Legacy of Kings is the first book in Eleanor Herman’s historical fantasy series Blood Of Gods And Royals. Herman is herself a historian as well as a novelist, and for this series she fuses both of her skill sets to bring readers a tale of Alexander The Great like we’ve never heard before.
Fusing the history of ancient Greece with the supernatural and mythical, Herman introduces us to our 16 year old hero, known in her world as simply Alex. Alex has problems just like any other 16 year old guy–things with his parents are often stilted and distant, and of course, he’s got girl trouble. But Alex’s girl trouble is not typical. He is betrothed to a Persian princess he’s never met, a girl named Zofia who has her own set of problems at her home across the sea from Alex. Alex’s lady problems are only complicated further by the arrival of Katarina, a mysterious newcomer to court who has ulterior motives for her visit, her ultimate plan being to murder Queen Olympias. Kat’s partner in scheming is her pal Jacob who nurses unrequited feelings for her and jealousy at Alex’s interest in her. This soon turns into Jacob stopping at nothing in his fight for Kat’s affections, constantly competing with Alex’s friend Hephaestion to win her over. Throw in a heaping helping of supernatural powers in our characters, and ladies and gentleman, we’ve got one intriguing story on our hands.
Speaking of intrigue, in Legacy of Kings, just about every character has their own secret schemes and quite a few tricks up their sleeves. To keep all this mischief straight for the reader, Herman deftly utilizes multiple POV’s. The reader enters the heads of almost all the major characters in order to connect the pieces of this Greek puzzle, including that of Alex’s far off bride-to-be Zofia who doesn’t get quite as much page time now, but who presumably will take on a larger role as the series advances.
Scheming. Intrigue. Betrayal. Jealousy. Love. Epic battles. Mythological super powers… All within the real historical context of ancient Greece. Legacy of Kings definitely has it all, including Blood, Gods, and Royals.
