Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for the advanced copy of The Radiant King! Unfortunately, I only made it 27% of the way through this book.

The writing is fine, for the most part, but I just found myself not connecting with any of the characters due to how flat they were. This wouldn't have been a problem if the plot was interesting, and there are some interesting worldbuilding elements here, but Faron and Sariel's war against their brother Eder really wasn't holding my attention. I found myself more excited for Eder's chapters than anyone else, honestly. I also didn't quite understand how radiance worked - it felt like an easy way for the characters to get past their problems more than a fleshed out magic system, and it drastically lowered what stakes there were.

I've seen this mentioned in other reviews, but one of the things that really bothered me was that Sariel (our stereotypical Hot Brooding Bad Boy with a Big Sword) is described as leaving broken hearts of both men and women behind him (making me think he was bisexual, though it could just be that everyone's into him, it's not super clear), but he's been hung up on this one person through all of her reincarnations. This is a fun premise, and I've written a story that focuses on that concept before. Except in this case, all of the names that Sariel's love interest has had before seem to belong to women, which is... unlikely. Sariel tells the current incarnation to marry a nice man, and she responds that maybe she'll marry a nice woman, and Sariel doesn't seem bothered by the idea, so it's not like he's homophobic as far as I can tell. Adding in the name of a man or two would be a quick fix.

I might give another book by this author a try, but I don't think I'll finish this book or its series.

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with an EARC.

I first heard about The Radiant King from Petrik Leo. I knew nothing about the book, but the cover looked absolutely captivating. As Mike likes to say, "Never judge a book by it's cover, unless the cover is awesome." This one is, and let me tell you, the book is too!

This book tells the story of six immortal siblings who can seemingly never die. Many years ago, after tremendous abuses of their powering and the suffering that ensued, they took a vow to never rule over the nations of the land, claim crowns or usurp royal authority. Decades, if not centuries later one of the brothers awakes from his rebirth and discovers that one of the siblings has broken their oath, begun a blood cult and claimed a crown. He is seeking power and wants to awaken a deep and possibly evil magic from an eldritch mystical tower. Now two estranged immortal brothers seek to hold the rebel to the oath. They set out to gather the other siblings and find themselves swept up in an uprising that the bastard princess Isabelle is leading. Perhaps this can be used towards their goals. Oh, and did I mention that these siblings wield a powerful and dangerous magic called Radiance? This helps fuel their mission as the rogue sibling seems to be accessing a deeper magic that could cause destruction unlike any of them have ever seen.

The first thing to be said about this book is that in one book, Dalglish crams in more story than most trilogies contain! Holy crap does this book move! Now, this will not work for all readers. At times it reminded me of an older style of fantasy, reminiscent of Vance, Le Guin or Poul Anderson. When it's needed he will devote hundreds of pages to significant parts of the plot, then later on he'll brush over a major passing of time in a simple sentence. I appreciate the efficiency, and though it took some getting used to, I believe it works well. (For example we are told about a two people who meet up romantically, and then the next paragraph says they're married three months later. Very terse and to the point when needed.)

While you might not be able to tell just from the description, this book is HEAVILY inspired by the manga series Berserk, by Kentaro Miura. And while Radiant King is nowhere near as dark as Berserk, it's fingerprints are all over this book in the best way possible. (Every fifty pages, I found myself wondering if I had just been reading it into the book, and then something else would pop up that would reafirm my conviction on this matter.) Some of the inspiration is in the aesthetics, such as a lone swordsman wandering the land with massive fricken sword and a dark cloak. Also the element of the unknown in the land and not knowing what odd town or magical (dangerous) creature they may meet in the local woods. A lot of the mercenary elements from The Golden Age portion of Berserk have their hand on parts of this novel, but also a lot of the horror. The body horror, the demon horror, the eldritch horror. There's a good bit of Berserk inspired horror in this book. (Once again this is not as horrifying or dark as Berserk but it still has it's influence there) I loved it.

One of the fascinating things about this novel is how Dalglish writes the immortal siblings. We know very little about them at the beginning of the novel and have to piece together their relationships very gradually as the book goes on. Dalglish really keeps his cards close to his chest. There is crucial information about these siblings pasts that is revealed in the last 80% of the book that RADICALLY changes how we view them.
Even from the beginning though, there are little things that will happen with the siblings, such as Faron, Sariel and Calluna that tip us off to the fact that not all is as it should be. Something is a little off. Sure they're people with powerful magic, but is that all? We never learn if their angels of some kind, deities, elven or just humans with super powers. Honestly, I lean a little bit towards angels. But Dalglish does a good job showing how flawed beings with that level of detachedness from mortality will have a different moral structure. Some of the siblings have a great regard and care for human life while others see it as little as squishing a bug. Some see the wars of men as though it's a mere game of chess. Though the siblings are immortal, we get the impression that many, or most souls are reincarnated in some way, and Dalglish does a good job exploring what that would mean if you were like the siblings and could tell. Sariel and Faron encounter souls of people that they knew centuries ago. The souls are the same but they are in completely different bodies and often have no memories of their past life. (One of the sibling has been in love with the same soul for centuries and has pursued and loved them through dozens upon dozens of lives and deaths, though of course they have never died themselves.)

Dalglish doesn't write with flowery prose, or with a style that's anything to write home about, but it works very well for what this is. The action is excellent. Very well described and violent. It's often with VERY creative uses of the Radiant powers. Also the fantasy elements are great. There's some unique bits with dragons as well as some really creepy ways that Radiance can screw up humans.
One of the interesting things to point out with the writing is the tone. For most of the novel it reads like a book by Robert Jordan or Sanderson in terms of tone. Then it turns and has moments of sobering darkness and it feels like Kentara Miura or Cormac McCarthy picked up the pen. Because of that it's hard to classify the tone. The book opens and for much of it can feel like standard heroic fantasy, and yet there are moments of darkness that eclipse Abercrombie by a lot.

There's a lot of EXCELLENT issues and questions that Dalglish addresses in this book. It's not a book about men looking for God. Really Dalglish presents the main villain with the belief that God is the one who is lost. He has lost us and the villain is going to help God find men again.
He asks a lot of questions about how you deal with suffering, and what your reaction is to it. How do you deal with many lifetimes of unbelievable suffering. (I'll keep it vague for spoiler reasons, but when Sariel seeks to recover his siblings to him, some of them are...in great eternal visceral pain) When you encounter suffering do you bear your cross, or do you become resentful and cause others to suffer as well? Do you play the victim and hurt everyone else back?

Oh, and as far as the ending goes, I'll just say that Dalglish really GOES FOR IT. It's shocking, and I need a sequel please.

As far as negatives go, there's a few. The first is that for me personally, the book ran a little bit long, but this may be due to the fact that I had to read the EARC on my phone, which I personally find insufferable. Other people might not have an issue with this.
I don't know how other people will feel, but I was never emotionally attached to these characters. I found them interesting and enjoyed following their story, but never felt an emotional attachment to them.
Also, we talked about Dalglish's terse style, and there were a few times where I wasn't sure what the passage of time actually was.

This book takes a little bit to get going. Dalglish gives you everything, and the kitchen sink besides. I was really impressed with this book, even though it took the second half to really kick things up a notch. I recommend people give this one a try. It's a unique take on some great ideas and I hope this does really REALLY well.

Great concept, very interesting characters. Lots of backstory, but it flowed well and did not bog the story down. Really liked the conflict and the political machinations. Great read, had to put down, looking forward to next book.

I ended up giving this book a 4/4.5 out of 5, but I did struggle a bit. The first 80% of this book drug on and on, but the ending really pulled it off and was just great. The story itself was very confusing at first. You get thrust into the story following a few characters that have lived many lifetimes, and there are a few moments in their history that we are being alluded too. The problem I had was it took until like the 75-80% mark to get the full backstory and have all of this confusion cleared up. The timeline was also a little choppy. There are many times that we go forward two to three and sometimes 6 months from one chapter to the next. This also led to some confusion in not just the timeline but also in the world building. Sometimes the characters are in one place and then the next chapter starts and you are completely across the country and two months down the line, and only one or two sentences lets us know this.

I know I’ve been pretty negative, but the ending really pulled this book from a 2.5/3 star to a 4/4.5 star. I don’t like putting spoilers in my review, but the twist and ending really opens up for a sequel ,and I am actually intrigued enough to read it when it comes out. The plot really thickens near the end and the ending really blew my mind. I truly believe that the climax at the end really made the slog of the beginning much more worth it.

While I did have quite a few issues with this novel, I did end up liking it in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me this E-ARC to read and review.

Wow!! What a wild read! This is my first Dalglish so I wasn't too sure what to expect but if his other books are like this I'm so here for it!
The first 50% plays out like a typical military campaign fantasy, getting to know the characters and the world.
The second half takes a turn to grimdark bordering on horror and had so many twists and turns I didn't see coming!!
Has a smidge of a cliffhanger ending that'll leave a lot of questions for book 2!

The Radiant King by David Dalglish kicks off the Astral Kingdoms series with a lot of promise. The story follows six immortal siblings who once ruled the world but stepped away from power, until one brother, Eder, decides he’s going to become a god and start a new faith. This sparks a conflict with his siblings, especially Faron and Sariel, who team up with a powerful princess to stop him.

What I really enjoyed about this book were the side characters—they were fun, relatable, and had great depth. Plus, the coyote sidekick that was really the star of the story. The world-building was also really interesting, giving a solid foundation for the story. I was surprised to see more fantasy creatures in thus, I didn’t get that impression going in, so that was a nice surprise.

However, the main characters didn’t really resonate with me. They felt pretty flat, and their flaws didn’t add enough to make them engaging. The storytelling style, with its omnipotent viewpoint, created a disconnect that made it hard for me to really dive into the story. The wordiness didn’t help either, making it harder to stay connected to the plot and characters.

Overall, The Radiant King left me wanting more. While there were definitely aspects I enjoyed, especially the side characters and the world, the lack of emotional connection with the main plot held it back. Still, I’m curious enough about the sequel to want to see where the story goes.

I really wanted to like this story! I got about 23% into a very long book and found myself still waiting for it to pick up. I think this is going to be an amazing book for a lot of people, but I don't think it is for me. And that's okay! If you like stories that are a bit slower, but excel in character work and character building, then you will LOVE this book!

Thank you to David Dalglish, Orbit, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of The Radiant King in exchange for my honest review.

The Radiant King is the first book in Dalglish's new Astral Kingdoms trilogy. The backstory to this specific book is complex and something that readers learn more details about as the story progresses. What is known at the start is that 6 immortal siblings have access to Radiance, a mysterious power of life and creation. Hundreds of years ago they all swore never to wear crowns, sit upon thrones, and never to teach humans about radiance. However, one of the siblings breaks these vows, and some feel inclined to intervene.

What I appreciated about The Radiant King was the complexity of it. There are centuries worth of backstory and character development that lead each character to this present moment at the start of the book. This is not a book where there is heavy character development, but that feels appropriate given that these characters are well aware of who they are and what they believe, given the hundreds of years that they have lived. Normally, I do not enjoy plot-heavy books, but I am finding more and more that plot-heavy books are drawing me in. I finished this book, and my first thought was, "I cannot wait to listen to this book on audio before book two because there are bound to be things I missed or overlooked." Dalglish does an outstanding job at letting the readers know the necessary information for them to understand what is going on and revealing key pieces of information that further the understanding at the appropriate moments. I also appreciated getting 5/6 of the sibling's perspectives because we get to know all their thoughts and motivations, yet their perspectives are included only when necessary. Sometimes authors add POVS just to add POVS, it feels like, but this is not one of those cases. We needed that information from that character at that moment. And the one sibling we did not hear from, we did not see in the book, which means I have so many questions. I am dying to know what is going on with that character. While this book was somewhat slow to start, once I got into it, I could not put it down. I highly recommend it to all lovers of epic fantasy.

Between a 3 and a 4 for me. I enjoyed this book but it didn't wow me. The beginning did have me hooked but it was a bit of a slow decline for me after that. I found it to be fairly predictable which is not a bad thing but worth noting for me.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It seems to me that immortality should make you realize that anyone but you should be in charge of anyone with a finite life span. That there is what we call a power imbalance. That there is what we call privilege. Immortals have both the blessing and curse of time. Give them “magical” powers on top of that? Yeah, no thanks.

The Radiant King couldn’t have come along at a better time for me. I’ve been searching for an epic fantasy series with a lot of action, found family vibes, political intrigue, unique magic, and a large streak of darkness for a while now. I didn’t want a romantasy in any way (I love romantasy, but I do read a huge amount of it) but didn’t mind a minor subplot or two of it, but I did want powerful female characters in the central cast and for the book to be LGBTQ+ friendly. Most of all, I kind of wanted no one to be what one would call morally “good”. I wanted a whole bunch of really messy people in a really messy world.

That’s what I feel David Dalglish delivered here: Six extremely messy (and all insane, to some degree) immortal siblings (I don’t think they’re biologically related–think more spun into existence?) who all have divine powers of a sort and are toxically devoted to one another. There’s nothing one can do that won’t be forgiven, with time. After all, they have a lot of it. What happens, though, when one of them seems to be going too far? How far is too far? Where is the line?

The characters in this book jump off the page, grabbing your attention and holding it as they keep you engaged in this compelling story. I won’t lie and tell you there weren’t a couple of places where the pacing stalled just a bit, but it truly wasn’t enough to put me off when I was so invested in where this book was going, the story it was telling, and what was going to happen to these characters I had gotten to know. Dalglish shows off brilliant world building skills here, creating a deep mythology for this series, intense geography for the plot, and the ingenious broken tower that serves as the most important landmark in the whole book. It’s all vividly rendered and feels wonderfully fantastic. 5⭐️

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Action-Adventure/Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Epic Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Political Fantasy

TW: Body horror/lots of blood/lots of violence/animal euthanasia

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Holy cow! What did I just read?!

Exhilarating. Imaginative. Wholly original. If you can't tell I really enjoyed this book. It's the kind of book that leaves a phantom in your brain for a couple of days afterward. Every time I think about opening my kindle, I imagine I'm going back to this world, only to remember that I finished this book days ago and am on to something new. Which does not bode well for the next book on my TBR because I think I need a palate cleanser.

The characters in this novel are so completely fascinating. Each of them are broken in their own unique way and are all insane. Deeply insane, but trying to lead/control this world of humans as the only 6 immortal beings with power. As we can see, that does not help their case. Who does deserve to lead? Should rulers lead with compassion or be merciless in a pursuit of justice. Questions that are on the top of all our minds at the moment. This book doesn't give us an answer but does illustrate the questions well.

It is also completely crazy pants. In the best of ways. The last few pages are absolutely insane and compelling. I recommend this book for anyone who likes darker fantasy with very high stakes. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

We are off to a good start though with The Radiant King the start to a new fantasy trilogy about six powerful siblings.

The Radiant King follows the six immortal siblings focusing primarily on Sariel, Faron and Eder. Out of the three Sariel and Eder are the most interesting in their parallels but also how much they are the same. Are they horrible people or are they doing horrible people in the name of the better good. Faron was probably my least favorite of the three main leads, hes so blindly devoted to his cause that he is so willing to ignore all the red flags that are being raised. Thinks that he has it all under control, a problem that certainly can be raised when you get too old. He is still an interesting character but we don’t really know what drives him other than what is supposedly the right thing.

I think out of all the siblings my favorite ended up being the one that was barely in it. Eist seems the most different of the siblings, Faron, Sariel, Eder and Aylah all seem to be some form of warrior which is fine but they also seem to be a little single note but Eist seems to take a different approach and I really liked the variety compared to the other four. Shame they are not really in it more but I feel with how this book ended it setting up for them to have a larger role in what is to come. Calluna I also hope gets more pages in the next book, I really liked her and what her end game seems to be. For most of the book she seems to just want to be alone, why go out, why play such a major role in the game. Aylah is introduced near the end of the book and I felt the most sympathy for her. What she had gone through is terrible but the way she is treated by Faron in particular really annoyed me, how could he not understand why she took the stance she did after everything that had been done to her. I would have picked the side she had.

The plot is fairly straight forward and easy to follow along. While the chapters are split between multiple points of view it is easy to follow along. Each chapter adds something to the plot, allowing us as a read to get to see different perspectives of even just the same scene. Its a fascinating look at what happens when you get obscenely old and decide to start changing the world. Two characters take on the same thing, two different approaches what works and what doesn’t. What happens when you give powerful people powerful weapons, do they do better with it or not? It was a fascinating look at how power corrupts, even the already powerful who have power. Unfortunately the plotting can get a little slow, for as much as I liked seeing some of the same scenes from different character perspectives it does cause things to slow down as times. Do we need to know a character is sent on a task or can it be simply implied, we can put two and two together.

The ending was so good, I loved how it handled the idea of reincarnation particularly at the end. Really such a fun concept that I can’t want to see how it is handled in the rest of the series.

I really enjoyed this story. I've been a long time reader of Dalglish, but this story scratched a very particular itch for me. I also really liked the way reincarnation into the story as a plot device--I've seen it done before but this was a really compelling way to do it. The characters were well-realized and each had very distinct voices, and I thought that the world was interesting and easy to grasp but with a layer of complexity that made it come to life and feel compelling. I can't believe I have to wait for the next one because after that ending I need the next book. "shakes fist at sky*

This is my first read from David Dalglish, and I found out that he has a very established connected universe with other books he has published. This book, The Radiant King, is a totally different world and the first book in a series. Please be aware there is a lot of action and violence in this book, and the tone leans darker.

This was an interesting read, the storyline explores immortal family dynamics and the drama and violence that comes with power. As the title suggests, Radiance is important, it is a powerful magical ability. Aylah, Eder, Eist, Faron, and Sariel have dedicated literal lifetimes to peace and war, but now one of the siblings has gone too far.

Something that is always interesting to explore is the trauma that each sibling remembers about their past experiences, and how they navigate housing those memories while trying to move forward with the task or battle at hand. This is a fun read for fantasy fans but I would say it did feel a bit longer than necessary. I assume some of the content that extended the book is setting us up for the sequel.

Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

3.5 stars

I went into The Radiant King with high hopes, especially knowing the author’s knack for creating unique and memorable characters. However, while the world and magic system kept me intrigued, the character development left me wanting a bit more.

The story is told through multiPOV. The two main perspectives unfortunately felt quite similar, with one being the more honourable and friendly version of the other, who was colder and more self-isolating. This dynamic didn't offer enough differentiation to make either POV stand out as much as I hoped especially with them both also being great swordsmen that are good a rallying people to their cause.

That said, the magic system was definitely one of the book’s highlights. I enjoyed seeing the different ways magic was used and how it tied into the world-building. The world is centered around 6 immortal siblings that resurrect upon death. Reincarnation was also an aspect of this world. On death, the general populace would reincarnate into new people with no memory of their past lives. Occasionally when people would get old, the’d have memories of their past lives slip through which would cause confusion reminiscent to dementia. I thought this was really unique and haven’t ever read reincarnation done this way before.

The plot itself was pretty straightforward, without any major twists, but it did have its strengths. The body horror elements were executed really well, adding a layer of creepiness and depth to the story. The pacing was also solid, balancing well between intense combat scenes and quieter moments where we got to know the characters better.

Unfortunately, some of the side characters introduced in the first half of the book felt like they were abandoned halfway through. They were an interesting part of the story, and I found myself wishing we could have spent more time with them in the second half. The found family dynamic they brought into the narrative added some much-needed warmth to an otherwise grim world.

However, the last 10% of the book was truly where it all came together. The action ramped up, and plot points that had been set up throughout the book finally clicked. This intense finale left me excited for the sequels, and I have a feeling I’ll enjoy them more.

Overall, while The Radiant King didn’t quite live up to my initial expectations, it’s still a solid read, especially for fans of intricate world-building and magic systems. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.

wow, i found a new obsession with this book. the story follows 6 immortal siblings, granted immeasurable power in the form of Radiance— which basically allows them to control and manipulate all life around them. five have sworn an oath of peace.. while the remaining one demands the throne. this book has everything that’s great about classic fantasy, while also having elements that make it unique and set it apart. this has become an instant favorite book of all time for me.

i loved the way the author incorporated reincarnation into this story. the six main characters have lived over many centuries and lifetimes.. but every time they return, the memories of their past lives stay as a vivid reminder, causing inner turmoil. Faron, Sariel, Eder, Aylah, Calluna and Eist were all very distinct and complex characters and the familial drama was a driving force behind their actions. Sariel and Faron were my favorites and at no point did I know what to expect. there’s betrayal, bloodshed, love, sorrow, sacrifice and so much more. THE ENDING?! my jaw is still ten feet underground right now. I already can’t wait to buy a physical copy and reread it.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Orbit Book Publishing for sending me a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:2.5

This story focuses on a family of siblings with god-like powers. we are introduced to several siblings as the story progresses. While I found some of the characters to be interesting, others were either annoying or boring.

To be honest, I DNF'd this book at the 50% mark. I didn't go into this book with high expectations and in several moments of the book I found myself confused. For instance, I couldn't recall the world, or most of the characters, and I felt disconnected from the plot

I don't believe that I am the right audience for this book, but I have confidence that other David Dalglish fans will enjoy this story.

Once again, I would like to thank NetGalley and Orbit Book Publishing for sending me a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by Dalglish, but it won’t be the last! There’s something in his writing — at least in this book — that reminds me a little of Zelazny in the storytelling and the characters, especially of Faron. This is a bleak world with a great deal of violence, both to people and horses, some of it horrifying, some of it almost mild. A mere head lopped off here, or a sudden death along with brutal torture lasting years, driving its victim mad. I am pleased to see that, in this gender equal world, there is no mention of rape even once in this book, and the female characters are just as flawed and capable as the men.

The world building is strong, with everyone having their own plots and motivations and while the characters can be a bit archetypal, they all have their own beliefs and points of view which keeps them consistent in their characterization. The good brother isn't always good, the bad brother isn’t always evil, and the morally grey brother … well, he’s a bit of an asshole.

There are some expected plot beats, a few predictable moments, but they were well written enough that I didn’t care if I could see them coming, because I was just having fun reading them. However, for as much as I did like this book I think it was maybe a little too long, with some areas that could have used a bit of tightening up to keep the pace from meandering,and some moments that could have had a greater impact were breezed past too quickly.

This is a fun book, well written, and I cannot wait to see what happens in book two! Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

My favorite read of 2025 so far.
Six immortal siblings with the power of radiance. A gift of creation. They vow to never again be rulers for it brought destruction and to not teach humanity the power of radiance...all but 1 agrees.
The vast world building, the magic/power system, broken family dynamic, battle scenes and of course the characters. This book has multiple povs (which is the best!) The plot was plotting and it didn't let up until the end...a ending that left me a little shook if I'll be honest. Can't wait for everyone to read this.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.