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Valerian is immortal; known as The Immortal of Death. A wandering avenger of those who do wrong; an assassin, killing in the name of justice – but without a remit to do so. He’s got no allegiance, other than his own sense of what is wrong and right – and so he often finds himself at odds with The Holy Guard of Orira – the mages and immortals who (essentially) police the actions of immortals and mages.
When he’s given the task of slaying a god named Orlin, he finds himself unable to do so. The god is at odds with who Valerian believed him to be, seemingly insane, and irritatingly cheerful. He soon finds Orlin his constant companion, whether he wants him there or not. But, for Orlin, Valerian isn’t simply a dark mage, a wayward immortal assassin for hire. No, he’s his soul mate. He just has to convince Valerian of that.
Travelling between the past and the present, w learn why Valerian is a loner – we learn of his past deeds and punishments. We learn of his childhood, and his first meeting with Orlin; one that he may have forgotten in the present, but one that certainly shaped his life.
While I enjoyed the themes in Dark Prince Rising, I struggled with the writing. At times, it seemed a little unfocused, whirling between character’s points of view from one sentence to the next. The narrative was confusing, with new characters being introduced without the reader being aware. I had to read a few passages a few times to be able to understand who’s perspective it was being seen from, and what impact and importance they had on the plot. At one point, I became confused about an entire scene, where Valerian is about to be in a hearing for his crimes. I had no idea which character was which, as Holt referred to them as titles (such as Grandmaster) without explaining their meaning or who was, indeed, whom. If I’m to be entirely honest, it was bewildering, and somewhat off-putting.
That aside, I loved the slow building romance between Valerian and Orlin; their easy back and forth’s, even if Valerian was somewhat reluctant. I also particularly enjoyed the way Valerian’s backstory was developed within the book – revealing relationships with different people, and why his character seemed so dour when we first meet him.
So, do I recommend Dark Prince Rising? In short, I don’t know. The writing is somewhat confusing and at times clumsy – almost as though the words fell from Holt’s brain in a too quick jumble. However, the plot is charming, with quirky characters and an LGBTQIA+ love story that is as beautiful as the illustrations of Valerian at the beginning of each chapter. I’d say give it a go. Plough on through the confusing bits, and fall in love with Orlin’s perpetually jaunty outlook.
S. A.
I received Dark Prince Rising directly from Quinn Holt in exchange for a fair and honest review.
You can purchase Dark Prince Rising from Barnes and Noble in the US (I’m not entirely sure about UK and AUS/NZ at the moment.) by clicking on the name of the book.