A Crane Among Wolves
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Description
AN EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE
June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today's world, based on a true story from Korean history.
Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.
1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.
Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom's turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king's latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king's power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.
Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he'll need help to pull it off-but there's no way to know who he can trust.
When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul's family connections and Daehyun's royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:
Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.
Also by June Hur:
The Silence of Bones
The Forest of Stolen Girls
The Red Palace
Behind Five Willows
Book Information
Characteristics
1 reviews
Mood
Protagonist(s)
Pace
Writing Style
Posts
Honestly, I bought this book because of the cover, but I don’t regret it. This was a nice mix of historical fiction, murder mystery, and romance. I was quite invested in finding the murderer and seeing the political events unfold. I did have some problems with the writing style, though. It’s hard to explain, but the pace was sometimes a little too fast? There were passages that made me feel like the book dragged me along just to switch to a normal walking pace a few pages later. On another note: some people confuse bravery with stupidity, and Iseul did so quite often. And there is one thing about the plot that bugs me. Why did Nameless Flower kill Hyukjin? He knew that Hyukjin was a part of the group that planned the coup, so even if he wanted to kill everyone related to the king and his relatives, why kill him so early? Maybe I’m just a little stupid, but this made no sense to me. All in all, I’d rate this book 3.5 stars.
Characteristics
1 reviews
Mood
Protagonist(s)
Pace
Writing Style
Description
AN EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE
June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today's world, based on a true story from Korean history.
Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.
1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.
Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom's turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king's latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king's power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.
Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he'll need help to pull it off-but there's no way to know who he can trust.
When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul's family connections and Daehyun's royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:
Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.
Also by June Hur:
The Silence of Bones
The Forest of Stolen Girls
The Red Palace
Behind Five Willows
Book Information
Posts
Honestly, I bought this book because of the cover, but I don’t regret it. This was a nice mix of historical fiction, murder mystery, and romance. I was quite invested in finding the murderer and seeing the political events unfold. I did have some problems with the writing style, though. It’s hard to explain, but the pace was sometimes a little too fast? There were passages that made me feel like the book dragged me along just to switch to a normal walking pace a few pages later. On another note: some people confuse bravery with stupidity, and Iseul did so quite often. And there is one thing about the plot that bugs me. Why did Nameless Flower kill Hyukjin? He knew that Hyukjin was a part of the group that planned the coup, so even if he wanted to kill everyone related to the king and his relatives, why kill him so early? Maybe I’m just a little stupid, but this made no sense to me. All in all, I’d rate this book 3.5 stars.