The Nine Realms by Sarah Kozloff is a fantasy series that tells the adventures of Cerulia. Queen Cressa flees from the throne in Weirandale to protect her daughter, the young princess Cerulia.
Cerulia lives in a safe haven, protected from the political machinations in Weirandale. But, there comes a time when she needs to change her identity and eventually join the fight to reclaim her queendom.
The titles of the four books in the series give an outline of the queen’s journey:
The Nine Ennea Món
In this world, Ennea Món, there are nine realms, each of which is governed by a spirit. Nargis, who governs fresh water, is the spirit of Weirandale. The other spirits govern fire, sleep and health, the sun, growth, stone, wind and the sea. The people of each realm worship their spirit and have varying degrees of respect for the other realms. This affects the political landscape of the nine realms.
The Powers of the Queens
To make her way back to Weirandale, Cerulia must find and hone her power and figure out who she can trust. She has to navigate alliances and treacherous relationships to find out who to work with and who to fight. In the process, she assumes a variety of identities on a series of exciting and harrowing adventures involving a wide cast of characters. There are magic powers, magical creatures, extraordinary terrain and some powerful characters, both human and mystical.
My Verdict on The Nine Realms
I found this series captivating and stayed up too late each night to read each book. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next in the intricate twist and turns involving political intrigue, battles, magical beings. Both the world and the characters are detailed, so I could imagine the extravagance or the desolation of each setting. I highly recommend this book if you like colorful characterization, rich, detailed world building, and political intrigue.
Social Status by Hair
In the Nine Realms, skin color is not important, but hair color is. It’s an indication of country of origin and traditional social standing. Brown is the color that happens from blending. I find this an interesting parallel with our world.
Look out for the individual posts for each book in the next few days.