Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, Book 1 of The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, The Song of the Shattered Sands Book 1

• Author: Bradley P. Beaulieu
• Published: September 1^st, 2015
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Ratings: 5/5

Of Sand and Malice Made, Novel ♥♥♥♥

Book Synopsis

Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings, cruel, ruthless, powerful and immortal.

With their army of silver spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens, and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert.  There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule.

Or so it seems, until Ceda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings’ laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha’ir.  What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings’ mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage.

Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings’ power…if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don’t find her first.

My thoughts

This was just a fantastic read from beginning to end.  The world-building is a very interesting and fascinating one, the characters, the magic system and the surrounding tribes around main city of Sharakhai were just amazing to read about.

The story follows Ceda around the city of Sharakhai, and this city has been ruled by twelve ruthless immortal kings for centuries.  Ceda it’s on a quest for revenge after the twelve kings killed her mother.  When we first meet Ceda we are told she is a very well known pit-fighter and this is one of the many things I enjoyed.

The story takes places in the desert the world building and the culture were perfect for the setting.  the story focuses mainly on Ceda’s story but we do get some other interesting characters as well, but once you get to meet Ceda that’s all you’ll want to root and read about.  There is so much we get in this story without it being too overwhelming or too info dumpy.  The magic is very unique and perfect for this story, we get some poems that may help Ceda bring down the kings, we get an interaction with one of them in the book.  Some interesting things are also the blossoms that are some how connected to the kings and if you  take them they can enhance your senses.  We get flashbacks and prophecies that are very interesting  and we also get a kind of love triangle that part of the love triangle I wasn’t a big fan of it, it’s not that it wasn’t done right it’s just that I don’t really care much for them. And this is where I’ll leave it since I don’t want to be going into spoilery territory.

My final thoughts, I adored this first book and I can’t not wait to continue on, I 100% recommend this book and don”t be afraid to pick it up if you are new to epic fantasy it’s a great one to jump into.  Not sure how many books are in the series but I already have the prequel and book two waiting to be pick up (those reviews are coming).

Have you guys read or are interested in picking up this book?  Let me know in the comments.