The First Argentines Series – Book Review

At the time of writing, these books were included in Kindle Unlimited subscription. The books are:

1. Knight’s Ransom

2. Warrior’s Ransom

3. Lady’s Ransom

4. Fate’s Ransom

Review

The Argentine series is an interesting series that has a realistic depiction of medieval intrigues and politics, with a tinge of mysticism. In some ways it is comparable to the Songs of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series, but in others, they differ a lot.

The similarities are that both series have a realistic background of medieval alternate Europe, with feudal kingdoms conflicting with one another and the characters being thrown around as chess pieces. There’s also quite a lot of warfare, with siege and lancing and all the things knights do to one another.

The differences are more pronounced where in this series, the story follows the story of one character only. Although occasional views from other characters are offered, the story focused mainly on one character, the knight called Ransom. The character development is paced quite well enough that the emotions and challenges really brought the reader along. However these come at a compromise, where other characters seemed to be underdeveloped. For example one of the bad guys, somehow changed his ways and became more matured after a few years. It was never explained how or why he changed, and I guess that does happen in real life, but the story feels a bit incomplete somehow. On another end, if the story is divulged like the Songs of Ice and Fire, this series might end up a bit too long.

Another stark different in this series is the character has such a strong sense of justice and hold his virtues very dearly, something that is rarely found in the Songs of Ice and Fire. Still, the story manage to blend it well because it does show moments where Ransom has some doubts or has fleeting evil ‘thoughts’. It still leaves you feeling a bit frustrated though when the villains or circumstances threw our hero around. The writer however clearly wants the sweet taste of virtue to be more pronounced when the happy endings are presented at the end. Whether you would find it cynical or inspiring, is another point. I do feel both of them as I read.

Overall I think the book is a worthwhile read, as the story is laid well and well researched, with the battles being based/inspired on real ones and the routines and life in the dark ages very well thought out. The language is slightly hard without detracting the reading speed. The book is also mostly ‘clean’, without any sexual scenes. The goody-good tone might feel a bit off to some but otherwise still a recommended read.