Drakenblud: The Malformed King
Your flesh shall become twisted and your bones gnarled. At the proper age, Drakenblud, the ancient blood of dragons, is bestowed as a gift upon royalty. The mysterious substance grants those who consume it godlike traits in order to make them more perfect rulers.
Ulrin Emberlind is the next member of the noble Emberlind family to inherit the Gift of the Blood. However, on the day of his ceremony, some of the highly guarded Drakenblud is stolen, and the King seems overcome with anger. Then, the Bleeding occurs.
When ominous crimson clouds gather over the castle, those in Lorne who have partaken in the Drakenblud suddenly change. Their bodies twist and disfigure into violent, voracious monsters known as the Corrupted. Ulrin's father, the King, changes, too, and commits the unthinkable upon his own family.
Five years later, survivors struggle to remain unnoticed by the Corrupted. The land lies in ruins. And Ulrin has set his eyes on revenge against the Malformed King.
He sets out to save his Kingdom and understand what truly caused The Bleeding.
- Pages
- 0
- First published
- October 4, 2023
- Language
- English
- Edition
- ISBN
- 9798399571072
Shelved by 1 Litcadian
Reviews
Finished February 26, 2026
3.5 ⭐ rounded up I want to preface my review with this books really needs a content warning page. The prologue is intensely graphic with heavy gore and on page child murder and it drops you straight into that without even the tiniest flicker of caution. I don't typically shy away from horror or brutal scenes but the lack of warning irked me. That said, once I got past that I found myself genuinely interested int he plot. The world is harsh and unrelenting and the narrative carries that weight well! Ulrin is stoic and fiercely determined in his quest but his naivety occasionally irked me. Cryaliss on the other hand tugged at my heart with her survivor's guilt. But she absolutely proves that she is a force all on her own and deserved to be a Blood Maiden. Then we have Bayliss who is a little shithead but an incredibly intelligent and useful shithead. Overall, I enjoyed this despite the brutal opening. I'd definitely ready a book 2 if there ever is one. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing an e-copy of this in exchange for an honest review.