Feeling like an bird in a golden cage, Princess Raisa of Fellsmarch wants to be like Hanalea, the warrior queen who defeated the Demon King and saved the world. However, her mother is more concerned with gowns, etiquette, and, most worryingly of all, marriage. Meanwhile, reformed thief Han Alister is as free as can be... free to starve, freeze, and be roughed up by the corrupt Queens Guard. He will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family so when he stumbles across a magical amulet he sees the opportunity to bring home a little silver. Unfortunately, the amulet belongs to the most powerful wizard in Fellsmarch - a man who will do anything to get it back.
The Demon King is a lighthearted YA high fantasy novel and the first book in the Seven Realms series. To start with, I have to say that the book follows very well worn fantasy traditions and regular readers of fantasy will find little that's original here; the setting is a fairly standard pseudo-medieval world and there's an expected cast of royals, soldiers, thieves, and street urchins. Also, as the first book in the series, The Demon King is much more focused on character development and world-building than plot. As a result, the pace can be slow at times, and the main story doesn't really get going until the last few chapters.
All that being said, I really enjoyed this book. I love full-blooded, endearing and well-rounded characters, and Cinda Williams Chima has done a great job of creating two protagonists with unique backgrounds and motivations. Raisa's frustration and feelings of being trapped build naturally through the story and I really liked how she slowly realises how privileged and insulated her existence has been. Likewise, Han's jealousy and uncertainty as everyone around him seems to be moving on with their lives while he has no idea what lies in his future is achingly familiar to anyone who has ever felt lost and directionless.
The Demon King is really a foundation book for the series. It introduces the world, its magic system and politics, its characters and basically sets everything up for the main story to begin.
Recommended For: Readers who like fun, character-driven, and relatively angst-free YA fantasy.
Read On: The next book in the series is The Exiled Queen which I'll be picking up pretty soon. Another fun (and funny) high fantasy book is Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher.
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