Review: Of Captivity & Kings (E.Y. Laster)
The Kingdom of Nabara is a peaceful one, with strict laws against the slave trade and a clear path to follow if the Kings fails to follow the rules and enforce justice and order. However, when a Roman slave ship crashes near the coast, bedlam ensues. When the High King of Nabara invokes the power of the six-kingdom alliance, Nudolla, the ruling families of those kingdoms are forced to experience the corruption and horror of the rising slave trade. Told from the POV of multiple characters, Of Captivity & Kings takes the reader on a journey into a different world, one that is extremely interesting to explore.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book, especially because it is literally right up my alley. Fictional kingdoms are my jam, so I was super excited to review a book that heavily feature them. I also greatly enjoyed the individual characters, since they were very well-written and interesting to read about. I just really wish that it had been easier to follow the storyline so that I could have enjoyed this novel in the manner in which it was intended.
The hardest part for me about this book was honestly the fact that it was very difficult for me to follow along. There were so many POVs, and so many different storylines, that I could never quite figure out who the focus of the current chapter, or what was going on. This led to what seemed like a bunch of unrelated chapters, although I knew that they were supposed to be connected somehow. The individual pieces were quite good, but I just couldn't follow along well enough to connect them together.
There is no doubt in my mind that Laster can write. The sentences flowed together quite nicely, there weren't any choppy bits, and when I was able to understand what was going on it was quite an enjoyable read. I also really did enjoy the premise of this novel, and I do think that if it was slightly easier to follow along it could have easily been a 4 star novel.
2.5/5 Stars
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my opinions on, review of, or feelings towards this book.