The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Adventure

Age 10-13

Grade 5-8

342 pages, Paperback

c. 2012

            The False Prince is the first book in a three book trilogy called The Ascendance Trilogy. The second book is The Runaway King and the third book is The Shadow Throne. I plan on blogging on each book.

             Though there is plenty of action and plot twists, The False Prince is really a character driven book. The two most compelling and complex characters are Sage, who is also the narrator, and Connor, a nobleman. From the beginning to the very end they are in constant conflict with one another.

            As the story begins Sage, an orphan, is running away with a stolen roast when he is tripped by a man, rescued from the angry butcher by another man, and sold to that man by the head of the orphanage. The man who purchased Sage was Connor. Connor quickly collects three other boys whose appearances are similar to each other. Eventually he reveals his plan to them. Their country, Carthya, is on the brink of civil war. There are rumors that the entire royal family has been killed and to prevent civil war Connor plans to present one of the boys as the lost prince Jaron, who is believed to have drowned when pirates attacked his ship. The boys will be trained for two weeks and the one who does the best will become Connor’s prince. The others will be killed. Connor explains he is doing this out of love for his country and not for selfish motives.

            As the story progresses it becomes apparent that in many ways Sage is the best choice. However, Sage is determined to be his own man and not to be controlled by Connor. He is stubborn, defiant, but also very clever. This bit of dialog reveals much about both characters:

“You’re a trick to figure out, Sage. Would you ever be on my side, even if I chose you above the other boys?”

“I’m only on my side. Your trick will be convincing me that helping you helps me.”

“What if I did?” Conner asked. “How far would you go to win?”

            As time passes it becomes clear that despite being cocky and self-assured Sage is also loyal to his friends, cares for the downtrodden, keep his promises, and kill only in self-defense. He is also a survivor par excellent.

            Connor is ruthless, cruel and clever. He has carefully thought through all the details of his plan and it looks like he will be successful. At times he even appears to be dedicated to the kingdom and only doing bad things for the good of the realm. At least he seems to believe this. Sage and Connor share the skill of successful scheming but the biggest difference between them is that Sage genuinely cares for other people while Connor’s actions show him to care mostly for himself.

There is a lot in this book, action, strange friendships, court intrigue, treachery, betrayal, heartbreak, family secrets, competition, and the determination to fool and punish your enemies. It is well worth the read.