The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain series conjures an epic, adventurous world of ancient myth and magic as a young woman’s battle with infinite evil begins.
Survivor of a combat school, the orphaned Bingmei belongs to a band of mercenaries employed by a local ruler. Now the nobleman, and collector of rare artifacts, has entrusted Bingmei and the skilled team with a … the skilled team with a treacherous assignment: brave the wilderness’s dangers to retrieve the treasures of a lost palace buried in a glacier valley. But upsetting its tombs has a price.
Echion, emperor of the Grave Kingdom, ruler of darkness, Dragon of Night, has long been entombed. Now Bingmei has unwittingly awakened him and is answerable to a legendary prophecy. Destroying the dark lord before he reclaims the kingdoms of the living is her inherited mission. Killing Bingmei before she fulfills it is Echion’s.
Thrust unprepared into the role of savior, urged on by a renegade prince, and possessing a magic that is her destiny, Bingmei knows what she must do. But what must she risk to honor her ancestors? Bingmei’s fateful choice is one that neither her friends nor her enemies can foretell, as Echion’s dark war for control unfolds.
more
The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler is a magnificent journey through an ancient time with magic, lessons, death, and respect.
Will Bingmei become the savior by life or death?
Bingmei
Bingmei has lost her family to cruelty and revenge; she is saved by another group of mercenaries, Bingmei is now part of the group and bound to the leader. She is different from the other people, not just in looks but also in her gift. Bingmei can tell if someone is truthful, what their intentions may be, and what emotions they are feeling.
The mercenaries come upon a group with a sword that has the power to bring the Killing Fog. They retreat to fight another day, but once they are safe, their leader realizes that they need to retrieve the sword before it falls into another bad person’s hands. Bingmei is tasked with getting the sword. She is drawn to the power of the sword, yet she almost doesn’t make it back.
Bingmei is chosen by the sword to start a process that will change the world as she knows it. She will also lose more of the ones that she loves. Bingmei has a great deal to learn, and some she will do now.
I really like Bingmei; she is more durable than she seems. The group that surrounds her are loyal, and yet they would need to be as she can tell if they aren’t. The gifts that she has been given aren’t always considered good to the person that beholds them, but they are nonetheless hers to bear, and she learns that in stride.
The Quest
Bingmei has awakened the Dragon of Night, Echion, but then before he regains his full power, she and her friends escape. Now, as they try to save their world, he comes after her. He wants her, no, more of needs her. Echion will do whatever is necessary to get Bingmei back in his grasp. The Dragon of Night is taking over the land fast. How will Bingmei keep herself and her friends safe? Will she figure out what a way to defeat the Dragon of Night?
Five Stars
OMG! What an epic tale. I was immediately sucked into the story, and everything was so vivid. Bingmei and Kunmia Suun are my favorite characters so far. However, all of the other characters are wonderfully realistic, with faults and specialties. And Echion is indeed the incarnation of evil. My rating for The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler is five stars. I highly recommend this to all fantasy readers out there.
I can’t wait for the next two books in the series to come out.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site.
Until the next time,
~Jen
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
I heard somewhere that author Jeff Wheeler was disappointed that this trio of novels titled THE GRAVE KINGDOM had not sold well. How could that be? Isn’t THE GRAVE KINGDOM about a young woman pitting herself against the forces of evil? Isn’t this story being told by a magnificent writer?
Jeff Wheeler is a magnificent writer, but I can see why many would find these books less-than-exciting, and would perhaps not buy the other volumes after reading THE KILLING FOG.
To begin with, for a novel that has so much fighting – including Kung-Fu moves on the part of the protagonist Bingmei – this is a quiet piece. It is quiet because the characters are quiet, because they get on so well together, because there are no arguments that escalate into feuds or worse. In short, we can (mostly) depend upon our dependable characters to be pleasant, helpful, and behave in a civilized fashion towards one another.
As everyone knows, well-behaved people, however well they fight, do not make for very interesting reading.
Another problem is that the novel lacks a sense of direction. It is a typical adventure novel (sometimes called a “picaresque” novel) in which a bunch of quirky characters go on one adventure after another. I know that many authors don’t like to start with a framing device, but I do think that the reader should be given some clue as to where we’re going in the first few pages.
A third problem – related to the first two – is that this novel lacks a spine. It lacks a spine because there is no escalating tension in this novel, no conflicts to push it forward, nothing to give it that sense of direction that would make it unputdownable.
Lastly, there is very little emotion expressed in the novel. Instead, emotions are mostly hidden, simmering away. But whether we are talking about love, anger, resentment or contempt, what gives a novel color is the unspooling of those emotions on the page.
This is not to say that there weren’t many enjoyable moments in the novel. I loved the descriptions of the ice caves that hid the palace of Fusang. I loved the descriptions of Quoin’s knots, and the sailing back & forth between Wangfujing and other places. I loved seeing Bingmei practice her moves. But without conflict, direction, or escalating tension, this novel fell short for me. Which is a great pity. Three stars.
An entertaining secondary world fantasy inspired in part by Chinese mythology (although far enough away to likely escape allegations of inaccuracy ;)).
This book is very much in conversation with the classic chosen one trope, and plays with it in interesting ways; in some ways it’s a bit too close to the original, but the protagonist is interesting enough to make this less of a problem. The magic system is interesting. This book combines classic fantasy tropes with a very different world.
Enjoyable, but a tiny bit predictable in places.
(I received a copy of this book for award consideration).
I really enjoyed “The Killing Fog.” It’s Asian inspired, and as I write a lot of Asian-inspired fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed someone else’s take on it.
I loved the magic system, and its unique cost. I enjoyed the world, exploring and learning about it. I also really liked the characters.
There are two things about the book that left me giving it four and not five stars.
One – While there is some setting with setting details, there’s very little opinion by the main character about the setting. So while it’s pretty, there isn’t as much depth as I would like.
Two – the fight scene, particularly at the end, got clinical. All the emotion was stripped out of them. Same with what was supposed to be pulse-pounding sections. Characters who I figured had “script immunity” were put into danger. I didn’t care, because I wasn’t afraid for them. I knew they’d survive.
Will I buy and read the next two books in the series? Probably. But they aren’t at the top of my list.
I love learning about Chinese culture and history, so when Jeff Wheeler put out this new fantasy taking place in an Asian-like setting, I knew I HAD to read it. And it did not disappoint.
The story and characters reflect many tropes within Chinese literature, paying homage to the inspired setting. And yet, despite this new type of lore, the story maintained Wheeler’s style and similar themes to his other books.
If you like fantasy, especially in an Asian setting, then you will likely enjoy this book.
I read and enjoy ALL his books.
I truly enjoyed first in the series! Looking forward to reading the next book!
Bingmei is every girl’s inner warrior.
The Killing Fog is an Asian inspired Mystic-Action-Fantasy and the first book in Jeff Wheeler Grave Kingdom Series. Bingmei is the sole survivor of a series of attacks that took first her parents and then her grandfather. The tragedies left her with little more than mystic abilities and a need to avenge her family; she certainly does not have a family beyond the band of mercenaries and assassins with whom she travels. She can count the Killing Fog somewhat of an ally, though it is a rather unforgiving and unrepentant one.
What I love most about Bingmei is that she can be a heroine to every female. She can sniff out the situation and trusts her intuition. She’s strong even when she doubts herself, she turns her negative emotions against one another instead of against herself. She listens to learn. This woman gets up more times than she falls. Ironically Bingmei translates to ‘little sister,’ but the diminutive distracts from the mettle of what forged the woman.
Jeff Wheeler created an incredible world. The characters are excellent. The talents are fantastic–Bingmei’s especially. She’s got a gift for knowing the good from the bad. You won’t be able to help but love Kunmia or Rowen. Wheeler’s understanding of the culture and social customs of traditional Asian society is rich and well portrayed.
I look forward to the next book. I want to know where the adventure of the phoenix-chosen goes next.
With thanks to Jean The Book Nerd, I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.