The Demon King is a blessed relief from the rubbish I've been reading lately. Of late, I've been very picky about the books I read. This is because reading a fantastic book sets the bar higher for my next read. I've actually dropped some popular bestsellers only a few pages in before I picked up this one. I drop it if I don't sense anything good in a book when I'm a couple of pages in. No time! I've got hundreds of books waiting to be read!
The characters were quite intriguing. Raisa seemed a bit bitchy at the start, swooning for every broad shoulder and finely sculpted face, as well as kissing just about every boy with fine features. No scruples! At least she was smart enough not to go spreading her legs as well. Anyways, she actually matured a little as the story went on. Good for her.
Hanson was my favorite. His daring and swagger are reminiscent of Jaron, one of my favorite fantasy characters.
The plot is well thought out. It takes a lot to surprise me these days. I usually can predict to an accuracy of about 90% the direction a plot line will take. However, this book managed to give me quite a few interesting surprises.
It's also a unique plot line in that it uses an important feature of the real world, The Law of Reciprocal Action. The manner in which Han's actions came back to haunt him is reminiscent of that of the real world. One can learn a lot of lessons from this book.
In a nutshell, it was quite a pleasant read.
