The Price of Power by Michael Michel

Blurb:

Prince Barodane could not hold back the darkness. Not even in himself. He laid an innocent city in its grave and then died a hero.

In his absence, war whispers across the land.

Power-hungry highborn dispatch spies and assassins to the shadows as they maneuver for the throne, while an even greater threat rises in the South. Monsters and cultists flock to the banners of a mad prophet determined to control reality…and then shatter it.

Destiny stalks three to the brink of oblivion.

A dead prince that isn’t actually dead. Barodane buried his shameful past in a stupor of drugs, drink, and crime, and now, he’d rather watch the world fall apart than wear a crown again.

An orphan with hero’s blood who is forced to make a harrowing choice: betray her country or sacrifice her first love.

And a powerful seer who has no choice at all–her grandson must die.

If any of them fails to pay the price…

The cost will be the world’s complete annihilation.

Review:

Fallen heroes, insurmountable odds, destructive destinies? Put those all together and you have a recipe for in-world disaster and out-of-world excitement. With the first entry in the Dreams of Dust and Steel series—The Price of Power—Michael Michel has laid the foundation for what is surely going to be one hell of an epic fantasy series for all lovers of (grim-)dark narratives. With memorable characters, electric prose, and pulse-pounding action, this is one you’re not going to want to miss.

Prince Barodane was hailed as a hero despite being unable to withhold the darkness within himself, and he now hides behind a false death to bury himself in a stupor of drugs and alcohol. Upon the throne he left vacant sits his teenaged niece Ishoa, around whom snakes a twisted web of politicking and deceit. Against the backdrop of upheaval by the disdained Scarborn, she must undergo a trial to prove her worth for the crown, but along the way is faced with an impossible choice: betray her country or sacrifice her closest friend and first love. And with an eye on it all, an elderly seer must prepare for the worst of all sacrifices—to sacrifice her grandson before he can destroy the world. Nobles plot for power, assassins lurk in the shadows, and a mad prophet seeks to destroy the fabric of reality itself. If any are to survive it all, they must be prepared to pay a great price…or see the world annihilated.

I had read the original published version of The Price of Power some years ago, but whether I was simply not in the correct frame of mind or could not devote the right amount of time to it, I did not quite find myself drawn in to the world. With Michel’s relaunch, I was more than willing to give it another shot, and hoo boy am I glad I did. With fresh and attentive eyes, The Price of Power is easily the book I had hoped it would be when I first read it.

Characters and prose are where this book absolutely shines. From the brilliant twist on the fallen hero trope to the intricate politicking with a fish out of water, Michel’s characters fly off the page and provide ample emotional depth to this dark world. Barodane is a broken man, haunted by the misdeeds of his past that led to the destruction of too many innocent lives. Navigating the shellshocked mind of the Mad Prince was a treat, and though his arc was a slow burn, the payoff is immense and had me on the edge of my seat by book’s end.

His arc is countered well by Ishoa’s, whose growth is essentially a coming-of-age tale with the dark backdrop of something like Game of Thrones. Living in the shadow of her hero uncle Barodane, Ishoa is far out of her depth and wants only to be with her first love, Lodaris—a low-caste Scarborn whose death must come at her own hands—but dark blades lurk in every corner, and are eager to take her head. Rounding out this eclectic cast of characters is the sharp-tongued grandmother Locastrii, who must train her grandson to navigate the River that dictates the flow of time, else catastrophe will befall the world. So enthralling are these arcs that it more than makes up for the weakest POV—Thephos—whose arc is certainly integral to details that I’m sure will come more to the fore in future books, but otherwise felt very disjointed from the rest of the story.

These arcs fly off the page thanks to Michel’s beautiful prose that puts you right in the muck and mire of it all, lifts you to its furthest heights, and has your pulse pounding every step of the way. Michel has a talent for allowing the darkest moments to linger and the more uplifting to have you cheering, and some of the slower moments of The Price of Power would not hit half as hard in a lesser author’s hands, while the electric moments stand even higher. This is a story that takes its time getting to where it’s going, but the ride, and the destination, are absolutely worth it.

Michael Michel can write, and he can write damn well. The Price of Power is a dark tale that will find a perfect home in the hands of fans of Abercrombie, Martin, and Erikson, and I’m more than eager to see where this grand and sweeping epic will take us next.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve calculated the price of power to be around $7.38 plus tax. Pay up, Michael!