Book Review: The Radiant King (Astral Kingdoms, #1) by David Dalglish
Review copy provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art by Magali Villeneuve
The Radiant King by David Dalglish
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Astral Kingdoms (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 514 pages (PaperbackEdition)
Word count: 174,000 words
Published: 4th March 2025 by Orbit Books
The Radiant King by David Dalglish is a Berserk inspired epic fantasy book that will become one of Dalglish’s most underrated titles.
I’ve read the first few chapters of The Radiant King long before it was officially published. Since then, I knew this hugely Berserk inspired novel would be something I enjoyed. What can I say? I’m a big fan of Berserk by Kentaro Miura, and despite its massive impact on people and speculative fiction—whether you realized it or not—around the world, I still haven’t succeeded in finding many epic fantasy novels that resemble the legendary manga series. I’m grateful for The Radiant King. And that cover art by Magali Villeneuve? Absolutely beautiful. However, despite how much I enjoyed reading The Radiant King, it seems like the book is fated to have a mixed reception just like the other Berserk inspired epic fantasy novel I truly enjoyed, The Eleventh Cycle by Kian N. Ardalan. But I can’t deny my experience. Out of every first book of a series I’ve read from Dalglish, this is my favorite one. For those who are curious, they are Soulkeeper, The Bladed Faith, and The Radiant King.
The Radiant King is the first book in the Astral Kingdoms trilogy, and it mostly revolves around six immortal siblings. Five sworn to peace. One demands a throne.
Radiance, the mysterious power of life and creation, is theirs to command. Death cannot claim them. For hundreds of years, the ever-living ruled with ease. Yet when the world is nearly broken beneath their reign, the humbled six swears that they will sit upon no thrones, wear no crowns, and no longer teach humanity the gifts of radiance.
But after centuries of peace, Eder rejects their vow, anoints himself Voice of Father, and spreads a new, cruel faith across the land.
Faron cannot allow such indiscretion. Returning from a self-imposed exile, he swears to crush Eder’s kingdom, and he will not do so alone—Sariel, their cold and calculating brother, knows all too well that an ever-living’s dominion is bound for brutality and destruction. But to overthrow a nation, they will need more than each other. They will need an army and a ruler who can take the throne their own vow forbids. And so, they pledge themselves to the fanatical Bastard Princess, a woman with incredible powers she insists were given to her by the goddess Leliel.
But Eder’s conquest is not what it seems, and it will take more than a holy war to stop an immortal who has heard the desperate plea of a god.
“Time is my friend only so long as you, and the rest of my family, are there with me to watch these days and nights spiral forever on.”
I strongly believe The Radiant King starts off the novel strongly. Right from the beginning, Faron and Sariel have explicitly said the world is not in the right state due to Eder’s betrayal. But behind that, we can tell there is more to everything wrong in the world. There is a secret behind Eder’s betrayal, and readers will not find out about that until the latter part of the novel. It is worth getting there. I will, however, admit that getting to the revelations section can take a bit of patience. Straight after the strong beginning, the narrative in The Radiant King plunged us into repetitive small and inconsequential skirmishes to display the newly introduced—and important—character in the story, Isabelle. For a while, this inflicted a relatively negative reading experience on me. It was easily the weakest section of The Radiant King for me. I did wonder whether the second half of the story would lead to anything pivotal and impactful. And thankfully, it totally did in spades.
Before I discussed the hate-or-love flashback section, let me make it clear that the main strength of The Radiant King lies still in the characters, especially the six siblings. Yes, most of the storyline in The Radiant King is centered on Sariel, Faron, and Eder in this book. But that’s not a big deal for me. Sariel, in particular, is where almost all the Guts from Berserk is being channeled into. His stoic behavior. His giant dragon bone sword. And many more I cannot discuss in detail. To put it simply, if you’ve read Berserk, many parts of The Radiant King will remind you of the events that happened in the Golden Age story arc. Yes, including the tortures, heartbreak, and destruction.
“All these humans, clinging to ideals meant to be so much grander than their own meager lives. Fighting, killing, and dying in hopes of a future kinder than the present. Individually so small, and yet together, powerful enough to topple empires.”
This is subjective, but every reader’s attachment to the characters will decide whether they find the flashback chapters integral or not. I’ve seen some reviews stating the flashback chapters were boring or too long for their own good. I cannot disagree highly enough. The flashback chapters and what comes after were easily the best parts of the novel for me. It is what elevated The Radiant King from good to great. It is rare to find a narrative that can twist the entire context and actions of what happened before in just a few chapters. The Radiant King did that. It was brilliant, and I cannot help but wish the flashback chapters had happened sooner. Despite Dalglish saying he started this novel by building the world first, the world in this book still felt too small for its scope. Beyond the Tower Majestic and Radiance, the world and cities felt devoid of details and lore. Fortunately, the characters and flashback chapters made up for its shortcomings, and more for me.
As for the climax sequence after the flashback chapters? I read them all in one sitting. It was one riveting pandemonium that I cannot put down. Stakes were intensely raised, and the casualties were devastating. It made me so curious to find out how the sequel will be written because right now I have no idea where the story will go from here.
The Radiant King is an epic fantasy novel that dives deep into the themes of humanity, immortality, responsibilities, and leadership. Although it is true this might not be the most popular and highly praised novel by the masses out there, I have faith the Radiance in The Radiant King will find its own audience. I can say I am one of the target audience for it, and I eagerly look forward to the sequel. I highly recommend this book to the fans of Berserk by Kentaro Miura.
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