The Orphan King

Tyler Chin-Tanner — 2021

After training in secret with his mother's sister, the magical Lady Taleissa, Prince Kaidan returns home to find his kingdom destroyed and his parents, King Gorlan and Queen Olwen, gone. With the monarchy overthrown, Kaidan is set adrift in a lawless land where his birthright is no longer recognized. To make matters worse, there's a price on his head set by the warlord who wants to ensure that the royal line has no chance to return. Kaidan seeks refuge with a merry band of outlaws hiding in the forest, who were neither loyal to the monarchy nor to the current leadership. Kaidan joins them until they betray him, selling him out to a local merchant and giving the money to the poor. Now a captive, Kaidan prepares to be exchanged for the reward money until his outlaw friends reveal their plan to rescue him. Kaidan then discovers that the King was indeed killed but his mother is most likely alive, though imprisoned by the warlord. Kaidan's rescuers offer him a new home among them. He's tempted, but with his mother still missing, he realizes that his aunt, the Lady Taleissa, must be searching for her. Kaidan resolves to find them both and set things right even if being King is no longer a reality.

Reviews

Frida Kahlo@fridathequeen

Jun 28, 2022

I received an eARC copy from A Wave Blue World Inc and Diamond Books via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. There is so much going on in this Volume 1 that it did not feel enough. And, at the same time, it felt like being all over the place and not quite cohesive. It retells nicely two great legends, the ones of King Arthur and Robin Hood, but there is a Wonder Woman detail, jumping in and somewhat spoiling it in my eyes. Prince Kaidan, son of King Gorlan, has been sent away to the Isle of Women to train under his aunt's guidance. A few years later, Kaidan returned to his homeland only to find it ruined and destroyed (too fast, maybe?), his father possibly dead, and his mother in captivity. His father's enemies found out about his return and acted quickly to kill him, but the Robinhood-ish outlaws' team shows up to save the day and help Kaidan in a possible search for his mother, land, what truly belongs to him. Now, why did King Gorlan send his son away; why doesn't he approve of him? The Isle of Women gives the air of magic and mystery; is Kaidan's mother an Amazon, just like his aunt (or I got the wrong impression here)? There are no explanations, no depth in characters' development; we are expected to accept things as they are, without focusing much on the story. Moving on, I do have a few guesses myself, but I'd wait for the next volume. Talk a bit about the graphics: while I was immediately drawn to this graphic novel because of its cover, the panels themselves did not always do justice to the story. Nevertheless, the artwork is beautiful, exceptional. There are many woven strings in this story, many branches that have just started to grow; I hope the sequel(s) coming up will fill in the missing parts, give explanations, and answer questions.