This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
John Malone’s An Ascendant of Kings follows Adofo Abas Akopian, a prince of Akopia who was believed dead after the Carth Dominion shattered his homeland at the Crimson Bluffs. Taken into slavery as a boy, Adofo survives years inside the Dominion’s military order before returning to Akshan with Elmas Delara, the woman he loves. His brother Nishan has spent two decades defending Akopia and now faces a new invasion from the Children of the Sun. At the same time, Siham Sar Amun, Adofo’s former love and queen of Grand Xura, receives a divine warning as palace violence spreads through the Dominion. Adofo’s return gives Akopia a possible king, but the war closing around Akshan may decide whether his home still survives.
John Malone’s An Ascendant of Kings, book two in The Embers of the Past, is a really ambitious and sweeping epic fantasy, and Malone does an excellent job in pulling it all together. I love that the author gives kingship a public test before the crown. Adofo returns to Akopia after twenty years, yet the High Conclave makes recognition matter through political reality: his peridot eyes prove his bloodline, then the council delays his coronation until he helps defend the kingdom. The settings feel inhabited, like Tushik’s Artifice Quarter, where Zar workers explain labor quotas that leave families exhausted, then Siham answers them from the ruler’s side of the law. Adofo is a brilliant main character because he has to relearn his home before he can rule it. In a testament to the author’s skill, Siham’s royal training carries equal presence. Well written and immersive, readers who enjoy grand fantasy will adore this.
