The Demon King (Seven Realms Series #1)

Don't pass it up!!

This is really one of the best books that I have read in a long time. When I first bought it, I thought that it would be one of those books you read, then put it on a shelf in your closet and forget about it. I couldn't have been more wrong!! This book has excellent plot, well thought-out politics (but they don't dominate the book), beleivable characters, and just a bit of romance. It reminds me of the Farsala Trilogy. It should appeal to any fan of fantasy fiction. The only thing I regret about buying this book, is that now I'm hooked and the sequel hasn't been published yet! Whatever you do, DO NOT PASS THIS BOOK UP!!!!!!

13 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

EXCELLENT!

Cunning and deeply woven with parallel characters both of equal intrigue and complexity. Han and Raisa--each characters' story is told by alternating chapters and at the end of each of their chapters is a suspense that keeps the pages turning. Excellent read! can't wait for the next installment!

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Beautifully Written, Gripping story

When I was looking at this book I wasn't sure. Figured I'd start if and if I didn't like it could always take it back. Was I WAY OFF on that presumption. I started to read it and I couldn't put it down. This story is written well, with courts, lords, guards and princes and princesses from other realms not to mention the street dwellers of the city. I love the way Chima blends the Native Indians into this story - especially with courts and court life, very different but a great feel to the story. It tells the story from 2 main characters prespectives: Hanson Allister and Raisa ana Marianna. You go through the events that are taking place in each of their lives which are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum that will mold them into what they will become. Chima starts to slowly mesh the characters lives together. The next story I believe will pull them together in ways that will surprise us all.

However, I did envision the cuffs that Han wears much larger then the ones that are shown on her website. I can't wait for the next book to come out. Oh why do these writters do this do us - make us wait to find out what will happen.

This would be fantastic on the big screen.


Bravo

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Cant wait for the rest of the series

this book is like the other books that i have read by this author: The Warrior Heir books. it is like an echo but a very good echo. it kept me on the edge of my seat making me want to read it over and over again. it keeps the readers on their toes not knowing what is going to happen the Han and Dancer and if Amon and Raisa will get together. Or what will happen with the wizard family and Raisa's mom.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Cinda Chima's brilliance grows more and more with every book!

I had previously read the Warrior Heir Series when I was in middle school and I absolutely loved them. I was hesitant on reading this book for very childish reasons but I decided to give it a chance!
It isn't a very intense book like the Hunger Games, it was pretty predictable at times (but this may just be me), but it still made me want to read the book all the same.
The book feels like a pretext to the entire series. Most series each book has it's own story but this one feels like it is just a part of a really really large book.
All in all I cannot wait to start the next book in the series. I can only hope that it will be just as great as this one. But this one is a good indicator that Ms. Chima has not lost her spark!
MUST READ.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

great read!

this is the first book i have read by this author. But i cant waitfor the next book in the series.there book is full of suspence and action. at the end you dont know what the charecter is going to do next. which makes you want to keep reading the seriese.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cinda is a writing genius.

At first I was reluctant to read this book, but boy am I glad I read it! I think it's one of my favorite books of all time. There's not a time when I got bored. Cinda Williams Chima truly is a writing Genius.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow

This is such a great book if you like her other series you will like this one even more. If you call your self a reader then read this book and the next book in the series. i just finshied the 3 rd and its just as good as this one...another good series is The Heroes Of Olympus

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Amazing!!

This whole series was one of the best i have ever read!!! I love the suspense, the romance, and the adventure. This is definitly for teens and young adults. The romance between han and raisa wad very intriging. I would definatly recomend this book! The heir series is also very good. Go check it out!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you like Hunger games you'll love this

SO epic!I.Am.Obsessed. I cloudn't put it down till the wee hours of the moring and my eyes were scratching it is sooooo good. Ms.Chima had outdone herself with this series, i was unsure at first but by the second and third book couldn't put it down if i tried. Must-read for teen

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

I purchased this book last week and I just could not put it down. It has it all, murder, mystery, magic, intrigue, and romance. I highly recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good, but slightly cliched fantasy novel

I really enjoyed this book. A lot. The characters were fascinating. The only thing I really didn't enjoy was the Queendom royal politics garbage. I really hate books like that. At first, I expected it to be an epic fantasy adventure, but it turned out being very cliched. Especially with Gavan and Micah Bayar controlling the queen. That plot has been used many a time. Evil wizard tricks king into doing this or that to gain power, you know what I mean. I wasn't a big fan of the princess. She kind of irritated me. The Bayars were perfect though. Rich, evil, and suave. They reminded me a lot of Draco and Lucius Malfoy.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

Han Alister is a reformed thief trying to earn an honest living for his family. When he and his clan friend, Dancer, catch three young wizards setting the sacred mountain aflame, Han ends up taking an amulet from one of them. Han learns the amulet once belonged to the evil Demon King who almost destroyed the world, and the wizard Han stole the amulet from will stop at nothing to get it back.

Han isn't the only one with problems; the princess, Raisa, has been living a life of freedom away from court and has returned after three years to discover her mother wants to marry her off. If that weren't bad enough, there's a sinister plot and strange things going on at court that threaten to ruin the queendom.

A sweeping fantasy told through alternating points of view, Chima's tale of a world in turmoil is a page-turner the reader will be hard pressed to put down.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the world, but would have liked more interaction between the two main characters. It just wasn't possible in this book, but it sets up a future where more of what I crave is a huge possibility. I can't wait to read more in THE EXILED QUEEN.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

First Novel Serves as a great teaser!

I loved the Heir series from Ms. Chima. My opinion is that his first novel, "Demon King" started slow. However, it did an excellent job build the background of the new characters. Very complex motives and different upbringing makes the interaction between the would-be heroes and villians very intriguing. The last couple of chapters lead up to a phenomenal ending that leaves the readers longing for the next book. A bit frustrating to wait so long for the sequel(s) (not at all unreasonable, I'm just anxious for another good book from Chima).

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Gets good towards the end

The thing I like about this book- it's told in 2 & a few times 3 POV's. The thing I did not like about this book-it was told in 2 & a few times 3 POV's. I felt as soon as I would get into 1 it would switch to the next character who really in this book have nothing to do with each other. They are thrown together for a bit but that's it. The story is very interesting though & I think maybe the last 80-100 pages are pretty exciting! Can't wait for the next book! I have so much hatred for one family I can't wait to see what they have comeing for them! I think the Seven Realms Series is going to be a good one! Especially once we start getting a the answers to all the questions!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

One of my favorites.

When i first saw this book i didn't think i would enjoy it much. I only chose it because it met the requirements for a class assingnment. Now i'm glad i read it. It was one of the best books i ever read. In fact it was the only book i couldn't put down. i usually never read books unless i have to but when the sequel comes out i will definitly be one of the first to read it. The story had so many twists to it that i sat for hours trying to figure out what was going to happen. The only thing i didn't like was the end where it leaves you hangging. Overall i would recomend this book to anyone who is looking for a good novel.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great first book in the new Seven Realms series.

If you enjoy fantasy, I think you will truly enjoy this book. Everything about the book, plot, characters, action, interrelationships between the characters is very well done. I couldn't recommend it any more highly.

I would also very, very highly recommend the "Heir Chronicles" ("Warrior, "Wizard" and "Dragon" Heir books).

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the best books I have read.

I am an avid Steven King and Michel Creighton reader and this story was as spell binding as either one of these. It is her best yet. I look forward to the next one. Great read. Once I started on it I could not put it down. Covers all emotions.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

epic fantasy for teens

Life in the Fells hasn't been easy for Hanson Alister. He's left a life of crime behind and now is just trying to keep his mom and younger sister off the streets. While hunting in the woods one day with his friend Fire Dancer, the two come across a trio of young wizards who should not be anywhere near the mountain. Trying to make the wizards pay for their trespass, the boys take an amulet of magic from their leader, Micah Bayar, not having any idea how powerful said amulet is. But Micah's father is the High Wizard and he knows exactly how powerful the amulet is and will stop at nothing to get it back.

As distant from Han and his troubles in the streets is Raisa ana'Marianna, Princess Heir of the Fells is struggling with her own set of problems. Even though she's only 16, he mother wants to marry her off as soon as possible, a move which Raisa can only see as bad for everyone in their country. Unlike her flighty mother the Queen, Raisa wants to take a more hands-on approach to the monarchy, but continually meets resistance at every turn. When Raisa's clandestine escape from the palace takes an unexpected detour and she ends up in the path of 'Cuffs,' her entire outlook on the city - and the criminal himself - will change.

There are so many good things going on in the Demon King. While I really enjoyed Cinda Williams Chima's Heir series, I often found myself not completely focusing on the story at hand, but The Demon King? It shares no such flaw and is miles above it's predecessors. Fabulous world-building, flawed characters with closets stuffed full of skeletons make this an unputdownable read even though it boasts a weighty 512 pages. I will confess that it did take me a good 50 or 100 pages to really get into the rhythm of The Demon King. Perhaps it was the setup of so many characters and different cultures, but I did have a hard time at first connecting. But boy howdy, once I got Ms. Chima's groove - I was moving fast and hard through the Fells so completely caught up in the story, I was more than miffed when it ended unexpectedly. Cliff hangers!! Gah!! I don't know how to handle the wait.

And speaking of characters, let's talk about Han for a moment: the boy is a chameleon - he's a dutiful brother and son who is trying his hardest to keep his nose out of trouble when the easiest way for him to protect and provide for his mom and sister would be to return to his life of crime in the streets. Han was fostered with the Marisa Pines clan, a group who live separate from most of the people in the Fells: full of earth magic and splendid craftsmen where everyone has a story; a past and a future. Han would like nothing more than to be a part of that structure. Then there are the silver cuffs on his wrists he's had since birth, which no blacksmith has ever been able to scratch, no less remove. And ironies of ironies is that they are one thing he could really sell for money but simply won't come off. Han's emotions are full of turmoil and you Just Know he's got a past full of secrets that will make everything understandable if only you (or he) had all the pieces. Trust me when I say I'm sticking around to find out.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Spin6164

Love Love Loved this book I picked this up while I was away on a business trip and immediately went and bought the other two. The characters are interesting and I love the fired queen and the thief turning over a new leaf for himself and his family.