Blood of the Old Kings
Sung-il Kim (translated by Anton Hur)
Hardcover / Ebook
ISBN: 9781250895332
Tor, October 2024, 368 pages

Greetings, readers, and welcome back to another book review! This month we’re entering a sprawling epic filled with rebellions against a decaying empire, batteries made from dead sorcerers, and most importantly (at least to my inner twelve-year-old self), a battle between a giant mech and a dragon! That’s right, it’s Blood of the Old Kings, the first book in the best-selling South Korean trilogy, now translated to English.

Blood of the Old Kings is presented from three different viewpoints that weave near-seamlessly through the entire book—Loran, a widowed swordswoman seeking meaning in the destruction of her family and willing to shatter the unstoppable to achieve it; Arienne, a student-sorcerer in service to the Empire for the entirety of her life and death thereafter, wondering if there’s any way to alter her fate; and Cain, an expatriate in the Empire’s capital searching for answers to the murder of his oldest friend. All three live beneath the shadow of the omnipresent Empire and its insatiable lust for conquest, yet the behemoth’s foundations may not be as mighty as they’ve all been led to believe.

The first thing I really liked about Blood of the Old Kings was how Sung-il Kim managed to weave together elements that will be immediately familiar to any student of western European history (the Empire has very heavy Roman Republic vibes) while including a broad array of early-Asian mysticism and culture to create a unique society that immediately draws in the reader. The Empire may be inspired by Rome, but making necromancy the centerpiece of the Empire’s power is a twist all Sung-il Kim’s own, and the resulting society is delightfully chaotic while still being relatable. The Empire seeks to control magic, and the sorcerers that wield it, crafting their dead bodies into fearsome weapons after they’ve finished serving in life, in a way that I can only describe as “sorcerer-punk,” and which I greatly enjoyed reading.

The next thing I want to touch on is the themes of rebellion and unrest which dominate the narrative in spectacular fashion. Sung-il Kim deftly brings together Loran’s struggle to free the dragon of her people, Arienne’s struggle to escape the Empire’s yoke, and Cain’s struggle for justice in a magnificent tapestry that feels epic without losing touch with the individual actors within it. The Empire is clearly a usurper of life and liberty, but it is also the fabric of society in a way that makes it seem unthinkable for it to not exist, and watching the three protagonists navigate their relationships with it was quite satisfying to witness.

Along that vein, another overarching theme that I really appreciated from Sung-il Kim (and that Anton Hur does a wonderful job translating to get the spirit across) was the burden of power and the costs of wielding it. Loran, Arienne, and Cain are all leaders in their own way, yet their approaches are as individual as their personal goals, and their evolution over the course of the book is thoughtful and entirely believable. Sung-il Kim does a masterful job balancing triumphs with setbacks, and at no time did I feel confident that I knew how the story was going to end (which is always a good thing when done correctly). In addition, while this is the first book in a trilogy, I felt that enough plot was resolved to leave me satisfied at the end of the book while still leaving room for the subsequent remainder, as well as plenty of space for the characters to continue growing.

Overall, Blood of the Old Kings was a book I was not expecting to enjoy as much as I did, and I’m glad I read it. It flows tightly, the characters all have believable motivations and reactions, and there are plenty of action-filled setpieces for those whose tastes run more to the kinetic side of things. My only complaint is now I either have to learn how to read Korean or wait for the next two books to come out, because I definitely want to finish reading this series. If you’re looking for something to scratch that sprawling epic itch, but also isn’t a thousand pages long, give Blood of the Old Kings a chance.

(Also, I believe I mentioned earlier that there’s a dragon versus giant mech fight, so, really, if that doesn’t get you going, that’s on you.)