Book Review: Crystal King by John M. Olson

11/23/2018

Some people are born great. Others have greatness thrust upon them.
~William Shakespeare

In a world where people and animals work side by side through the use of magic crystals, Gavin is an example of the latter. As the youngest son of Baron Stoutheart, Gavin spent his days avoiding responsibility. When tragedy strikes, he has hard decisions to make and sometimes they make him. Follow this reluctant hero as he shoulders responsibilities no one ever believed him capable of bearing.

What I liked:

The characters are engaging and diverse, and I enjoyed their development and peeks into their various histories. The magic system is simple, but in the case of binding a person to an animal, it didn't need to be complex. I found it easy to relate to Gavin, a person who feels unequal to the tasks and responsibilities that fall upon him due to the decisions of others.

What I didn't like:

I thought the plot felt a little slow at the beginning, and I would have enjoyed more world-building. Aside from the use of crystals to harness animals, there wasn't much unique to the land of Riland that you couldn't find in any other generic fantasy.

Overall, I gave the Crystal King four solid stars and look forward to reading book two: Crystal Queen.