A cross between Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber and The Three Musketeers, For the Killing of Kings is the first in a new fantasy trilogy by Howard Andrew Jones.

Their peace was a fragile thing, but it had endured for seven years, mostly because the people of Darassus and the king of the Naor hordes believed his doom was foretold upon the edge of the great sword hung in the hall of champions. Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border, but the king himself would never lead his people to war so long as the blade remained in the hands of his enemies.

But when squire Elenai's aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery, she's forced to flee Darassus for her life, her only ally the reckless, disillusioned Kyrkenall the archer. Framed for murder and treason, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm, they race to recover the real sword, only to stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way back to the Darassan queen and her secretive advisers. They must find a way to clear their names and set things right, all while dodging friends determined to kill them - and the Naor hordes, invading at last with a new and deadly weapon.

Howard Andrew Jones' powerful world-building brings this epic fantasy to life in this first book of his new adventure-filled trilogy.

eARC provided by St. Martin’s Press for review (via NetGalley)

Alright listen up you all! This book has been criminally under-exposed, seeing as how it comes out in less than two weeks and I’ve seen it absolutely nowhere except on NetGalley! If you’re a high fantasy fan, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

This book had pretty much everything I love – a cast of characters that all have their own strengths and weaknesses and are all fun to read about; magic!; an innovative world setup that I haven’t seen before; fight scenes on both small and large scales; and epic quests (or not so much as a quest as a fleeing from a recently discovered murdery conspiracy).