Review: Medieval Urchin fights mid-EVIL magic
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 11, 2012
Author Katharina Gerlach has a knack for making you feel like you're inside the story. Authentic medieval historical details add to the visceral effect.  In the beginning of Urchin King, a street urchin main character named Paul had difficulty finding enough food to eat. One of his friends was in worse shape with injuries, so it was a relief when Paul was a jerked out of that situation. An ancient law gave him the chance to decide between life and death for a twin he'd never known. Life for the twin meant deception for Paul. He chooses to take the place of his royal brother (that's where any resemblance to Prince and the Pauper ends) in order to save his brother and help his friends.When Paul made new friends inside the castle, I was worried he might forget the old ones.  He didn't.  Let's just say things didn't go smoothly when he tried to look and act princely. Events and people prevented his efforts to help his friends until the kingdom was threatened.  But even with the help of friends old and new, plus assistance from (magical spoilers), it was touch and go.  A lot of go--escapes, chases, and journeys--couldn't prevent all-out war between kingdoms unless Paul found a way to stop an ambitious magical enemy from achieving his goals.At first I thought Urchin King was more of a magical realism book, not my favorite genre, so I was happy when that devious magical adversary appeared. Although Katharina (Cat) foreshadowed some of the events, she kept me guessing on most. And just when Paul thought he could prevent one disaster, a worse one happened. Powerful evil stepped in. And that's about as much as I can reveal without more spoilers, except to say the author kept me turning the pages and surprising me until the end.  I did guess one event.  How could Paul will be live happily ever after without love?The worst drawback I found was unusual punctuation which the author explained was different in the original German. Although there was a bit of head hopping, it was minor. The reading fun was well worth the time. And the characters were all well developed, even the bad guy, so you will understand their motives even if you don't agree with their choices. Few authors do this well with character and still keep a high level of suspense and action. I highly recommend Urchin King.