The Kingdom of Liars

Written by Nick Martell

Narrated by John Skelley

In this brilliant debut fantasy, a story of secrets, rebellion, and murder is shattering the Hollows, where
magic costs memory to use, and only the son of the kingdom’s despised betrayer holds the truth.

Michael is branded a traitor as a child because of the murder of the king’s nine-year-old son by his father, David
Kingman. Ten years later, Michael knows something is there in the hot, white emptiness of his mind that can clear
his family name.

In a world where memory is the coin that pays for magic, the Hollows is ruled by a royal family that is spiraling
into a self-serving dictatorship just as gun-wielding rebels clash against the country’s magically trained militia.

What the truth holds will completely change the Hollows, and Michael Kingman and his family and friends are
determined to do the impossible

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980003007

Nick Martell

Nick Martell was born in Ontario, Canada, before moving to the United States at age seven. He started writing novels regularly in fifth grade, and his debut novel, The Kingdom of Liars, sold when he was twenty-three years old. Find Nick on Twitter @MacMartell or at NickMartell.com.

Reviews for The Kingdom of Liars

[bethyacoub · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This little shtunk (as my mother would have called it) had me on the verge of throwing in the towel. I am always reluctant to give up on a read (doubly so for ARCs). The DNF pile feels like a shameful public record of my biblio-failures... a list of my botched attempts at connecting with someone's brain baby... their heart and soul. BUT after trying to read this book multiple times, and being unable to sit with it for more than 30 minutes at a clip, I almost gave up... almost... what did happen was that I waited until its audiobook was released and snatched it up, hoping for a different vibe. Thankfully I did because I found this (audio)book to be highly enjoyable. Kingdom Of Liars takes place in a land where the use of one's innate talents, called Fabrications, could have the very unfortunate effect of losing one's memories, or even losing an entire physical ability, each time it is employed. Obviously, this alone could make things problematic. It could lead to some very disjointed, patchwork character narratives to say the least. Our MC, Michael Kingman, showed some unmistakable signs of memory inconsistencies of his own. He also exhibited some kind of burgeoning, unknown, Fabricator ability. We were unsure what was the cause of his mental gaps and we had no idea if/how many times he had already used his mysterious Fabrication talent. Were his memories lost due to his own actions, or was there a more nefarious (outsider's) plan in play?Michael was a frustrating protagonist to follow around. Although he scraped by with what little he had left after his father's execution, mother's ill health and the fracture of his once unflappable Family unit... to top it all off... he also had to contend with his faulty memory. He floundered about while lacking pertinent information to make well informed decisions which was... annoying. For someone that should have been hobbled by what he didn't know, he sure found ways to blunder into, and out of, unbelievable circumstances. He was very lucky to have friends in high, and low, places and though he was frustrating to get behind, he was also quite likeable. He was most certainly an Unreliable Narrator... and this Nick Martell navigated skilfully. I was impressed by the world building but confused by the broken moon's ultimate place within the storyline. Why was it necessary to introduce it and its fallen (possibly prophetic) pieces to us? Maybe I missed its relevance but if not, I hope the answers will be given in subsequent books. The magic system, on the other hand, was a bit underdeveloped BUT it was also unique and thankfully left room for a ton of possibility.I enjoyed the story's time-line. It started near the end, then went back in time to better explain how we got to Michael's execution day and then back to the present. How did he get to that point? Who helped and how much? Are his memories sound and reliable? Who killed the young prince? Was Michael's father set up? Why did his father, and Michael as well, plead guilty to the murder of a royal while refusing to utter a word in their own defense? There were more mysteries and the ending... the ending made all of the fuss and patience and time put into it well worth it! What a twist! It answered a handful of questions but there are many more that need to come to light. I need to know! I am excited to see where this story takes us (and Dark the mercenary- one of my favorite characters) in book #2. Overall:This debut (audio)book was enjoyable. It was the Unreliable Narrator done right. There were schemes, machinations, betrayl, court juxtapositioning and misdirection aplenty. I must admit... I found excuses to spend more time with Mr. Martell's surprising gem. In order to have more time with these robust characters, in this richly detailed world, I found reasons to do extra chores. EXTRA chores!??! That's right... and that's saying a lot because who likes cleaning the bathroom or sweeping/vacuuming/mopping? Apparently I do (when simultaneously listening to a good book).In my humble opinion, the audiobook was much more palatable than the print version. If you're having trouble soldiering through then I suggest switching things up and enjoying it auditorily! I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for book #2!~Enjoy *** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

[sweetkokoro-61371 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC Copy of The Kingdom of LiarsWhat can I say about this book. Well for one it was one hell of a ride from start to finish. There is a lot, and I mean a LOT going on in this book. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing, but how its all executed plays a major part into how the overall story will go down.The first 10 chapters were so overwhelming to me, there was so much of this massive world being explained and unraveled that I started to feel like there wasn't going to be much left to tell if it kept going at this rate. I actually started taking notes about what was being explained to me, just to make sure I didn't get confused. There is this old medieval, high fantasy feeling but at the same time there is this modern non fantasy feeling going on, and at first I was not feeling it. I just didn't feel like the two styles was meshing well. As the story progressed though, it started to feel like it was all coming together, but it was initially a turn off.I'm not a fan of guns, I don't care for them so I never gravitate towards them, and at first I was taken aback that they were in this, but honestly I feel like it was handled quite well. It was used in a manner of progression and something new coming to be in a world that never had such items, The story was in no way over run with them, but it was a great plot device for creating a growing world,The magic system was actually really intriguing to me. The system is called Fabrications, and not everyone has them. but I love that the Martell went down the path that, with magic comes consequences. Understanding the Forgottens took awhile for me, but I think that comes down to the fact that the first 10 chapters had so much information being fed to me that I just got burnt out wanting to learn something else about the world, There was so many divisions, Nobilty, Scales, Forgottens, Skeletons and so much more, that it really did become a lot to take in.The Moon portion was the part I felt I was let down in, I wanted so much more to be done with this, since it felt so important, It was constantly mentioned in the first half of the story and then just kind of fell to the way side and I really liked that part of the worldbuilding. So hopefully it will be touched upon in later books again.Characters!!! Wow there was so many characters and I am so angry over the twist reveal at the end, but oh it was so good!! I loved our Main man Michael, half the time I was yelling at him to stop making stupid choices, other times I was shaking my head at what he had done in the past that came back to bite him in the ass, and other times I was just laughing my ass off at him. I seriously loved him by the end of the story. Dark was another character that I absolutely adored, and I cant wait to see him some more. I will say I am very confused as to what Michael's actual age is, I don't know if its my terrible math skills, or if it just wasn't explained clearly enough, but I would like to know haha. Each character really does bring something different to the story and there are plenty of them, but it never felt like to much, but I did at one point start to mix up a few of the ladies, because they only show up when necessary.The end does really pick up and just starts throwing blows left and right at you. Betrayals happened that I never even considered as I was trying to figure it all out, and frankly I was hurt by it. People coming and going, dying and living, information being traded left and right, just so much, but it was handled in a way that made it easy to grasp, and I think that was why the first 10 chapters really built the world so quickly and so forcefully. While in the later half of the book, everything slowly comes to realizations and then bam you get punched in the face, and the next thing you know you're laying in your bed crying over some of the revelations.Kingdom of Liars started out rough and I honestly almost put it down, but I'm glad I decided not to, for me it was worth continuing on. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, I cant wait to see what trouble Michael causes next.

[oceancat-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a really fun epic fantasy! Michael Kingman is the son of the man who killed the prince, and his family which once stood side by side with kings struggles to survive. But then Michael finds out there may be more to his father killing the prince than he knew, and he needs to discover the truth! The magic system in this book was really interesting, with the price for using magic being memory loss, small or large. I loved the writing, the characters were relatable and while serious things happened there was a balance with lightness and even humor! The story was a lot of fun and kept moving quickly. I can’t wait to read the next book!