The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy, #1)by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Published by Scholastic
Paperback (borrowed from library)
Middle Grade/YA, fantasy
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage.
The False Prince had everything I wish a middle grade/young adult fantasy to have: tension, plots, cunning folk, kingdoms, royals, and intriguing characters. It's been a while since I read a gripping royal fantasy like this with great characters. The story was fast paced with relatively short chapters which made the reading experience even more pleasant - it's not a must, but I personally seem to read faster when the chapters aren't too long.
The False Prince is both character and plot driven. The main character, an orphan boy named Sage who gets tangled in the game for the throne of Carthya, is cunning, rebellious, witty and smart, and he's never left without witty answer. Sage definitely is the best thing in this book, not that it was bad otherwise. There's other intriguing character's too, whose motives are not clear: Conner, a nobleman who is looking for a false prince to place on the throne; Tobias and Roden, the other two orphan boys competing for the throne alongside Sage; the mute servant girl, Imogen; and seemingly loyal swordman of Conner's, Mott. The plot is always present as Sage, Tobias and Roden are molted to be the lost prince, and all the shady things happening. Nielsen is fantastic writer because even though the book is written in first persons point of view, it's not until the very end when the reader gets to know some things Sage has been up to during the whole book. It's truly brilliant.
I devoured The False Prince and I'm definitely going to continue with the series as I'm dying to know what happens next. I highly recommend this to everyone who enjoys cunning plots and characters, and fast paced fantasy.
4 of 5 stars.
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