I first took notice of this book when I stumbled upon the book's illustrations on pinterest. Eggeler's style immediately caught my eye because of a similarity to Horst Janssen's dark and twisted engravings. Finding out the pieces belonged to a book by Ewers, whom I was familiar with based on his novel "Alraune", further increased my interest in the story.
Sadly, this is where the positivity of the review ends. In my opinion, it is a rather disappointing read.
The story is rather short and lacks in substance. It is about a painter, Martin Drölling (misspelled "Droling"), who actually existed and who - in the story - is aggressively contacting Prince Royal Ferdinand Philippe d’Orléans in regards of a series of paintings he wants to sell him. The prince decides to visit the painter and a lukewarm "horror" story unfolds, revolving around the paintings and the hearts of Prince Ferdinand's forefathers.
The issue with the story is, that it reaches its climax pretty early and once all the secrets are uncovered, the suspense quickly drops off. I was hoping for a plot twist at the end but - nope.
If you have read classic gothic novels by authors like E.T.A. Hoffmann, Poe or Lovecraft, "The Hearts of Kings" will be all too familiar to you. ( )