BOOK REVIEW: The Kingdoms of Evil by Daniel Bensen

by Solomon Midwinter
PHS Press staff writer

The Kingdoms of Evil by Daniel Bensen was a joy to read.  It was a surprise to learn it was his first book.  I would recommend this book highly, but only to people 12 and up, because there are a few moments involving some colorful language, and some moments that may not be suitable for younger children. 

   I expected the book to be a comedy, and very little else.  While certainly funny, the book actually also had some more serious moments, which was a nice surprise.
    It is an imaginative series, set in a fictional universe that is in many ways not so different from our own.  Freetrick Feend was a student at a college in the Rationalist Union.  Then he was spirited off by a strange, anatomically improbable creature called Mr. Skree, and his betrothed, a strange and terrifying woman called Bloodbyrn. He was taken to be the god-king of the kingdoms of evil. This was an incredibly dysfunctional empire, composed of three kingdoms.
     It had once been a serious threat and force in the world, but that time was centuries ago, and now it is a nation stuck in the middle ages, in an (albeit magical) world that is in the post industrial era. 
    Quite beyond that, government policies, or lack thereof, have ensured that unless something is done quickly, the entire empire will implode.  That is if they don't starve to death first.  And no one realizes how weak the military and decides to invade. 
    And on top of all of this, the Skrean (Skrea is one of the kingdoms of evil) magic system is entirely dependent on slaughtering massive numbers of monsters and/or people, as its magic system is necromancy. 
    As the name implies, these kingdoms relatively few human inhabitants are almost exclusively homicidal maniacs and sadists.  More to the point, the standard procedure if you are unhappy with the current administration is to arrange the death of the current ruler.  And as a sane and logical ruler, Freetrick had some deeply unpopular ideas. 
    This book is great, although somewhat hard to find.  It was never actually traditionally published, but it can be found on Kindle unlimited, or just Kindle.  It is also supposed to be the first book in a series, called the Covenant Nonsense.  I have been unable to find the second book, but I am still looking.  I am, however, thinking that it will come out soon if it does at all, as it was published as an Ebook  four years ago.  All in all, I would rate this book quite highly, and hope to find a sequel soon.