Sonderbooks Book Review of The Widow and the King

Reviewed August 27, 2005.
David Fickling Books (Random House), New York, 2005. 613 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (J MCN F DIC).
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2005 (#12, Young Adult Fantasy Fiction)

The sequel to The Cup of the World, this book takes place ten years later. Phaedra’s son Ambrose is now twelve years old. When the son of an old friend comes to their isolated home in the mountains, Phaedra welcomes him. But then he throws down the protective boundary stones around the mountain pool and unleashes a powerful force once held captive there.

Ambrose must flee for his life, for it has been prophesied that he will be the one to bring down this power. His only defense are some white pebbles taken from the great boundary stones, and as he journeys, he loses more and more of the pebbles.

Ambrose ends up taking refuge in Develin, where he studies with the Scholars at the school the Widow of Develin has founded, among them Sophia, the Widow’s daughter. But the kingdom is in uproar, and events inevitably bring that uproar to Ambrose.

Here’s another powerful story. This is a fantasy tale quite different from the typical story. Central to the tale is a young man surrounded by evil and a teenage girl trying to find her place.

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

*****The Widow and the King*

by John Dickinson