An old warrior, too stubborn to die.A royal heir, hidden at birth.Can they save a realm on the brink of war?Tragedy tears Gerald’s world apart and only his unwavering loyalty saves him. After serving as a soldier for years, a single act of self-sacrifice thrusts his future into the world of politics.Cut off from all he knows, he becomes no more than a pawn to those in command. Banished with … he becomes no more than a pawn to those in command. Banished with little more than the clothes on his back, he seeks a new purpose, for what is a warrior who has nothing left to fight for?
A fateful meeting with another lost soul unmasks a shocking secret, compelling him to take up the mantle of guardian. Bandits, the Black Hand, and even the king, he battles them all for the future of the realm.
Memories of the past, secrets that shape the future; his adventure is only the beginning.
Servant of the Crown is the series starter in the epic Heir to the Crown medieval fantasy series. If you like realistic fight scenes, compelling characters, and a gripping story, then you will love Paul J Bennett’s tale of a warrior who refuses to retreat.
Pick up your copy of Servant of the Crown, and discover the realm of Merceria today!
Other books in the series:
Sword of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: Stories of the Past
Heart of the Crown
Shadow of the Crown
Fate of the Crown
Coming soon:
Mecerian Tales: Origins – The Call of Magic (Summer 2019)
Burden of the Crown (Autumn 2019)
Mercerian Tales: Origins – The making of a Man (Autumn 2019)
Fury of the Crown (Winter 2019)
more
As an author of fast-paced international thrillers, I wish there was more action in this first book of the series, But what this story lacked in the numerous gritty action scenes I enjoy in Bernard Cornwell’s books, was more than made up for by it’s likable characters and easy readability. I’m moving on to book-2. Happy to recommend it.
Interesting book. The characters are realistic and consistent. Of course, it was not without surprises. The ending of the book is such that you unwittingly go to read the second book. There is magic, there are strong personalities, there is an interesting main character. The book quite organically combines all the qualities of a good fairy tale. I strongly recommend all fans of good fantasy.
If you are a player of old-school dice and paper role-playing games, this series will feel very familiar to you. At least it did to me. I could almost hear the dice being thrown for a random encounter… but I digress.
Servant of the Crown is just the beginning of a series of stories where you become intimately involved with the characters, who they are, and why they do what they do. I will admit that some of the action is a tad predictable, but it doesn’t detract from the overall feel of the story. Besides, for the amount of work that Mr. Bennett has put into creating his world and populating it with a cast of characters who all feel real, and a culture with a rich history, I can be quite forgiving for the small bits that are less than perfect. And trust me, they are few and far between.
At the time of this review, I am well into the second book and I am intrigued with how Mr. Bennett has written each book so that it is from the perspective of a different character. Characters come in and out of the plot-line almost like a choreographed routine. Take nobody for granted. They all have an important role to play.
I am happy to recommend this book and all that follow in the series to anyone who enjoyed getting to know a character and learning what makes them tick.
This is the first book in a wonderful series. The characters are so real and the writing so vivid you would swear that you were there.
If you like to read sword swinging military stories, I recommend this book.
This was a well developed book with very good character development. The story had a great world that sucked me into it and had me immersed right along with the characters. I loved the interactions and the growth of the characters and can’t wait for the next book to see what happens to them.
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
This is the story about an old soldier and a young princess and how they came to be. It’s a well written book and the story flows smoothly throughout the book. You start with the tale of the old soldier his trials and tribulations and where he winds up. Then you come to the Princess and discover her joys and sadness. How the two met. It’s very well written and the end of the book leave she wanted more. I would recommend this book as it’s a very good book…
Enjoyable story!
A story about a young royal and an older veteran, how they form a relationship. The main characters are well developed and interesting in the wonderful world of Merceria. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
It’s been a while since I read a book with so wonderful characters that I cared deeply about them. That was the strongest part of the story, but I did find some flaws to the rest.
The Characters
It’s clear to me that in this first novel the main focus are the characters. The author just did a wonderful job at developing them. If I could only describe them in one word, that would be real, because the characters felt very real. Not bad-ass, fearless heroes, but simple actual people that I couldn’t help but absolutely love. The friendship between Gerald and Anna is so pure and priceless and it warms my heart every time I think of it. I really connected with them and enjoy my time reading about them. I could go on and on about how great these characters were but I’ll stop here. Just a very good job.
The World
The world is a pretty typical fantasy world. Not much is explored in this first novel, but that seems like it’s going to change later in the series. There is a clear sense of where everything is located and the places the book takes place are well described and easy to picture. As of the magic of this world, it’s mentioned early that mages exist. What it’s mentioned, until later on, is the existence of orcs, elves and dwarves, which did confuse me, because I thought only humans existed in this world. Overall there wasn’t a crazy world building and that was fine for this book.
The Plot
As I already mentioned, Servant of the Crown focuses mostly on the characters, so there isn’t always much action going on, as this is more of a character drive story. Which was fine by me, since the characters were wonderfully develop. What I missed from this book was a sense of purpose, where the story was going and what it wanted to achieve. The plot felt like a collection of different events, that weren’t always connected to each other. There wasn’t really a reason to keep you reading, to find out something or to wait for what’s going to happen. We simply follow Gerald’s life, who isn’t trying to do anything other than that, live his life. If you don’t like the characters, then you probably won’t like the whole book because nothing else is really going on.
Final Thoughts
Since I utterly loved these character, I enjoyed the whole book and the issues I mentioned didn’t ruin it for me. I kind of feel sad, because this book could be easily be one of my favorite but there were some flaws that I couldn’t ignore. It’s still a very good book that would stick with me for a while for sure.
I read a lot of fantasy and historical fiction. I enjoyed the flow of this story over time, the characters really came to life and are flowing naturally into the next story, which I am promising myself to get to soon. Thanks for the heads up on this one, BookBub.
Adventure, Action, Intrigue, and fantastic world building! Blown about by the whimsy of fate, he always lands on his feet because of his character! He changes his life to what fate decrees for him and he seems to get hammered for his character! A great start to a series that leaves you looking for the next book. I read it through in 2 days as I fell asleep reading it. A must read!
I absolutely loved this book, I couldn’t put it down once I had the right headspace to read it. (Sometimes you have to be in the right mood for certain genres) I cannot wait until I have the ability to buy the second book. The relationship between Gerald and Anna was splendid especially with Gerald’s history. I stopped multiple times to laugh or praise a scene or character. I loved Anna’s personality and beliefs. Her courage and determination. Just so much praise.
Update: Also, I’ve already bought the second book.
What an amazing story! At first I wasn’t sure where it was going because each chapter was about an event or span of years in the character’s life and wasn’t sure if it was what I was looking for because the magic was almost non existant. I had been give a free copy by the author to give a true review. I picked the book back up and started in reading again and WOW!! The storyline just picks up with the addition of new characters and I couldn’t put it down again. The storyline and building the characters I have laughed smiled, gotten angry, been tense and even cried. That is the SIGN of a true writer to me.
I felt it all! The author writes in such a way that you are actually there in the castle, in the fields in the taverns… he paints pictures in your mind with words plus finally the magic is introduced! What a read!! Can’t wait to read the next in line. Like the headline says… do yourself a favor and Read this book. It is part of a series yay!!!
Wow, what a good story! It moves a little slow at times but it’s very well written and thought out. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and will bet that you will too.
Truly an epic tome! Entertaining page turner!
This is an unusual medieval fantasy and not quite what I expected, but somehow it keeps you turning the page all the same. This is a character driven story, and it reads more like a diary, or a journal as we meet Gerald Matheson intent on revenge for the loss of his family and subsequently being severely wounded. He is sent for healing by the royal mage, and we gradually learn that the king is not a nice king and he refuses to allow Gerald to be healed.
Retired out of sight of his old life, his path crosses that of a young child hidden away in a remote royal estate, and they strike up a friendship. We follow their budding friendship year by year and as Anna grows up (very slowly!) we learn more about their world and the incompetent family ruling it.
I couldn’t say there was a specific story being told, more how Gerald protects the child, and tries to teach her about the responsibility the nobility has for others, even though there is no sign of it in the noble ruling class of their world.
Gerald and Anna are lovely characters that you can really invest in, (which is why you keep reading) and Gerald is fortunate in that he does have at least one honourable friend in Baron Fitzwilliam, but otherwise the only honourable people are commoners like the villagers of Uxley, certainly not the noble knights.
From a fantasy perspective, there is a mage that pops up, and mention of elves and dwarves and other fae races but they don’t really drive the plot. I think they play a much larger part in the later books. This is the first book of currently an eight-book series, and this first installment is very much early days, setting the scene and creating the world in preparation for the war(s) and strife that will dominate the rest of the series. If you are looking for a tale of high fantasy and epic battles, then this book is not that, though it may well be the precursor to some books that are. I think you need to be in for the long haul to get that.
Well written, keeps you reading, and although not a cliff-hanger as such, the only way to find out what happens to them next is to read the next book!