Review: A few nice moments but ...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 11 15, 2013
Callow young prince Marcus learns from his mother on her deathbed that evil threatens the kingdom. But he continues in his frat-boy hi-jinks despite this and subsequent warnings--a letter in a masculine hand warning of conspiracy among the "let them eat cake" aristocracy, admonitions from his ex (a courtesan), and the Tarot read by a gypsy to whom he is led by a girl in a "garrulously-colored dress." The gypsy reads for him a card she had never in fifty years ever dealt--the Void/Doom.Only the near rape of his then girl-friend and the consequences of his attempt to defend her honor awaken him "to Duty"! He is sent to the front to serve in the first line of combat against Kydona in a settlement with vengeful aristocrats brokered by his father's courtesan.This happens too late in the book to redeem it from the impression left by such gems as--it is "impossible to be a woman's friend without wanting her," and "the line between love and lust was thin and blurred," and "you have made enemies, tread lightly," and "parliament was an honorless arena."There are moments that brighten this book, possibly unintentionally; Marcus' clueless companion volunteers to the same regiment to keep him company (how the two of them survived the march to the front is a mystery). Marcus finds vital support ("cover") from a commander and a non-com under whom he serves; he and they had crossed paths before. But he must still face the enemy. Why the author chose the kingdom of the enemy for his title is another mystery; it is not unlike writing a novel about the making of a Luftwaffe hero and titling it The Battle of Britain.