The King's Champion

The King's Champion is the first book of a new YA fantasy series by Xina Marie Uhl, which centers on Lance, named so after a weapon found next to him when he was but an orphaned baby. He was raised by his adoptive parents, but in order to become a rightful citizen and acquire a last name, the village elders send him on a quest to prove his worth.

This quest isn't defined, it's up to him to decide what to do to earn his rights, so it's a lucky coincidence when he gets in cahoots with the prince himself. Together, they try to find a way out of the royal intrigues, reveal the true faces of court residents, and discover the secrets of the Land.

Although the characters are around seventeen years (summers) old, and the genre is clearly Young Adult, the fast pacing and simplistic descriptions reminded me a lot of middle grade literature. That isn't to say that it's bad - this novel was very refreshing. It just goes to show that a YA fantasy book doesn't have to be obnoxiously long and have ostentatious names for characters and places to be enjoyable (yes, I'm looking at you, Sarah J. Maas).

The book sets the tone for the rest of the series and even though it's relatively short, there is still some considerable character development, mostly in Lance's case. This is also a story about a search for identity, which goes beyond just finding out who your parents were. I really liked Lance's voice - he is a great narrator, honest and amusing. I can't wait to read more about him and his friends in the upcoming sequels!

A completely acceptable, fun read for a couple of hours, very much a throwback to older fantasy.

The King's Champion takes very basic fantasy elements and uses them to their best, but their best isn't exactly anything mindblowing in 2017, when every author is battling everybody else in creativity and imagination. There is the standard friendship between lowly peasant and noble prince, the one that is the foundation of the whole story, and it does work commendably well, as the young boys seem to get on really well, like actual friends would, and their personalities complement one another in an easy, believable way. There is the everpresent magic, called simply The Power, and the way it's portrayed feels reminiscent of, for example, Mark Lawrence's second trilogy of books. And, most of all, there is a delightfully cliche cackling evil advisor, the king's right-hand man. No doubts are ever cast on his awfulness and the book wastes no time in going "Yeah, he's the token Disney bad guy here".

The plot moves briskly, lingering only in the right spots, and the more I think about the world presented, the more I realize that I actually remember some of the elements, as they are refreshingly down to earth and non-convoluted.
The main problem stems from the fact that this feels like a third of a book, not a whole novel. Without going into too much detail, the book ends at a point, where other novels would just about hit the halfway point of the story at most. And the ending itself has the protagonists make a rather questionable decision in their quest, which may be addressed in the sequel, but for now it seems baffling.
I did find this quite enjoyable, especially owing to the light-hearted scenes of the heroes playing around and being happy to have each other for company. This seems to be a rare feature nowadays, as everything is high-stakes and grim.
All in all, this is fun, if familiar, and easy to read, if not high literature. If you're not averse to fantasy cliches and some weak motivations - give this a shot!

This is a well written Fantasy with a well developed world and characters.
The action comes quick with plenty of fun added in making for a really easy read.
My only complaint was I finished it too quickly.

Great plot. I really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading more books from this author.