"It wasn't enough to be on the winning side. He would do whatever necessary to make sure he, Han Alister, came out on top."
My Ratings
Overall: ★★★★★
The Demon King: ★★★★
The Exiled Queen: ★★★★≛
The Gray Wolf Throne: ★★★★★
The Crimson Crown: ★★★★★
Genre(s): Young Adult Fantasy; Epic Fantasy
Publication: 2009 - 2012 (Little Brown Books)
***CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SEVEN REALMS SERIES***
Synopsis of The Demon King:
One day Han Alister catches three young wizard setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet away from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won't use it against him. The amulet once belonged to the Demon King, who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece so powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.
Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana'Marianna has her own battle to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of riding and hunting with her father's family. Raia aspires to be like Hanalea, the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems that her mother has other plans for her-plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.
The Seven Realms will tremble when the lives of Han and Raisa collide in this stunning page-turner from best-selling author Cinda Williams Chima.
Review:
Why, in the world of morally gray characters, had I never heard about Han Alister before reading this series? You hear about Kaz Brekker. Rhysand. Cardan. But never Han Alister, though he came well before these popular and well-loved characters who may or may not have questionable morals . . . .
Well, let me just say -- Han Alister walked so that Kaz Brekker could run.
"As was his custom, Han stood propped against the wall, looking as ruthless as possible."
This series has so many great things going for it. An interesting magic system and history. Political turmoil that is actually exciting to read about. A young queen who refuses to be anything but a warrior. Themes of equality, overcoming prejudice, and uplifting the impoverished.
And the series would have been good with those things alone. But add in a thieving street lord turned wizard turned mercenary turned royal advisor (seriously, this guy wears so many hats throughout the series, it's a trip) with a tragic backstory who will do anything to get what he wants in a world that very much hates him, in particular -- in other words, add in Han Alister, and the whole thing gets taken to the next level.
“The pressure of past tragedies drove him forward -- the need to escape reminders of his losses, and the desire to be somewhere other than where he'd been. That, and a smoldering desire for revenge.”
Han Alister is such a gem, from his wit to his determination to his flagrant disregard for the law. His rollercoaster of a relationship with Raisa is a treat, and my only complaint is that I wish they'd had more time on the page together. Raisa, a queen-to-be with a warrior's heart, a sharp tongue, and a vicious stubborn streak, is a star on her own, but stick her in a scene with Han Alister, and magic is made. They are both so ridiculously charming, they make you never want to stop reading.
“That's what happens when you love someone... you notice and notice and notice.”
The Seven Realms series is marketed for younger readers, and while it is certainly YA (the main characters are 15 and 16 at the very beginning of the series), the characters feel much older. While I wouldn't say the series is "mature," it definitely deals with more mature topics, such as war and bigotry and political upheaval. I'd held off reading this series for so long because I was worried that it was too young for me given the ages of the characters. However, these books totally engrossed me, and while I will say that book one started off a bit slow and was perhaps a little less "mature," the series quickly picks up, and I think it can be appreciated by anyone, teens and adults alike.
There's so much to say about this series, it can't possibly be packaged into one review. The villains are great, one whole book is set at a magic boarding school, almost every side character becomes increasingly more lovable (or hate-able) as the series goes on, there's a whole lost history that is the foundation for everything that happens in this series, the culture and political structure is super interesting and intricate, and there's so much love (and an equal amount of hatred) between the peoples of this world that it spills off the page, making it hard not to think of the current state of our own world.
“Hope is a dangerous thing, Raisa thought. Once kindled, it's hard to put out. It makes wise people into fools.”
If you're like me, and you've put off reading this series because you think it's too young for you -- it's not. Please consider reading it. It starts off a little slow, but all of the little bits that Chima takes the time to introduce in the first book make the whole series so much richer. It filled a place in my heart in a way that a story hasn't been able to do in quite a while.
And, of course, that's largely owing to my guy, Han Alister (we stan the Demon King).
Content Warnings: death, war, violence, forced marriage