The Falcon Throne is the first in a new epic fantasy series (The Tarnished Crown series) by Karen Miller. It has taken me a long time to actually find the time to sit down and write this review. In fairness, it took me a long time to read it, even to get a chance to read. I received the book a little later than I anticipated so I had to move my queue lineup around, and a couple other larger reads have been shuffled around, with some breaks for smaller items in the middle. Needless to say, my review schedule was all out of whack. Luckily, while I did not write this review when I finished it a few months ago, I did write parts of it immediately then wrote down my notes so I could come back with thoughts in tact. The first note I have is that this book doubles as a weapon. It is quite large. Normally when I get print books from publishers I get a paperback review copy. A basic uncorrected proof, sometimes without even the final cover and author’s notes, acknowledgements, etc. This one came in the full hardcover retail glory. It was huge.

I had really mixed feelings about this book. The characters were very well done. I do not even know how to do justice to how well they were crafted and with how much depth. The detail that the author used was incredible. It was generally a really, really well written book. On the other hand, it takes a lot more than great characterizations and descriptions. It was really a 700 page setup book for the rest of the series. So much time was spent setting the scene that it was tiring, almost a chore. There was so much going on in power plays, but the physical action was much less that that there was little excitement. There was certainly a fair bit, it felt… diluted maybe. It is more political than action based. A lot of people are comparing it to Game of Thrones. I can see the resemblance. Several groups in different kingdoms, trying to assert dominance over each other. There is puppetry behind the scenes, good people in bad situations, bad people in good places. I just felt that it moved a little too slow for me. Not a bad story, I just wished there was more excitement.

As a setup book, it was well done. I think there is a lot of interesting content coming in the future of Miller’s series that I can honestly say I am excited for. The ending left me with some things that I really wanted to see play out, but I was also glad to be done. Usually when people criticize books for being slow, I tend to disagree. The Curse of Challion gets heat on that front constantly, but I absolutely loved it and offer only praise. While The Falcon Throne had a rich and deep story, and perhaps even more action than Challion, I was not drawn in by it, not compelled. I also ended up hating all of the characters by the end. Even the “good” ones were too flawed for me to like as protagonists. Flawed characters are the most relate-able, but if they’re also hate-able, the connection to them is lost. I can’t even say that there are not-so-good, but likable anti-heroes. I hated everyone. Viscerally. I’ve read plenty of books where the author specifically went for this vibe. It was likely intended, and I can somewhat understand it, though that does not mean I like it. I gave it 3/5 stars because, as I said earlier, it was a really well written book, but I just could not get completely drawn in by it. While a 3 star review isn’t generally a strong recommendation, I think it may be worth reading this to get into a series that I personally believe has lots of potential. Besides, regardless of what I thought, you might love it.

Disclaimer: I received this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.