Prior to book blogging, I really enjoyed diving into thicky meaty epic fantasy books. If the book was a doorstopper, I was in. However, as the years go on and I feel like I have more and more obligations, I haven’t picked up as many. Twelve Kings In Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu really took me back to my reading roots in such a good way. It made me want to go on and pick up more epic fantasy and forget all the other things I need to do.

Twelve Kings In Sharakhai opens with Ceda, the main character, fighting in the pits. Ceda is a young woman who doesn’t seem like she’ll win against her opponent, a much bigger man. However, the scene is set and we get this solid impression of who she is and the story to come. You see, Sharakhai is this desert city ruled by twelve kings. It is stable, but at a cost. Ceda’s life mission is to kill the kings – especially when she discovers the truth about this holy night that happens every six weeks.

In addition to Ceda’s storyline, there’s a storyline with her best friend Emre who has to pick his path in life as well as come to terms with choices he’s made. Then there’s another character who has lost his wife and daughter and so he’s out for vengeance. We also get a storyline that weaves in Ceda’s past so we can see why she makes the choices she does.

Beaulieu’s Twelve Kings In Sharakhai is richly detailed with the religion and politics. Plus, there’s the magic/mythology aspect. I did get a little bored at the fight scenes, but that’s likely because I am out of practice reading them. At this point, I can see myself reading more books in the series in the future.

This book took a long time for me to read, but it was absolutely not the book’s fault at all. When I first started to read Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu, I was sidelined by other obligations and just never had enough time to read more than a few pages of the book at once. I’m sorry, but I would have struggled to stay engaged with even the most suspenseful page-turner at that time.

I put the book down on purpose once I realized that I really liked it, but my snail’s pace was hampering my enjoyment of the story. Once the rest of my life was organized again (as much as it ever is, really), I went back to give this book the time that I thought it deserved, and was not disappointed.

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai is the first book in a series titled The Song of the Shattered Sands, which is supposed to run to six books total. This fantasy novel is set in the desert city of Sharakhai and has a Middle Eastern or Arabic feel to the names, cultures, and details. The main character is Çeda, a pit fighter and courier for those customers who don’t want their business known. Sharakhai is ruled by twelve seemingly immortal Kings, and Çeda is determined to kill all of them because she blames them for the death of her mother when she was just a child.

It is a tall task for a pit fighter to go up against the mystical rulers of Sharakhai, and Çeda flounders trying to figure out how to avenge her mother. She has been left with only her mother’s book and the skills and knowledge of how to sneak to the fields of the adichara, deadly trees with forbidden blooms that grant the user a hypervigilant state.

The story opens on B’eht Ihman, the night on which the asirim (undead slaves of the Kings) search the city and claim several of its inhabitants. While this is a death sentence, it is also supposedly an honor to be chosen. It is forbidden to be out on the streets, a law which Çeda routinely flaunts. On that night, one of Çeda’s courier jobs goes wrong when her best friend, Emre, is nearly killed. She is also cornered by one of the asirim who wears a crown, whispers mysterious words to her, and plants a kiss upon her forehead.

There is more to the plot that Çeda’s desire for revenge, for the Kings of Sharakhai have numerous enemies, including neighboring states and a more organized ruthless rebel force, the Moonless Host. Their plot threads all begin to intertwine as Çeda is drawn into the secrets surrounding the Kings, solving riddles that are seemingly the keys to their demise.

The book begins by telling its story through mainly Çeda’s point-of-view, alternating the current day with flashbacks showing her time with her mother. These flashback scenes become more sparse once we have learned the necessary information, and other characters add to the narrative, including Emre, Ramahd (an emissary from another state), and even one of the Kings. This structure worked well for me, but as more characters are introduced, it did require some concentration to remember all of the political relationships between them.

I truly enjoyed Çeda’s tale and found her to be an enthralling and realistically drawn protagonist. Some of her secrets and foreshadowed events were obvious early on, but I believe that was an intentional decision by the author, as more of the excitement of the story comes in how she pulls off what she does. But this book also ends as one volume of a series should – with many unanswered questions. One aspect of the plot is wrapped up so there is still some satisfaction to be had, and it doesn’t end on a huge cliffhanger. The next book (With Blood Upon the Sand) is already available, and I plan to pick it up soon.