The Damned King by Justin Lee Anderson

Book Review

Elloise Hopkins

Aranok used the sunstone to close the gate and save Traverylyn from the Thakhati, but it took a toll on him. Physically and mentally exhausted, Aranok is still not quite himself in the aftermath of all of the betrayal he has suffered, and Allandria cannot hide her concerns. She is always his protector, and his very great friend, if not more, but now Nirea, her queen, has need of her too.

Nirea and Mynygogg, the rightful queen and king, with the help of their friends, have managed to restore many minds, but there are still those who believe them to be the enemy. It is hard for them to know who to trust, and how to restore their people and save their kingdom from evil, when the one they must eventually face seems to wield more power than any of them. Another false king, another wielder of dark and damaging magic, stands between them and peace.

Darginn Argyll, king’s messenger, has already suffered terrible losses. Now, with his memories somewhat restored, he finds himself with more weight on his shoulders. It seems his son not only has draoidh blood, but is being mislead into believing that to be a terrible fate. Can Darginn find someone who can change his son’s mind before the worst happens?

The Damned King, as we have come to expect from this series, thrills us, and is most definitely not afraid to shock us, at multiple points of the story. The Eidyn Saga continues to be a strong example of enjoyable and fresh contemporary fantasy. It delivers the grim and the brutal aplenty, along with just the right amount of touching, emotional interaction between characters, to bring balance and hope when they are needed, and a few laughs along the way.

Along with our four main characters and Darginn, we also have the White Thorns Samily and Meristan present in the plot, along with Vastin, the young blacksmith, Rasa, the shapeshifter, and many others, either taking on point of view roles or playing significant parts of the action. Aranok, being somewhat below par, adds another potential for disaster into the story, which delightfully keeps us on our toes.

After a brief recap at the start, this third book propels us into the ‘now’ of the narrative with relentless pace, almost montage-like in its desire to move us onto the story proper. Our characters find themselves in a defensible position, swamped in battle, a last-chance stand for many… and with all its twists and turns, the pace and the excitement does not let up until the last. But indeed it is not the last – there will be a book four, which now makes its way onto the ‘much anticipated’ pile.