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Series Review: The Kingston Cycle by C.L. Polk

Greetings and welcome to Reviews That Burn: Series Reviews, part of Books That Burn. Series Reviews discuss at least three books in a series and cover the overarching themes and development of the story across several books. I'd like to thank longtime Patron Case Aiken, who receives a monthly shoutout. This episode discusses The Kingston Cycle by C. L. Polk.  Full Audio Here    In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own. Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after...
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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)

The Lightning Thief shows kids trying to be better people than their parents and learning from their mistakes, plus swordfighting and quests. I love the sidestepping of classic portrayals of the greco-roman gods in a way that feels true, but modern.

I'm a sucker for modern interpretations of Medusa, in particular, so I really liked this one. Ares was particularly good as a modern update, and the way that the villainous plan was just hurt, but not stopped, was a good choice for book one. There's more to do, and a lot more to this world, but this is a great intro.

The pen/sword weapon is a nice touch, both useful to Percy and a great play on words. I like how the Mist is established, it's enough of a hand-wave to let the action keep going but the story doesn't rely on it too heavily. Something that pervasive and powerful needs to be consistent in its effects but not consistently helpful nor harmful, and I think this landed that balance.

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A boy (Percy) stands in water during a storm in front of a city skyline, holding a sword and a horn

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