This is the author’s debut novel and while the story shows great promise there’s need for improvement. Since this was an ARC, I did not want to DNF, but it’s taken me over a month to finally slog my way through to the end.

The protagonist is not very likable and makes so many stupid mistakes that you wonder how he’s managed to survive even given the fact that the king would execute anyone who kills him unless he has ordered his death. The world building needs a lot of work, there are son many things that the reader is left to guess about because it is never explained; a glaring example is the magic system (Fabrication) which I feel is important for the reader to understand. Am I asking too much? I would strongly encourage the author to include a glossary that explained the different Fabrications, religions, characters, etc.,; not only would this refresh the memories of those of us that have read this book and waited month/years for the next in the series but it could help with the confusion that any new readers might experience

I am interested in reading the next book in the series, the cliff hanger has me intrigued. Since this is the author’s first novel, I’m certain that the writing and flow will improve in subsequent books. I was flabbergasted that an editor from the well-known publishers at Simon & Schuster (under their Gallery/Saga Press imprint) let this book be published in this condition; this is worse than many of the self-published I’ve read lately and is inexcusable for a S&S imprint. This could have easily been an excellent book but the author was let down by the experts that he trusted.

2/5 STARS: I received a free digital ARC through Netgalley in exchange for a honest, unbiased review. I sincerely thank Netgalley, author and/or publisher for giving me this opportunity.**

2.5 stars for this ambitious, but ultimately amateurish debut.

THE GOOD:
There were some genuinely entertaining ideas in this book. I did like some aspects of the world building, like that of a shattered moon looming over the city. I can see the effort the author Martell made towards having a diverse cast and setting. He has some good, fun ideas brewing, and I do feel sorry I didn't enjoy this more.

Which leads me to the reasons why I struggled with this book.

THE BAD:

1) Prose was one of the major failings of the book, being often flat, or outright clumsy. There are some distinct signs that the author has yet to polish his writing skills: an overuse of dialogue tags (characters frequently having the need to "declare" something was a quirk I noticed), exclamation marks would be thrown in willy-nilly, ellipses abound, semi-colons would be overused, basic grammatical errors would be skittered about (e.g., "the sun was already setting by the time me and my friends crossed over..."), and repetitive descriptions would frustrate the pacing.
(Please note that I'm reading an ARC, so it's entirely possible that all these things would be scrubbed away from the final version.)

Plus, my personal pet peeve: modern American colloquialisms would frequently destroy my immersion into the world. Probably the worst instance was the line "Get your shit together already." Call me old-fashioned, but this isn't really the vibe I enjoy while reading fantasy. All this contributed to a very juvenile tone to the book, something I find reminiscent of a bad YA book (not to be confused with YA books with good prose!).

A few more rounds of revision and some stricter editing would have let the good ideas in this book shine.

2) Dull characters. Michael and his friends were, frankly, a pack of irrational nitwits, displaying only skin-deep camaraderie before losing their tempers at each other and making half-baked decisions. I'm not opposed to people succumbing to rage, grief, etc., but I think the weak prose exacerbated how annoying these characters were. For example, the cheesy dialogue of Trey, Michael's best friend, really failed to sell to me the emotions of his decision to turn his back on their friendship.

Michael would flipflop between cursing his family name and then wanting to restore honour to it. He would make Big Dumb Decisions so frequently, succumbing to anger, desperation, and rashness that I wonder how he survived all these years as a con artist.

Character motivations were a big issue for me while reading. I enjoyed several plot twists—but at the same time, I'd also be thinking, "uh...but why would the character actually do/say that anyway?"

3) Repetition. This whole book was just filled with it. Out of curiosity, I just did a search for the word "family" in the book, and my Kindle reports 321 instances of it. I genuinely got sick of reading Michael repeat how he wants to protect his family, how character X is family, how family does/doesn't do Y to family, etc. My dude, I respect the sentiment, but add some variety to your speech patterns, please, I am begging you.

If I have to read about how Naomi is ambitious one more time, I just might lose my mind. A couple of reiterations is fine—but it felt like every single time Naomi appeared, I could expect to see either "ambitious" or "electric-blue eyes" thrown in with her name. I don't need such frequent reminders!

4) Plot/pacing. The plot had a lot of interesting elements thrown together, with a heckuva lot of unresolved mysteries and secret identities, but I don't feel the mix worked stylistically—it would jump from one quest to another, much like how a video game would be constantly setting brand new objectives to feed your lizard brain with short-term goals.

It made it hard for me to care about some of the revelations. For instance, I found myself not at all interested in the whole mystery of the girl in red's identity—hell, I was mostly just annoyed at the awkward way the book kept referring to her, instead of giving her a placeholder name.

MISCELLANEOUS:
I can't help but wonder if the author was particularly inspired by Final Fantasy 8. Magic that comes at the cost of memories, "moon tears", forgetting childhood friends, characters named Lyon (Leon) and Angelo, etc. The characters even have a penchant for rubbing the back of their heads, which is a gesture I can recall much-too-clearly from the game.

Please note this has no bearing on my rating—I consider it a very normal part of the artistic process to be inspired by other works, so this is just me musing on certain similarities, and is not meant to be a critique. The book's plot is far from a rip-off of the game, in any case.

CONCLUSION:
While not a bad read, it's also not something I'd heartily recommend. A middling plot filled with generic characters and awkward dialogue written in lacklustre, uninspired prose, I found myself neither hating nor liking the Kingdom of Liars. While I'm not entirely eager to jump onboard with the series, I will keep my ears peeled for reviews for future books in the series. If Martell sharpens his prose, I think there's a fine story to be found here.

I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Kingdom of Liars in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Nick Martell and Gollancz for the opportunity.

The Kingdom of Liars, the first entry in The Legacy of the Mercenary King series, is the tale of Michael Kingman. He relays his story to us regarding the events that led him to be on trial as a King Killer, which he rather melodramatically refers to as "the greatest story ever told." Ten years prior to this, Michael's father was also tried for regicide and he was executed. He murdered a Prince who was the son of the King that Michael is accused of assassinating. We find out much more about these events throughout the narrative and if/how they are related.

The Kingdom of Liars is told from Michael's first-person point of view perspective. We get to witness the city of Hollow as it is described by the narrator. As a Kingman - who have for generations acted as Right-Hand Men for the monarchs - Michael has the weight of his family's name and legacy on his shoulders. This has been made even more complicated as his family were branded traitors following his father's actions. Michael currently lives a mundane, dull existence. When not looking after his brain-addled mother he cons Low Nobels for whatever profit he can. Towards the beginning of The Kingdom of Liars, Michael crosses paths with two unique and eccentric individuals. An alcoholic yet extremely influential High Noble and a mysterious magic-wielding mercenary. He is offered opportunities to help his family live a stress-free life, and a possibility to investigate the details of his father's crime to see if he was innocent. Family and Legacy are the most important things to a Kingman.

The magic scheme presented here seemed pretty unique and interesting to learn about. Magic users are referred to as Fabricators. These skills tend to be found in the Royal or the Noble classes. There are many different types including combat, reinforcer, lightning, light, dark, shadow etc... The cost of using these powers is that the wielder will forfeit certain memories. Many magic users keep journals for this reason. Mages who overindulge can become Forgotten. These are zombie-like beings who are hollow shells of their former selves. Although he is uninitiated with his magical abilities, Michael himself has moments when he can't remember certain details or recall someone who insists that he knows them.

The time of the monarchy is shaky at best here as there is an open rebellion taking place in Hollow. Political unrest is rife. The Queen-in-Waiting is notably absent from court and the Corrupt Prince lives up to his name and has made it no secret he wishes to succeed his father. There are many factions, ranks and organisations in the city such as advocators, ravens, wardens, skeletons, and also mercenaries who are a law to themselves. The world-building is good throughout and Hollow is well-crafted. I'd like to visit more of the world in the following entries as other cities are only briefly mentioned.

The Kingdom of Liars is a pretty impressive debut release. It's an exciting, action-focused fantasy thriller with intriguing mystery elements included too. Some of the characters were really well realised and great to find out more about. A few, however, don't seem adequately fleshed out, but hopefully, this will change going forwards. The finale is stunning and I raced through the last eighty or so pages at a manic could-not-put-the-book-down pace. I didn't predict the outcome, twists, or resolutions at all which is always a plus. It was only during the final few pages that I realised why the series is called The Legacy of the Mercenary King. At the ending, it's fully revealed who the heroes and the villains are and I'm interested in what will happen next. There are some grand possibilities for this as a series and fine foundations have been set. The Kingdom of Liars isn't perfect, a lot of what is here you'd have read before but it is an enjoyable take on the genre and I flew through the 600 pages in a handful of days. Martell is an author whose career I'll be watching.

Buy Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

I'm between 3-3.5 stars on this one, due to the painfully slow first half followed by an incredible second act. While I do not claim to be the resident expert on fantasy novels of any kind, I feel like I have read enough at this point to have a general understanding of the various tropes and sub-genres that are popular. That said, I initially requested this book for 2 reasons: 1) I'm really enjoying reading more adult fantasy than YA fantasy this year and 2) Brandon Sanderson blurbed it, so DUH. What it really comes down to is, this is a long book, and the first half of the story basically shows us what a turd burglar Michael is before coming into his own in the second half. I could not stand our main character for the first 40-50% of the novel. If I had been able to connect on a more personal level with him during this time, this book might have been an easy 5 stars, as the second half is SO GOOD. SO GOOD! If you enjoy the type of fantasy novel that involves patience, mystery, and political intrigue, I highly recommend giving The Kingdom of Liars a try for yourself. I'm tickled silly waiting for the next installment, and now that the plot is going, I anticipate a much higher rating on my end for the sequel.

In Hollow, there has always been a Kingman beside the king, until David Kingman is found with a gun that has killed the prince. Michael Kingman and his sister Gwen and brother Lyon are branded as traitors. With their mother languishing in an asylum, they make the best life they can under the worst circumstances.

As Michael seeks for the evidence that will prove that his father was framed, he gets entangled in a web of conspiracies that stretch back for years. Finding the truth becomes Michaels's obsession, and it threatens the lives of his family the closer he gets to those who are responsible for setting the trap that destroyed his family.

This book was just alright for me. There was scant attention paid to the magic and not enough worldbuilding done in the foundation of the story which made it somewhat hard to track as the story progressed. The sheer single mindedness that the protagonist belabored fixing his ruined family legacy got a bit tedious after a while, but the plot itself was enough to keep me invested in finishing the story. There's a diverse and full bodied cast of characters and a lot of intrigue and deceit which kept the story interesting.

This is one of those books that while I enjoyed and actually finished, I ended up either sitting on the fence about.

Did I enjoy it? Did I understand it? Do I care to continue with it?

Firstly: did I enjoy it?

I did, actually. I liked Michael. I enjoy characters who fall in neither the good or bad category. Michael was certainly one of those. People were annoyed with him. I could totally, 100% get that vibe of annoyance. I personally enjoy characters that are little shits and aren't afraid of being known for a little shit. It makes their personal growth - if they do wish to take it - much more interesting.

I enjoyed the characters and how they all had different personalities. I would say I came away with enjoying Dark and the Crown Prince the most. Dark because he has this very mysterious, dark vibe to him. The Crown Prince because I just hated him (truly wicked, cruel and his dialogue was snappy).

Secondly: did I understand it?

I didn't? Yep. I was confused by what the world was a parallel or a mirror representation of? There were guns, there were carriages, there was beheading, and there was magic I just couldn't visualize what I was seeing clearly, and I think it is because there was not a lot of outer-world-building (meaning, landscape, city structure, etc). There was a lot of backstory on the city itself and its hardships but nothing about the geography. There is a moon that keeps falling piece by piece and while that was interesting, I didn't really get the point of it?

I also found the main plot (the mystery/betrayal/lost memories) bit confusing and at times what hurt the book was the lack of a clear guideline of who is who, who is related to who, who serves what, what family is this. I think that would have been nice to have so I could easily reference it at times when I was confused.

The mystery when it was resolved was something I didn't see coming, but I also blame the fact that I couldn't follow along with the above issues that the pay-off was not that enjoyable for me.

- Do I care to continue with it?

Again, I didn't dislike the book. It is a first submission into the literary world. It is possible that now the story is going into another direction with another new mystery or plot element to figure out that the plot will be a bit more streamlined and or easy to follow. I will watch its debut with great interest and make my decisions in time.

Overall, three stars is what I can give it because while it did entertain the visualization was difficult for me and the plot was a little messy. Others may have a trial with it and others may ride with it without any issues. These were mine and so the review reflects my personal, unbiased feelings.

Maybe the timing was wrong for me when reading this ARC or I read it in too many sessions, but it never fully engaged me. At times, it felt like there were too many things happening at the current time while the main character was still stuck on focusing on the past and his father. Lots of interesting secondary characters and, by the end, I could see an interesting series coming together, but I will have to see the second book’s description to see where the author takes it next.

High Fantasy Picaresque - Three words I never would have put together, yet Nick Martell handles the task with ease.

With a whipcrack pace, Martell takes us through the districts and alleys of Hollow, pulling back the curtain inch-by-inch on the rich world and engaging mystery he's constructed. Plot points develop and resolve, only to reveal further complications that Michael Kingman must overcome. With all the roguish wit one requires in a picaresque, Michael acts as our mostly-trustworthy, although sometimes not, tour guide as he re-enters a corrupt noble society. At first as a task, then a dare, then a point of pride, Michael's successes and failures cannot help but remind one of the fortunes and adversities of Lazarillo de Tormes.

A refreshing addition to the world of high fantasy, and a series I look forward to continuing.

Hands down this was a great debut for Martell. Meticulous planning and thought were crafted into the world, characters, and plot to create something unique and memorable. The social structure and political upheaval, which is common in many stories, felt original and were the driving point for many of the characters' decisions.

At several points throughout the story I felt confused or unaware of many of the author's created classes or situations. Just like the main character is unaware of many of his own memories, the reader will likely be left in the dark on pertinent information about the people of Hollow. This was frustrating at times whether or not the author intended it that way. There are still several terms that were not explained or elaborated on. With the vast amounts of unique aspects in this book, it would have been helpful to know what those meanings were earlier.

Martell's story is shockingly true to the major points it presents. It has strong characters, interwoven conflicts, and aspirations that will lead me to continue the series with great pleasure. I'm excited to see where the next story goes!

Martells’ “Kingdom Of Liars” is the first novel in a planned epic fantasy series, “Legacy of the Mercenary Kings.” It is a complex fantasy featuring a feudal court, a vicious rebellion, magical powers (fabrications), and court intrigue. The world-building is terrific, offering the reader a glimpse of a small corner of the universe, the Hollows, which despite the name which might lead you to think of forests and streams, is a feudal city of lords and ladies and a desperate underclass keyed up to rebellion. Except for a brief journey into the forest to slay a wyvern, a legendary two-footed dragon-like creature with a deadly barbed tail, all the action takes place in the city. There are various “keeps” and castles and cathedrals and mercenaries to keep the populace in line. And, there is an ancient moon in the sky breaking apart with its haunted pieces falling to the city, often causing havoc.

The “magic” really takes a backseat to the story here and that’s unfortunate because it’s a fascinating part of this world and should take a more central place in future volumes in the series. The “magic” is called “fabrications,” consisting of light fabrications, dark fabrications, metal fabrications and more. These powers are hereditary and almost solely possessed by the nobles. There is of course a cost to their use and perhaps this is why they are rarely used in the story.

The cost of using fabrications is memory loss. The consequence is that the royals and the nobles all suffer from memory gaps, gaps they try to fill in with stories, with truth, with decrees. It is not evident till far into the book that the use of fabrications has led to confusion and mystery and people who sometimes don’t remember each other. The author could’ve done a better job of placing these issues front and center. It isn’t until late in the story that the reader realizes how big an issue the reliability-of truth becomes.

This is particularly true when one finally understands that the main character from whose point of view the story is told, Michael Kingman, is very much an unreliable narrator. This is so both because of the filling in of memory gaps and his youthful coming-of-age. Michael Kingman is not the powerful warrior that usually is the main character in these fantasy gigs. Rather, he is an unlikely hero, who is unsure if himself, childlike, Whiney, and easily manipulated. But, it is probably that he is just coming into his own skin, a nervous teenager growing up finally ten years after his father is tried and executed for murdering the king’s son. And now as our story begins Michael himself following in his father’s footsteps is in trial for murdering the king.

The Kingmans are a noble family, set to be juxtaposed to the Royals themselves, a counterweight to keep them in check. They are supposed to be loyal and the king’s confidants. But Michael, who is now a petty thief in the streets, has grown up these long years with the brand of traitor. He doesn’t know if he should join the rebellion or prove what he believes is his father’s innocence.

There are so many great dramatic elements here. However, as an epic fantasy read, it just misses being great and is a bit uneven. It would’ve helped to know better at the start what was at stake and where things were going. The story takes the reader in many different pathways of courtly intrigue and one often lost sight of where things were heading and why things were important. But fantasy works these days are very complex, no simple quests for the holy grail, no simple mission to throw a ring in a pit of fire in a world where it’s always clear who is good and who is evil.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Micheal Kingman was branded as a traitor as a child, because his father killed the king's nine years old son. In a world and city that was ready to and continued to reject him and his family, Michael's life isn't easy and he gets by doing small crimes against nobles and royals with his friends, trying, in this way, to get back to them. In a magical and peculiar world, where memories are the price for magic, Michael thinks there's something in this mind, that will able to make him understand what happened years ago. So when he gets the chance to get back to court, he takes it. While trying to understand his past, Michael finds himself involved in mysteries, rebellions, lies, truths and unpredictable characters.

The story, that starts in medias res, is told by Michael in first person, who narrates what happened to him and what brought him in that situation, at his trial. The book, the first of The legacy of the mercenary kings is the debut fantasy of Nick Martell and it's full of interesting and intense characters, skillfully written in a complex plot with secrets, rebellion, lies, shocking and thrilling revelations.
I enjoyed reading and being hooked by this book and I liked a lot the magical system and how Hollow and its inhabitants are portraited and the whole worldbuilding.
The story is captivating and full of intrigue and politics. I really liked Michael and his voice, he's a complex character, sometimes infuriating, but well written and utterly human.

Great book. Martell is on to something. A mix of Mistborn and Memento. I hope there are more in the series.

I DNF'd this at 22%. I had heard that the first half of the book was full of mystery, politics, and intrigue, and that checks a lot of boxes for me, but pace was much slower than I had anticipated. That would have been fine if the MC was compelling, but I found Michael to be a frustrating character to stick with. I get that it's likely the start of his arc to redemption, but the slower pace combined with an awful MC made me want to put this down and pick up another book that I'd actually enjoy.

A fantasy debut full of twists, mystery and reveals. Honestly, this book was very unpredictable for me; I really didn't know where things would end up and it had me guessing right up until the very end. The plot twists were my favorite part of this book.
The magic reminded me a bit of Brandon Sanderson with its unique naming system and the very real cost of magic use. The idea of memories was explored a lot in this book and I found this theme to be extremely interesting. I haven't read many books that deal with memory and legacy in this way before.
The whole story is told through the head of the main character, who is an interesting and flawed character that stubbornly persists in his quest to redeem his family name. I enjoyed the side characters a lot, and would have enjoyed hearing the story told from a few other viewpoints as well. The world was very unique and I enjoyed the court intrigue.
A story full of surprises and set in a unique, immersive world.
I received a free ebook copy of this book through Netgalley.

This is what Game of Thrones would look like, if it had a sense of an moral compass and heroism. This is what my intepretation of this fantastic novel is. It comes at a whopping 608 pages or so. This is what fantasy books should be in my opinion. I have seen a boy become a man by the end of this book. If I had to summarise it in one sentence, that describes everything that is for this book.

The details of distinguishing between the high and low nobles, the Ravens and the Fabricators, the Archivists is so painstainkingly done to every single detail, this was a labour of love done by Nick Martell. Michael Kingman is a character that you would expect to be a coward, a person that knows nothing. A man that’s too afflicted from his past. A man that runs from his past. A man that needs to discover the truth of what afflicts him the most.

I would call this under a category of a good mix of grim-dark fantasy combined with heroic fantasy. That’s what I think the novel represents in my opinion. Gwen in my opinion needed more scenes with Michael. I also wanted to see even more scenes of King Issac, to better understand his motivations, and more scenes of the Corrupt Prince, who I felt needed a few more scenes in there. But you can’t fit everything in this whopping debut. Without spoiling too much, I also wanted Michael to go towards his mother a lot more. I feel as if the mother holds more clues than she’s revealing.

Dormet is officially one of my favorite characters along with Dark. I do not know why, but if you read on, you’ll figure why. You will feature loss throughout this novel, and you will cry. The way in which Nick demonstrates loss is honorable, though it does have Game of Thrones tendancies some times. There is so much power and political intrigue I cannot understand how Michael Kingman must navigate through all this when his father was branded as a traitor. Sirash is a great character, and yet Trey…has a past that he must come to grips with.

If I were to compare this to any fantasy novel out there that has a similar genre, it would be Mark Lawrence’s the Broken Empire. The characters are similar, and both are running from a past rather than taking course of their own lives. You know I’ve always loved fantasy novels which focus on the under-dog. And Michael Kingman is just that. There were so many emotional scenes in this novel that it is better you read it. I cannot express this into words. I found this an awesome read. The writing and prose is sharp. I want more novels that show the underdog. That show the under-dog rising through society to take his or her steps. I want more novels like this.

This is a brilliant, dazzling novel that will have you be emotional within hours of reading this book. It’s that fantastic. The writing, the dialogue, everything is on point. It is not easy to create an emotional scene, and Nick has done a fab job of making this. Nick, you’ve made me a fan. I am impressed, and I loved this. Please keep writing more awesome and bad-ass content like this.

Michael is a Kingman. His family name used to symbolize great honor and he would've been an important and respected man in the city of Hollow.
But he isn't.
His father murdered the young king and was executed for his crime. and now Michael is branded as a traitor as well.
He also has a habit of conning the nobles, and getting into trouble.
This intriguing fantasy story has unique world building and a magic system.

"We’re all selfish monsters—the only difference is some of us are more honest about it than others."

Synopsis: Michael Kingman is heir to a legacy of betrayal. After his father's appartent murder of the King's son, his once-powerful family are forced to live in disgrace and servitude. Ten years later, Michael is scraping by in the streets, moving from one con to the next like a common grifter. When an opportunity presents itself for him to rejoin the upper class and to clear his family's reputation, Michael seizes it... but power comes at a cost. Will Michael reclaim his lost legacy, or will he lose his very identity trying?

I'll start by thanking Gallery/Saga press for the opportunity to review an early copy of this novel! It's always a pleasure to have such opportunities, both to enjoy a good read and to offer some promotion to authors.

The Kingdom of Liars begins <em>in medias res</em>, with the "trial" of Michael Kingman, and does not really take the time to slow down. I am inclined to enjoy this pace, as it keeps one reading steadily and makes for an enjoyable reading experience. As I'll discuss below, however, this does at time let the reader down.

Let's start with some good points! I found the premise of the story quite interesting. I love a good redemption arc, and the protagonist's desire to vindicate his family is admirable and believable. The fact that Michael (our first-person narrator/protagonist) does not readily believe that his father may have been innocent of his crimes is refreshing, and helps sell the unraveling of the mystery presented; our hero is a reluctant one, and this helps balance the 1st person narrative with some introspection. I wasn't entirely enamored of the supporting cast, but Michael's friend Kai was a standout, as was his sister Gwen. These characters felt fleshed-out, and easier to picture; they were also a pleasure to read. My only criticism of the character development is that everyone felt, to some extent, over-impulsive; there are a lot of snap decisions made in this novel which I found jarring! Otherwise, I enjoyed the different personalities Michael is forced to contend with.

The complex setting of this novel deals with numerous factions, both within and outside of the monarchical political structure, and also features a unique magic system which trades memories as currency. Let's start with the magic: users of magic are called "Fabricators", and it is accepted that everyone has a single specialization. Magical power is something inherited, and those with the skills are generally more valued in society. There are fire fabricators, steel fabricators, light fabricators, dark fabricators... the system appears to be based on classical Elements. The variety of this is staggering, and several characters employ these powers with spectacular results. I am not at all surprised that Brandon Sanderson called this "An excellent fantasy debut", as the complex magic system seems like something he'd sink his teeth into. Now, magic in this world comes at a cost: use of a fabricator's powers can result in memory loss, and overuse of one's powers will result in one becoming a "forgotten" (essentially, an amnesiac). That about covers magic! For political factions, we have the corrupt monarchy/nobility (traditionally supported by the now-disgraced Kingman family), the mercenaries (so powerful that they are free to act with impunity), and the rebels. The scale of this story's components is so immense that at times the precious few details blaze by... and this is where I get a bit grumpy.

While I am all for a rich and layered setting, I sometimes feel that a certain amount of exposition is not just beneficial, but mandatory as well. What I mean by this is that there can only be a certain amount of glossing over details before one starts to lose interest. There are numerous examples of Fabricators at work in the text, as well as attempts to explain what they do, as though it is a clearly explained art/magic system... but this is then left ambiguous. Where does magic come from? How does it work exactly? Is memory loss guaranteed, or an effect of overuse? All of these things and more are glossed over. Similarly, mercenaries are made out as feared, near-mystical figures of immense power, capable of toppling an entire government when angered. If that is so, then why are they mercenaries at all? Why work for others? The setting is rich, and the world is large, but it feels as though there is insufficient plumbing of the depths. I suspect that this will take place more in the sequel, but it can be a hard sell for some.

I don't mean to imply that the novel was not an enjoyable read: it absolutely was. I just happen to be a very attentive reader, and I crave lore. If you dangle all those pieces of bait in front of me, there had better be a payoff! To me, the payoff in The Kingdom of Liars ended up being the flow of the narrative and the fast-paced journey it takes its reader as secrets of Michael's past are slowly and meticulously unraveled. This was an enjoyable and creative story, and my criticisms only reinforce this statement: I am absolutely invested in where this is going, and I want to know more about everything. The Kingdom of Liars releases May 5, 2020, so mark it in your calendar and make sure to give this one a try.

Happy reading!

ARC provided by the publisher—Saga Press—in exchange for an honest review.

The Kingdom of Liars is a solid debut that’s quite challenging to get through at first, but the second half offers rewarding experience to those who read the novel to its completion.

Similar to many cases with debuts by an unknown author in the past, my interest to read The Kingdom of Liars, the first book in The Legacy of The Mercenary Kings series by Nick Martell, was sparked due to the gorgeous cover art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme (US edition) and Richard Anderson (UK edition). Additionally, both Brandon Sanderson and James Islington—two authors whose works I immensely loved—gave high praise to this debut. How could I even resist reading this book!?

“It’s the long con that wins in the end, Michael. The people who do things worth remembering are the ones willing to wait decades to achieve it.”


The story in The Kingdom of Liars begins with the main character, Michael Kingman, being held on a trial for the death of a king. The story in this novel follows Michael narrating his journey that leads to his current predicament. If you want to find out more regarding the premise, read the official synopsis. The Kingdom of Liars is a book that’s filled with politics and mysteries; Martell did a great job in blending all of these elements to tell a story with themes of legacy, family, loyalty, power, responsibilities, and memories at its core.

“But the problem is, the older you become, the more you discover that memories change on their own. Some fade away, some stories change slightly, and some memories are so drastically different a decade after they occurred that no one can be quite sure what the truth is.”


I would recommend this book to many fantasy readers that love reading elements of mystery and many traversals of politics in their reads. I do, however, can only recommend this book safely by giving a warning, and that is this book needed some patience to go through. Why? Here’s the thing, the main character, Michael, throughout the entire first half of the novel was utterly irritating and infuriating. He’s naïve, cocky, selfish, and he repeatedly made stupid decisions. Plus, this is a book told solely through his POV in first-person narration; there’s no other character’s perspective to give the reader a break from his narrative, and that can get very testing at times. I won’t lie, there were several moments in the first half of the book where I almost gave up, and I imagine several readers would. If you have enough patience, know that his behavior felt deliberately done; heck one of the side characters even mentioned it to him blatantly right on his face. But is it worth continuing? Yes, I’ll say so. The second half displayed magnificent storytelling strength with a barrage of revelations that gave valid reasons why Michael behaved the way he did; I grew to feel empathetic towards him. Michael is a super flawed character, and it helped strengthen the narrative. I read through the entirety of the second half within a single day; I was captivated by the revelations, character development, and the way everything clicked together.

“One day you’ll understand there is more to life than the Kingman legacy. It’ll probably take a woman and a child to teach you that, but one day you’ll understand.”


World-building wise, I feel like Martell has only just begun. There are still many aspects of the world and history that’s still unexplained. Same as Michael, we readers know nothing about what’s going on outside the main city where the story takes place. I loved reading how the overuse of Fabrications—the magic system of this series—has the capability to cause its user a memory loss. Fabrications come in many forms, mostly based on elemental magic such as fire fabrications, lightning fabrications, metal fabrications, and darkness fabrications. Again, same as the world-building, there’s still a lot of potential in the sequel for the magic system to enhanced the overall strength of the series itself extensively, but for now, what I’ve read in the first installment was enough to keep me satisfied. In the end, the main feature in The Kingdom of Liars for me was the mysteries and how Martell was able to unravel them satisfyingly with an engaging and very compelling writing style. Even when I found the main character to be intolerable, or when the story was moving a bit too slow, I was able to push through because the dialogues and the writing were gripping.

“We love despite a person’s flaws, no their lack thereof.”


The Kingdom of Liars is an enthralling debut that melded intriguing mysteries, shocking revelations, costly magic, and deeply strong familial theme into its narrative. The first half of the book may require some patience to get through, but the second half made the journey rewarding. It even shed a better light on the parts that didn’t work for me at first. There’s no cliffhanger ending here; the book would’ve worked well as a standalone should the author decided to go on a different path. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Official release date: 7th May 2020 (UK) and 5th May 2020 (US)

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

2 stars, <a href="http://reviews.metaphorosis.com/review/the-kingdom-of-liars-nick-martell/">Metaphorosis Reviews</a>

<strong>Summary</strong>
Michael Kingman is the son of a traitor, but also the descendant of a family that made the kingdom what it is. Trying to find a place in society, he stumbles onto a mystery that may explain much about his executed father.

<strong>Review</strong>
I generally ignore blurbs, but every now and then, if it's from an author I like, one catches my attention. Sometimes, that's a mistake. I picked up Nick Martell's <em>The Kingdom of Liars</em> mostly for its interesting premise that magic costs memory, but partly because Brandon Sanderson's blurb said it was "excellent". You never know what goes into the decision to blurb a book, but this time I can say, at the least, that I disagree strongly with Sanderson's characterization. <em>The Kingdom of Liars</em> is interesting, but it's a very long way from excellent.

Mostly, the book would have benefited from several more rounds of developmental editing. There's a host of clever ideas in here, but they're all mixed together in a murky mess, and none of them is properly developed. It's the kind of manuscript an astute agent would see and say, "This has promise. Let's work on it." It's not at a stage where it should have been published to a mass audience. For example, we're halfway through the book before we learn what a 'tweeker' is - a type introduced very early on. I can't understand how this came from a major publisher.

I got an early foreboding from errors in the grammar of the prologue. I was reading an advance reader copy, so some typos are to be expected, but this is grammar, not spelling, and very early in the book. As I went on, the foreboding grew. The prose was often clumsy, and decidedly amateur in places. The errors continued. In addition, the balance of the book was off - too much was withheld from the reader, with the effect of making the action unclear. Notably, the story takes place entirely within one city, yet the geography of the place is very unclear, and there's no helpful map. Characters move from place to place as it's convenient for the story, and I never had any sense of the look of the place beyond one ruined keep (there seem to be several in the city) and one banquet hall. Not only is the travel random, much of the plot is as well - this is part of the balance and development problem mentioned above. Things happened because they needed to to move the plot forward, not because it made much sense. I couldn't get the economy or society to make sense either.

I found it hard to empathize with the narrator. While posited as a clever, likable, right-thinking underdog, he appears to have no qualms about torture, and not many about betrayal. He's constantly making promises to other characters, but it's never clear why he should be the one to take on this burden. Instead, the book simply leans heavily on us knowing the trope of heroic narrator as protector. He learns that part of his memory is missing - set up as a key plot point, but then abandoned with an 'oh well' attitude. He's occasionally very intelligent, though - from knowing flintlock pistols, he immediately grasps the idea of a revolver with cartridges.

The editing overall is just sloppy - both on a developmental and line level. There's evidently not been much effort to focus the book or to have the plot points make sense. Random strangers are suddenly crucial to the plot. Established central characters fade away. I wish I could say these are intended to surprise us by defying expectations and standard tropes, but I'm pretty sure they're just poor editing. The 'villain tells all' ending just confirms it all.

It's an odd book to review - very good ideas (too many jammed into one book) - but <em>very</em> little editing. I think Mr. Martell has a promising future. On the other hand, this looks to be the first book in a series, and I definitely won't be buying the rest. Maybe if he moves to another publisher, I could be interested again.

<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.