Fantasy Book Critic: A Drowned Kingdom by P. L. Stuart (reviewed by Matthew Higgins)

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OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFO: P.L. Stuart lives in Chatham, Ontario, with his wife, Debbie. A Drowned Kingdom is the first novel in The Drowned Kingdom Saga.

OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Once Second Prince of the mightiest kingdom in the known world, Othrun now leads the last survivors of his exiled people into an uncertain future far across the Shimmering Sea from their ancestral home, now lost beneath the waves. With his Single God binding his knights to chivalric oaths, intent on wiping out idolatry and pagan worship, they will have to carve out a new kingdom on this mysterious continent―a continent that has for centuries been ravaged by warlords competing for supremacy and mages channelling the mystic powers of the elements―and unite the continent under godly rule.

With a troubled past, a cursed sword, and a mysterious spirit guiding him, Othrun means to be that ruler, and conquer all. But with kingdoms fated on the edge of spears, alliances and pagan magic, betrayal, doubt, and dangers await him at every turn. Othrun will be forced to confront the truths of all he believes in on his journey to become a king, and a legend.

When one kingdom drowns, a new one must rise in its place. So begins the saga of that kingdom, and the man who would rule it all.

OFFICIAL BOOK INFO: Released on 2^nd Feb 2021, A Drowned Kingdom is 438 pages long, with a prologue, and three parts, along with three appendices. The story is told via one point of view character called Othrun.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: P.L. Stuart’s A Drowned Kingdom is an epic for the ages. I found it to be lovingly crafted and woven throughout with the very spirit of what it means to be a fantasy classic. Due to this very attribute, it is a book that requires investment. With a large portion of the novel being utilised to describe the history and society of the Atalantean Empire, and one that falls to dust very early on. It’s an interesting idea to play one’s hand right at the start, but P.L uses this to build a palpable and mounting sense of tension as the reader knows the kingdom’s fall is irreversibly imminent.

Setting us off with an intriguing prologue that displays the aftermath of the Atalantean Empire’s downfall, we are introduced to the main protagonist, second prince Othrun. Written from a first-person perspective, the first half in particular was a very unique read for myself, and I found it to have a semi experimental feel, in the sense that I hadn’t encountered a story told in such a way before.

Ultimately, I believe it paid off, as P.L. sets up a grand and decadent culture, building it piece by piece through regaling of history and culture, before letting it all self-implode. However, I did struggle to keep track of certain aspects early on due to the very immediate nature of the worldbuilding.

I was delighted to find an extremely thorough set of maps and appendices when I received a physical copy, and I believe having this alongside the audio would have utterly negated that aspect for me as a self-described worldbuilding enthusiast. The first half then is very much the meandering tale of the people of Atalantyx, an important aspect of the journey before reaching the thunderous roar of the second half’s cascading waterfall-like plot.

The second half of this book conforms to the more traditional and is really where P.L’s character work is allowed to flourish. The main protagonist, Othrun is an utterly unlikable bigot, there’s no deviating around that. There were several lines that outright shocked me with how deep the prejudice ran inside Othrun’s soul, especially at times when I considered that perhaps Othrun may have been growing.

Yet none of this ever stopped me wanting to know what came next. It made it a compelling character drama where I was rooting for Othrun to mature out of his substantial superiority complex, formed in the halls of power from within which he was birthed. It was a rather sad aspect to the tale, as one could see how fiercely Othrun was holding onto the one thing remaining of his dying culture, his religion. This was not a man acting from complete ignorance, but a child who had been brought up in this nationalistic, semi cultic fashion, his entire world literally crumbled around him. If you were brought up in such a bubble, would you be so different? A scary thought indeed. His journey over the saga is set to be one of growth and redemption, of hope and inspiration, something that really resonates with me.

The supporting cast from the ‘pagan’ cultures also became firm friends of mine, kings Wely and Hert being the two standouts. The other remaining Atalanteans played their role, but never stood out to me in particular, with the exception of Uncle Yedwole whom I found to be one of the characters I always wanted more from, although for why I could not tell you! I was completely rooting for the ‘pagan’ characters as the plot started to shift and evolve in unforeseen ways, delighted to see Othrun showing some signs of maturity in his relationship to them, albeit stuck beneath a thick ‘ole layer of entitlement.

I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite character as it is very much became an ensemble piece, however they all grew to earn a place in my heart. There was a lack of female characters throughout a lot of the novel, and those that did appear were leaning towards the seductive temptress side of things, again, P.L. shocking me at one point with the forthrightness of some of his lines! Lysi was the major female character within, and although she was in that seductive vein, there was an utterly compelling angle set up for her relationship to Prince Othrun, and I’m definitely eager to see where it leads, and trust P.L’s consummate skill to further lace his saga with captivating female characters.

The book leaves on a semi cliffhanger, although for those worrying about this aspect fear not, it merely leaves us with certain events about to be enacted; not one of those to throw across the room.

In general, this was a character and world building propelled novel, and as such the plot did take its time to emerge and really didn’t kick off until the second half, one aspect that might turn away readers eager for a quicker read. This is definitely one with a larger saga in mind, each entry building the bigger picture. Nevertheless, I never found it to be particularly slow, despite the early struggles with the amount of information released to the reader.

Whilst for the most part it was a political fantasy and magical elements took a backseat, there was clearly foreshadowing of a bolder future to come. Mysterious dreams, mage sorcery, slightly overbearing guardian angels, there was more than enough brewing within to keep the fantastical ticking over. One gets the sense that the lack of magic is more due to Othrun’s ignorance and inexperience than an actual dearth of magic in this world, and that supplementary mystical elements will further unveil as the saga progresses. Not least because the ’pagan’ continent appears to have much teeming beneath its surface, both in terms of magic and politicking, leaving us with an exciting future for the remainder of the saga.

CONCLUSION: Overall, whilst I struggled a little with the first half due to the upfront worldbuilding, the second half was engrossing and in its totality is clearly a labour of love. The characters were at times challenging, which was clearly P.L.’s grand intention as it allows for much maturity to take place, and they became very endearing to me as the novel progressed. Themes of belonging, the dangers of nationalism and bigotry all integrated well to create a fantasy epic with a moral quandary at its heart, can someone with inherently prejudiced views mature and become someone worthy to be called leader?

I will eagerly await the moment my TBR allows me to step back into this world and find out the answer!