The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

adventure

ages 10-13

grades 5-8

231 pages - hardcover

c. 2013

            The Runaway King is the second book in The Ascendance Trilogy. The first book, The False Prince, was blog posted on May 5, 2019. This is one of my favorite trilogies due to the exciting plot action, including many plot twists, the depth and complexity of the characters and the clear contrast between those characters who exhibit moral qualities and those who do not.

            This book begins with Jaron restored to his throne as King of Carthya but with almost no support from his regents or the people. He is still viewed as the mischievous and undisciplined child that his parents sent away from the court. There is also an attempt on his life and the threat of war. For all these reasons the regents want to appoint a steward to rule until Jaron is older. He is only 15 at this time.

            Jaron, of course, finds this totally unacceptable even as he pretends to agree. Thus begins a fast paced adventure filled with much sword play, betrayals, disguises, pirates, daunting odds and several death-defying escape attempts. There is also self- sacrifice, great loyalty among friends, amazing determination and resourcefulness, and humor. Jaron, who is the narrator, has a quick wit and a love for sarcasm. This can be seen in the following quote. “All I could hope was that they gave me a chance to speak before they killed me. Although as I thought about it, it was usually only after I began speaking that most people felt like murdering me."

            Jaron has matured since the first book. He can still be sarcastic and deliberately annoy people but his motive in doing so now is to keep them from danger and harm. He still has traces of his old tendency to be flippant, arrogant and condescending at times but at his core he is courageous, self-sacrificing and determined to do the right things and promote justice for his people. He exhibits the characteristics of a true hero. Jaron has many reasons to hate Devlin, the pirate king. He tried to kill Jaron when his parents sent him away from court and was responsible for the most recent attempt on his life. However, when Jaron realizes how anger and hatred has consumed Devlin he makes a promise to himself not to become like him and resists the opportunity to kill him. “Except for his anger, he was completely empty. It was much of the same kind of anger that I had felt for far too long, and it horrified me…But if that choice meant I’d become anything like Devlin…I refused to become him.” Jaron also has the ability to see the potential good in people and to change some former enemies into loyal friends.

The supporting characters are also well drawn and many of them also exhibit strong moral qualities. Mott once worked for Connor but when he realized that Sage was really prince Jaron he risked his life for him more than once. Imogen and Tobias become loyal, self-sacrificing friends of Jaron and Master Harlowe is described as “the best possible master” by his servants. Harlowe is just, generous and forgiving with Jaron who at one point rescues his granddaughter and on another occasion comes with pirates to rob him.

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.