Review: The Cursed Kingdoms Trilogy
Opening Line: ‘Jaumé was in his father’s barn when the curse broke free of its dormancy on the easternmost rim of the Seven Kingdoms.’
Not sure where to start with this one. Basically, the story follows Prince Harkeld, who is the only one who can break the curse passing over the land. He has to break it in three places, so it’s a book per place. In the meantime there’s a princess trying to survive an increasingly deadly court, and a little boy whose family died of the curse trying to get somewhere safe.
The pace is pretty relentless, almost brutal in places – and friendly warning, so is the content. The environment, at least in the first book (they travel a lot and not all the societies are the same) is pretty harshly misogynistic, and there is a lot of rape. It’s always portrayed as horrific and appalling, and I think Gee manages to steer away from it being voyeuristic/torture porn (largely because you don’t often see the event itself, even if it’s discussed and you know it’s happened), but there is a lot. See also: intense use of magical healing means we get some pretty nasty injuries on a frequent basis. So if either of those things are not for you, then I’d suggest avoiding the books.
However, that aside, it’s actually quite a good trilogy. We have two female leads and two male leads, and a bundle of fairly gender-balanced secondary characters. There’s a romance subplot, but it doesn’t feel too overdone. The magic system is well done – we’ve got healers and shape-shifters and fire mages, and the curse itself is splendidly frightening.
Gee writes quite well too, racking up the tension without losing your interest, and conveying events cleanly and clearly (even complicated fight scenes, which are hard to do well) without making a fuss about her prose. The viciousness of the environment and many of the characters is balanced by well-written and fully-formed protagonists and their supports – you worry because some characters are awful, but you don’t lose hope because not everyone is awful.
It’s also surprisingly funny (well, it made me laugh a lot). Prince Harkeld and his guards (who are mages) are pretty pragmatic, and it makes for a nice contrast with what could have been an over-dramatic plot and drastic uses of magic. It’s a rough, almost blokeish kind of humour, but it’s enjoyable.
Overall, an enjoyable (if nasty) read; I’d love to read more in this universe, particularly with these characters, so I was disappointed to find out this is all there is. Going to give this 3.5/5.
You might enjoy this book if you enjoyed: The Black Magician Trilogy (Trudi Canavan), A Dance of Cloaks (David Dalglish), A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin).
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