Hello SP friends!

As we learn just how to tweak things for your optimal viewing pleasure, occasionally you, our loyal community, get to experience the natural growing pains with us! All that to say: sorry for the influx of emails – specifically our old book reviews. Going forward we’ll regularly post book reviews on the main page.

If you are interested in contributing a book review, you can send your review to us via thespinningpen@gmail.com, as well as your website (if you have one) so we can link our readers to your corner of the ‘net.

Looking forward to seeing your suggestions for our reading lists!

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Title: King’s Folly

Author(s): Jill Williamson

Publisher: Bethany House

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Rating: 5 out of 5

Jill Williamson’s newest epic fantasy does not disappoint! The settings are descriptive, the plot clips along at a good pace, and the numerous individual Point-of-View character voices are racially and culturally diverse, unique, and interesting.

The Five Realms are on the edge of total destruction, and it’s up to a seemingly disparate group of young people to find a way to save the world. Told in alternating view points ranging from slaves to royals, this sweeping epic thrusts readers into a world that is dying in its own darkness. Thanks to Williamson’s skill at rich world building, it’s easy to get enveloped in the lives of these characters and their diverse cultures as they search for a glimmer of hope on the dark horizon in the midst of utter disaster. They will have you cheering them on to the action-packed climax.

Because of the large cast typical in an epic fantasy, it takes some time to sort out who’s who, especially when switching POVs, but the inclusion of a Key Players list at the front of the book was a helpful tool to refer back to when needed. There is a decent amount of violence, sexual innuendo, and cultural practices which some readers may find uncomfortable to read about, but there is no foul language, and the book is clean overall—especially when compared to other titles in the genre, such as Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire Series (Game of Thrones) and Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle.

Bottom line: King’s Folly is a great opening to an adventure-filled trilogy which serves as a prequel to Williamson’s Blood of Kings series. Well worth the read! 5 out of 5 Stars.

Review by Dana Black.