Too Much Power Makes People a Little Crazy
Aya Surheyao
“Her power slit their throats, flung them back against the wall, dove inside their screaming mouths, and burned them from the inside out… And then, Rielle looked down at herself and saw that again… her hands, her boots, her skirts were drenched in fresh blood. (Legrand 384)”
Dark, heart-wrenching, and action-packed, Kingsbane makes for a great fantasy read. It is the second book in the Empirium trilogy, written by Claire Legrand. In the world of Avitas, an ancient war between humans and angels ends with the angels tricked into inhabiting The Deep, a realm where their bodies are stripped from their consciousnesses. Now they seek escape … and revenge. This book straddles two timelines, with one set farther in the past where Rielle struggles to believe that she is the Sun Queen and not the Blood Queen, meant to doom humanity. One can infer from the passage above which one she turns out to be. The second queen is Eliana and her story takes place far in the future when Rielle’s magical world becomes akin to fairy tales.
The author does an wonderful job of crafting sympathetic and yet problematic grey characters, Rielle in particular. While most people with magic in her time control one element (sunlight, water, metal, etc.), she can use all of them skillfully. Because of her immense power, she views herself as above other humans. No one else understands what it’s like to see the empirium, a gold substance that is the source of all magic. Rielle pities others for “their blindness, their ignorance, their inability” (Legrand 224). She views their humanity as a burden (Legrand 352) while her distance from her own makes it easier for her to inflict violence on others. Throughout the story, Rielle’s fluctuating morality caused me to grapple with what makes someone a good person. Her story is a tightrope on which she struggles to keep her balance, but I'm not sure if the rope is her goodness or her sanity.
Legrand also beautifully conveys emotion in her characters. She captures the rage of Simon (Eliana’s friend) when he finds out that Eliana has been kidnapped, writing that his “anger was so complete it numbed him, reduced him to a man incapable of moving. His mind buzzed and snarled” (Legrand 233). Through the word “snarled” alone, I could clearly picture someone’s mind growling and snapping like a pack of wolves. This passage so clearly illustrates how Simon feels but also sets the tone for the entire chapter, painting it red and black with his fury. The vividness of this book makes it so much more fun and exciting to read by allowing the characters to drive the story through their emotions.
With magic, slightly murderous characters, and vivid emotion, Legrand writes an intense rollercoaster of a novel. When reading it (if you’re like me), you’ll find yourself slowly sinking into the world of Avitas and grudgingly rooting for Rielle in the end. I’ve already started Lightbringer, the final book in the trilogy, and I'm excited to see how it ends!
Works Cited
Legrand, Claire. Kingsbane. Sourcebooks Fire, 2019.
This book sounds exciting and thrilling with the complexity and detail the author ties to topics of morality, sanity, emotion, and other interesting components. It's also unique and intriguing to see that Rielle view humanity as burden, which seems to create an irony with the fact that the readers would be judging her character based on her humanity. I can see how this could potentially lead the readers to rethink the standard of goodness and potentially change their perspective towards Rielle's actions (eventually leading them to root for her). I think this novel would make for an immersive read for the winter break and be a proof that books can actually be more thrilling than action movies.
ReplyDeleteThis series sounds really good! Rielle’s character sounds complex but understandable; her conflicting morals and trying to, as you said, balance with her goodness/sanity, I feel like are what many people also struggle with from time to time, though maybe on a smaller scale. The quotes that you gave were also especially captivating. As Yelim suggested, I would love to try this series over winter break :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been reading a lot of fantasy lately and its stories like these that make me remember why I like the genre in the first place. Ill have to consider reading this series, thanks for introducing me to the Empirium trilogy.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy fantasy books, and this one seems like a great choice. The plot written in paragraph 1 makes me really intrigued. I will definitely look into this book, after all I have nothing to do during winter break.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting book! I like books with main characters that aren't necessarily good people, because it makes you question what it means to be good and evil. This sounds really cool, I'll definitely check it out!
ReplyDeleteI read the first book in this series, but I haven't read this book yet. However, based on your review, I need to read it as soon as I can! Rielle seems to be struggling with her sanity and morality, and I am interested to read this book and learn more about what's happening to her. I agree that Legrand is really good at portraying emotion, so I can't wait to read more of her writing!
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