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The Wicked King

The Wicked King

Dark FantasyHigh Fantasy
Pages
368
Published
2019
Language
English

Synopsis

In the second book of Holly Black's Folk of the Air trilogy, Jude Duarte has more power than any mortal has a right to hold — and keeping it may cost her everything. She has bound the mercurial Cardan to her will and rules Faerie from the shadows, but the throne is never secure. Cardan chafes against her control, the sea-folk of the Undersea press their own claims, and the more dangerous the court grows, the harder it becomes to tell an ally from a knife in the dark.

As threats close in from every side, Jude must outmaneuver enemies she can see and traitors she cannot, all while the charged, uneasy pull between her and Cardan deepens into something she can neither trust nor deny. Betrayal, when it comes, arrives from the direction she least expects.

The Wicked King is a tautly plotted, romantic, and treacherous middle volume that tightens every thread of intrigue set loose in The Cruel Prince.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

DarkTenseRomanticAtmospheric
Enemies to LoversCourt IntrigueMorally GreyBetrayal

Genres

Dark Fantasy High Fantasy Young Adult YA Fantasy Fantasy Urban Fantasy Folklore Romantasy

About the author

H
Holly Black

Holly Black is an American writer of fantasy for children, teenagers and adults. She was born in West Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1971, took a degree in English at The College of New Jersey, and published her first novel, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, in 2002. She is best known for The Spiderwick Chronicles, the middle-grade series she created with the illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, and for the Elfhame books that began with The Cruel Prince. Valiant won the inaugural Andre Norton Award in 2006, and...

Characters

Jude DuarteProtagonist

The mortal power behind the throne of Elfhame, fighting to hold her hidden authority.

Prince CardanAntagonist

The High King of Elfhame, bound to Jude's will yet forever slipping her leash.

Madoc (Elfhame)Antagonist

Redcap Grand General of Elfhame and Jude's adoptive father, who presses her to turn against Cardan and align with the Undersea.

NicasiaAntagonist

Princess of the Undersea and Orlagh's daughter, who presses her mother's claim on Cardan and on Elfhame.

OrlaghAntagonist

Queen of the Undersea, whose demands on the land court drive the book's central threat of war.

All characters in The Wicked King

Frequently asked questions

  • Do I need to read The Cruel Prince before The Wicked King?

    Yes. The Wicked King is the second book of Holly Black's Folk of the Air trilogy and picks up a few months after The Cruel Prince ends, with no recap of the first book's events. It opens on a situation — who sits on the throne of Elfhame, and why — that only makes sense if you have read book one, so starting here spoils The Cruel Prince and leaves the court politics hard to follow.

  • Where does The Lost Sisters fit in the reading order?

    The Lost Sisters is a companion novella that sits between The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, usually numbered 1.5. It retells events of the first book from Taryn's point of view rather than Jude's. It is optional — The Wicked King does not depend on it — but reading it before book two adds context to where the sisters stand with each other.

  • Did The Wicked King win any awards?

    Yes. The Wicked King won the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award in the Young Adult Fantasy category, taking 48,181 reader votes. It was also a New York Times bestseller and drew starred trade reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness and VOYA.

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