I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
"The King of Fire"
by
Ilona Andrews
It is part of the Aurelia Ryder #0.5 series and is a alternative history, arcanepunk fantasy in a PDF edition that was published by the author on September 30, 2018 and has 5 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Must Love Hellhounds, Dark and Stormy Knights, Angels of Darkness, Hexed, Fate's Edge, Hex Appeal, An Apple for the Creature, "Magic Gifts", Gunmetal Magic, Innkeeper Chronicles, Steel's Edge, Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays, Magic Rises, Magic Bleeds, Burn For Me, Night Shift, Magic Shifts, Magic Binds, White Hot, Wildfire, Iron and Magic, Magic Triumphs, "Gerard Demille and Helen Meet", "Diamond Fire", "Sweep with Me", Clean Sweep, Sweep in Peace, "A Mere Formality", Blood Heir, Sapphire Flames, "A Misunderstanding", Emerald Blaze, "The Cool Aunt", One Fell Sweep, Sweep of the Blade, "Silent Blade", Fated Blades, On the Edge, Bayou Moon, "George and Jack in School", Sweep of the Heart , Magic Tides, Small Magics, "The Wilson Building", "Conlan’s Birthday Text", "Dabwaha", "Don't Fight with Fate", “A Bit More of Roman”, “Getting Distracted”, "Sgt Munoz Had to Go", Ruby Fever, "Regina", Magic Tides, "The King of Fire", Magic Claims, "Sandra", "No Heroes", "Purpose", "A Mere Formality", "I Will Explain Everything", "Sanctuary", "Kind Regards"
This is a free prequel for the Aurelia Ryder arcanepunk fantasy series set in an alternate history, which is part of the Kate Daniels World series and revolving around Aurelia Ryder, the woman we first knew as Julie Lennart-Olsen. The setting is Grandfather’s “prison”.
“The King of Fire” is also located in the back of Blood Heir, 11 in Kate Daniels’ World and 0.5 in Aurelia Ryder.
My Take
I hate it when a short story that takes place before the story is placed in the back of the book…so annoying. This would have been more practical to put in as a prologue for Blood Heir.
As short as “The King of Fire” is, it is rich in keeping us up-to-date on Julie, Conlan, Grandfather, and Grandmother while providing a brief, gruesome intro on Moloch. As a first person protagonist point-of-view from Julie’s perspective, it’s also an eye-opener on Julie’s strengths and activities! Eeep!
Okay, I lied about knowing what Julie is doing with Erra. They’re obviously still together, but we have no real idea what they’ve been up to. That’ll come in Blood Heir. How do I know this? Because that story came first, publication-wise…I hate that. Have I mentioned that I hate this?
Again, for its brevity, there is a lot of reported action with Julie at the center of it all.
Anyway, I’m guessing Andrews put this in the back of Blood Heir to keep us from anticipating the eye.
The Story
It’s a quick report of Julie’s actions, her imprisonment, her torture, as she gathers information that may keep Kate…and many, many children…alive.
The Characters
Julie Lennart-Olsen, a human sensate, is the orphan girl from Magic Burns, 2, whom Kate adopted in Magic Strikes, 3.
Grandfather is Roland, the nearly god-like father of Kate Daniels and grandfather to Conlan and Julie, the children of Kate and Curran. Grandmother is Erra, Roland’s sister and Kate’s aunt.
Sienna is the seer of the Witch Oracle.
Moloch is a god-king, whose family line bred for regeneration.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a graphic of a fiery hell of a world with a range of oranges and yellow. Julie is a deep orange silhouette standing in the center of a world aflame, her spear on her back.
The title is all about Moloch, “The King of Fire”.
