Eridani’s Crown by Alex Shvartsman
Publisher: UFO Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full length (278 pages)
Star Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by ChamomileCURSED BY PROPHECY. CORRUPTED BY POWER.
When Eridani’s parents are murdered and their kingdom is seized by a traitorous duke, she plans to run. After she suffers yet another unendurable loss, the lure of revenge pulls her back.
Eridani’s brilliance as a strategist offers her a path to vengeance and the throne, but success may mean becoming everything she hates. To survive, she must sway religious zealots, outwit ambitious politicians, and confront bloodthirsty warlords, all with few allies and fewer resources. Yet the most menacing obstacle she must overcome is the prophecy uttered by a powerful sorceress:Everyone you know and trust will come to betray you.
This story stands out as a well crafted and unique fantasy that spans several years throughout its pages. This story starts out strong, with a fierce heroine, interesting political system (one I haven’t seen before, and that actually made me look forward to seeing how things would play out), shocking twists!
I loved this book from the start, and as mentioned, found it to be very unique and enjoyable. As it plays over several years, it’s different from many other stories that might have similar summaries. In fact, with the MC’s tale of revenge, and the way the story’s laid out, the only thing I can compare it to is Well of Darkness (Sovereign Stone #1) by Margaret Weis. The biggest difference is that that was a series, and this a stand alone, so there’s nothing else to look forward to after this rather… dark and questionable ending.
Still, as mentioned, I did enjoy the first half immensely, and if you don’t mind a dark revenge story, this is an interesting story, and one that perhaps wasn’t my favorite, but still one that I felt the writing and plot were well done, and that could easily be enjoyed by others.