08/22/2022
Terrill’s second installment in the inventive, galaxy-spanning Dragonhorse Chronicles, after Dragonhorse Rising, sees the latest Dragonhorse, Ardenai Morningstar, now the most powerful being in the known galaxy, up against a new alien delegation, battling his own complex emotions, and confronting the weight of responsibility placed on his shoulders. Ardenai’s personal trials as he reckons with the realities of being the Dragonhorse showcase his maturation over the course of the story. Making alliances and enemies left and right, Ardenai is certain of only one thing: that his role as the new Dragonhorse is as precarious as the choices he makes.
Terrill has created a believable futuristic landscape in her network of planets forming the Affined Equi Worlds, and she includes a helpful index so that readers can keep track of the many characters and locales spread throughout the galaxy. The otherworldly atmosphere Terrill conveys–expect horses, surprising tech, and wrenching descriptions–will draw in and surprise even the most well-versed science fiction readers, and she has created a fully believable milieu with multilayered, dynamic cultures and characters. At times, incongruous expressions and details, like a character asking if another is “hot to trot” or multiple characters making the thumbs up gesture, may pull readers from the otherwise finely detailed inner workings of Equi.
Sensitive readers should be aware that Terrill does not shy away from the dystopic realities in her imagined world: rape is described in graphic detail, from Ardenai’s drug-induced hallucinations to an unsettling scene involving an underage girl. These depictions of sexual violence are not for the faint of heart. However, Conscience of the King stands out for its emotional weight and rich storytelling. This second compelling volume in the ongoing Dragonhorse Chronicles, boasting highly original worldbuilding, technologies, conflicts, and action, while offering seasoned science fiction readers much to sink their teeth into.
Takeaway: An immersive, inventive continuation of an epic science fiction saga.
Great for fans of: Octavia E. Butler’s Lilith’s Brood, Elizabeth Stephens’s Taken to Voraxia.
Production grades Cover: A Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: B+ Marketing copy: A