I love the idea of immortality and free will. And luckily A Viper Among Kings has both of them. It’s a story about power struggles and wondering who is best to lead, to have the power. Keep reading this book review of A Viper Among Kings for my full thoughts.
Summary
In the twisted city of Amaris, magic spawns from chaos. Prone to driving humans mad, it can only be wielded safely by the Wraiths—seven immortal beings magically bound to obey the king.
Esme is the most notorious Wraith. She has spent the last century forced to kill on behalf of the nation that stole her from her homeworld while building a secret life for herself and her wife away from violence.
That is, until the current king turns up murdered, and a magical will demands his successor be chosen through three trials. Esme cannot break the magical shackles that bind her, but she will suffer no more tyrants. She rigs the king’s succession trials in favour of her chosen the righteous General Balthazar, who she can’t help but fall for.
As Esme weaves together the threads of the court on Balthazar’s behalf amid a strange tide of sentient magic in the city and a growing war on the horizon, she will come face to face with Balthazar’s bloody past, troubled present, and countless betrayals.
He isn’t the man Esme thought he was—but she was born to make and break kings.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Ascension is always hard, but even more so when the power struggles rob you of your choices. For Esme, she is practically immortal and incredibly powerful, but her power is entirely tethered to the King, to their whims, and to the inability to disobey. It’s a shackle and she’s desperate to try to sway the next succession. Additionally, Esme’s relationship to her heritage and her current ‘loyalty’ means she has a history of being ‘civilized’. Of being tethered to the very powers which have always robbed us of a voice. She’s thrown into politics, into problems she can’t solve with magic or force, but instead backstabbing. I loved the action in A Viper Among Kings and the ways fears is used to manipulate.
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A Viper Among Kings explores power and what we will do with it. How can we use power, be powerless, and erode our own choices? There are different glimpses into the other characters which make you feel like the noose is slowly tightening. Tired of swallowing it all down, A Viper Among Kings is immersed in a power struggle where you wonder if no one will truly win. It’s an intense opener to a fantasy trilogy about fighting for our future with intriguing magic. Find A Viper Among Kings on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.