Seven Realms Series

For my first post I will be reviewing a series I have been reading rather than an individual book. Please bear with me as I get into the swing of blogging and work on developing my blog style!

Series: Seven Realms
Books: The Demon King, The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

I waited for over a month to check out the first book in this series, The Demon King, from the library, as I prefer to check out rather than buy when I try out a new author. It was worth the wait, and in fact I accrued some fines from the library on this book, as I did not start reading it till the day before it was due and it had other holds on it, but I was enjoying it so much that I could not return it until I finished. I immediately checked out the remaining books in the series, and spent several nights staying up later than I should to finish them. They are the kind of books that you just do not want to put down, as they move at such a great pace.

The story brings together several wildly different characters. First we have the Princess Raisa, the heir to the queendom of the Fells. Han Alister, called Cuffs due to the mysterious silver cuffs on his wrists, is a former leader of a street gang with ties to the clans of the Spirit Mountains. Micah Bayar is wizard in training from a powerful family with ambition. Amon Bryne is the son of the Captain of the Queen's Guard and a childhood friend of the princess, though a commoner. Hayden Fire Dancer is a mixed blood clan member who dreams of crafting amulets.There are many other interesting character with backgrounds that make for some complicated relationships with the series.

The series follows the characters as they deal with personal and political problems as they are thrust into adulthood and responsibility. In the queendom, the throne has passed from mother to daughter for over a thousand years. There is a precarious peace that has held in the queendom since a catastrophic event called the Breaking, in which the Seven Realms, ruled by the Gray Wolf Queens, fractured into individual realms due to an internal war between wizards. The clans, who are somewhat similar to Native American Tribes, control the making and selling of the amulets that wizards need to use magic. The wizards are no longer allowed in the Spirit Mountains where the clan holds power, but they are powerful in the Queen's Court. The queen is forbidden to marry a wizard to avoid a wizard king. The wizards of course are not happy about the restrictions placed upon them and hate the clan folk for it. In the city, crime is rife and the Queen's Guard, the policing force, abuses power and people. People are starving due to civil war in the neighboring country Arden, from which they import food. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor and prejudice from all groups in the kingdom against the others. The current queen, Marianna, seems weak and under the influence of the High Wizard, Bayar, though she is married to Lord Averill from the clans.

Princess Raisa has been sheltered from knowledge of politics and the reality of life in her country, though she lived with the clans for three years. As she is turning 16, she becomes eligible for marriage and all the problems of the country descend on her. She and the other characters will have to learn to deal with the problems they have inherited and figure out how to balance their personal desires and political necessities in order to survive. I won't go into more detail to avoid spoiling anything for you and that is how each post in this blog will be, but read on for my analysis of the book and comparisons to other books!

The Good and The Bad: This is a very well developed book. When reading a fantasy novel, what really shows an author's skill is the world itself. It should feel like it could be a real place, magic and other fantasy elements aside. Chima has created a world with it's own history, religion, geography, culture, and politics. Like any good fantasy book, these elements are not thrown in your face, but rather integrated naturally into the storytelling with no explanations needed. As you read, you learn more about how the different kingdoms interact with one another and the queendom. You learn what the beliefs of the various cultural groups are, and what they think of the other groups. You get a feel for what life is like in the Fells for clanfolk, the poor, wizards, nobles, and outsiders. The geography seems to follow real world principals - such as rivers beginning in the mountains, the weather following the geography, and the results of pollution on the environment. The story telling goes back and forth between the point of view of Han and Raisa, so you get a two different ways of looking at the events and characters. The characters are well developed and understandable to an average person. These books are quite well written, so the biggest negative I can name is that the story and characters are rather familiar. I know these characters already. There flaws are predictable. They are traditional characters that you often see in fantasy novels, as are the challenges that the characters face. The cultures are reminiscent of real world cultures like Native Americans, and the religion is seems similar to a Christian religion. This can be positive to make it more understandable to the reader, but I would rather read about an interesting religion or culture that is completely new to me. The story is also predictable and you can see where it is going. That might mean that Chima is talented at setting up her story and that it has a great flow, but it also means that she is not thinking out of the box as much as she could be. It also means that the reader will not have those moments of 'Wow I did not see that coming!' The first book has a bit of a slow start as you get to know the characters and the situation. The second and third books do not have this problem.

Overall Opinion: I really liked these books and look forward to reading more from this author. The people who will most enjoy this book are those looking for a traditional, well-written fantasy novel. Make sure not to start these books when you do not have time to read, because they flow so well that you will not want to stop.

Similar Books: These books remind me strongly of the style of Tamora Pierce, the young adult author. If you like her work, I believe you will like Seven Realms.