Review: Seven Princes - John R. Fultz

Series: Books of the shaper #1

Genre: fantasy

Pages: 600

Published: January 3, 2012

Publisher: Orbit

Source: netgalley

It is an Age of Legends. Under the watchful eye of the Giants, the kingdoms of Men rose to power. Now, the Giant-King has slain the last of the Serpents and ushered in an era of untold peace and prosperity. Where a fire-blackened desert once stood, golden cities flourish in verdant fields. It is an Age of Heroes. But the realms of Man face a new threat-- an ancient sorcerer slaughters the rightful King of Yaskatha before the unbelieving eyes of his son, young Prince D'zan. With the Giant-King lost to a mysterious doom, it seems that no one has the power to stop the coming storm.

It is an Age of War. The fugitive Prince seeks allies across the realms of Men and Giants to liberate his father's stolen kingdom. Six foreign Princes are tied to his fate. Only one thing is certain: War is coming. SEVEN PRINCES. Some will seek glory. Some will seek vengeance. All will be legends.

My thoughts:

When I read this book I kept thinking that this book will get a conclusion, cool. And it did. Everything ended all nicely, but then, oh yes then there was that one loose thread and I realized that this is a series. But is felt like a different sort of series since it did have an ending. No cliffie at all (sort of.)

The story also felt kind of old school, and I love old school fantasy. A prince flees as an evil sorcerer kills everyone he holds dear. On his trip north he meets more princes and together they will fight this evil. D’Zan who we meet first is the hero on the run, a scared prince who grows. I liked him, because who would not be a bit scared? Then we got lots more and I will not name them all, since this is a many POV book. We got the two princes from Udur, I think this was my fav characters and kingdom. It is made up from giants and men and these princes are both. A very fascinating history. Their sister also plays a roll, and their elder brother he is not nice at all. Then we got their cousin and lastly 2 twin princes from the south. One a scholar and one a warrior. Together these princes forms bounds with each other and fight the coming battle. Then we got something called the Old Breed, I will not spoil anything. An evil witch from the south, a mysterious maiden a prince meets and I will leave it there. It might seem like a lot, but it is all connected and many of these spend most of the time together. A do like a good cast and the author is not very nice, he will make them suffer.

The story is rich in history and its setting.  There is a good mythology behind it all and good questions to be asked. These people do not know it all after all.

Conclusion:

A nice beginning to a series, but by the excerpt at the back I still do not know if the people around in this book will be around in the next one. It will be interesting to see.

Cover:

At least they look tough