King (Books of the Infinite, #3)

Title: King
Author: R.J. Larson
Labels: Fiction | Fantasy
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
Recommended To: Middle & Highschool, Adult
Contains: Clean.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Akabe of Siphra is certain his people are insane. Why have they made him a king? What, in the name of peacetime boredom do kings do?
          Frustrated by a lengthy silence from his Creator, the Infinite, Akabe decides to prove himself as king by undertaking a monumental task, his own lifelong dream: Rebuild the Infinite’s temple in Siphra. But Akabe’s impulsive decision sweeps him into a storm of controversy. The Infinite’s enemies join forces in Siphra, and beyond, conspiring to destroy the emerging temple—and to kill their king and his mysterious new queen.
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Initially, I didn't really think I was going to like this book, but I'll be honest, I ended up really enjoying it. I initially didn't have high hopes for this book because it looked like it was aimed more toward juvenile fiction (based off the cover and blurb), which is not my age level and therefore usually doesn't really keep my attention, unless it's a classic or just a flat out awesome juvenile fiction.

However, I loved this book. Each character was unique and real; the setting was detailed and vivid; the plot was intriguing and kept me guessing without losing me in the process. One of the things that really stood out to me was the seemingly implied parallel between the god figure in King, referred to as the Infinite. I don't know if this was actually intended or not, but it seemed to me that the Infinite was a representation of God. As far as I could tell, the root theology behind this lined up, although of course the female prophet (one of the main characters) had certain powers that are not necessarily present today, though they could be compared to gifts and temporary abilities God used through His own prophets to fulfill His purpose. I don't really know how to explain it any better than that, but I thought it was cool to see the similarities.

Overall, I thought it was a great book and definitely one I would recommend to those adults as well as middle and highschoolers. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.