The King's Sun

The Brass Machine, Book One

By: Isaac Grisham

Narrated by: Isaac Grisham

Award Winning Finalist in the Fiction: LGBTQ category of the 2018 International Book Awards

Prince Kitsune dreamed of leading an army in his father's wars for supremacy.

Before he can wage a single battle, the king crushes those hopes, banishing his devoted son.

But not all is lost. Kitsune will regain his birthright if he assassinates the son of his father's rival.

A son possessed by fiery magic.

Outside his kingdom for the first time, Kitsune struggles to survive mercenaries and political intrigue. He encounters the enigmatic, dark-haired Myobu. He discovers magical Yokai and dark family secrets...

...and strange new feelings for his companion.

As the two men forge their path together, an unrealized and dangerous magic blossoms within Kitsune. The powers of the Yokai are capable of unspeakable destruction, and they grow stronger in him with each passing day.

Can the prince use his gifts to slay his target and win his father's affection?

Or will it destroy everything he loves?

An LGBTQ+ epic fantasy

©2018 Isaac Grisham (P)2022 2022

Enticing story and intriguing world-building!

This story of M/M romance, intrigue and adventure set in a wonderful fantasy world will keep you enthralled through the epilogue.

Not quite what I was expecting, but still good

I think the story itself has the potential to be really good. It feels very “ young adult” for most of the book. The way the characters are described makes me think they are in their early to mid 20s, but the way they act is very naïve. Even those that are supposed to be considered wise beyond their years.

The narrator does a good job of consistently reading the book. There weren’t any long pauses, awkward breaths, or repeated sentences accidentally left in by the editor.
However, don’t expect a lot of tone fluctuation, or character-specific voices. Sometimes you might need to run the dialogue back to keep track of who’s talking, but it’s still worth the credit in my opinion.

Truthfully, I think I would’ve enjoyed the book more had the ending been different. Honestly, the ending kind of just made me mad. We’re left on a cliffhanger, (kind of) which is not my favorite thing ,but considering it was book 1 in a series, i knew it was a possibility.

I just expected more from our two main characters. Instead we were left with angst and a completely avoidable escalation leading into the second book. I’m specifically disappointed in one character, but I’ll let you be the judge of who i mean. A good half of the book is just introspection by the two main characters. Which i liked a lot. All the characters really seem to catch on to the underlying plot of our bad guy pretty quick. Which is a BIG plus for me. I hate sitting through 3/4 of a book going, “How are you all so oblivious to whats happening!”

Its just the ending! SO MAD, ISTG!

Anyway, despite my ranting, I do think it’s worth your credit. I’m looking forward to book 2.