The Demon King is the first book in the Seven Realms series, and it is excellent. Author Cinda Williams Chima is quickly becoming my favorite writer of young adult fantasy. In The Demon King, there are two protagonists — one, a former street lord called Han Allister and the other, the princess heir of the Fells, Raisa ana’ Marianna. How unlikely is it that the destinies of two such different people should cross? And yet they do.
Han is trying to make ends meet and help support his mother and sister when he meets a young wizard in the country and appropriates his amulet, an amulet the boy should never have had. When he returns to the city, Han finds himself accused of multiple murders.
Raisa’s biggest concern is her upcoming name day and which of her many suitors she will eventually marry. But two of the boys she likes are unsuitable to marry the princess heir — Amon, a childhood friend, now a soldier in the Queen’s Guard, and Micah Bayar, the young wizard who has just lost and important family amulet. But when Raisa decides to leave the castle in cognito to try and help the poor, that is when her troubles really begin.
I have read The Demon King twice now and enjoyed it both times. If you’re into young adult fantasy at all, read this book. The characters are engaging and the plot is suspenseful. The next book in the series is The Exiled Queen, which I will report on in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, pick up and enjoy The Demon King.