Author: Colin Heintze
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication Date:26 September 2016
Pages: 203
Format: eBook - EPUB
Genre: Fantasy
Source: ARC via Author/Publisher
Ingerval is the Country of the Dead. Despised by the wider world, blighted by history, since the beginning of time it has honored one law: the Dead rule, and the Living submit. No one remembers why Ingerval nobles return as ghosts after their deaths. To enjoy a brief life of pleasure and plenty, followed by an eternity of reigning from beyond the grave, is the fate of all Ingerval lords. All but one.
As the youngest son of the King's third wife, Syphax never thought he would amount to anything. He is content to live out a contemplative life free from the scourges of power and politics that infatuate his peers. But, after answering a summons to the Palace – a sprawling, ever-expanding repository for Ingerval's ghosts – he finds himself at the heart of a dynastic struggle centuries in the making.
Funerals are happy occasions in Ingerval, and the King is planning for his to be the most decadent in the country's long memory. He does not know that, unlike every lord before him, he will not return to rule alongside his ancestors. He will die the true death, sparking a succession crisis that throws the noble families into chaos. Amidst the violence and intrigue, Syphax alone asks, "What really happened to the King?" The deeper Syphax digs, the more he realizes these events are connected to others dating back to the founding of his father's dynasty.
Let the games begin. (Goodreads Synopsis)
The author approached me to read this short novel, and since the premise intrigued me, I accepted. Overall I found it most enjoyable. The plot is interesting, as are the characters, and I remained keen to see what would happen from the first page to the last. The only slight letdown for me was the pacing. While I appreciated all the early world building, which was far from dull, the story proper didn't really kick off until the halfway point, when the pacing picked up drastically. This is a book for fantasy fans who enjoy Game of Thrones but want something a litter lighter.
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