Hard on the heels of trouble in Zirdai city, Shyla Sun-Kissed and Rendor are ordered to report to the King of Koraha - a summons that is deadly to ignore. The King holds the key to Koraha's existence, but a formidable new enemy threatens Koraha's very survival and the King desperately needs Shyla and Rendor's help.
Wielding a terrifying and unknown magical power that can convert opponents into devoted soldiers, the mysterious army is hellbent on usurping the crown. Shyla and Rendor are tasked with discovering who in the seven hells these insurgents are. And what their real endgame is.
Trekking through the punishing conditions across the searing surface of Koraha, and facing numerous unseen foes and untold danger, they must follow the clues to uncover the truth before it's too late. The fate of the King and all the citizens of Koraha rests in their hands...
The King of Koraha is Maria V. Snyder's epic conclusion to the Archives of the Invisible Sword trilogy and it is a most exciting and riveting story indeed! This was an incredibly paced story filled with intrigue and conspiracies galore. It was truly unputdownable and I sadden that it's over.
Just when Shyla and Rendor think they might earn some sort of break after saving their beloved city of Zirdai, they are summoned by the the king himself. They find themselves traveling the harsh deserts of the above world battling enemies and trying to avoid the killing rays of the sun. When they finally arrive, Shyla and Rendor are approached by the king to help him find taxes that have been going missing. For at least two circuits now, taxes from the cities that should be coming straight to him have disappeared. The city is almost broke and the king fears an uprising if the citizens were to learn about this.
Shyla has to go deep undercover in order to fish out the betrayers within the neighboring cities. What she learns about their plans is something too terrifying and before she can do much about it and get back in touch with Rendor, things go awry in the worst possible of ways!
What I have loved so much about this series was how things are so perfectly well-paced. It's not overly fast, but it's not slow either. It's that practically perfect balance where things are drawn out just enough to make the story last longer, which what reader doesn't want a long story when you're utterly loving every word?
Maria has always created fantastical fantasy worlds! In this one citizens live in underground kingdoms have a Water Prince/Princess ruling over them and at their side is a Priest/Priestess. We learned from the incidences in Zirdai how corrupted these figures can be, but then we see how far some people are willing to go to protect their city. The way magic is woven into this story was perfectly done as well, it's the right amount to remind you that this is no ordinary fantasy world!
While Shyla and Rendor are separated once more, I can happily say it's not as long as it previously was in the last book. They have together moments and then separation, and then of course, they come back together again before the end. It was much nicer than last time too in that sense, though their romantic interludes are few and far between. However, that just makes the moments they do share together even more special.
The ending had a surprising reveal when it came to all the people involved in the missing taxes mess. There was a grander plot afoot naturally and how that ended was quite shocking! I liked that while things ended with a nice sense of completion there was still the knowledge of more stories and adventures to come, even if we're not there for all of it.
Maria's writing is pure magic itself! She knows how to create worlds and characters that will pull you into the story and feel as if you're right there with them. The King of Koraha was an exciting and enchanting story that I never wanted to put down for silly things like work or sleep, it was truly a mesmerizing story and I could not get enough of it! Shyla and Rendor were heroes worth rooting for and I loved how they came together throughout this series. My only question for Maria now is, what's next? Maria has fully cemented herself on my autobuy list and if you haven't read her books yet, I highly recommend them!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
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