THE LOST KING

A royal family rallies against formidable creatures threatening their kingdom’s farmsteads in Creith’s YA fantasy, one in a series.

Princess Kiar is already worried about the kingdom of Valenia’s upcoming winter as wildlife eats or tramples the realm’s crops. She’s further unnerved when her grandmother forwards a vague warning (“the past has come back”). This may be a reference to the kingdom’s bog, which is seemingly getting bigger and overtaking the pasture. Kiar feels a presence out in that bog, as if something is watching her and her loved ones, including her foster brother and romantic interest Tuan. Indeed, locals describe raiders resembling walking trees with an eerie “stiff-jointed” style of mobility invading their farmsteads, apparently after the livestock. These monstrous “bog-walkers” are difficult to take down, which Kiar and her family quickly learn during a confrontation that leaves King Tir seriously injured. Valenians aren’t the only ones under threat of the expanding bog; someone from northern enemy territory of Noermark asks for Kiar’s help. The princess desperately searches for background about the bog-walkers—where they’re from and why they seem particularly afraid of her. Nods to the first installment in the series, The Swan Harp (2024), are clearly and concisely woven into Kiar’s first-person narration, though a few relatively minor characters pop up with no reminders of their pre-existing relationships. Kiar and her family are a well-rounded bunch, most of them “swanfolk” with an ability to shift between swan and human forms. They find themselves in exhilarating battle scenes that require combat skills and shrewdness as well as magic. The bog-walkers are exceedingly creepy, even after the story illuminates their mysterious origin. A rousing first half is followed by a somewhat less-exciting second half and a noticeably prolonged final act. Nonetheless, the closing pages offer surprises and plenty of reasons to stick around for the upcoming finale.

Memorable heroes and daunting villains headline this fantasy series’ thrilling sophomore installment.