The King's Hand: Anyone can deceive. But there's always a price.
By Anna Thayer
4/5
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About this ebook
Like many from his village, young Eamon Goodhand dreamed of joining the Gauntlet, the army of the overlord Eldered. Now he is about to complete his training and swear his loyalty to Eldered and his commanders, the Hands, who uphold Eldered's tight control of the land. Entering into the service of the Gauntlet, Eamon's gifts, particularly his potent Sight, quickly become valuable to his superiors and he advances to the command rank at a speed that arouses the suspicions of fellow officers.
However, Eldered's bloody rule, and Eamon's personal friendships, start to challenge the young soldier's assumptions about what might be true, and worthy of service. And soon Eamon must conceal a fatal secret: he is sworn to both Eldered and to Hughan, the rightful king of the land. Yet he may not forswear the vows he has uttered in all good faith so however he serves, his name will be traitor.
As tensions and military skirmishes increase, Eamon finds himself trusted by both his masters. How can he possibly maintain his integrity, act justly to his fellow officers of the Gauntlet, and act on behalf of all the warring people of the land?
Anna Thayer
Anna Thayer graduated from Cambridge with first class honours in 2005 before teaching in Sicily. She writes and lectures internationally on the works of Tolkien and Lewis. She teaches English at an independent school in southern England.
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Reviews for The King's Hand
17 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Now that I've read the whole trilogy--out of order I must admit--I consider this volume my favorite of the three. In the first volume we meet Eamon Goodman and follow his quick promotions in the Gauntlet army, from cadet to Hand. The third volume neatly ties up the story to a satisfactory conclusion. In this volume we follow his career as Hand of the East Quarter of the city of Dunsthruik. He tries to balance his [now undercover] loyalty to the King with his supposed loyalty to the throned Master, without his "cover" being "blown." We follow Eamon in his first faltering days as Quarter Hand, witness his growing self-confidence, his innate goodness, unselfishness, and compassion for servants and townspeople shown in different incidents. He treats everyone like human beings, not scum; at one point he dines with a common family, in disguise. He thinks of others, in episodes such as his rescuing a small girl and her cousin from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in his district. He is not afraid of hearing opinions different from his, learns from them and becomes a beloved leader and people are no longer afraid of him. But the throned moves him on to the position of Right Hand, a promotion: the Master's powerful henchman and second-in-command. Writing style and his character development were superb. After reading this volume, I feel taken as a whole, the trilogy could be considered as a modern classic, in the C.S. Lewis vein of unobtrusive religious undercurrent. All three volumes maintain the same high quality. This is one series which SHOULD be read in order to get the most out of it.Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After finishing The Traitor's Heir (the first book of the trilogy), I felt compelled to continue reading the tale of Eamon Goodman.I felt the flow of the text improved in this volume and a gripping story developed - so much so that I ordered the third volume which I am currently reading and expect I'll review in due course!In both the second and thrid volumes of this fantasy trilogy, the switching between allegiance to The King or The Throned makes a lot more sense - in the first book it sometimes felt as though Eamon switched sides too easily - now, you get a much better sense of the struggle he has.Volume two really develops Eamon's character - you start to understand that he is a 'good man' but with very difficult choices to make.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read the first one, but I got this as an Early Reviewer book so I didn't have that opportunity. I found it a bit stilted and hard to follow at times, a little slow and a bit unclear about who the characters were and how they related to the main character. As I said before, however, some of this was probably due to the fact that I hadn't read the first book in this series, although there should have been enough exposition provided that I could cobble the plot together on my own. I didn't understand why the villain was so hated, I didn't understand why the main character was so devoted to the ousted King, or what the King's powers were, or what this mysterious blue/red light magic stuff was or why people were put to death for using the wrong kind. Horrible lack of exposition.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I normally don't read a lot of fantasy, but this was a really good read. The writing was so vivid that I had no problem picturing this land and people from the first page.The book does a great job of presenting the struggle between heart and head and the sacrifices that must be endured for the greater good. It also shows that leaders can be dedicated to improving things under their control for no other reason than to see their charges happy.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I wish that I'd realized this book was the second in a series when I requested it. I did not read the first in the series, although I may go back and do so...though probably not.I feel as though the author was trying too hard to be Tolkien or another one of the classic fantasy writers, and it just wasn't getting there for me. This may be yet another thing I would understand more if I had read the first book, but I really didn't understand the respect and honor in the way that Eamon was treated. From what I gleaned, he'd betrayed both sides several times. And not in a "I'm doing this so I won't be caught out as a double agent" kind of way. In a "I can't make up my mind about where I want to be" kind of way. And yet all of the men respected him deeply, especially when he went back to Dunthruik. For me, there was a lot of TELLING that the men respected him but not a lot of SHOWING of why that would be. It felt almost like he was meant to be a Ned Stark kind of character, with a strong moral compass and sense of what's right. But Eamon was too whiny and wishy washy for me. Since Eamon's the driving force in the book, it was interesting but not quite as compelling as I was hoping.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is definitely a middle book in a trilogy. If you haven't read the first book, you must do so, even though the author provides a synopsis of what's gone on so far. (I wish more authors did this -- too often I spend the first 50 pages just trying to remember all that's happened in previous books in a series, since the time between books can be a year or more.)At the end of the first book, Eamon Goodman, the King's First Knight, was tasked by the evil Master with an impossible task. If you read the back cover of this book, you would think that most of the book is about Eamon trying to achieve that impossible task, but he manages to do so in less than 100 pages. The bulk of the book is mostly psychological in nature. Although a number of things happen, it is mostly about Eamon coming to terms with how to be the King's man in the enemy's camp. What I appreciated most is that Thayer does not give easy answers while at the same time not compromising on the evil of the villain. One of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, is quite good at thinking through situations deeply to create a rich depth of character, and Ms Thayer definitely writes in a similar vein.This is not a quick or easy read, but is worth getting through. It is mostly set-up for the final volume, but persevere, because I think the final volume is going to be incredible.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As Eamon moves up in the service of the Master, decisions he has to make and events he has no control over, threaten to tear him apart. He has shown that he is truly a good man, and those below him find that they love him. As his star rises with the people and the Master, so it sinks with the Hands in direct service to the Master. Now, in addition to the competing voices in his head, Eamon must work harder than ever to quell suspicion as to where his loyalties lie. How far can he rise, and how much can he take?The King’s Hand is a great follow-up to The Traitor’s Heir. The story moves along quite well, and Thayer is able to elicit strong emotions. With characters to both love and hate, the reader finds an enfolding story that leaves you ready for more. Quite an enjoyable read.