Review: The Kingdom of Liars

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you did a mash-up of the Mistborn Series and the Kingkiller Chronicles, you would have something similar to this book. It leans more towards Sanderson, with sprinkles of other influences throughout. No matter what I compare it to, it still felt fresh and exciting.

The prologue leads us into the story as Michael is sentenced to be executed. The book thereafter is the story about how he got into this predicament and not only is it a page turner but it's also one of the best books I've read all year. I am quick to point out things I don't like even in books I love. There's always something negative I find. Not this time. This is Nick Martell's debut novel and clearly we are all privileged to be alive while someone is putting out quality work like this.

Back to the story: Michael wants to better the life of his siblings and ailing mother, but they live condemned because their father had killed the prince and was subsequently executed. They were branded as traitors and although they come from high noble lineage, they are not treated poorly. All this turns into one of the books plot lines where Michael has to find out if his father really did commit the crime or not. We also have to find out if Michael is guilty of murdering the king as he had been accused in the prologue of. There's magic and modern weaponry (Guns). The moon itself is split seven ways and pieces of it plummet to the ground. A rebellion has threatened the kingdom in the name of Michael's father. There's a missing but not really princess and an arrogant prince we love to hate. A variety of other characters flesh out the supporting cast and I am so in love with the world that Martell has created that I am apologizing to my wallet preemptively because I will buy everything that Nick writes. He is just that good.

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