Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-il Kim, translated by Anton Hur

This is a fun epic fantasy about three unlikely heroes who find themselves rebelling against an oppressive Empire. Although the three stories run separately throughout the book and only occasionally intersect, Sung-il Kim keeps the story moving and organized while bouncing between storylines. There is sorcery, necromancy, dragons, and some interesting tech, such as giant, magically powered war machines.

When I say these three are unlikely heroes, I mean they are all placed in circumstances far beyond their training and experience. There’s Loran, a swordswoman out for revenge who is no match for the skill of the elite soldiers she must face, and the only one who is intentionally rebelling against the Empire; Cain, a small-scale Godfather running an underground favors-for-favors business while masquerading as a poor laborer by day, and who seems to have a heart of gold; and then there’s Arienne, a low-level sorcerer trying to escape from the fate of becoming a human power source for the Empire after stumbling into an alliance with a powerful sorcerer, a getaway that lands her in the middle of an incredible conflict between powerful mages.

The separation of the characters accentuates how distinct they are, and Sung-il Kim does well at developing compelling individual motivations for each of them. We get to see the world through three different, well-developed perspectives, which gives a broader understanding of the whole world and the impact of the Empire’s rule.

Despite being underdogs, these three are blessed with a destiny to do great things, and fortune finds them over and over. If you like underdog stories, you’ll like this one. However, there were holes in the story that left me wanting to know more. How does Arienne do high-level sorcery with so little knowledge of the craft? What makes a moderately skilled sword instructor with no special training or soldierly experience the one picked to be king by the remaining dragon? Why is Cain inclined toward his righteous benevolence? These questions kept me interested in the story more so than their individual missions. It occurs to me that there may not be any answers because the story reflects a Korean perspective, which I don’t understand. I’m willing to keep with the story to find out, though.

The world that Sung-il Kim builds is fun and interesting; I love an oppressive Empire that inspires a good rebellion, but who is leading it? Who controls these human batteries that power the weapons and machines keeping the Empire in control? The three perspectives build a full world while leading to many more questions. Well, there are more books on the way, already written but waiting to be translated. I look forward to finding out more.

e-book: Blood of the Old Kings
paperback: Blood of the Old Kings