Lenaribka

Rounded up to 3 stars

I finished King Daniel three days ago, and I wish I were not the first person to review this book. A) I hate to be the first person with a critical opinion. B) It pains me to rate this book low because this series is/will be something special and King Perry (The Lost and Founds #1) remains one of my favorite book in the genre of all time.

I read the first book of the series three years ago. And almost at the same time I read an excerpt from King Daniel. I didn't see it as a clever promotion trick, but only as a graceful gift of Edmond Manning to his readers. He gave us the possibility of gaining a rare insight into King Daniel, the beginning of the last book. Since then I've been LONGINGLY waiting for this LAST installment.

Maybe my expectations were supernaturally high, but when I turned the last page of King Daniel, I knew that my expectations were not met.



The good things:

The idea of the series. The description of New York. The author’s warning at the beginning (very necessarily). HEA. The series reaches its final line.

My issues:

I really hope that they are just MY issues, and you’ll find many great things and will love the last book as much as I love the first book.

In spite of my admiring the idea of the whole series, its concept though couldn’t work forever. I thought about it continuously the last days, and I came to the conclusion that the previous book#5 perhaps ruined this one for me. The idea of kinging and while doing so lifting the veil of secrecy around the main leading operator of a King Weekend, Vin Vanbly, ended in the book 5, that tells us the Vin’s story and leaves almost nothing uncovered. I think that the initial plan for King Daniel was to bring together the last King and his creator. Maybe it is just my personal desire and has nothing to do with the author’s idea, but in regard to the development of the whole story-line through the series this scenario would be probably more convincing and logical. No, I don’t try to give the author a lesson in a creative writing, the series is his baby and his vision, and I am only a grateful reader who has to accept his course of the story.

Daniel’s weekend is different from all Kings Weekends we know. Comparing to the other weekends that are full of actions, this weekend is full of conversations. A lot of talking. There are many detailed dialogues and comprehensive statements. And it is too crowded. I suppose it was thought as a final fireworks. I found this structure too theatrical and a bit boring.


To be in Daniel’s head was exhausting. I normally love the first person POV, and I know that Edmond Manning can write it really good, but I was struggling with Daniel’s narrative. I feel awful to say it, because the background history of Daniel is tragic and heartbreaking and on the one hand I can totally understand why the author choose THIS way of telling. Without giving anything away- read carefully the warning in the preface. But this writing style was for me very difficult to follow: many many short sentences, steadily jumping from one point to another, and not the least, a lot of F*-words. Yes, Daniel is an emotional mess, he is insecure, fearful, lonely, broken, but...

If I go. If he’s there-I should have finished the gun permit. No. Not funny. I can never make light of that. Because of this quest, I became my father. I hate Vin Vanbly. Always will.

It was a lot of parts like that.


I have a HUGE problem with the Vin’s plan to cure Daniel. A child abuse is a VERY difficult topic, and Daniel experienced the most severe abuse one can imagine. He is is stigmatized for the rest of its life. Vin has chosen a shocking therapy. As always. But even if everything ends in a HEA manner, the method of healing left an unpleasant aftertaste by me. It was somehow wrong to see, how this difficult case was treated. And I can’t buy this quick healing process at the end. Sorry.


I hope sincerely that you’ll have more luck with this book, and that my opinion will remain an occasional critical voice in the minority.