The Heron Kings by Eric Lewis
This is a grim-dark story in a war-torn country where the common rabble is the biggest loser. They find themselves between a hammer and an anvil, Queen Engwara and King Pharamund.
We follow Alessia, a novice healer nun, and Ulnoth, a man who's lost everything, gather the broken and leftover war victims to start their own rebellion. Their goal is to end this war.
I really enjoyed reading this story, although there are some gruesome scenes in there.
Content warning for attempted rape, torture, mutilation and an especially horrific execution of a pregnant woman. Not for the light-hearted.
I'd love to have had a map of some sorts to see where the different towns are and the borders of the country. I found the religions and marchmen culture that were mentioned throughout the book fascinating and I wanted to know more about them. The book could've been easily another 100 pages longer to flesh out the cultures, world and some of the secondary characters.
Heron Kings is a great debut novel and Eric Lewis has definitely potential. If you like Joe Abercrombie or Sam Sykes then you should check this one out. I especially liked Vinian the spymaster. She made for a great character and I wanted to read more about her. I am going to keep an eye out for the author's next book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 out of 5 stars for this new grim-dark war story and it's out now!
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
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