Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC and audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"Victory or defeat matters less than the fact that we fight."

I had a great time reading Blood of the Old Kings. The worldbuilding was probably the best part of the book for me. The unique world and the magic system kept me entertained the entire time. Between the three POVs, Cain's POV was a little lackluster compared to Arrienne's or Loran's.

Excited to see what happens with this series in the future!

<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

Holy shit, what an amazing opening chapter. This book had me hooked literally from page one, which was such a breath of fresh air for all of the meh books I have read lately.

Reading the acknowledgements and how Kim praised another author for teaching him the value of crisp prose… I can see it. This prose is crispy AF. No wasted words here. And while I am a bitch who loves flowery prose, I love equally as much writing that gets to the point and eats, no crumbs. And folks, this is it.

Does this book have several fantasy/action tropes? Well, yeah. If you boil it down, someone finding out they have power they didn’t know before, going on a hero’s journey, heading the call, etc, are not groundbreaking. But listen, they are <i>classic</i> for a reason, and this book does it well.

Sometimes I really hate multiple POV books and find them tiresome. Other times, they add so much to a story and provide such a fun amount of antici- (such as [book:Six of Crows|23437156] or any of the GoT books) -pation, <b>especially</b> when shit is popping off and going crazy.

This book had me hungry for more. Hungry for the next chapter. Hungry for the next page. Hungry for the next paragraph. I haven’t felt the <i>need</i> and the rush of reading that this book gave me in… I don’t know. A while.

So with that being said, even if at its core it’s a basic bitch fantasy/adventure/action novel, with a DRAGON, of course… I don’t fucking care. Sometimes you just want to be entertained. And oh boy, was I entertained. And it was done well!

I cannot wait for the next book in this series; I did appreciate that there wasn’t an earth-shattering cliff hanger, because I absolutely DETEST that in a series (first of all, your first book should stand as a good story on its own without it being 3 or 400 pages of set up for a book two, and second of all, it’s just lazy! You don’t have to be like that!) - sure there was a little surprise at the end, but nothing that leaves me feeling unsatisfied.

The empire has its tomorrow, and that’s what we need to prepare for - I can’t wait to see what Kim has in store for us next.

BOTOK tells a story about the loyalty and protection of the people's beloved country, Arland, and their journey to keep it safe. Oh! And there are dragons.

BOTOK is a decent read. It was quick, the Fantasy elements weren't too complex, and the character-building is something most authors should take a page and study. The story started strong, reminding me of The Poppy War. The grit, hunger, and determination the first character's POV exuded gave me the impression that this would be an epic journey. However, as I continued to read, I think the synopsis gave more of an "Epic" feel than the story produced. I'm used to trials, and obstacle course work to get to the final battle, but BOTOK cut out a lot of the fluff and got straight to it. It left the desire for "epic," but I appreciated the story nonetheless.

What do a vengeful widow, a wandering investigator, and a runaway sorcerer-in-training have in common? Well, they’re the heart of Blood of the Old Kings, and they’ve all got a bone to pick with the Empire.

Let’s start with Loran. She’s the kind of character you’d root for in any rebellion. The Empire didn’t just conquer her homeland, Arland—it tore her family apart during one of its infamous crackdowns. Her mission? Track down the ancient dragon that once protected Arland, now chained and defeated, and see if it’s got one last roar left for the good fight.

Then there’s Cain. He grew up far from home, thanks to parents who wisely shipped him off to the Imperial capital to avoid the Empire’s routine purges. He doesn’t feel much for Arland itself, but his heart belongs to the exiled Arlandian community he grew up around. When his closest friend—an altruist with a penchant for stirring hope—dies under mysterious circumstances, Cain turns detective. What he uncovers might just shake the very foundation of the Empire.

And finally, Arienne, a student sorcerer with a ticking clock on her life. The Empire has this fun little system where sorcerers aren’t taught to wield magic freely. Instead, they’re turned into literal batteries after their "deaths," powering the Empire’s war machines from beyond the grave. Arienne? She’s not about to let that happen. Her story is all about survival, escape, and sticking it to the system.

The plot spins these three stories into a tightly woven tapestry of rebellion, mystery, and magic. Loran wants to lead Arland to freedom. Cain is hunting for truth. Arienne is dodging a fate worse than death. Together, their paths cross in surprising, and sometimes unexpected, ways. Some twists hit like thunderbolts, while others keep you guessing—or laughing—about what could have been.

Now, I was thinking, is this a standalone story or the start of a series? Honestly, it's got potential! It’s got all the makings of a self-contained tale, but there’s also plenty of room for sequels if the author decides to keep the fire burning.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this adventure, it had a good pace, great characters. Blood of the Old Kings delivered an exciting mix of intrigue, defiance, and heart, set in a world that felt both fantastical and deeply rooted in history. Highly recommend for anyone who loves layered characters and rebellion with a dash of dragons (duh!)

It was ok. I thought all the ideas were great and I want more. I do feel like it was missing a lot of world building and some character development but would be instead in another installment

Release Date 10.08.2024
Review Date 11.12.2024

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

Powered by the corpses of sorcerers, the Empire has conquered the world. It claims to have brought peace and stability to its conquered lands, but some see that peace for what it is—a lie—and will give everything in the fight against it. Loran is desperate for revenge after the Empire killed her family, so much so that the swordswoman climbs the volcano where the legends say an ancient dragon slumbers and leaps in. She finds that the legends are true, and Loran leaves the mountain with a sword made of dragon’s fang and a great purpose before her. Cain arrived in the Imperial Capital lost and orphaned, and it’s only thanks to the kindness of a stranger-turned-mentor that he survived on the city’s streets. When his friend is found murdered, he will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible, even if it means starting a war. Arienne’s future has never been in question—born a sorcerer, she’ll be a Power Generator for the Empire upon her death. But when she starts to hear the voice of a powerful necromancer in her head, she realizes the only thing more terrifying than dying for the Empire is never getting to truly live in the first place. When peace is a lie, there is power in truth—and as Loran, Cain, and Arienne hunt for answers in their own lives, any one of their small rebellions could be the stone that brings the Empire toppling down.

Spreadsheet Scores.
Characters-7
Plot-7
Writing-7
Setting-7
Enjoyment-7
For an overall rating of 7 which equals a 4 star.

This one I am unsure on. The whole time I was reading it, I felt like there was something lacking. I couldn't put my finger on it. I liked the characters, but they only felt skin deep at times. I was not expecting an almost sci-fi feel to the world when I started, so when I got to the other two POVs and there was talk of cameras I was a little surprised. One thing that surprised me given that the majority of the book I didn't feel like the characters were very fleshed out was how I got emotional over the people's reaction to Loran. They just had so much love for her and so much hope because of her just because of what she was trying to do for them. I love instances of a leader being surprised by the people following them and trusting them, because they think they don't deserve it.
When I look this up on Goodreads on my phone it does not have it down as a series, but on my laptop it does, I felt like the story was wrapped up nicely. I may keep my eyes peeled to see if anything else happens with it.

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**TL;DR**: This was a sleeper hit for me - I loved it.
**Source**: eArc via Netgalley and a physical book via the publisher - THANK YOU!

**Plot**: Three PoVs each fight and rebel against the Empire that has conquered them in their own ways.
**Characters**: I found myself loving each and every PoV character and many of the side characters, I was very invested.
**Setting**: The setting felt very real and alive for me. I still think about this one, even days later.
**Fantasy:** A classic rebellion plot with dragons and some final fantasy style machines

**Thoughts**:

I would describe Blood the Old Kings as a classic rebellion fantasy meets Final Fantasy - specifically the machinery in FFXIV and the related games. I would also recommend this as similar to The Grace of Kings with a lot less bloat.

This follows three individuals who each end up fighting against a conquering empire in their own ways. One woman makes a deal with a dragon to become the next King, a young student ends up following a voice in her head who leads her down a dangerous path and straight into the empire’s crosshairs, and a young man working in an olive oil shop tries to solve the murder of his close friend.

For me each of these view points was radically different and I wasn’t completely sold on each of them till the final stages when it began to knit together. The pacing wasn’t quite perfect, and my interest lagged a tiny bit in the first half, but once you begin to see the connections - and connect they do, it becomes fantastic. The world perhaps needed a little bit of fleshing out, but it was vivid enough to support our characters wonderfully.

I’m also desperate for more of this story as it was teased there was more in store for our characters. I can’t stop thinking about this and I recommend for any Fantasy fans who are looking for something a little different.

4.75 out of 5 Eight Eyed Dragons

3.5 stars

Another difficult-to-write review. The first chapter of this book really was fantastic, and it made me really like Loran's character. She is brave and wants to get her vengeance on the Empire that took her family. Arienne is a young girl who has lived the majority of her life in a school, preparing to serve the rest of her life as a sorcerer and then become a magic battery when she dies. She runs away and the Empire is now tracking her down. Cain is a man on a mission to discover who killed his friend and why. Each of these characters is interesting and has a dangerous journey ahead of them.

This book is confusing because the concept is so interesting, but the translation really lets it down. I think I would have liked it better if I could read in the original language, but as I am not fluent in Korean, that's not possible. What was lost in translation made it hard to connect completely with the characters. I found Cain's chapters to be the least interesting, and that's always when I would put the book down and find it hard to pick it back up.

The climax was really well done, except for the fade-to-black final scene with Loran. I was really disappointed not to get the whole fight scene. The time jump was surprising and threw me off. The last chapter gives us some hope, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I hope to see more of what happened to Loran and Arienne. I hope we are able to connect and feel more invested in the characters in book two.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Blood of the Old Kings has an interesting premise, a dark empire run solely on the blood of dead mages and a 7-eyed dragon! We meet three main characters at different turning points in their lives, Arienne, Loren, and Caine. While each of their stories are unique, I didn’t really feel connected to any of them in particular. One the other hand the world building for such a dark fantasy is fantastic. I enjoyed reading this book mainly because I like books by Asian writers. However, I think a lot got lost in translation, the main reason why I wasn’t in love with their characters even though they have high stakes. This has happened before while reading translated Japanese books. Sadly I just don’t think the English language has the right words or concepts to describe the originals.

Right off the bat the premise of the story caught my attention and it just kept building from there. Blood of the old kings has fantastic and rich world building and characters that are compelling and interesting to follow.

This was a translation of a Korean novel (translated by Anton Hur) that I am happy to say I enjoyed quite a lot.

The three protagonists (Loran, Cain, Arienne) are all from Arland, a small kingdom which was conquered by the all-encompassing Empire several decades before the story begins. I’m assuming Arland is meant to be inspired by Korea, and there were a number of things that suggested to me it was inspired by the Three Kingdoms period specifically, but I don’t know enough about Korean history to be sure or even say anything intelligent here. Moving on.

Loran’s husband and daughter were killed by the Empire during a crackdown against unrest (which they were not involved in). She seeks out the dragon that is the guardian of Arland. The dragon was defeated and chained when the Empire conquered the kingdom, but she still hopes to get the dragon’s help or at least its blessing.

Cain was sent to the Imperial capital when he was young, before his parents could be swept up in the same kind of crackdown (they seem to be a semi-regular thing). He doesn’t feel a strong connection to Arland as such, but he does connect strongly to the Arland expatriate community in the capital. He is seeking to learn who killed a dear friend who devoted herself to helping her fellow Arlanders, and why she died.

Arienne is a student sorcerer. The power of the Empire depends on sorcerers, though not in the sense one usually finds in a fantasy story. They are not taught magic, save for some very specific ways that can serve the Empire. But upon their deaths (at least what the Empire says is their deaths) their bodies are locked in lead sarcophagi and provide the power for the Empire and its war machines. Arienne will do anything to avoid this fate.

What follows is three interwoven stories, as Loran seeks to lead Arland in rebellion and become king, Cain tries to find out what happened to his friend, and Arienne tries to flee the academy where she lives and/or is imprisoned. The three together form a greater story, with some surprising connections (and some connections I was expecting but was surprised not to find).

I’m not certain if this is intended to be the first in a series or not. I’ve seen it described as book 1 in some places, but not others. There’s room for sequels, but it also works perfectly well as a standalone. Overall strongly recommended.

Sung-il Kim (translated by Anton Hur) creates a world in which the bodies of dead sorcerers are the engines that power civilization.Arienne, who has sorcerer ability has to go to an academy that really doesn’t teach much. Then she starts hearing the voice of an ancient sorcerer who wants her to recover his body. To do so he teaches her some spells, and when she gets his corpse, she has to run to her homeland of Arland and learn more sorcery to protect her from Cain, an ancient sorcerer barely alive. In Arland a widowed swordswoman decides she has nothing to lose by confronting the ancient, chained dragon who once protected Arland and is given a flaming sword. Thus starts a rebellion against the Empire that can only succeed with the Blood of the Old Kings (hard from TOR). Lots of fun

DNF. I really wanted to like this book, I tried. But I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it was the translation that threw me off. I might try it again sometime later in life, but it just wasn't the right book for me right now. I think the story has potential so it might be someone else's book.

A satisfying tale with great characters set in an intriguing world. There are familiar threads in this tale for anyone who loves fantasy, but there are also several fresh twists on the old tropes that make this book stand out for me.

“Nobody conquers the world with insincere lies.”

I LOVED this book! First, I was immediately drawn in by the cover art! A gorgeous piece of art that I want as a poster on the wall of my library!. Next, the story! A dark high fantasy novel about a ruling empire that uses the bodies of sorcerers as fuel?! I was hooked from page 1! The characters were real and engaging. The different points of view were interesting and varied which made for a very well written novel. The action was a lot of fun and very different from what I’ve read before. Overall, this novel kept me interested until the very end and left just enough for me to be craving more. Hoping for more novels from this author!

I always like to support foreign/translated authors, which piqued my interest when "Blood of the Old Kings" was available. Especially when foreign authors try to tackle certain genres like fantasy.

This book is one of the few exceptions to my normal preference away from "switching PoV" book styles. Cain and Loran were my favorite out of the three characters the book revolves around. Loran seems to be the fan-favorite though and understandably so in the struggles to rule as a king amidst no royal heritage and yet not giving up on the goals of kingship/being ruler.

I'm always a sucker for world-building, so I appreciate the thought put into this world and the magic system. Especially magic systems that (even to some extent) have rules and limitations.

Enjoyable read. The pacing gives whiplash sometimes, but remained enjoyable to see the character arcs. Clearly setting up for a series.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this copy. I apologize about the delayed review due to taking my time reading and adjusting to the multi-POV story format.

Final rating: 3.5/5 stars

This was definitely an intriguing start to a new fantasy series! I was very intrigued all the way through the story about each of the storylines - each of the characters was distinct, very different, and stood out. The whole book felt like the beginning of a fantasy book to me, though - this is definitely a set up to a series, and it feels that way.
My one problem with it is that it felt rushed in some places. I wish that Loran's storyline had been given more space to grow and build, rather than rushing through her pattern of sword/fight/fight/give up/change mind/fight; I wanted to dwell in her mind more, I wanted to feel the pull of the war path that she's chosen. But, I am definitely most intrigued by the aspect of kings in this world, and the choice of going against fate/destiny.
It was generally good, though! If this book had been given another hundred or so pages to flesh out each of the storylines even more, I think I would have been even more in love with it.
I am interested in continuing with the series.

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for an early copy to review!

I'm always so torn on how to rate books that are translated. Sometimes I feel like my gripes could be attributed to the fact that I'm not reading this in the language it was written in/intended to be read in. For example, I found the world-building and cultural/historical context to often feel confusing. I am not certain if this was the way it was written or the way it was translated. I will say, though, that I did enjoy how the 3 POVs wove together and I appreciated that this wasn't an overly technical, or high, fantasy. I am looking forward to the sequel, mostly because I feel like the ending was just so fast and cut-and-dry, that I need to know if they're going to subvert it in the next installment!

In an Empire literally powered by the bodies of dead mages, three unconnected individuals begin journeys that could bring that empire to its knees. First there's a swordswoman out for revenge who is granted a magic sword by a dragon; in return, she vows to rise up, overthrow the empire, and become her homeland's king. Then there's a young man from the streets investigating his friend's murder and what it has to do with a secret resistance group in the capital. Lastly, there's a mage trying to escape the clutches of the empire, determined to avoid her fate of becoming just another battery to power the Empire's oppression. Their fates are intertwined, but will it be enough to destroy the Empire that conquered magic?

Despite a fascinating and unique premise, BLOOD OF THE OLD KINGS fails to deliver a memorable experience. To the book's credit, it starts out with its best foot forward. Each of the first three chapters starts in media res as our three POV characters are at a crucial juncture in their lives. We meet Loran, for instance, when she is already negotiating with a dragon for the sword that will give her the strength to battle the empire. I was immediately intrigued by all the storylines and couldn't wait to see where they went.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of substance to support the setup. Everything about the world-building felt very surface level, even as it tries to have complexity. There's different factions trying to overthrow the empire, for instance, each with different lengths they are willing to go to in order to win. But the leaders of those factions felt one dimensional, or sometimes barely appeared on the page at all.

Likewise, the plot and the characters felt very uneven. The story of Loran the swordswoman, for instance, would take sporadic time jumps. That wouldn't be bad itself if it didn't seem to also skip over things that felt like they should be big set pieces or sequences, like Loran's first fights with her new swords or a battle to take a key fort. And while a couple of the POVs do intersect with each other, two major storylines end up being largely separate from each other, resulting in a book that didn't feel like it had a cohesive narrative.

Loran did have the most interesting character arc as she wrestles with the notion of what it means to be king. When she starts the story, she feels like a fraud for declaring herself king because she has no royal blood. Her emotional journey of realizing what it means to assume responsibility for a people was one of the more compelling aspects of the story.

There are enough good pieces in this book that I thought I'd write a review recommending a flawed but interesting new entry in the epic fantasy space. I liked Cain's investigation into his friend's murder, especially as it runs him afoul of both an extremist group and the Empire's secret police. I liked Arienne's strange memory magic and watching her learn to warp reality around her.

Unfortunately, the ending of the book left me underwhelmed. At least two characters made some truly baffling decisions at major story points. The final chapter, which jumps forward in time and serves almost as an epilogue, felt like a poor attempt to tie a neat bow on the story. Perhaps the author was going for a realistic ending, but it left me deeply frustrated and unsatisfied.

BLOOD OF THE OLD KINGS reads like a book where the broad story beats have been laid out, but it really needed another writing pass to deepen the world and the relationships. I will still fully credit it for a creative idea for a premise, but unfortunately, that alone was not enough to hold my interest. At the end of the day, this sadly isn't a read that I recommend.

Note: I was provided a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This book was translated incredibly well!
I throughly enjoyed the 3 perspectives we followed and how the story weaved together.
A great lighter fantasy for those new to the genre.
I myself would have liked a bit more descriptive prose especially when it came to the world building and history. At times I felt a bit confused on what to imagine some of the things we got introduced to, to look like.
The ending came a bit fast and also a bit too neat but I will be looking forward to to sequel.