The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Series: Seven Realms #1
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating:

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards.

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS I MIGHT JUST WRITE THIS ENTIRE REVIEW WITH MY CAPS LOCK ON AND WITHOUT ANY PUNCTUATION THAT IS HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BOOK DO YOU THINK YOU COULD HANDLE AN ENTIRE REVIEW OF ME SHRIEKING I DONT KNOW DO TELL

*breathes*

So. The Demon King. I fucking loved it. There are so many things about this book that I adored, and it’s really difficult to break it down into bits for you and I don’t think I can remain calm. You have been warned.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Princess Raisa. She is a motherfucking QUEEN. Firstly, she is courageous and thoughtful and awe-inspiring, and she’s also a feminist and she really wants what’s best for her people. I can’t wait until she becomes queen as she undoubtedly will later on in the series because she deserves this. So much. Secondly, she’s also really confident, but not overly so. She knows that she is desired and that anyone should be honoured to marry her, and she also knows that she’s pretty awesome. I love how much she cared about the people of her Realms, and I can’t wait until she gets to make some changes. She makes a couple of changes in this book, but she’s about to set the world on fire I KNOW IT.

From Raisa, we get gems like this:

“I’m the blooded princess heir of the Fells. Any prince or noble in the entire Seven Realms should be thrilled to marry me. No questions asked.”

If a lady should do this, Raisa wondered, should a man do the same? Is he required to?

The other main character is Han Alister, also known as Cuffs, also known as Hunts Alone. He’s an ex-streetlord of the Raggers and he’s also been adopted by the clans. He’s not my favourite (BECAUSE RAISA) but I did love his chapters, which is a good thing because The Demon King is evenly split between his and Raisa’s (plus a couple of random POVs scattered throughout) points of view. I ADORED Han’s random acts of badassery, such as:

“This place could burn down, you know. Maybe even with you inside. That’d be a shame.”

Because that is the most me line to ever me.

The characters in The Demon King did feel a little young. Understandable, since they start out at fifteen years old. I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing Han and Raisa grow as people and stuff and spoilers.

I’ve seen a couple of reviews that say that The Demon King is slow in the beginning, but I’m going to have to disagree with you all there *viciously shakes head* because I got sucked in pretty much right away, and if you’re an avid fantasy fan I think you’ll feel the same way. The Demon King is the perfect starter to a new series, and it does a wonderful job of introducing the world and the characters and the mythology and everything without being info-dumpy or pushy.

I’m now marathoning this series as we speak (or as you read, rather) because I can’t get enough of it. PRINCESS RAISA 5EVA.