Note: I bought my copy of A Drowned Kingdom and audiobook. I listened exclusively on audio because the narrators are awesome. Video review:
A Drowned Kingdom tells the story of a prince and his family who are the last survivors after a devastating event. Being a retelling of Atlantis, you can probably guess what that event is but it happened at a time I wasn’t expecting so I won’t get into details. We are told the story through Othrun’s POV, who is the second prince and we learn about him, his family history, prophecies, and how he sees the world and himself. How does he handle and build his kingdom again after the event.
What I liked:
I love when cultures collide. In history when cultures have clashed they always see each other as barbarians and less than, even if the other side is more advanced or intelligent.
Hearing the story through Othruns POV is how I imagine most empires saw everything and everyone around them. They are better than everyone and everything else, what they want they should have and if you stand in their way or just an inconvenience you’ll be dealt with accordingly. Sometimes I would get to portions of the book and wonder if this was PL’s book it was so convincing.
The prophecies make you question whats real and what’s not. What is really happening or is it someones imagination? Through the story you get bits of pieces of information that you know will pay off later in the series.
While we have portions of the book with lots of information and backstory, the tension for the battles builds and when the battles happen they pay off. There is one battle in particular that I absolutely loved. Quick and devastating.
What I didn’t like:
We have sections full of information and history, sometimes it can go on a little too long and start to get a little dry. I wouldn’t even say it’s info dumpy, it’s stretched out but a few more breaks in between would have lightened the read a little for me.
Overall thoughts:
A great first entry in a series that I can’t help but be excited about. I liked seeing how the characters dealt with the events in the story and how they evolved, whether that was positive or negative. Seeing a prince who is so convinced his worldview was right be challenged and his world thrown upside down was fascinating. Reading The Grace of Kings reminded me a lot of A Drowned Kingdom. If you’re a fan of historical fantasy tales this will be right up your alley.
We have a spoiler filled discussion with a group for A Drowned Kingdom if you’re interested, find it here: