K is for King of Swords by Dave Duncan #atoz2025 #booksky

King of Swords fits into my A to Z Challenge today, as my usual Saturday book review, plus one of my book illustrations, which fits today’s theme.

I’m Jemima Pett, author, blogger, illustrator and guinea pig wrangler. My interests are in fantasy, environment, science (inc. fiction) and thrillers, to name a few things. This is my nth AtoZ Challenge. Mostly I talk about books. This time I’m talking about something I do without much thinking about… my illustrations.

The Princelings books and the two for younger readers, Messenger Misadventures and Cavies of Flexford Common all have illustrations. Most are chapter headings. Cavies is designed for younger readers (c 7 yrs old, Key Stage 1 in UK educational parlance). That has illustrations throughout.

Feel free to comment below!

And … the A to Z is a blog hop, so do go to other people who are doing it. You can find the links here

King of Swords (Starfolk #1)

by Dave Duncan

Rigel has always known he is not quite human, but the only clue to his origin is the otherworldly bracelet he has worn since childhood.

His search for his parentage leads him to the Starlands, where reality and fantasy have changed places. There he learns that he is a human-starborn cross, and his bracelet is the legendary magical amulet Saiph, which makes its wearer an unbeatable swordsman. Fighting off monsters, battling a gang of assassins seeking to kill him, Rigel finds honorable employment as a hero. He knows that he must die very soon if he remains in the Starlands, but he has fallen hopelessly in love with a princess and cannot abandon her.

Through the imaginative landscape of the Starlands, Rigel’s quest leads him to encounter minotaurs, sphinxes, cyclops, and more fearsome creatures in Dave Duncan’s latest fantasy series.[Goodreads]

My Review

KIng of Swords opens brilliantly, with a fight with a bear in a Canadian National Park. The descriptions are excellent, and I got really drawn in… then I got worried. We seemed to be heading for one of those dreadful ‘coming-of-age, learning your true inheritance and training to be something else’ stories. BUT NO!!! Thrown in the deep end, learn fast or die (there’s a lot of fighting). Now that’s more like it!

It’s a complex plot, with complicated names (I only really got the ones that are stars I recognise, but I suspect the others may be from other myths/legends/histories). The imagery and world-building are really excellent. I gave it four stars because I did get a little lost on who was who for a while, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I may even look for the next in the series!

Today’s Illustration

Although there are many kings and queens in my books, I’ve never drawn any of them. The closest I came was the King’s Head at Sowerby Row, an inn featured in I for Irascible Immortals. But I do have a castle at the real town of King’s Lynn, in Norfolk, on the Wash. Naturally I call it Castle Wash. And its king was King Lynn, who was in ill-health for most of the series and his heir, Crown Prince Hunston, was a useful ally for my heroes, Fred and George. So, here’s Castle Wash.

I also had several K prompts in the recent art group challenge. Here are my attempts at Knobs and Buttons, and some Knives (and spoons)!