The Crown of Blood

by Gav Thorpe

Reviewed by Coral

Ulsaard has fought for the Askhan Empire all his life. Despite not being Askhan by birth, patronage by one of the Empire’s princes has led him to being known as one of the greatest generals in the Empire.

His current campaign is a disappointment to him and he longs for a far richer campaign. But appeals to the king are unrewarded.

When he finds himself caught up unexpectedly in the Empire’s politics, everything he has worked to achieve is threatened. Can he protect his family and his legacy or will he lose it all?

The author’s style of writing drew me in right away and kept me reading longer than I should have.

One of the main problems of the book is that there is no one to root for or to empathize with.

Ulsaard’s main motivation is that he wants to be named general so he can go out and conquer nations in the name of the Askhan Empire, subjecting people who want to stay independent. He is manipulated into helping the second prince make a move for the throne, without even knowing what he is agreeing to! He has three wives, the youngest of which he treats awfully. He sanctions murder on one of his closest allies when their purposes no longer align. When he finds out his son has been sowing the seeds of rebellion in a neighbouring country he decides to use it to his own advantage.

The other story line (in the rebel camp who are unaware that Ulsaard’s son is paying for their rebellion) isn’t very interesting either. I don’t really understand why the caravan merchant throws in with the rebels and since the larger picture isn’t explored I have no idea if theirs is a worthy cause.

There wasn’t one woman who was more than just a background character, not even Ulsaard’s three wives and his mother. Most of the time it seems like are only there to either agree with him or argue with him as needed by the plot.

There are hints of a larger plot behind the scenes, but I don’t know where it was going and the book wasn’t good enough for me to keep reading to find out. It didn’t help that it felt like nothing was really happening throughout the book.

Is it too much to ask for a map? So many places and countries were being referred to, it would have been nice to know where everything was in relation to each other.

Another minor complaint (nothing to do with the author) but if the character on the cover is supposed to be Ulsaard (and I have no idea who else it would be), then it would be nice in the cover artist kept in mind his character description and not show him without the beard he is supposed to have.

Grade: D