Kareila's Bookshelf

I thought this would be a good book to tide me over until my library hold came in for the sequel to Assassin's Apprentice. I put it aside the first time I tried to read it last year, and still struggled with it somewhat this time, due to the hopelessly confusing profusion of alien names and honorifics. It's hard to follow the threads of political intrigue when you can't even remember which character is being referred to half the time.

That gripe aside, this story does bear some similarity to Assassin's Apprentice in that the main character is an unwanted son of the royal house - legitimate in this case, but half elf and half goblin, born to an ill-favored fourth wife of the emperor of the Elflands. Exiled from his father's court and raised in isolation, he is suddenly recalled when his father and all his older half-brothers are killed in a suspicious accident. Thus the story becomes one of a young man forced into a role he does not want and has not been adequately prepared for. Although he has little control over his destiny, he is determined to be a kind and fair ruler, rejecting the cruelty that has been shown to him all his life. In that respect, it does provide some comfort, although there is a great deal of sadness as well.