Anji Kills a King

In the fantasy that I usually read Regicide is usually the goal for the end of the book. In fact, I have read entire trilogies in which the protagonist is trying to kill a royal. You get the sense that Evan Leikam is going to tackle things a little differently in Anji Kills a King when the first scene sees a gruesome assassination in which Anji succeeds in slitting the King’s throat. Is the story told in flashbacks after this? Certainly not, killing the king is only the start of a revolution 

As the still warm blood drips from her hands Anji makes her way out of the palace in which she had worked as stable hand and housekeeper. When the opportunity presented itself to kill the king, she took it without a second thought, but what now? On the run with little money and no sense of the wider world, Anji is a shoo-in to be caught and tortured to death, especially as she is being hunted by an elite group of mercenaries known as The Menagerie. 

I have read my fair share of Low Fantasy in recent years, a form of fantasy that takes on a darker, more realistic approach to the genre, the worst of the Middle Ages with a little magic. The opening scene of Anji shocked even I and it was not the end of the bleakness that the book has to offer. Anji’s quest is less one of reaching a noble goal and more one of day-to-day survival. 

Anji is an interesting character, the daughter to murdered parents, she allowed her anger to ferment. When she meets up with The Menagerie and in particular Hawk, it is not long until see releases that her actions were reckless and had no real purpose. By killing the king, had she avenged her parents, made life better for people like her, or as Hawk suggests, has she made matters worse by allowing an even worse power to rise? 

A tale of burgeoning revolt acts as the baseline hum of Anji, but this is not what the book is about. Fantasy is often epic and has multiple protagonists, but Leikam has stripped the tale back to be all about Anji and is told from her perspective. What we learn about the wider politics is told from snippets of conversation, usually as Anji is trying to avoid having another finger removed. 

What you get is a very personal tale. The opening Act is about Anji and Hawk, a mercenary and prisoner tale. A sense of Stockholm Syndrome sets in as Hawk must protect Anji, not for her health, but for a bigger share of the bounty. The other Menagerie members have something to say about this and as the book progresses you begin to see that there is far more to the Hawk’s tale as first imagined. 

Anji is a brutal book that will not appeal to fans of High Fantasy with its ethereal feel and Elf magics. This is a book that is told from the perspective of the downtrodden, where hope is a word seldom spoken. Anji crawls through the muck to survive, doing what is necessary. This means the reader has a begrudging respect for her, even if her actions are not always the most moral. As the final act plays out, you witness the fruits of all the heartbreak. This is book one of The Rising Tide series and is a true opening act of a larger series. The follow up promises so much, it can build on book one, but you get the sense that Leikam will give the sequel a different feel as Anji is a different person by book’s end.