From the journal
A Fun, Engaging, Unique Read!
The Four Kings
4.0 out of 5 stars
By GreatSummerReadsForTeens
Format:Kindle Edition
The Four Kings’ storyline is like nothing I’ve come across before—and after reading many books in the dystopia and paranormal genres I appreciate a book that is truly not derivative. The US, and indeed, the whole world, is in dire condition—poor economy, corrupt politicians, a world on the brink of war—kind of like what we have today! Four wizards appear and easily take over North America while their counterparts stage coups in other parts of the planet. They are young, overconfident and appear to have all the answers to all the social/political problems. But, do they?
Part of what makes this book so interesting is that the wizards are flawed, reminding me of Greek gods. They fight amongst themselves, have big egos, and some are damaged from poor upbringings. Sometimes they are indecisive and also, their political machinations don’t always have beneficial effects. Amanda, the liaison between them and the mortals, must find out their secrets, just in case they don’t depart from their self-appointed posts in three years as they promised.
The four stars instead of the full five is because the beginning of the book is heavy on the politics (not my genre) and heavy with the games (wizards love games). But, I was never able to read completely through one of Harry Potter’s quidditch games either, so another reader might disagree with me and give the full five.
After the politics and games, the story really picks up and becomes a page turner as each person’s back story emerges and Amanda must carefully interact with each wizard in a different way, without revealing her dealings with the other wizards. Several times during the book there are unexpected surprises and the ending was unpredictable as well.
The Four Kings’ storyline is like nothing I’ve come across before—and after reading many books in the dystopia and paranormal genres I appreciate a book that is truly not derivative. The US, and indeed, the whole world, is in dire condition—poor economy, corrupt politicians, a world on the brink of war—kind of like what we have today! Four wizards appear and easily take over North America while their counterparts stage coups in other parts of the planet. They are young, overconfident and appear to have all the answers to all the social/political problems. But, do they?
Part of what makes this book so interesting is that the wizards are flawed, reminding me of Greek gods. They fight amongst themselves, have big egos, and some are damaged from poor upbringings. Sometimes they are indecisive and also, their political machinations don’t always have beneficial effects. Amanda, the liaison between them and the mortals, must find out their secrets, just in case they don’t depart from their self-appointed posts in three years as they promised.
The four stars instead of the full five is because the beginning of the book is heavy on the politics (not my genre) and heavy with the games (wizards love games). But, I was never able to read completely through one of Harry Potter’s quidditch games either, so another reader might disagree with me and give the full five.
After the politics and games, the story really picks up and becomes a page turner as each person’s back story emerges and Amanda must carefully interact with each wizard in a different way, without revealing her dealings with the other wizards. Several times during the book there are unexpected surprises and the ending was unpredictable as well.