Blood of the Old Kings (Old Erth, # 1)
By: Sung-Il Kim
Publication: October 8, 2024 by Tor Books
368 pages
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Dragons
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
( Goodreads | Amazon )
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Goodreads description--Blood of the Old Kings begins an epic adventure in which three strangers journey through a vast Empire that uses the power of dead wizards to conquer and subdue, from award-winning author Sung-il Kim and translated by the highly-acclaimed Anton Hur.
Powered by the corpses of sorcerers, the Empire has conquered the world. It claims to have brought peace and stability to its conquered lands, but some see that peace for what it is—a lie—and will give everything in the fight against it.
Loran is desperate for revenge after the Empire killed her family, so much so that the swordswoman climbs the volcano where the legends say an ancient dragon slumbers and leaps in. She finds that the legends are true, and Loran leaves the mountain with a sword made of dragon’s fang and a great purpose before her.
Cain arrived in the Imperial Capital lost and orphaned, and it’s only thanks to the kindness of a stranger-turned-mentor that he survived on the city’s streets. When his friend is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war.
Arienne’s future has never been in question—born a sorcerer, she’ll be a Power Generator for the Empire upon her death. But when she starts to hear the voice of a powerful necromancer in her head, she realizes the only thing more terrifying than dying for the Empire is never getting to truly live in the first place.
When peace is a lie, there is power in truth—and as Loran, Cain, and Arienne hunt for answers in their own lives, any one of their small rebellions could be the stone that brings the Empire toppling down.
Coming off Onyx Storm I just wanted more dragons. So when I saw Blood of the Old Kings available for audiobook review, I decided to check it out. Even though I often read fantasy, this isn't the normal fantasy type of book I read. Having it on audio is probably the only way I finished Blood of the Old Kings. As a matter of fact, I listened to three hours in one day because I was driving my kids on a field trip out of town. This allowed me to get invested in the story a little. And then I just listened a little at a time here and there until I finished it.
There are three main characters and three audio narrators. Each did a wonderful job. I appreciated having different narrators for each POV. Eunice Wong, Major Curda, and Suzy Jackson were the narrators.
The book starts with Loran climbing into the volcano where the last fire dragon is chained. She makes a deal with him, and he gifts her a fang used as a sword. She then starts calling herself the Princess of Arland (*sp?). After taking on a group of legionary soldiers on her own and rescuing another man, people begin to spread the word of the Princess of Arland. Hope sparks anew in their bellies, and rebellion grows against the Empire.
Arienne is born a sorcerer and is on a path to becoming a power generator. Power generators are kind of terrifying. They are dead sorcerers hooked up to machines using their magic to power things from lights to machines to this mysterious circuit of destiny. Arienne hears a voice in her head of a long-dead sorcerer who has been turned into a power generator. The sorcerer has plans of his own, but in the process, he helps Airenne discover power she didn't know she had.
Cain is a collector of favors. He doesn't collect them for power, but because he genuinely enjoys helping people when he can. He's trying to carry on the gift given to him when he showed up in the capital alone. He does interact with Arienne. And then Arienne interacts with Loran. So in a way, all of the stories are tied together.
Overall, I enjoyed Blood of the Old Kings. It was entertaining. I didn't dread listening to it, but I didn't feel compelled to keep listening. I always prefer stories with romances, but this was missing a romance altogether. Not all stories need them. And it would have been weird for this book to have had one, I think. But I still prefer to read relationship-driven books over plot-driven ones. Blood of the OId Kings gets 3.5 Stars. I don't think I'll continue the series. Have you read (or listened to) Blood of the Old Kings? What did you think? Let me know!
*Since I listened to the audiobook, I have no way of knowing the spelling of various characters and places within the story. Goodreads provided me with character name spellings, but the places were not listed.
