Cory Daniells
Author of The King's Bastard
About the Author
Cory Daniells was born in 1958. She is based in Queensland, Australia. She also writes under two pseudonyms. Her titles under the name Cory Daniells include Broken Vows, Dark Dreams, Desperate Alliances, and The Mystery at Devon House. She also writes under the name Rowena Cory Daniells. Her books show more include the series Kin Rolen's Kin (The King's Bastard, The Uncrowned King, The Usurper, King Breaker) and the series The Outcast Chronicles (Besieged, Exile, Sanctuary) and the series The Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin (The King's Man). She also wrote the novel The Fall of the Fair Isle. Under the name Rowena Cory Lindquist her books and stories include Tales from Beyond, Boys Don't Dance, The Fine Line, The Intruder (After Dark series), Fantastic Worlds, The Taste of Power. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies including 'Dreaming DownUnder' which won World Best Fantasy and 'Dreaming Again'. Her short story, The Giant's Lady, won the 2015 Aurealis Awards Best Fantasy Short Story. She was also awarded the Peter McNamara Achievement Award, for her contributions to SF fandom. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Cory Daniells
Suffer the Little Children 3 copies
Prelude to a Nocturne 2 copies
Magda's Career Choice 2 copies
Purgatory 2 copies
Soulshaper 2 copies
The Taste of Power 1 copy
The Scape-grace 1 copy
Capped 1 copy
Lady Bountiful's Lies 1 copy
Associated Works
Dreaming Again: Thirty-five New Stories Celebrating the Wild Side of Australian Fiction (2008) — Contributor — 101 copies, 6 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Daniells, Cory
- Legal name
- Daniells, Rowena Cory
- Birthdate
- 20th century
- Gender
- female
- Agent
- John Jarrold
- Nationality
- Australia
- Places of residence
- Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Associated Place (for map)
- Queensland, Australia
Members
Reviews
Besieged by Rowena Cory Daniells is the first book in the Outcast Chronicles, which is being published around now (Solaris likes to release trilogies over three months). It’s set in the same universe as her Last T’en trilogy (which is out of print and difficult to find) but in that world’s distant past. You definitely don’t need to have read The Last T’en first (I certainly haven’t, what with being unable to get a hold of it). A copy of Besieged was given to me by the author for show more review.
I absolutely loved Daniells’s previous (and completely unrelated) trilogy, King Rolen’s Kin. The Outcast Chronicles (judging by the first book, anyway) is quite different in the way the story is told. Where KRK followed a few characters closely over a relatively short period of time, Besieged has a much larger cast of point of view characters and spans a much longer period of time — about 25 years. I felt it was as much the story of kingdoms/their equivalents and ideas as it was the story of the individual characters. They all play important parts, but the real story is in the overall tapestry, not each thread.
Of course, spanning 25 years means there need to be some time jumps and I was fascinated by the way Daniells managed them. Among other things (such as just jumping forward a handful of years when nothing happened), all the literal journeys are skipped. Given how much the travelling from A to B journey is a staple of fantasy, it was interesting to see them skipped. Of course, there was no reason not to skip them (the interesting things all happened after people got wherever they were going), but I found it unusual enough to warrant a mention.
The societies in this world were fascinating. There are the T’en who have magic powers and who live in a very structured society. Female T’en have stronger magic than males do and so their society is mostly controlled by women and men and women live segregated lives. Men are forced to give up their pure blood children (which might result from a couple consisting of a half T’en half human and a full T’en) to the women, who raise them and then return the boy-children when they come of age. Many of the men fear and resent the women for the power the wield over their lives.
Half-breeds, if they’re lucky, live with full-blooded T’en. They have no magic of their own but can sense it. They also look different (like T’en they have six fingers or toes on each limb) and copper-coloured hair. They are accepted as sort of servants in T’en society.
Then there are the ordinary humans who are old fashioned in their attitudes towards women and fear anything to do with magic. Occasionally a genetic throwback causes a half-breed to be born to two human parents and then the child is lucky if it’s given to the T’en and the mother is lucky if she isn’t killed.
The different power dynamics, especially the gendered ones, are in stark contrast between humans and T’en. But at the same time, there’s not that much difference in how the male T’en view women to the humans, they just can’t express it properly. Honestly, it’s an interesting read for the gender politics alone, but there is much more to the story than just that.
Like the characters! Although there was a large cast, I didn’t have any trouble keeping them straight in my mind. Even the few longish “fantasy” names used were distinct enough to avoid confusing. Each character was well drawn and realistic. Because there were time jumps, we got to see very clearly how the characters changed over several years, which added to their depth. In real life people do change, sometimes unpredictably, sometimes only to become more who they were always going to be.
My favourite at the very start was Vittoryxe but that quickly changed as her intended path unfolded. Not that I now hate her as a character, but she’s not a very nice person. Very few of the characters are particularly “nice” people, really, thanks to the societies they’re born into.
My favourite character was Sorn. Born the king’s unacknowledged half-breed son, he is taken away by the former high priest, Oskane, to be raised by the church in the hopes of one day using him as a spy against the T’en. I liked Sorn because he does what he needs to to survive even as his perception of what surviving means, and what price is too high, changes as he matures. I’d say he’s the character that grows the most from teenager to man (although he book starts with his birth) by the end of book and I really enjoyed his journey and his ability to make the best of things.
I also enjoyed Oskane’s character, partly because we have his as a viewpoint character and as seen through Sorn’s eyes. What I found particularly amusing is there’s one scene where Oskane and someone else are talking about how half-breeds always end up turning on their human masters, no matter now well they are treated, and siding with the T’en. They’re completely oblivious to the fact that not killing or maiming them is a) different to treating them well and b) doesn’t make up for the rest of society hating them. So there’s a bit of racial commentary thrown into Besieged also.
And then there’s Imoshen, who is a T’en born to a male brotherhood and kept secret from the sisterhood she was supposed to be surrendered to. The brotherhood’s plans were to use her to gain power. Unsurprisingly (because nothing is easy) it backfires. Imoshen is practically impossible to dislike as a character. There was many a moment when I thought she was going to do something silly, but every time she manages to make the sensible choice based on what she knows. It seems like she’ll be quite prominent in the next book, Exile, and I definitely look forward to reading more about her, especially since she only came into her own in the second half of Besieged.
I said before I started reading that I suspected this would be a book that would leave me pining for the sequel and I was right. While it doesn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger, it definitely leaves much to be resolved.
I highly recommend this book to lovers of high/epic fantasy. If you like vast scales, lots of characters and intrigue, pick up Besieged.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog, Tsana's Reads. show less
I absolutely loved Daniells’s previous (and completely unrelated) trilogy, King Rolen’s Kin. The Outcast Chronicles (judging by the first book, anyway) is quite different in the way the story is told. Where KRK followed a few characters closely over a relatively short period of time, Besieged has a much larger cast of point of view characters and spans a much longer period of time — about 25 years. I felt it was as much the story of kingdoms/their equivalents and ideas as it was the story of the individual characters. They all play important parts, but the real story is in the overall tapestry, not each thread.
Of course, spanning 25 years means there need to be some time jumps and I was fascinated by the way Daniells managed them. Among other things (such as just jumping forward a handful of years when nothing happened), all the literal journeys are skipped. Given how much the travelling from A to B journey is a staple of fantasy, it was interesting to see them skipped. Of course, there was no reason not to skip them (the interesting things all happened after people got wherever they were going), but I found it unusual enough to warrant a mention.
The societies in this world were fascinating. There are the T’en who have magic powers and who live in a very structured society. Female T’en have stronger magic than males do and so their society is mostly controlled by women and men and women live segregated lives. Men are forced to give up their pure blood children (which might result from a couple consisting of a half T’en half human and a full T’en) to the women, who raise them and then return the boy-children when they come of age. Many of the men fear and resent the women for the power the wield over their lives.
Half-breeds, if they’re lucky, live with full-blooded T’en. They have no magic of their own but can sense it. They also look different (like T’en they have six fingers or toes on each limb) and copper-coloured hair. They are accepted as sort of servants in T’en society.
Then there are the ordinary humans who are old fashioned in their attitudes towards women and fear anything to do with magic. Occasionally a genetic throwback causes a half-breed to be born to two human parents and then the child is lucky if it’s given to the T’en and the mother is lucky if she isn’t killed.
The different power dynamics, especially the gendered ones, are in stark contrast between humans and T’en. But at the same time, there’s not that much difference in how the male T’en view women to the humans, they just can’t express it properly. Honestly, it’s an interesting read for the gender politics alone, but there is much more to the story than just that.
Like the characters! Although there was a large cast, I didn’t have any trouble keeping them straight in my mind. Even the few longish “fantasy” names used were distinct enough to avoid confusing. Each character was well drawn and realistic. Because there were time jumps, we got to see very clearly how the characters changed over several years, which added to their depth. In real life people do change, sometimes unpredictably, sometimes only to become more who they were always going to be.
My favourite at the very start was Vittoryxe but that quickly changed as her intended path unfolded. Not that I now hate her as a character, but she’s not a very nice person. Very few of the characters are particularly “nice” people, really, thanks to the societies they’re born into.
My favourite character was Sorn. Born the king’s unacknowledged half-breed son, he is taken away by the former high priest, Oskane, to be raised by the church in the hopes of one day using him as a spy against the T’en. I liked Sorn because he does what he needs to to survive even as his perception of what surviving means, and what price is too high, changes as he matures. I’d say he’s the character that grows the most from teenager to man (although he book starts with his birth) by the end of book and I really enjoyed his journey and his ability to make the best of things.
I also enjoyed Oskane’s character, partly because we have his as a viewpoint character and as seen through Sorn’s eyes. What I found particularly amusing is there’s one scene where Oskane and someone else are talking about how half-breeds always end up turning on their human masters, no matter now well they are treated, and siding with the T’en. They’re completely oblivious to the fact that not killing or maiming them is a) different to treating them well and b) doesn’t make up for the rest of society hating them. So there’s a bit of racial commentary thrown into Besieged also.
And then there’s Imoshen, who is a T’en born to a male brotherhood and kept secret from the sisterhood she was supposed to be surrendered to. The brotherhood’s plans were to use her to gain power. Unsurprisingly (because nothing is easy) it backfires. Imoshen is practically impossible to dislike as a character. There was many a moment when I thought she was going to do something silly, but every time she manages to make the sensible choice based on what she knows. It seems like she’ll be quite prominent in the next book, Exile, and I definitely look forward to reading more about her, especially since she only came into her own in the second half of Besieged.
I said before I started reading that I suspected this would be a book that would leave me pining for the sequel and I was right. While it doesn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger, it definitely leaves much to be resolved.
I highly recommend this book to lovers of high/epic fantasy. If you like vast scales, lots of characters and intrigue, pick up Besieged.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog, Tsana's Reads. show less
1- The King's Bastard {First of 5: King Rolen's Kin series. Fantasy} (2010)
King Rolen has held the throne of Rolencia (as with many historic dynasties they’re not very imaginative with names) through thirty years of hard-won peace, having inherited it after the Affinity-caused deaths of his father and brother. 'Affinity' is a power which seeps up from the ground or can build up within some people who have Affinity (read magic). Since the king lost his father and older brother to rogue show more power workers in battle he has decreed that all persons showing power should go to the abbeys or be banished from the kingdom. 'Untamed' Affinity is considered dangerous as are those god-touched species of beasts that are attracted to Affinity.
Rolen has four children; twenty year old twins, Lence Kingsheir and Byren Kingson, seventeen year old Fyn Kingson, who has been sent to the monastery as he has some Affinity, and thirteen year old Piro, the only girl. A seer, a renegade Power worker, appears to them in turn, foretelling doom ... but in the face of their disbelief, doesn't complete her prophesies. As each struggles with their own internal conflict, the political machinations of a kingdom makes itself felt on each of their lives. Into this mix comes their cousin Illien, son of the king's bastard half-brother, also known as Cobalt for the holding he has inherited from his recently deceased father (for whom the book seems to be titled although he never makes an appearance).
The story is told in third person from the points of view of the three of Rolen's children who receive prophecies. Lence, the kingsheir, does not get a prophecy nor do we see his perspective.
I first read this in 2013 but didn’t get to finish the series so I’ve been looking out for it on Overdrive since. It feels like a first book; sentences are a bit staccato so the story doesn’t pull you in as much as it could for instance. A lot of events are brought about by lack of communication through missed opportunities or ‘this person isn’t allowed to know because they’re not in the war circle’ which is frustrating to the reader on the sidelines. Although they finally to get spoken, it may be too late.
I found this book a little uneven. While the set-up was interesting, and the action at the end was gripping, there could have been fewer events trying to catch our attention in the middle. It could have used a little more polish in a few places, and more attention to detail. I also found it unlikely that someone they barely knew could make the family members - especially the twins - distrust each other so completely. The ending was a bit rushed and confusing; people died, disappeared or switched allegiance at the last minute. And I’m on the fence as to whether family loyalties can be divided so easily or so fast. She makes a plausible case for the sequence of events - but ...
I did enjoy it; though it is almost 650 pages, it was quite easy to read. I'd be interested in finding out what happens next.
(Amalgamating both reviews)
3.5****
2- The Uncrowned King {Second of 5: King Rolen's Kin series; YA, fantasy} (2010)
I started this series many years ago when we were living in Australia but didn't have a chance to finish it. I've finally managed to find it on Overdrive and am now re-reading/ continuing with it.
The hard-won thirty year peace King Rolen earned for Rolencia seems set to be broken, all of his children are now scattered across Rolencia and are aware that there are momentous events afoot although none of them have the full picture. Byren kingson and his twin Lence kingsheir have come up against the fore-runners of an invading force but have been separated in fighting with Lence left behind to defend against unbeatable odds. Although mourning him, Byren is relieved that the prophecy foretelling that he would kill his brother cannot come to pass. He now needs to get back to his father at Rolenton to warn of the invasion although he feels he will have to prove that he didn't abandon his brother in order to gain the throne, which he has never wanted.
Fyn has spent the last ten years training at Halcyon's abbey to become a warrior monk, sent there at the age of six because he has Affinity since his father's laws have decreed that anyone possessing Affinity must be under control of one of the abbeys or be outcast as a renegade power worker. But the monastery, which the kingdom will depend on for part of their defence, is invaded so he escapes and tries to get back to Rolenton to warn his father.
Piro, the only daughter, is at the castle but has to hide her Affinity so she isn't sent to Sylion's abbey. She has had visions of the castle being invaded and suspects treachery but no-one believes her warnings.
The story is told from the perspective of all three children (who are about 18, 16 and 14 respectively) and all of them, in different parts of the country, come up against the invaders and try to get help to their father in different ways, not knowing what has happened to the rest of their family. Affinity (magic, which can be found in 'seeps' on the ground, and which can be used by Affinity workers and Affinity-beasts) and power-workers come into play, in spite of King Rolen's ban. Fyn tries to use his acknowledged Affinity, and Piro struggles with her hidden Affinity, but both are untrained in its use. The invaders, however, have no such restrictions and, in fact, use it to try and find the locations of King Rolen's disappeared kin.
The e-book I'm reading is a bit confusing because (possibly to convey that events are concurrent?) we keep jumping between them within the same chapter but the layout doesn't always show the paragraph break so that one sentence you're reading about one of them and then suddenly you're with one of the others in a different situation in a different part of the country. I'm finding the characters a bit naïve, trusting suspicious people for no reason or running around in 'disguise', although everyone knows them, rather than escaping. I'm also a bit disappointed that Fyn, who has been training as a warrior mystic for the past ten years, doesn't seem to be a very able warrior (though I do understand him freezing when facing his first actual attack) or even mystic.
Again, this was an easy book to read, and I am starting to care about the characters (though there have been a couple of moments when I've thought 'I wouldn't do that, if I were you'). I think this is a stronger book than the first one, though it could still use some polishing in one or two places. I did find it a little distracting, occasionally, jumping between characters; but it did serve to keep us informed as to what was happening in different parts of the country, and tied the story together. I did think it was interesting that instead of playing up the 'twin bond' as just about everyone else does when they have twin characters, the author goes against the trope with Byren constantly trying to counter his brother's jealousy of his easy-going popularity.
(Amalgamating both reviews)
3***/ Three and a half stars
NB: while the first three books would work as children's books, I'm going to push the age rating up a notch for the last two.
3- The Usurper
King Rolen's children are scattered far and wide over Rolencia and are uncertain as to the fate of the rest of their family at the beginning of this book but each of them is determined to win back the crown for their family and avenge those that have perished. Byren tries to gather support from the spar warlords, thirteen year old Piro is in the hands of Power-workers but is looking for a way to turn that to her advantage and fifteen year old Fyn is in the hands of sea-dogs who harry the Merofynian ships carrying Rolencian loot and accepts his fate for now; the enemy of my enemy...
This is the third book in the series and I felt the action moved a lot faster; this time we moved beyond Rolencia and eventually covered the whole of the civilised world, going as far as the Osteron Isles (which seem to be formed from an extinct volcano). We are gradually seeing more of Affinity, different types of affinity beasts and different cults of Power-workers as the series goes on (although still not much about how it works, but at this point it is pretty established as part of this world) and in this book our three protagonists encounter different points of view; maybe the enemy we thought they faced isn't the real enemy. They are still very trusting, although that might be excused by their youth, and the writing could be stronger but I am enjoying this story. I'm looking forward to the next book - good thing I've borrowed the 'box set' on Overdrive - even though a lot of the side stories have been resolved by the end of this book. I like the newly introduced characters, though I have my suspicions about that mage's name.
3.5-4****
3.5- The King's Man
3.5 of 4 {[King Rolen's Kin] box set}
Continuing on with the 'box set' e-book that I've borrowed from the library. This one was short at only 14 chapters and followed the fate of one of the secondary characters thought killed in the fighting towards the end of the first book. This book picks up from that point as he is captured by enemies and shipped out as a seven-year slave. The blow to the head that knocked him out has also taken away the memory of his name although he remembers everything else.
Daniells' characters in this one are more vulgar in language and behaviour than in the previous books. I'm not sure if it was to emphasise the difference between the Rolencians and their various enemies or to make the books grittier. It didn't work for me because it's out of character compared to the previous books for readers following the series (in other words, a bit late at four books in to try to appeal to different readers) and we've seen enemies in this series before who didn't behave this way. There are also instances ofchild rape and although these are treated as matter of fact and not dwelled on and the main character is a member of Byren's honour guard, he is just fourteen years old. Docking half a star for gratuitous violence.
There were many instances in the writing where details were missing or inserted with no outcome; for example, the protagonist pretends not to understand the enemy's language (and this time manages to hold the deception right to the end, when he slips up) but doesn't learn anything useful in that time. I think I felt more for the protagonist in the previous books when he was thought to be dead.
I didn't like this as much as the previous books in the series.
2.5-3***
4- King Breaker
This was the last book in the [[[King Rolen's Kin]]] series and, to be honest, it was a bit of a slog getting to the end.
The main characters in the initial two books had a naïveté that had me curious as to what happened to them but the last two books spoiled that appeal.
Having secured Merofynia, Byren turns his attention to reclaiming his father's throne in Rolencia leaving his brother as lord protector. But suddenly Fyn has his hands full as spar warlords attack from the mountains and the Merofynian lords would rather play politics than save their neighbours' estates. Piro finds herself involved in state affairs in both countries as well as in the Ostron isles and her Affinity grows stronger.
So many times, things looked like they were heading towards resolution only to be diverted at the last minute. However, as in the previous books in the series, I felt that a lot of detail was missing and new ideas were crammed in (like freed mine slaves who used to be farmers defeating hardened warriors in a land that isn‘t even theirs, there‘s a suddenly a whole new country slap bang in the middle of Merofynia and Rolencia that no one noticed before and now there are more and more types of Affinity beasts that were supposed to be rare and dangerous) so the quality of writing is equivalent to what is acceptable in juvenile fiction these days (although why young readers should get stuck with lower standards, I haven't yet worked out).
In this book, as in [The King's Man], Corey Daniells seems to have tried to spice things up by introducing crudeness and sexual assault; both books seem to have been written a while after the first three books. Unfortunately, since the quality of writing hasn't changed, rather than making the books edgier, it rather backfired (making me less forgiving of the faults in the writing) and made them drag for me. Towards the end, I couldn't tell some of the minor characters apart but I couldn't be bothered to go back and work them out. I still liked the story enough to want to find out how it ended (having read through the better part of five fairly thick books) but I was getting very impatient with all the diversions. Finish it, already. I did like the last couple of sentences at the end but there were still several story lines left open. It looks like Piro has a romantic interest waiting for her who is almost a decade older but since all the characters acted the same age, the age difference didn't even register with me; in fact until it was pointed out, I thought that it was much less.
2.5***
Series summary:
The titles don't seem to refer to the characters in the books
The prophecies in the first book are misleading. Both indicate that Corey Daniells had something different in mind initially. I can't seem to pin down the exact ages of the main protagonists but this book definitely states that Piro is not yet 14 while Fyn is 17.
Averaging out: 3-3.2*** show less
King Rolen has held the throne of Rolencia (as with many historic dynasties they’re not very imaginative with names) through thirty years of hard-won peace, having inherited it after the Affinity-caused deaths of his father and brother. 'Affinity' is a power which seeps up from the ground or can build up within some people who have Affinity (read magic). Since the king lost his father and older brother to rogue show more power workers in battle he has decreed that all persons showing power should go to the abbeys or be banished from the kingdom. 'Untamed' Affinity is considered dangerous as are those god-touched species of beasts that are attracted to Affinity.
Rolen has four children; twenty year old twins, Lence Kingsheir and Byren Kingson, seventeen year old Fyn Kingson, who has been sent to the monastery as he has some Affinity, and thirteen year old Piro, the only girl. A seer, a renegade Power worker, appears to them in turn, foretelling doom ... but in the face of their disbelief, doesn't complete her prophesies. As each struggles with their own internal conflict, the political machinations of a kingdom makes itself felt on each of their lives. Into this mix comes their cousin Illien, son of the king's bastard half-brother, also known as Cobalt for the holding he has inherited from his recently deceased father (for whom the book seems to be titled although he never makes an appearance).
The story is told in third person from the points of view of the three of Rolen's children who receive prophecies. Lence, the kingsheir, does not get a prophecy nor do we see his perspective.
Byren‘s prophecy: Seven minutes younger than kingsheir, yet destined to be king. Blood, I see, your twin's blood on your hands -
Silence, and listen. Boy you are, and boy you'll be until you learn to lead your people along the right path. But what is right? Right by might? Right by law? Right by tradition? Or is right a matter of perception?
You have a long way to go before you're ready to rule Rolencia.
Fyn‘s prophecy: Unwanted youngest son, god-touched, nameless boy. I see you fleeing for your life. I see a day when the Goddess Halcyon's name is said only in whispers -
Queen Myrella‘s prophecy: Queen Myrella, true heir to Merofynia, heed my words! You live a lie, Queen Myrella, queen of lies! Your lies will be the downfall of Rolencia and the death of those you love. You think you're safe but one rotten apple turns the rest!
Piro‘s prophecy: Like mother, like daughter! Do not make the same mistake - Piro Myrella Queensdaughter, don't deny your -
I first read this in 2013 but didn’t get to finish the series so I’ve been looking out for it on Overdrive since. It feels like a first book; sentences are a bit staccato so the story doesn’t pull you in as much as it could for instance. A lot of events are brought about by lack of communication through missed opportunities or ‘this person isn’t allowed to know because they’re not in the war circle’ which is frustrating to the reader on the sidelines. Although they finally to get spoken, it may be too late.
I found this book a little uneven. While the set-up was interesting, and the action at the end was gripping, there could have been fewer events trying to catch our attention in the middle. It could have used a little more polish in a few places, and more attention to detail. I also found it unlikely that someone they barely knew could make the family members - especially the twins - distrust each other so completely. The ending was a bit rushed and confusing; people died, disappeared or switched allegiance at the last minute. And I’m on the fence as to whether family loyalties can be divided so easily or so fast. She makes a plausible case for the sequence of events - but ...
I did enjoy it; though it is almost 650 pages, it was quite easy to read. I'd be interested in finding out what happens next.
(Amalgamating both reviews)
3.5****
2- The Uncrowned King {Second of 5: King Rolen's Kin series; YA, fantasy} (2010)
I started this series many years ago when we were living in Australia but didn't have a chance to finish it. I've finally managed to find it on Overdrive and am now re-reading/ continuing with it.
The hard-won thirty year peace King Rolen earned for Rolencia seems set to be broken, all of his children are now scattered across Rolencia and are aware that there are momentous events afoot although none of them have the full picture. Byren kingson and his twin Lence kingsheir have come up against the fore-runners of an invading force but have been separated in fighting with Lence left behind to defend against unbeatable odds. Although mourning him, Byren is relieved that the prophecy foretelling that he would kill his brother cannot come to pass. He now needs to get back to his father at Rolenton to warn of the invasion although he feels he will have to prove that he didn't abandon his brother in order to gain the throne, which he has never wanted.
Fyn has spent the last ten years training at Halcyon's abbey to become a warrior monk, sent there at the age of six because he has Affinity since his father's laws have decreed that anyone possessing Affinity must be under control of one of the abbeys or be outcast as a renegade power worker. But the monastery, which the kingdom will depend on for part of their defence, is invaded so he escapes and tries to get back to Rolenton to warn his father.
Piro, the only daughter, is at the castle but has to hide her Affinity so she isn't sent to Sylion's abbey. She has had visions of the castle being invaded and suspects treachery but no-one believes her warnings.
The story is told from the perspective of all three children (who are about 18, 16 and 14 respectively) and all of them, in different parts of the country, come up against the invaders and try to get help to their father in different ways, not knowing what has happened to the rest of their family. Affinity (magic, which can be found in 'seeps' on the ground, and which can be used by Affinity workers and Affinity-beasts) and power-workers come into play, in spite of King Rolen's ban. Fyn tries to use his acknowledged Affinity, and Piro struggles with her hidden Affinity, but both are untrained in its use. The invaders, however, have no such restrictions and, in fact, use it to try and find the locations of King Rolen's disappeared kin.
The e-book I'm reading is a bit confusing because (possibly to convey that events are concurrent?) we keep jumping between them within the same chapter but the layout doesn't always show the paragraph break so that one sentence you're reading about one of them and then suddenly you're with one of the others in a different situation in a different part of the country. I'm finding the characters a bit naïve, trusting suspicious people for no reason or running around in 'disguise', although everyone knows them, rather than escaping. I'm also a bit disappointed that Fyn, who has been training as a warrior mystic for the past ten years, doesn't seem to be a very able warrior (though I do understand him freezing when facing his first actual attack) or even mystic.
Again, this was an easy book to read, and I am starting to care about the characters (though there have been a couple of moments when I've thought 'I wouldn't do that, if I were you'). I think this is a stronger book than the first one, though it could still use some polishing in one or two places. I did find it a little distracting, occasionally, jumping between characters; but it did serve to keep us informed as to what was happening in different parts of the country, and tied the story together. I did think it was interesting that instead of playing up the 'twin bond' as just about everyone else does when they have twin characters, the author goes against the trope with Byren constantly trying to counter his brother's jealousy of his easy-going popularity.
(Amalgamating both reviews)
3***/ Three and a half stars
NB: while the first three books would work as children's books, I'm going to push the age rating up a notch for the last two.
3- The Usurper
King Rolen's children are scattered far and wide over Rolencia and are uncertain as to the fate of the rest of their family at the beginning of this book but each of them is determined to win back the crown for their family and avenge those that have perished. Byren tries to gather support from the spar warlords, thirteen year old Piro is in the hands of Power-workers but is looking for a way to turn that to her advantage and fifteen year old Fyn is in the hands of sea-dogs who harry the Merofynian ships carrying Rolencian loot and accepts his fate for now; the enemy of my enemy...
This is the third book in the series and I felt the action moved a lot faster; this time we moved beyond Rolencia and eventually covered the whole of the civilised world, going as far as the Osteron Isles (which seem to be formed from an extinct volcano). We are gradually seeing more of Affinity, different types of affinity beasts and different cults of Power-workers as the series goes on (although still not much about how it works, but at this point it is pretty established as part of this world) and in this book our three protagonists encounter different points of view; maybe the enemy we thought they faced isn't the real enemy. They are still very trusting, although that might be excused by their youth, and the writing could be stronger but I am enjoying this story. I'm looking forward to the next book - good thing I've borrowed the 'box set' on Overdrive - even though a lot of the side stories have been resolved by the end of this book. I like the newly introduced characters, though I have my suspicions about that mage's name.
3.5-4****
3.5- The King's Man
3.5 of 4 {[King Rolen's Kin] box set}
Continuing on with the 'box set' e-book that I've borrowed from the library. This one was short at only 14 chapters and followed the fate of one of the secondary characters thought killed in the fighting towards the end of the first book. This book picks up from that point as he is captured by enemies and shipped out as a seven-year slave. The blow to the head that knocked him out has also taken away the memory of his name although he remembers everything else.
Daniells' characters in this one are more vulgar in language and behaviour than in the previous books. I'm not sure if it was to emphasise the difference between the Rolencians and their various enemies or to make the books grittier. It didn't work for me because it's out of character compared to the previous books for readers following the series (in other words, a bit late at four books in to try to appeal to different readers) and we've seen enemies in this series before who didn't behave this way. There are also instances of
There were many instances in the writing where details were missing or inserted with no outcome; for example, the protagonist pretends not to understand the enemy's language (and this time manages to hold the deception right to the end, when he slips up) but doesn't learn anything useful in that time. I think I felt more for the protagonist in the previous books when he was thought to be dead.
I didn't like this as much as the previous books in the series.
2.5-3***
4- King Breaker
This was the last book in the [[[King Rolen's Kin]]] series and, to be honest, it was a bit of a slog getting to the end.
The main characters in the initial two books had a naïveté that had me curious as to what happened to them but the last two books spoiled that appeal.
Having secured Merofynia, Byren turns his attention to reclaiming his father's throne in Rolencia leaving his brother as lord protector. But suddenly Fyn has his hands full as spar warlords attack from the mountains and the Merofynian lords would rather play politics than save their neighbours' estates. Piro finds herself involved in state affairs in both countries as well as in the Ostron isles and her Affinity grows stronger.
So many times, things looked like they were heading towards resolution only to be diverted at the last minute. However, as in the previous books in the series, I felt that a lot of detail was missing and new ideas were crammed in (like freed mine slaves who used to be farmers defeating hardened warriors in a land that isn‘t even theirs, there‘s a suddenly a whole new country slap bang in the middle of Merofynia and Rolencia that no one noticed before and now there are more and more types of Affinity beasts that were supposed to be rare and dangerous) so the quality of writing is equivalent to what is acceptable in juvenile fiction these days (although why young readers should get stuck with lower standards, I haven't yet worked out).
In this book, as in [The King's Man], Corey Daniells seems to have tried to spice things up by introducing crudeness and sexual assault; both books seem to have been written a while after the first three books. Unfortunately, since the quality of writing hasn't changed, rather than making the books edgier, it rather backfired (making me less forgiving of the faults in the writing) and made them drag for me. Towards the end, I couldn't tell some of the minor characters apart but I couldn't be bothered to go back and work them out. I still liked the story enough to want to find out how it ended (having read through the better part of five fairly thick books) but I was getting very impatient with all the diversions. Finish it, already. I did like the last couple of sentences at the end but there were still several story lines left open. It looks like Piro has a romantic interest waiting for her who is almost a decade older but since all the characters acted the same age, the age difference didn't even register with me; in fact until it was pointed out, I thought that it was much less.
2.5***
Series summary:
The titles don't seem to refer to the characters in the books
The prophecies in the first book are misleading. Both indicate that Corey Daniells had something different in mind initially. I can't seem to pin down the exact ages of the main protagonists but this book definitely states that Piro is not yet 14 while Fyn is 17.
Averaging out: 3-3.2*** show less
I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. It promised a rich world, magic, strong women, political intrigue - all the things I love in a good fantasy novel. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by all these aspects and ultimately, pretty bored.
My biggest issue was that I had no one to root for. I didn’t really like a single character. I don’t actually require likable characters (I’ve loved plenty of books with strong antiheroes, and books like Gone Girl, with no likable show more protagonists at all) but I just didn’t give a damn about any of the characters in BESIEGED.
I think a big part of the problem is that the first hundred or so pages would have been better summed up as backstory. Very little actually happens, and what does only serves to set up what comes later; it never quite feels like part of the book’s plot. Then we meander through three decades of political machinations, backstabbing, and scheming only to end up at a cliffhanger ending. Sure, I get that this book is clearly the first in a series, and meant to sell more books, but I invested a lot of time and energy into this particular book for it to go absolutely nowhere. So, yeah... I will not be continuing with this series. show less
My biggest issue was that I had no one to root for. I didn’t really like a single character. I don’t actually require likable characters (I’ve loved plenty of books with strong antiheroes, and books like Gone Girl, with no likable show more protagonists at all) but I just didn’t give a damn about any of the characters in BESIEGED.
I think a big part of the problem is that the first hundred or so pages would have been better summed up as backstory. Very little actually happens, and what does only serves to set up what comes later; it never quite feels like part of the book’s plot. Then we meander through three decades of political machinations, backstabbing, and scheming only to end up at a cliffhanger ending. Sure, I get that this book is clearly the first in a series, and meant to sell more books, but I invested a lot of time and energy into this particular book for it to go absolutely nowhere. So, yeah... I will not be continuing with this series. show less
THE PRICE OF FAME is firstly RC Daniells' first crime fiction book (she writes fantasy under her fullname Rowena Cory Daniells), albeit with a hefty paranormal subtext. It's also, by way of disclaimer, a book that Clan Destine Press publishes, although I had absolutely nothing to do with either the editorial or business decisions behind the book. Thirdly, it wasn't a book that I was particularly clamouring to read, what with being mildly allergic to anything paranormal.
To be fair though, THE show more PRICE OF FAME, doesn't start out really pushing the paranormal aspects. Sure there are increasingly odd goings on, and not just moving shaving kits, a cat that appears out of nowhere, water droplets that won't go away, strange feelings and odd dreams. There's also a lot of reality going on as well - Antonia is battling against the remaining band members and a lot of vested interests. She's also battling a creepy ex-husband, and a very present day attraction to old friend, and "Director of Photography", Monty. In all, Antonia is a very real person, with a very approachable voice.
There are a couple of clever aspects to the way that the plot unfolds. The current day story is told mostly from Antonia's point of view, whilst the historical story, from the time when the band was rising and Genevieve's death, is told via snippets of a book being written by a witness, and friend of the main suspect. It's a rather clever technique as not only does it break up the viewpoint, it also means that Antonia and Monty are finding out what went on, at the same time as the reader.
The way that St Kilda worked in the 80's, the trials of a band trying to find its way to popularity and fame, the very nature of punk rock, all come across as very realistic and very believable. The paranormal aspects, for a large part of the story are subdued and almost believable, although I will admit that whilst I got the pathos of the ending, I could have lived without the pyrotechnics. To my mind, fans of stock standard, straight crime fiction would be able to stay with this story, because the basic premise is strong and really well done. In fact I finished THE PRICE OF FAME hoping that Daniells would have a go at a straight crime fiction book. The story here certainly feels like she would do a very good job indeed.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/price-fame-rc-daniells show less
To be fair though, THE show more PRICE OF FAME, doesn't start out really pushing the paranormal aspects. Sure there are increasingly odd goings on, and not just moving shaving kits, a cat that appears out of nowhere, water droplets that won't go away, strange feelings and odd dreams. There's also a lot of reality going on as well - Antonia is battling against the remaining band members and a lot of vested interests. She's also battling a creepy ex-husband, and a very present day attraction to old friend, and "Director of Photography", Monty. In all, Antonia is a very real person, with a very approachable voice.
There are a couple of clever aspects to the way that the plot unfolds. The current day story is told mostly from Antonia's point of view, whilst the historical story, from the time when the band was rising and Genevieve's death, is told via snippets of a book being written by a witness, and friend of the main suspect. It's a rather clever technique as not only does it break up the viewpoint, it also means that Antonia and Monty are finding out what went on, at the same time as the reader.
The way that St Kilda worked in the 80's, the trials of a band trying to find its way to popularity and fame, the very nature of punk rock, all come across as very realistic and very believable. The paranormal aspects, for a large part of the story are subdued and almost believable, although I will admit that whilst I got the pathos of the ending, I could have lived without the pyrotechnics. To my mind, fans of stock standard, straight crime fiction would be able to stay with this story, because the basic premise is strong and really well done. In fact I finished THE PRICE OF FAME hoping that Daniells would have a go at a straight crime fiction book. The story here certainly feels like she would do a very good job indeed.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/price-fame-rc-daniells show less
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