The King's Daughters by Nathalie Mallet by Chadwick Ginther - Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009 at 1:38pm Prince Amir has left behind the Sultanate to travel to the far northern, frozen kingdom of Sorvinka. Once there he hopes to convince the king to bestow the beautiful Princess Eva's hand to him in marriage. Unfortunately for Amir, he is ill-prepared to face the strange customs of his beloved's people, and his life may depend on how quickly he can learn.

The King's Daughters is Nathalie Mallet's second Prince Amir novel, following her debut Princes of the Golden Cage. While this is the second in the series, it can certainly be read on its own merits, and the hints of what I missed from Princes only served to make me want to go back and read that book as well.

In the tradition of classic fish out of water stories, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the excitable prince. Amir tries so hard, and yet is stymied at every turn by the clash of cultures and the machinations within the king's court.

At times it feels there is a real dearth of non-western themed fantasy out there, but Mallet has created two cultures here, one, influenced heavily by the Middle East, the other by Russian and Slavic myth and folklore and has started to build a larger and cosmopolitan world. I can't wait to read more when Prince Amir heads east in the forthcoming Death in the Traveling City.

Categories: Reviews, SciFi & Fantasy

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