The Phoenix King is a smoldering start to Aparna Verma’s Ravence trilogy

The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma is a new Indian-inspired science fantasy novel that’s officially out in bookstores this week. With sci-fi worldbuilding reminiscent of Frank Herbert’s Dune, a cast of compelling characters and a slow burn romance between unlikely allies, The Phoenix King is a snappy read that has a lot to love. Read on for our spoiler-free review.

Book review: The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma

The Phoenix King revolves around three point-of-view characters: Elena, princess heir to the desert nation of Ravence; her father Leo, the king who is fighting to keep a deadly prophecy at bay before his daughter takes over the throne; and Yassen, an assassin who is desperate to escape a dangerous terrorist organization known as the Arrohassin. Since the novel stays relatively tight on these three, each of them received enough development to get me fully invested in their stories. The Phoenix King is a book filled with political intrigue, myth and magic, but its cast drives the story in a very fulfilling way.

One of the first things that really struck me about The Phoenix King is its science fantasy setting. This book has magic and mysticism aplenty, but even more prevalent are things like pulse rifles, holopod devices (think cell phones), and hovercrafts. When I compared The Phoenix King to Dune above, it was because I’ve rarely seen another science fantasy story combine a fantastical desert culture with these sorts of sci-fi trappings in such an immersive way.

At the same time, The Phoenix King is a very different sort of book. It’s one part political intrigue, one part complicated romance, and filled to the gills with morally gray characters who hurt those around them even as they try to do what they feel they must. Each of them stands out in their own way, chafing against or compliment each other depending on the circumstances.

The writing itself is also great. There are enough poetic turns of phrase that I often found myself re-reading bits as I went along because I enjoyed them so much. Verma also includes short epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, so not only do we get the tone of the viewpoint characters in the writing, we also get bits of historical accounts, journals and legends which add to the immersion.

The Indian influence is also wonderful. The clothing, culture, foods and specific terms all feel distinct and make The Phoenix King stand out from a lot of other recent fantasy and science fiction releases. I also particularly loved how Verma worked dance into the story.

Despite being around 500 pages long, I found The Phoenix King to be a fairly snappy read. The chapters are on the shorter side, and there are plenty of well-crafted action scenes and twists to keep you hooked. It’s always nice when a long book doesn’t feel like a long book because it sucks you in, and The Phoenix King totally does.

The Phoenix King flags a little in its final act, but has a fantastic setup for Book 2

Without digging into the spoilers, I have two main criticisms of The Phoenix King. The first is that one of its big twists broke my suspension of disbelief a bit. In the context of the story, the twist is perfect. But when I read it, I had to think back to previous chapters because it almost felt like it contradicted some of the internal monologue of the character involved. I’d have to go back and do a really close read to see how true that actually is, but it did knock me out of the flow for a chapter or two.

The other thing that tripped me up is the book’s final act, which becomes a much more intimate affair in a way that doesn’t gel quite as well as the previous three quarters of the book. In essence, the book climaxes at the three-quarter mark and then has a quieter final sequence. This is a format I tend to like, but for whatever reason found it to be a little less compelling here because of how many elements from the rest of the story fell by the wayside. The book also has a very quick finish which doesn’t tie up very much. Instead, it dives straight into the set up for a sequel.

A lot of very good stuff happens in the last section though, especially in regards to the characters’ relationships. And fortunately, the final few chapters set up Varma’s forthcoming Ravence sequel really well. There was a twist I spent most of the novel waiting for, only to realize at the eleventh hour that the author had tricked me and was taking things in a different direction. That was a good twist in itself, and it also added more weight to the final section of the book. So despite any minor quibbles I had on the way to the end, I think Varma stuck the landing in a way that was really satisfying. She’s absolutely hooked me in for the sequel, which will be high on my list of anticipated reads for next year.

Verdict

The Phoenix King smolders with intrigue, romance, morally gray characters, magic and fascinating technology in an immersive Indian-inspired science fantasy world. It’s easy to get swept away in this book, losing yourself in the pages and desert dunes of Ravence. Despite a few small issues I had with the final act, it’s safe to say that Aparna Verma has constructed a compelling start to her Ravence series.

The Phoenix King is out now from Orbit Books, wherever books are sold.

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