King’s Folly by Jill Williamson

Published: April 5th 2016 by: Bethany House

Series: The Kinsman Chronicles #1 

Genres: Adult Fiction, Christian Fiction, Epic Fantasy

Format: Paperback Source: Publisher

My Rating: 4 Stars 

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The gods are angry.

Volcanic eruptions, sinkholes, ground shakers–everything points to their unhappiness. At least that is what the king of Armania believes. His son, Prince Wilek, thinks his father’s superstitions are nonsense, though he remains the ever dutiful heir apparent to the throne.

When a messenger arrives and claims that the town of Farway has been swallowed by the earth, the king sends Wilek to investigate. But what Wilek discovers is more cataclysmic than one lost city. Even as the ground shifts beneath his feet, Wilek sets out on a desperate journey to save his people and his world. But can he do it before the entire land crumbles?

 

Review

*I received a copy of this book for free, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

King’s Folly is the omnibus edition of the first three books in The Kinsman Chronicles – Darkness Reigns (#1.1) | The Heir War (#1.2) | The End of All Things (#1.3) – which were all released as ebooks. I personally love this edition, as I don’t have to worry about stopping. I’m beginning to embrace all things Christian fantasy. I have only read one book in Williamson’s Safe Lands trilogy, but I absolutely loved it. I just have to read the others. As with that series, the author doesn’t hold back on the action in this one. This is more along the lines of epic fantasy, and I was able to really get into it by the second half. 

There are so many characters to know in this book! If you have read any book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, then you can pretty much guess how this one works. There are great ones and there are evil ones. The gods are not happy, and as the earth starts falling, people start dying. Dark magic is brewing, an evil King is sacrificing humans, his sons are trying to find their rightful place in a world that may not be left standing, mistresses, harems, unlikely friendships and romance galore! My only problems with this book is the slow middle and multiple POVs. It starts off pretty well paced, but I had to keep putting it down because it kind of drags, but quickly picks up again. 

The characters

-Prince Wilek is my absolute favorite of the heirs. I love his ambition, and the way he tries to understand what is going on around him. He is all about the protection of his people, even if his father is a wack job.

-Prince Trevn is second runner up in the favorites department. He’s dutiful, but he doesn’t exactly act like he’s an heir to the kingdom of Armania. He had me smiling at some of the things he said. 

-Prince Janek leaves a bad taste in your mouth. There’s always a black sheep of the family, and he fits the bill spectacularly. I didn’t think he’d stoop so low at the end. 

-I also love maiden Mielle and Kalenek. I love the friendship that Mielle and Zeroah had. There are a ton of other characters to know, but it I list them all I’d be typing all night. Charlon is a character that is truly interesting. She’s damaged, so it was really a struggle to keep up with her train of thought.

World building & possible romance

There are lots of descriptive passages about all the lands that are a part of this world. I love the medieval setting, and Williamson does a great job of painting visuals for the reader. This world is much like any other epic fantasy, with all the different kingdoms and how they operate. There are concubines and politics that I would rather not even know about, but it’s part of the story that makes it so great. 

I’m looking forward to more Trevn and Mielle in the next book, as I didn’t really get enough for me to say that they are officially an item. Trevn has grown up in a kingdom where there are no shortages of female company. It’s not frowned upon, but he doesn’t want to take that route and he makes it clear he has no desire to get hot and sweaty with more than one girl. Their ship is probably so great for me because he’s a prince and she’s a maiden. Yeah, you see where this is going. I’m not really feeling Wilek and Zeroah, but I’ll save my official opinion for the next book on who I think would be good for Wilek.

Overall, this is a great story, and I can’t wait to read more. This being CF, there is not much difference between this and biblical history; you just have to read between the lines. It doesn’t feel at all like CF, so I’d recommend this to lovers of fantasy. I really enjoyed this one guys!