The King's Evil

I was hooked after reading the first couple paragraphs. Must've been the narrative, and the allure of that one perfect painting that led our protagonist to an early retirement in a small New England town far from childhood. Life becomes routine and uneventful, until a young stranger lands at his door and proves the ultimate acid test. So glad I stumbled upon this at my local library, as I was looking for something else at the time. Why is it that the best books are the ones discovered by accident? Maybe I'm just lucky, but I'll take it.

I picked up this book expecting evil kings, magic swords, etc. Then I kept reading anyway. I found The King's Evil to be absolutely compelling. The best books are the ones where you wrap yourself in the narrative and you can feel the book's provocative ideas poking around in your gray matter, forcing you to think, ponder, consider - and, for that matter, to consider ideas that are the kind of stones you'd rather leave unturned. The book was disturbing at times, and the ending left me a little shaken. But with so many books out there that aren't worth the paper they're published on, to find one that provoked so many emotional responses was a real treat. I highly recommend this book, and especially recommend it for anyone about to take a long flight. You'll sink into your seat and not look up until the book is finished. Be warned: this is not brain candy; it's a full course meal.