Elizabeth Moon - Kings of the North

Kings of the North

Elizabeth Moon

Del Rey, Mar 22 2011, $26.00

ISBN 9780345508751

Former mercenary leader Kieri Phelan has become the King of Lyonya while Mikeli is crowned ruler of Tsaia. At the same time Senior Captain of the Second Cohort mercenary company Dorrin has become the Duke of Verrakai. All have come a long way, but now are targets of assassins whose employers covet both aristocratic positions.

One of the biggest threats to both kingdoms comes from newly self-proclaimed Duke Visla Vaskronin. However, Kieri also deals with imminent war with neighboring Pargun. He pleads with his elven grandmother the Lady to help him and their kingdom that she rules along with him, but she fails to assist him. He knows it is up to him to keep Lyonya safe. At the same time Mikeli feels he must act to destroy what is left of the evil Verrakaien magelords.

The second entry in the second Paks world series follows the key characters closely as the two monarchs and the dukes adapt to new duties not always successfully. There is plenty of off page major events, but those are seen passively through the eyes of the lead protagonists rather than in person by the reader. Thus, the pace is at best moderate speed, but fans of a cerebral character driven fantasy will enjoy the journey into the center of the minds of Kieri, Mikeli, Dorrin and somewhat less Visla.

Harriet Klausner