesting but the writing was too slow. I found myself getting bored and often put the book down for several days before picking it up again.

[Tricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

won this through goodreads, trying really hard to get through it, very descriptive and lots of story. I am through about half of it and feel like I have read an entire series...not ready to give up yet though....