Action & Adventure

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The legend of Tal Harrenfel is sung across the Westreach - and with each telling, the tales grow taller. But though he’s declared a hero by his King, Tal has never claimed to be more than a man...

After three decades of fighting warlocks, killing mythical beasts, and hunting enchanted treasure, Tal has had enough. Running from the deeds of his past, he retreats to his home village under a different name and meets an unlikely companion: Garin, a village boy who dreams of making a name for himself and seeing the world beyond their sleepy town.

When Tal receives a mysterious visitor, both he and Garin find themselves thrown into a sojourn across the kingdom. Soon, they become embroiled in the plots of monarchs, on the frontlines of an ancient war, and at the mercy of a fabled sorcerer.

Now Tal must live up to his legend, and Garin discover his own power, to survive the forces pitted against them…

Name of the Wind meets Witcher in A KING'S BARGAIN, an intertwining sword and sorcery adventure and coming of age tale. If you like The Wheel of Time, The Dragonbone Chair, or The Stormlight Archive, you’ll love the captivating world of LEGEND OF TAL!

I’m honoured to be apart of the blog tour for A King’s Bargain organised by the lovely ladies at Storytellers on tour. They are passionate about Indie Fantasy and it shows in their hard work at putting these amazing tours together.

A King’s Bargain immediately gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling that I have so far only been awarded from very few Epic Fantasy stories.  The world building was deep and complex and the introduction to the world was like falling through a portal and being immersed in the magical world first-hand.  It is a fantastical piece of fiction that would be a perfect introduction to the immersive land of fantasy.  The author has the perfect formula in his epic fantasy cauldron – a concise amount of characters, a vibrant world with endless possibilities and we were given the rare experience of having all the information at our fingertips…I didn’t feel that my questions were left unanswered.  What I did have was a thirst for the next instalment, like yesterday! 

It only takes a few pages to conclude on whether a book is going to be a good fit for the reader.  Well, let me tell you – the author blew it clean out of the park.  I was in rapt attention by the end of the first chapter.  I was all in!  immediately I was given the sense of impending anticipation, mystique and my head was strapped in and prepared for a hell of a ride!

We make our introductions in Hunts Hollow, a quaint little village with quaint characters to match.  A King’s Bargain’s protagonist, Garin is a small villager boy that has dreams and aspirations beyond the small town.  He wants more for his life; he wants to see what the big old world has to offer.  He imagines the sights he could see, if only he had the means to get out there…Garin works on a mysterious man called Brannin Cairn’s chicken farm – who is also not particularly good at chicken farming!  Life is extremely uneventful until the moment Bran is graced with a visit from a stranger.  Just how do Bran and the stranger know each other’s acquaintance? 

What I particularly loved about A King’s Bargain was the author’s ability to suck us in with its vivid realism.  Despite the magic and ethereal feel to the narrative, you could imagine meeting these intriguing characters from all walks of life, and within life, serious shit happens but we are also afforded the beauty of life too – the landscapes, the celebration of love and life and we also have humorous tales thrown in.  Life is rarely all black and white. 

The interaction between this stranger and Bran becomes all-consuming for Garin – the talk quickly turns to magic!  The visitor turns out to be Aelyn, who has brought the Kings command to bring Bran back to him.  This is Garin’s biggest opportunity to see more of the world that he has dreamt about.  Bran asks him to accompany him and Garin chews his hand off, albeit with the resulting guilt of leaving his family behind.  The book leads us in a new direction, following Bran, Aelyn and Garin on their adventure to the Kingdom of Avendor.  The path is littered with dangers – evil spirits and magical beings and I was in my element! 

This book had absolutely everything that I love in Epic Fantasy.  It was fast paced and totally captivating.  The action kept emerging from the pages and slapping me around the face – my body was wrecked and shattered from the ride the author took me on.  I was also overjoyed that the story included Elves – my favourite fantasy race!  Their motivations and insights brought a heightened clarity to the overall story. 

A King’s Bargain was fantastical.  The political intrigue reminded me of A Song of Ice and Fire, but this book is more than capable of standing on its own two feet! It takes a sharp mind to pen a novel that is as ambitious as this and pull it off beyond all expectations.  He didn’t choose the easy path and the trail of crumbs he left behind will leave behind a walking shadow.  Make room for this on your shelves because it is a must read!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.D.L. Rosell is the author of the dark epic fantasy series The Famine Cycle, the fast-paced LitRPG/Gamelit series The Everlands, and the sword-and-sorcery series Legend of Tal. He also writes some serialized books, including the Nordic epic fantasy The Frozen Throne.

Previously, J.D.L. Rosell earned an MA in creative writing and has written as a ghostwriter. Always drawn to the outdoors, he gets out into nature whenever he can and indulges in his hobbies of hiking and photography. But most of the time, he can be found curled up with a good book at home with his fiancée and two cats, Zelda and Abenthy.

J.D.L. Rosell Website