Review: Sleeping Kings - John Prentice

Series: Dark Force #1
Genre: YA action adventure
Pages: Ebook, 187
Published: April 2011
Source: For review
Review by Lis

Nik was a normal teen computer geek until her parents split up and her father dragged her off to France. The move cost her everything; friends, family, even her obsession; an online computer game. Then she meets a dead guy who’s protecting a secret as old as the mountains themselves, and suddenly people want her and the most gorgeous boy she’s ever met, dead too.When she finds out who she really is, things get freaky. The race is on, and she’s got to beat the clock – a clock that’s been ticking for seven hundred years.Time has just run out for Nicola Roscoe. It could be...Game Over

I do so love a good adventure story. Especially if there is history involved. Sleeping Kings by John Prentice sure doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Sleeping Kings was a book I couldn’t put down while I was reading it and almost forgot to get off the train at my stop once. 

Sleeping Kings is the story of Nik, her geologist father and her friend Daan. After her parents’ divorce – which is enough to put a teen down – and then forced to move to France (big change much?) and then forced to give up her one true love: online gaming, Nik is understandably in a funk. Who wouldn’t be? But then the mystery starts when on an outing she and Daan fall into a cave and meets the very dead, but still very much talking King Pedro II of Aragon, who died in 1213 and she and Daan fall into the mystery of the Cathars (my inner medievalist was sitting up at that) and alchemy and ‘the power.’ Things move fast from there!

This story has a bit of everything in it, action, adventure, humor, wit. While it’s a YA novel, it’s very much enjoyable. I loved seeing Nik grow in this story from a teen who is depressed by the recent changes to a confident young woman. Daan is the geek with all the historical answers and very sweet to boot! Pedro is an awesome character. Not only does he hold the role of mentor, he’s a very honorable man who made some big sacrifices. 

Fortunately for us, the story has a lot of background. Even better is the part where it’s not just dry facts that we get. This means the author knows what he’s doing with his words and that in turn made me very happy! I always hate it when I like a book, but the writing is bad. 

There are also some fun parts in this story. I mean how many times do you read about someone who turns bullets into chickens? Awesome!

Alright, before my praise gets out of hand, yes, this story is very recommendable. Even if you don’t like YA, you will love this one. The blurb says that fans of the Alex Rider series will like this story. That is certainly true. So if you like action and adventure rifled with history than this book is for you!