Kingdom of Liars had some good ideas and a wicked cool atmosphere, but the story itself lacked a bit of logical structure and flow.

The atmosphere created, with a shattered moon that periodically rained down on the city, combined well with both the contrasting lifestyles of the different casts of people and the general air of magic and mayhem. It was superb! Easily my favorite element of the story. Even during parts I wasn’t totally sure I was onboard with, I kept reading to see what the world building and society would reveal next. I can say I’ve never read anything quite like this book, and that’s a mark in its favor.

It also included an interesting magic system, but almost as an afterthought. The excerpt and title lead you to believe the characters would face a constant battle between practicing magic and losing memory, but unfortunately all of it happened on the periphery. There wasn’t even a really clear description of how it worked, save a few passing conversations, so it’s definitely the component most primed for expansion in the sequel.

But overall, if I could describe Kingdom of Liars in one word, it would be: contrived.

The second would be disjointed. Most of the reviews I’ve seen state the beginning is slow, but the second half really picks up, making the whole book worthwhile. I can see why they claim this – all of the fun “reveals” take place in the second half… but my personal experience was the opposite. I loved the atmosphere and the concept right out of the gate (and the KILLER prequel), but the longer the story went, the more I became dissatisfied with the trajectory. The plot was all over the place, jumping from event to event without a really solid through-line. I tend to prefer more structure in storytelling; a more natural-feeling flow of events. Because of the first chapter, I knew it was working towards a clear objective, but there were several conversations and tangents that felt unnecessary and didn’t seem to fit within the framework. It was very forced. And because it was forced, it made the main character make so many odd decisions that he came off erratic and impulsive. His wild decisions always defied logic!!! And yet somehow they always worked out… because they were constructed to… and that’s the problem. He never felt like a real person, he felt like a vehicle to advance plot.

Even so, the story did have a bunch of good payoffs, and I did enjoy the writing behind it. Despite my objections to the story construction, the basic writing and conveying of ideas was great, reminding me of the conversational approach Sebastien de Castell uses in his stories (minus the over-the-top flippancy). I’d love to see what this author can do off the cuff, because in this case the plot seemed so tortured and overworked that I didn’t spend as much time enjoying the writing as I would have liked.

Recommendations: Kingdom of Liars, despite having a unique atmosphere and a cool concept, was a bit too contrived for my tastes. If you don’t mind adopting a more “just go with it” attitude, it’ll definitely offer you a memorable story. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like it…

Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in response for an honest review.

This definitely surprised me. After the first couple of chapters I was thinking it was not going to be very good, but after about 25% of the way through the pace really picked up and the plot became so much more interesting. It is super understandable as well because the author is having to set up a new world and magic system. And what a strange one it is. It took a bit of a learning curve to actually understand the magic of this world. Fabricators are people who are able to use a certain type of magic in exchange for their memories. I really wish this were expanded on a bit because it was definitely confusing at times. The author spent more time on plot and worldbuilding than actually explaining the magic system fully.

The characters seemed really fleshed out and that is something I really want to praise. Yes, at times Michael was annoying and I wanted to say "You're making the wrong decision," but that's how you know the author did a good job at crafting the characters. The choices seemed organic and not something forced. The only complaint I have is that the ending felt like one of those where everything just had to happen perfectly. I don't really enjoy these kinds of endings and prefer something more nitty gritty, especially in a world like this. The rest of the book was so 'no-holds-bar' and when it wrapped up the way it did, it didn't seem like what would actually happen. Overally a very good start to a series I will continue.

The book starts with the main character being sentenced to death for treason and then recounts the events that led to that point. Michael Kingman is a son of a man convicted for killing a prince and his life leads him to be convicted for killing the king. Michael is the hero of the book, so the reader can’t help hoping that the events that seem inevitably to lead him to his doom might be something else after all. With ‘kingdom of liars’ in the title, I presumed an unreliable narrator and a slow unravelling of the truth. That wasn’t what I got.

This was a good book, but also an odd one with something constantly slightly off. Even though the frame of the story, Michael’s quest to prove his father’s innocence and inevitable doom, is given at the beginning, that’s not the sole direction the book took. For the first half there was another story happening too, a rebellion against the king, which competed for attention with the main story, with not enough room given to either story-line. The latter mainly consisted of events that distracted Michael from his quest and added nothing to the main story or had an impact on it. On the latter half of the book that story-line was discarded after an annoying cop-out, which improved the plot considerably.

In addition to two plots, there were two sets of secondary characters that were identical to one another. There were two poor, mistreated boys with little brothers that Michael felt responsible for, but who didn’t seem to be friends with one another, as if Michael led two separate lives. Their actions had no impact on the plot, but they served to distract Michael, i.e. added to the word count. Then there were two women who knew Michael of old, but of whom he had no recollection. Their identities were withheld to the last moment, giving the reader a notion that they would be important for Michael’s life and the main plot, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. And then there were two women from law enforcement/military who were interchangeable too and had no meaningful impact on the plot.

I don’t know why the editor of the book allowed two parallel plots with two sets of characters to happen. Even if the rebel plot were a setting for the next book, it could’ve been handled as background noise with the focus more sharply on the main plot. There was enough going on with that one to fill a book.

Michael wasn’t a likeable character. He was selfish and childish, and he didn’t much care who he hurt with his quest for truth—until after the fact. Then he rushed in to make things better, putting the main plot on hold and/or in jeopardy. His memory was faulty due to magic, but when he did regain his memories, they didn’t offer any sort of revelation that their absence had hinted at. He wasn’t the agent of his story. He was pushed around by events outside his control; he spends the entire book trying to gain access to the king, only to be denied his goal; he required a deus ex machina salvation, and didn’t manage to achieve what he set out to do in the beginning, thus robbing the book of a proper conclusion. It was left for the next book, but with the rebellion and the sudden turn in his life orchestrated outside the plot, there would’ve been enough material even without postponing it too.

There’s a lot happening to the secondary characters behind the scenes that mainly come off as ‘what the hell’. Trey, a poor slum dweller, is auctioning himself off to become a soldier at one point and the next he is in the inner circle of the prince, only to become a rebel. How did that happen? No one even questions it. The mercenary Dark has an issue with his father, but when they finally face, they don’t even recognise one another. Was it all in Michael’s head? Michael’s older brother is being allowed to marry into the most important family in the country and no one bats an eye, even though Michael has to support himself as a thief and is constantly being harassed for his past. The princess is missing and then she’s not, but isn’t anyone important for the plot despite all the build-up, and then she’s absent again. A lot more thought should’ve gone into all these characters. Now they seem like spur-of-the-moment inventions.

The world is fairly interesting, but its special features are mainly props. The use of magic causes memory loss that accumulates, but none of the main characters suffer from it. It’s used as a plot device, as Michael sets out to find the king’s memories, i.e. his journal that might tell the truth about his father, but in the end that doesn’t happen. Every magic wielder remembers Michael even if he doesn’t remember them. And then there’s the broken moon that has pieces falling from it, but that doesn’t drive the plot either, so I wasn’t entirely sure what its point was, other than distraction.

This was a good book, but not a great one. The author clearly didn’t know what kind of book he was writing until at the end. With a sharper focus it would’ve been a much better book and a more enjoyable read. I hope the next one will fix that.

Have you ever read a book where things happen but you just don't have any feelings towards it at all? That's how I feel about this book.

The book starts off strong with the introduction of Michael Kingman, the son of king killer. It's setup to be quite interesting from the beginning and I found myself being really intrigued and wanting to not put it down. As I continued my read it just felt like things were happening but also not at all. If that makes sense.

There is definitely death and other things that follow certain characters but I never felt bad for what happened to them. They either weren't in the picture for very long or they just felt flat because there just wasn't any background there for them.

The world-building and magical system also lacked for me. I wanted more background and just more information and sentences to describe the setting. I want to be able to imagine it in my head and I just didn't get that with this.

Overall, this one just wasn't for me. There just wasn't anything that kept me pulled in to this world and the characters in it.

The Kingdom of Liars is a debut novel by Nick Martell and the beginning of his THE MERCENARY KING. As such, it shows some debut issues with character, plotting, and world-building, though it has an interesting mystery at its core.

There has “always been a Kingman in Hollow” goes the refrain, a member of the Kingman family who acts as a check on the king. But some years before the novel’s start, Michael’s father, David Kingman, killed the king’s youngest son. Following the Kingman Riots, Michaels’ father was executed by the king as a traitor, his mother placed in any asylum thanks to dementia-like issues, and his family stripped of their status and taken in by a foster father. Since then his sister Gwen and brother Lyon have found minor places in society while Michael grew up conning Low Nobles for money. The novel opens with Michael, now a young man, awaiting trial himself for killing the king, and the story that follows is one long flashback explaining how he got into this situation.

While the flashback structure is not all that original (nor is the “awaiting death” context), it works fine for the most part here. It does mean that Michael has built in reasons for not explaining certain terms or contexts as both he and his recorder are familiar with them, and while sometimes this leads to an effective slow reveal of background, at other times it leaves the reader a bit at sea. I’d say that Martell doesn’t quite find the balance between the two.

The setting is the city of Hollow, which years ago fought a difficult Gunpower War and is now embroiled in a kind of civil war, with a rebellion army outside the walls and its commander, known at The Emperor, fomenting terror attacks within the city. I say “kind of civil war” because to be honest, it was all a bit fuzzy, both the logistics and the motivations. References within the story and actual events based on the “rebellion” felt more than a little random, more in service to the needs of the author’s plotting than to any sense of a well-thought out conflict between two clear groups and two clearly differing ideologies beyond a vague “down with royalty” vibe. The city itself doesn’t really come alive in terms of culture, physical layout, or its place in a wider world context. The same holds true with the magical system, which involves pretty standard fantasy talents (the ability to throw lightning, manipulate fire, etc.) one is born with and then can hone or be taught. The most compelling aspect is that unfettered or unskilled use of them can cost the wielder memories, but this is never minded for anywhere near its rich potential. And the whole system is somewhat cloudy. World-building therefore is a definite weakness here and something one hopes Martell will improve upon in the following book.

Characterization is up and down. Michael is a tough character to write. A young man often wallowing in self-pity over his family’s situation, obsessed with his family’s legacy, and carrying a lot of anger towards the king and nobles, his dead father, his foster-father, and his family members that have moved on more with their own lives. As such, especially early on, he’s hard to root for or engage with. But personally, I’m good with giving us an unlikable, immature character who grows into themselves over the course of events and that’s mostly what Martell gives us here, with all the accordant stumbles and regressions that come with personal growth. As one character tells him, Michael makes a lot of the same mistakes and while frustrating to his companions and to the reader, it’s also pretty realistic. Other characters are a mixed bag. Some are interestingly drawn, such as an alcoholic noble who employs Michael for an illicit task or a young blind noble who befriends Michael. Others are more flat and seem more plot devices than full characters. The corrupt and cruel crown prince is pretty standard twirling mustache villain for instance. There’s also a problem with characters popping up or dropping out randomly.

The mystery at the core of the plot — was Michael’s father actually guilty of killing the king’s son and if so why and if not who was — is intriguing, as are the several complications that arise from it. Other aspects of plotting are less successful. More than once events rely on a chance meeting or an implausible action or belief. At one point I made a note that I hoped one character’s response to an event was merely a ploy because otherwise it beggared belief. At other points I simply wrote “convenient” or “c’mon!”, the latter indicating that my frustration level was growing with the implausibility. Meanwhile, many plot moves are predictable, even the twists, though a few work well and Martell mostly keeps the book moving a nice pace and with a good balance of action scenes and more personal moments. I wish more had been done, and done with more clarity, regarding the socio-economic-political events because they had some good potential. And I quite liked when Martell punctures the whole special-character-with-a-destiny concept, as when Michael “leads” a ragtag group on a dragon hunt (he’s forced into it in hopes it will kill him). Michael is not only not the smartest or most powerful or most clever character in the book; he’s not even any of those things within his small family. It’s an unusual but I think rewarding choice by the author.

Martell certainly shows potential with this debut, even if it feels like the story could have used some more time spent on it sharpening its themes, plotting, and world-building, time spent by both author and editor. I’m hoping that happens with book two, which I’ll pick it up to review, while right now advising readers to hold off to see if the sequel improves on its predecessor.

The Kingdom of Liars is the first book in The Legacy of the Mercenary Kings series and also an adult debut fantasy. The Magic system where memories are the cost of using Magic, was very intriguing and unique. It was a bit slow at times but picked up towards the end. It had a great mystery element and I didn’t see the end coming. Michael the main character is a bit arrogant and annoying at times where he makes some stupid decisions, but you get to see his character development through out the book. Would recommend to fantasy lovers. A great debut.

Thanks to the publishers, the author Nick Martell and NetGalley for approving me a copy.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Saga Press for providing me with an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review The Kingdom of liars!!!
I was really excited for this book and honestly it seemed really promising in the beginning.
But unfortunately, I am greatly disappointed.

There were a few things I did like in this book and I want to list them down first.

I loved the concept of the book,
I liked the main character and Domet

I loved that the author tried to incorporate not only different skin toned characters but he also added a disabled character, bravo for that.

Sadly thats it.

The problem I have with this book is the lack of world building, the lack of descriptions of Hollow City, of the characters and of the system upon which the city runs....
As interesting as the concept was, honestly I felt like there wasn't exactly any reason for anything that kept happening in this book. What exactly were we working toward?? To redeem the Kingman name and legacy, to know the truth about David Kingman's execution, but thats the thing the events or revelations were just not building toward a redemption. Certain events were so disconnected from the main storyline that it made you think how on earth is all this going to contribute to the grand scheme of things.
The author failed to grip me, he couldn't make me care for The Kingman Legacy or Michael's father. I felt absolutely no connection to the characters. I was curious but not curious enough. I couldn't care less about the legacy.
Michael Kingman himself didn't exactly care about the legacy, he had accepted that his father was a traitor yet there were moments where he acted as if he wants nothing more than to redeem the Kingman name.

The author had a really refreshing concept, interesting even but lacked an interesting story. It felt more like a rambling of sorts, like a first draft than an actual novel.

The story was being dragged just for the sake of it, with characters being introduced every few pages and then completely disappearing for a few chapters, events that didnt really tell you what the author is building towards. Its like he kept writing and thought he'd be able to connect everything in the end somehow, but for the time being he just wrote chaotially.

I love unpredictable plots but this was just all over the place..

Slow burn start but then it really heats up all the way to the end with an ending I did not see coming. I will really be looking forward to to seeing how this goes in the future and can't wait to get more of the Kingman. This was very well done and the character interaction and intricacy of the relationships was masterfully put together.

Ok, I am somewhat still processing how I feel about this book. I guess I'll start with what I liked. The writing is very good in the sense that I wanted to keep reading, even when I was annoyed (more on that later). There is a lot going on in this book so it is certainly never boring, there's sometimes almost too much going on. I loved the magic system and how the price of using magic is forgetting memories and how it explores how we remember things and how we perceive truth. I also really enjoyed the politics, the world-building, a lot of the characters-although we do not get to see them fleshed out much-and the mystery element.
I have to be honest and say that some of this book irritated me because the main character is pretty annoying at first. Very naïve, overly cocky and entitled, constantly went off halfcocked and made dumb choices, etc. I will say he did grow on me and towards the end I was much less irritated, so you should power through the beginning for that payoff. The end was pretty satisfying and I will continue on to the next book because I think there is a ton of potential for this to be a great series.

Ten years ago, Michael Kingman's father killed the King's son and ruined their family's legacy. Michael has let his bitterness and resentment as his childhood father stew and when he's presented the opportunity to prove his father is innocent, he jumps at it. Despite the fact that he must now mingle with the Nobels he's spurned, Michael does his best to figure out what happened that night ten years ago.

I really struggled with parts of this book. Michael was an annoying little git at times. He is really good at running away from his problems, and it solves nothing besides frustrating me. I had pretty big hopes for this story considering the fact that Brandon Sanderson blurbed this book. But that was probably a mistake.

However, this was an interesting story if not my favorite one ever. I enjoyed the world building and the history of the Royals and Kingman family. One thing I am still confused by is the fact that one of the moon's is shattered. Like how?? Also, sounds kind of dangerous to have that happen. The mystery of what happened to Davy Hollow that night was intriguing, but the way the pieces came together in the end was a bit disjointed. I wasn't quite convinced of what happened, and felt that I was missing some answers.

The last 100 pages or so were quite fun. There's a lot more action and less of Michael running away like a child. I'm curious to see what will happen in the rest of the series. Also, how old is Michael?? Sometimes he acted 16 and other times like 36. So I want to know.

I can honestly say that this is great debut fantasy novel that keep me hooked from beginning to end. The action was non-stop and the characters were realistic, flawed and interesting to get to know. The world building was decent and will obviously grow given time as the series grows. The only flaws I could find were the lack of detail on the magic system and the outside rebellion that was only touched upon but not really explained, saying that it is early days in the series and I am sure these will be improved upon given time.

Anyway this was a great book and a definite recommendation from me.

I tried so hard to like this book. The premise was really promising. A magic system that feeds on memories? That’s a fascinating concept! But the magic was barely explored or explained in any meaningful way. And while this is billed as an adult fantasy, it felt so young adult in tone that I felt suckered into reading something I hadn’t actually agreed to. The setting was vague in its description to the point that I had a hard time putting myself into the action. The supporting cast was fine, but populated with vaguely intriguing cardboard cutouts instead of tangible characters with any depth. The main character, Michael Kingman, drove me absolutely insane. I wanted to shake him for constantly repeating the same mistakes and for being so blind to (very obvious) plot twists that he was constantly being blindsided. Speaking of those twists, most of them were so glaringly transparent that I audibly groaned dozens upon dozens of times. The plot didn’t feel in any way fresh, but instead reused tropes in a way that felt like an amateur band covering popular songs, if that makes sense. I’m in no way trying to belittle the book or the author; I’m just annoyed that there was so much potential here that, in my opinion, wasn’t ever met. It wasn’t a bad book, and I’m sure plenty of readers are going to love it. It was action-packed and full or drama, and it did keep me turning pages. But regrettably, it just didn't work for me.

3.75 but rounding up to 4.
High fantasy debut? Need I ever say more!

„The Kingdom of Liars” sparked my interest because it reminded me of Scott Lynch’s „The Lies of Locke Lamora”. Additionally the cover just screamed „high fantasy” so I had to check it out. The two books are dissimmilar in plot for the most part but Michael Kingman as presented in the synopsis had something that spoke to me and made me think of Locke.

Unlike Locke Lamora which focuses on there being an epic, multi-layered heist that the main characters have to pull off, this book begins with Michael going on trial for murder of the king of Hollows. As if following his father’s footsteps in regicide. Before he meets the same end though, he is going to tell the reader his story -- what decisions and mistakes have brought him to the executioner’s block. At that precise moment while reading it I had a flashback to Les Miserables and someone awaiting beheading just snapping their head up to start singing about revolution… Haha. Trust me, first person perspective done Michael Kingman style does weird things to my head.

Going into the book we already know his father was found guilty and beheaded for the murder of the king’s son a decade ago. That crime the Kingman children paid a steep price for since; what with being branded traitors which is no easy feat to live with. With Michael’s retracing his footsteps we journey through the Hollows where magic-wielders called Fabricators (there are many different kinds of those) risk losing memories whenever they use their various gifts and where anyone can be a rebel plotting against the royal family.

„The Kingdom of Liars” presents a Ketterdam-esqe world with complicated politics, court intrigue that can make your head spin, enigmatic personas and merceneries you would love to have in your corner but keep double-crossing (looking at you, Michael). Amid all that, there is Michael whose decisions often made me go ‘wait, WHAT?’. Upon finishing the book I can only say that it was either a stroke of genius that allowed him to survive everything that had happened to him or he had been just plain incredibly lucky. Considering there’s only so much luck one person can have I’m thinking he might have been an odd genius of sorts, too.

That part however, even for fantasy, made me think how unprobable survival of those events was. Or simply that they should have been somewhat stretched out in time. You have to understand that this book has EVERYTHING happening all at once. Michael walks down the street with every intention of visiting a library where he spends the night bent over books. The next day he goes about his business but suddenly he has to save someone’s life. Someone who is dear to him but you can’t bloody remember what their name was! A series of dramatic events later he is still alive (several almost drownings later) and finds the time to visit his mother at the asylum and eat a meal with his foster father. In the meanwhile scheming ensues, better than ever.
I think the book would have benefited a lot from greater exposure. Characters, plots and such should have been left to brew. This way the story would have been more wholesome, in my opinion.

I have to say I enjoyed this book a lot but Michael as a main character is utterly insufferable and it is despite him that I did. He is naive, idealistic and on a quest to save the Kingman’s name’s legacy which on itself gurantees cringe-worthy moments. Even more so that he is determined to save his tarnished family’s name no matter what and regardless of consequences on his friends it may bring. He is so full of himself and that was only magnified by the fact it is a first person narration book. I had to clench my teeth through this and I am quite convinced that had this book was written from a perspective of an all-knowing 3rd person, it would have been so much better. Well, alas.

Despite my issues with how it was narrated I did really like it because of how the scheming unfolded. I found the ending, as well as the journey to it, satisfactory but not in a way that would answer all the burning questions which is great because it promises a potentially great sequel (and this is supposed to be a series). There is room for improvement but a debut that’s understandable. I would recommend this to everyone who enjoys high fantasy and high stakes story.

**massive thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I’m almost at a loss for how to rate and review The Kingdom of Liars. On one hand, I enjoyed the characters and idea of the world. In contrast, I had a lot of issues with the world building and magic system.

The Kingdom of Liars follows the Kingman family. A family that has been devoted to the ruling family for generations. A Kingman’s job is to protect the ruling family at all costs while also acting as the checks and balances. When the story picks up, the Kingman family is in disgrace and labeled as traitors after David Kingman was found guilty of the murder of the prince. Michael Kingman and his siblings now live day to day trying to survive in a city who views them as guilty as well.

There is a lot of political intrigue from start to end as Michael has to navigate the high noble life in order to regain his family’s political standing while trying to clear his father’s name. I enjoyed this aspect of the story the most. Michael navigating this part of the world is what kept me reading. Part political thriller and mystery, Martell’s writing is tight and concise. The mystery deepens until the explosive reveal.

No fantasy is complete without a magic system. However, Martell’s magic system is poorly defined at best. Some characters are graced with different abilities, like expelling lightning or darkening a room, but these abilities come at a cost. The more these abilities are used, the more the person loses their memories. Martell has created a well balanced magic system, but failed to fully explain it. Or at least attempt to explain it.

There is a lot going on throughout The Kingdom of Liars. Martell weaves together multiple storylines that all tie in together at the end. Unfortunately, it’s not successful in its desired outcome. A lot of the storylines feel like a waste of time for most of the novel as their importance doesn’t become apparent until the end.

Overall, The Kingdom of Liars is a semi successful fantasy novel that bit off more than it can chew. I will be reading the sequel once it releases since the ending of The Kingdom of Liars sets up what should be an exciting sequel.

There is a lot to be delighted by in The Kingdom Of Liars by Nick Martell. The magic system appears unique, the characters have rich backstories, and the world seems full of a wild, mishmash of cultures.

Michale Kingman is a traitor. He can't escape it, wearing the brand on his neck for all to see. He also can't seem to escape the legacy of his family name. While his older brother has accepted fate and built a life to encompass his families dishonor, Michael cannot deny the pull to become something great. What ensues is a series of quests, tugging Michael into all kinds of histories, deception, and intrigue.

Martell sets a fast pace, moving Michael along on the rush of a river. The thing is, Michael can't swim, nor can he seem to get a foothold into who he should trust. A lot is going on in The Kingdom Of Liars. The story would have succeeded as a serial instead of an epic fantasy novel. There is a rich world ready for more detail, but overall the story lacks lushness. The magical system is also highly intriguing and exceptional. While it gets more details ironed out on the pages, there could have been more.

Overall, the whole novel could have bloomed like a lush garden with a touch more time afforded to developing it. The rush of the story does make it a fast-paced read, but at the sufferance of fully realizing the world in which our protagonist Michael lives.

The Kingdom Of Liars could be a fantastic start to a series. If Martell plans more novels following Michael Kingman, they should reveal more about the world and the magic to truly raise this novel into the epic fantasy realms.

I have to know the rest of the story!! Not because so much was left out but because the story builds and builds. Just because I finished the book doesn't mean the story is over.

The Kingdom of Liars introduced me to the phrase "mild water". As a white person, a native English speaker, and a retired waitress - Michael waking to bland food and a glass of "mild water" was one of the greatest linguistic thrills of my reading month. So ends my flaccid attempt at positivity.
I downloaded this arc because there is a fancy edition for sale through Goldsboro books and I was curious to see for myself if the book was as strong as reviews in my instagram feed led me to believe before I purchased the edition. It was not.
This book is largely comprised of conflicting side quests. It is exhausting and I was constantly muttering let's get back to it Michael (cue focusing finger snaps). There are a number of things in this world that are either never explained, or explained so late in the story as to be pointless: the magic system, the tweekers and Blackberries, the Endless Waltz (which was like 3 events, so perhaps more of a Finite Waltz?), the geography of the city/world (hopefully there will be a map in the final copy to clear up all the fast-travelling).
This is very much a book that tells, rather than shows, Michael's value and belief system. There are many interesting ideas (using magic causes memory loss, the broken moon, some of the politics) but clouded by the unrelenting structural issues.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc for review. This has in no way influenced my opinion.

Wow. I'm just going to say it: this is my fantasy top pick for 2020. Maybe even my top pick of any genre. That's how much I love this book.

From the first strong chapter, you're introduced to a well-fleshed world with complexity and darkness. The worldbuilding is truly spectacular and remains totally immersive the whole way through the plot but it never takes over the story. You're living it rather than reading it. Personally, I found the social dynamics to be absolutely fascinating.

But the characters are just as well-rounded and complex as the world is and they slowly reveal themselves to you as the plot progresses. Michael is a great protagonist. He thinks he knows everything about the world and what he wants but he grows so much through the story that you're left with a new young man in the end. It's a very organic growth though and I rooted for him hard the whole way through. The author does a great job at making the reader feel Michael's emotions, from his justifiable anger to his desperation to his undying loyalty to his family. All the other characters who are introduced are just as interesting. To me, Dormet was so intriguing but by the end I wanted to know so much more about Dark and Michael's mother too.

One of my favorite things about this book is the high cost of magic. As a fantasy reader, I want consequences and I shun magic building where you can just cast spells and there's no debt to pay. The cost of using Fabrications in Hollow are rough but to me that gave it weight. I was hoping this would be the case since the book's cover features a good review from Brandon Sanderson, one of my favorite writers and a master at worldbuilding with high-cost magic systems. I'm so glad to see another series in that style!

I could keep going. Really, I could. There's one note in my Kindle that just says 'I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!' and that's the truth. A great story, amazing cast of characters, fantastic worldbuilding, solid magic rules. It has everything. I already can't wait for book 2.


Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Gallery Books, and the author Nick Martell for the opportunity to do so.

This is the first book in the Legacy of the Mercenary Kings series and is a debut fantasy book. While this is a solid debut book, the slow start meant that I didn't become fully invested in the plot or the story. I found the main character, Michael, to be pretty infuriating for the first half or so of the book - he is cocky, naive and makes stupid decisions. By the time he was improving, I just wasn't invested enough to really love this book. It's still a good fantasy debut though with plenty of politics and intrigue. If you are a big fantasy reader, then this may be worth checking out.

I had seen a few reviews of The Kingdom of Liars that made me curious to read it, and I am so glad did. I was hooked early on, invested in Michael Kingman’s journey and how he was going to try to get redemption for his father. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, not a page wasted. Great world-building, a really interesting mix of characters and an intricate plot made this a really great read for me. Loved it!