Summary
The Kingfountain Series follows Owen Kiskaddon as he grows to be the most influential man in the kingdom of Ceredigion. The first book, The Queen's Poisoner, begins when Owen is a child of eight years old. His family chose to fight on the wrong side of the civil war that was ravishing Ceredigion, so Owen was taken hostage by the dreaded king to ensure that his family didn't try anything rash before their trial. Through the help of a poisoner named Ankarette Tryneowy, he escapes a traitor's death and gains the king's favor by tricking the king into thinking that he has the gift of foresight; a valuable tool for a king to have in his disposition.
The second book takes place when Owen is barely 17 years old and steadily on the rise to power. The king begins to trust Owen, and sends him and his best friend Evie to quell the rebellion starting by a man claiming to be the king's nephew, and the rightful heir to the throne. This journey sends them to Atabyrion, King Iago's lands. Although Owen and Evie ultimately fail their mission to get rid of the pretender, the king's trust in Owen grow so much that he assigns him Head of the Espion: his spy agency. Unfortunately, the king uses Evie as a pawn in his game and orders her to marry Iago to secure an alliance and stop the rebellion. This tears Owen apart as he is desperately in love with Evie himself.
The third book is set when Owen is 24. After Evie was taken from him, he became a sarcastic man with a sharp tongue. The king sends him on a mission to start a war with Brythonica to gain the prosperous land. Owen rudely asks for the queen's hand in marriage, fully expecting her to take offense and attack him, but instead she accepts his awful proposal. It is later learned that the queen, Lady Sinia, is a very powerful water sprite, also known as the Lady of the Fountain. Owen falls in love with her, and ultimately decides to betray his corrupt king. The prophesy of the Dreadful Deadman is fulfilled thanks to Owen, and the king falls. The Dreadful Deadman, an eight year old boy named Andrew takes the throne and saves the people from the flood that was going to bury the country unless the rightful heir was restored to the throne.
The second book takes place when Owen is barely 17 years old and steadily on the rise to power. The king begins to trust Owen, and sends him and his best friend Evie to quell the rebellion starting by a man claiming to be the king's nephew, and the rightful heir to the throne. This journey sends them to Atabyrion, King Iago's lands. Although Owen and Evie ultimately fail their mission to get rid of the pretender, the king's trust in Owen grow so much that he assigns him Head of the Espion: his spy agency. Unfortunately, the king uses Evie as a pawn in his game and orders her to marry Iago to secure an alliance and stop the rebellion. This tears Owen apart as he is desperately in love with Evie himself.
The third book is set when Owen is 24. After Evie was taken from him, he became a sarcastic man with a sharp tongue. The king sends him on a mission to start a war with Brythonica to gain the prosperous land. Owen rudely asks for the queen's hand in marriage, fully expecting her to take offense and attack him, but instead she accepts his awful proposal. It is later learned that the queen, Lady Sinia, is a very powerful water sprite, also known as the Lady of the Fountain. Owen falls in love with her, and ultimately decides to betray his corrupt king. The prophesy of the Dreadful Deadman is fulfilled thanks to Owen, and the king falls. The Dreadful Deadman, an eight year old boy named Andrew takes the throne and saves the people from the flood that was going to bury the country unless the rightful heir was restored to the throne.
Favorite Quote:
"'But remember the nature of secrets Owen. If you share yours, it will stop wriggling inside your chest. And it will start wriggling inside hers"' (192).
One of my favorite characters is only found in the first book, but in that book she adds so much insight and wisdom to the story. I love this quote because it is a good reminder to everyone of how secrets work. Secrets truly are wriggly things, and once a secret it told, it is no longer your secret. It is important to only tell your secrets to those who will care about you enough to keep your secret.
Themes:
Discernment and Trust: All throughout the series, Owen is trying to discern who he can trust and who will betray him. His whole life is founded on a lie that he told when he was a child, and if this truth reached Severn, the king, all would be lost. Severn is also very invested in trusting only a chosen few, and it seems that all of the people that he trusted throughout the years have betrayed him. This leads him to become a very corrupt and bad king because he will not put trust in anyone around him; even those who are loyal.
Loyalty: Severn's motto is "Loyalty binds me" and Owen is loyal to him until he can not take any more of the king's corruptness. "'If your master demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty"' (The Thief's Daughter, 356). This advise from Lord Horwath is what finally made Owen betray Severn.
Love: Owen begins as the most loving child of all of his siblings, but when he is taken away from his family, he becomes unbearably shy. He can hardly talk around other people until the rambunctious Evie enter's his life and helps him conquer his fear. They fall in love with each other, but unfortunately, the king does not allow their union. Both find love later on, and are still happy in the end.
Loyalty: Severn's motto is "Loyalty binds me" and Owen is loyal to him until he can not take any more of the king's corruptness. "'If your master demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty"' (The Thief's Daughter, 356). This advise from Lord Horwath is what finally made Owen betray Severn.
Love: Owen begins as the most loving child of all of his siblings, but when he is taken away from his family, he becomes unbearably shy. He can hardly talk around other people until the rambunctious Evie enter's his life and helps him conquer his fear. They fall in love with each other, but unfortunately, the king does not allow their union. Both find love later on, and are still happy in the end.
Essay:
The Kingfountain series is based on events from the real world's history. These parallels give depth and character to the story's plot.
History Adds Dimension
What makes a good story? I would argue that a well written book requires three things: character development, an interesting setting, and a touch of familiarity for the reader. The best fantasy stories are often taken from the real world’s rich history. The Kingfountain series is no exception. The trilogy, written by Jeff Wheeler, is based loosely on myths in our world’s past such as Arthurian legends and the prophesy of the Dreadful Deadman.
Throughout the trilogy, the fountain is referenced as being the source of magic for those living in Wheeler’s world. The Lady of the Fountain is shrouded in mystery for much of the first two books, and it isn’t until the third book that she is introduced as a character. Through a failed attempt to start a war between Kingfountain and Brythonica, Owen learns that Sinia, the ruler of Brythonica, is the Lady of the Fountain. This realization comes close to the end of the book when the palace scholar mentions the legend of Peisinia, a powerful water sprite. Interestingly, the Lady of the Fountain has striking similarities to The Lady of the Lake from the Arthurian legends. The Lady of the Fountain is held in reverence as she is the embodiment of the people’s sacred fountains which are central to the story’s plot. In Wheeler’s world, “the Lady of the Fountain [is] a water sprite” who is able to control water –just like the Lady of the Lake (335). While this parallel may seem to be a blatant reference to the Lady of the Lake, most of the characters in Wheeler’s world have some sort of magical ability, so her abilities could have been coincidence if not for her final appearance with a sword. Just like the Lady of the Lake, the Lady of the Fountain appears with a magical sword that is given to the man destined to be king. It is not until this point in the story that it becomes clear that the Lady of the Fountain is indeed a reference to the Lady of the Lake.
The prophesy of the Dreadful Deadman is also not a fictional story made up by Wheeler. The Dreadful Deadman prophesy dates back to England in 1588 and states: “When Hemp and E is come and gone, then take heed to yourselves; for three years war shall never cease; that you will with yourselves under the earth; mark well that, after E is come and gone, then cometh England to destruction by seven kings…and after that shall come a Dreadful Dead-man, and with him a royal Y, of the best blood in the world, and he shall have the crown, and shall set England on the right way, and put out all heresies” (Cane). Wheeler takes this prophesy and morphs it to fit his story: “When E is come and gone, then take heed to yourselves, for war shall never cease. After E is come and gone, then cometh Ceredigion to destruction by seven kings. The fountain shall cease to flood the land and after that will come a Dreadful Deadman with a royal wife of the best blood in the world. And he shall have the hollow crown and shall set Ceredigion on the right way and put out all heretics” (187). While the similarities are unmistakable, there are differences that make the prophesy more familiar and ultimately, intriguing to the reader. In Wheeler’s prophesy, the land will flood to drive out all heretics. This is a more obvious allusion to the flood of Noah in the Bible. Because the Bible is so well known, the concept of a land flooding to drive out the ‘unfaithful’ is familiar to the majority of his readers. He includes this familiarity to ensure that some allusion of the real world is caught by every reader, and leaves the Dreadful Deadman allusion to be found by those who are interested in analyzing his fictional world.
Jeff Wheeler’s Kingfountain series is rich with the real world’s history. This not only makes his stories more interesting to read, but adds educational knowledge to his stories. Being able to read fantasy and find parallels to our own world is a lot like a game of riddles. The Lady of the Lake and the Dreadful Deadman are only two of the myths that he brought into this fantastic world of his, but they add some of the depth that makes his writing great.
What makes a good story? I would argue that a well written book requires three things: character development, an interesting setting, and a touch of familiarity for the reader. The best fantasy stories are often taken from the real world’s rich history. The Kingfountain series is no exception. The trilogy, written by Jeff Wheeler, is based loosely on myths in our world’s past such as Arthurian legends and the prophesy of the Dreadful Deadman.
Throughout the trilogy, the fountain is referenced as being the source of magic for those living in Wheeler’s world. The Lady of the Fountain is shrouded in mystery for much of the first two books, and it isn’t until the third book that she is introduced as a character. Through a failed attempt to start a war between Kingfountain and Brythonica, Owen learns that Sinia, the ruler of Brythonica, is the Lady of the Fountain. This realization comes close to the end of the book when the palace scholar mentions the legend of Peisinia, a powerful water sprite. Interestingly, the Lady of the Fountain has striking similarities to The Lady of the Lake from the Arthurian legends. The Lady of the Fountain is held in reverence as she is the embodiment of the people’s sacred fountains which are central to the story’s plot. In Wheeler’s world, “the Lady of the Fountain [is] a water sprite” who is able to control water –just like the Lady of the Lake (335). While this parallel may seem to be a blatant reference to the Lady of the Lake, most of the characters in Wheeler’s world have some sort of magical ability, so her abilities could have been coincidence if not for her final appearance with a sword. Just like the Lady of the Lake, the Lady of the Fountain appears with a magical sword that is given to the man destined to be king. It is not until this point in the story that it becomes clear that the Lady of the Fountain is indeed a reference to the Lady of the Lake.
The prophesy of the Dreadful Deadman is also not a fictional story made up by Wheeler. The Dreadful Deadman prophesy dates back to England in 1588 and states: “When Hemp and E is come and gone, then take heed to yourselves; for three years war shall never cease; that you will with yourselves under the earth; mark well that, after E is come and gone, then cometh England to destruction by seven kings…and after that shall come a Dreadful Dead-man, and with him a royal Y, of the best blood in the world, and he shall have the crown, and shall set England on the right way, and put out all heresies” (Cane). Wheeler takes this prophesy and morphs it to fit his story: “When E is come and gone, then take heed to yourselves, for war shall never cease. After E is come and gone, then cometh Ceredigion to destruction by seven kings. The fountain shall cease to flood the land and after that will come a Dreadful Deadman with a royal wife of the best blood in the world. And he shall have the hollow crown and shall set Ceredigion on the right way and put out all heretics” (187). While the similarities are unmistakable, there are differences that make the prophesy more familiar and ultimately, intriguing to the reader. In Wheeler’s prophesy, the land will flood to drive out all heretics. This is a more obvious allusion to the flood of Noah in the Bible. Because the Bible is so well known, the concept of a land flooding to drive out the ‘unfaithful’ is familiar to the majority of his readers. He includes this familiarity to ensure that some allusion of the real world is caught by every reader, and leaves the Dreadful Deadman allusion to be found by those who are interested in analyzing his fictional world.
Jeff Wheeler’s Kingfountain series is rich with the real world’s history. This not only makes his stories more interesting to read, but adds educational knowledge to his stories. Being able to read fantasy and find parallels to our own world is a lot like a game of riddles. The Lady of the Lake and the Dreadful Deadman are only two of the myths that he brought into this fantastic world of his, but they add some of the depth that makes his writing great.
Sources Cited
Cane, Mark S. “Dreadful Dead-man” markscane.com. n.d. Web. 13 January 2017.
Wheeler, Jeff. The King’s Traitor. 47North, 2016. Print.
Cane, Mark S. “Dreadful Dead-man” markscane.com. n.d. Web. 13 January 2017.
Wheeler, Jeff. The King’s Traitor. 47North, 2016. Print.