Kingsfang by Vincent Blackwell

Topics: Gay, Medieval, War, Action Genre: Dark Fantasy, Romance

Age Rating: Ages 18+ for explicit sex

Available in Print, eBook, and Audiobook.

You might enjoy this book if you like:

-Dark, but not grimdark, fantasy

-The classic masculine-feminine gay couple dynamic

-Exploring relevant real-world themes in different genres

-Chaotic, tense, and violent battle scenes

-Overthrowing incompetent assholes

Review Summary:

Kingsfang takes a relevant dive into queer dark fantasy by exploring a conflict between two waring kingdoms: one fighting its enemies with hate and prejudice, and the other defending its people with love and acceptance. In the middle of it are two gay lovers, a soldier and a healer, both highly aware of the genocide that will come down upon them if their kingdom's defense fails. It's clearly inspired by our real-world culture war, with one of its main themes being the importance of competence and action when protecting your world from hate. This is applied to a dark fantasy world, though one that leans much farther toward the sword than the sorcery, and which doesn't get too complex in its worldbuilding. It gets really good in the second half, with some intense action scenes and a deepening of the romance. I think fans of dark fantasy and gay romance who are up for something with some real-world relevance are in for a treat.

Full Review:

Fantasy is one of my favorite genres in furry fiction. That's partially because of how easy it is for fantasy elements to be inspired by real world themes. Not to the point of allegory--I agree with Tolkien on those being a hazardous road to walk down--but to the point of relatability. The way a dark lord exploits and poisons the earth can be inspired by the dread of real-world industrialism, for example. Whereas others might feel they lose immersion from recognizing the real world in the fantasy one, I'm a bit of a sucker for it. So when I was offered an advance eBook copy of Kingsfang and read the description, I figured it was right up my alley. I'm happy to say I was correct in that assumption. Kingsfang is a fantastic read for fans of dark fantasy, queer stories, and sexy gay romances.

The Setup

Kingsfang begins with Vahn, a wolf of the titular order of agents who seem to function much like rangers to the kingdom of Zev, scouting out the land and dealing with or reporting potential threats. When we meet Vahn he is in the middle of discovering the war camp of the neighboring kingdom of Raldia, meaning Vahn has discovered that Zev is being invaded by the worst enemy that could possibly be coming their way.

Raldia has become well known for its cruelty. Its government has been taken over by a radical religious cult leader with magic powers, the Dawnbreaker, and they now want everyone they deem "impure" to be cleansed from the world--namely queer people and those in interspecies relationships. Since Zev is basically an antithesis to everything Raldia believes, accepting all identities with open arms and thriving from diversity, they've become target #1 for conquest.

After discovering the invasion, Vahn's entire detachment of Kingsfangs is slaughtered, and Vahn is barely able to escape with his life. He is pulled out of a river by Caylen, a too-pure-for-this-world recently orphaned cat who works for an abusive innkeeper. The two young men soon find themselves falling for each other as they journey to the city of Red Moon to warn their kingdom of the coming invasion and prepare to defend all they hold dear.

When Wolf Meets Cat

The romance between Vahn and Caylen works pretty well, even if they started out feeling a bit cookie-cutter to me. They very much adhere to that typical gay relationship archetype where one of them is big and tough and the other is small and sensitive (tropes.com, perhaps problematically, calls this archetype the masculine-feminine gay couple). But let's face it, there's a reason that dynamic is widely used. It may not be unique, but many readers can't get enough of it.

As the story goes on, they become a much more compelling couple, mostly due to their commonalities: they've both lost loved ones, giving them an appreciation for life and death that's important in a dark fantasy; they're both the kind of people the Raldians want to purge from the world, meaning they understand the true stakes of the war; and they are both young and inexperienced in their chosen professions, meaning they can grow alongside each other. There's a lot for their relationship to blossom from here, and it makes for a strong romance the deeper you get into the book.

That's especially apparent when they arrive at the city of Red Moon after their long journey. The threat of war means they're both thrust into remedying their inexperience very quickly. While he sometimes seems wiser than his years, Vahn actually lacks more than a year or two of experience as a soldier. Meanwhile, Caylen aspires to become a healer, but was pulled away from that education before he could be properly trained. So Vahn is immediately pulled into defense of the city while Caylen assists with healing at a temple, both returning most nights to check in with each other (and have some amazing sex).

I think it was bold of the author to split the two apart and send them to separate jobs like this, often for chapters on end, rather than keeping them joined at the hip like so many other romances. It's used to great effect. As it turns out, absence not only makes the heart grow fonder, but the character development more compelling. Vahn and Caylen grow almost as much separately as they do together, making their relationship feel all the more grounded as their individual characters don't rely entirely on one another.

Oh, and they're both great in bed. It's a gay furry erotic romance. You better believe Vahn has an amazing knot, and that Caylen can take it like a pro.

Subtext is for Cowards

What I think is cool about the conflict between Raldia and Zev is its relevance to our modern day culture war. The relevance may not suit those who find real-world inspiration distracting in fantasy. Raldia is pretty clearly inspired by the ideologies of real-life hate groups and alt-right movements, while Zev is inspired by real-life queer and progressive movements. However, as someone who loves the Korps books, which have made an art of punting subtext into the sun, I'm perfectly content with these comparatively mild real-life parallels.

In fact, I found those parallels very functional, showing this real-life dynamic most of us are familiar with but in a dark fantasy setting. How do progressive themes of identity, diversity, and queerness function in a world of sword and sorcery? Especially in a world populated by many anthropomorphic animal races? Oftentimes the similarities here were just as interesting as the differences.

The scenes that depict how a good side's passivity can let evil worm its way in to ruin everything are my favorite parts of Kingsfang. From corrupt leaders to everyday citizens, the book shows how hate will wriggle in and take everything if a society assumes that a simple half-hearted defense will be enough to stop it. This book is certainly about the importance of fighting the advance of hate to save what we love.

Of course, Kingsfang doesn't get as into the weeds of social and political complexity per something like Game of Thrones. It also doesn't concern itself with too much high fantasy worldbuilding. After all, we have a romance to get to. But I always appreciate it when an adult furry book makes an effort to be thematically relevant like this.

A World of Blood and Battle

This is a bloody book. Not gratuitously so, but it certainly meets its gore quota for dark fantasy. A lot of people die, are mangled, or are otherwise brutally injured during the course of the story, and while we never see it, the invading kingdom's favorite thing to do seems to be skinning alive the people they deem impure. This is a world with the potential for cruel violence that feels like it's being reintroduced to what has for so long been a progressive, peaceful society in Zev.

I think fans of sword and shield action are really gonna like this book, because some of these combat scenes are wild. They start off sparse in the first half, with a small skirmish here and there, but in the second half we see some truly chaotic small battles and raids that really get the adrenaline flowing. Blackwell is excellent at writing intense, chaotic battles that are well-paced and easy to follow. The chaos of one particular raid on a Raldian stronghold is particularly memorable.

The presence of all this violence and mortal peril also works well to support Vahn and Caylen's connection. As Vahn goes out to the city's defense every day, and as people continue to die around him, Caylen is left wondering if each time he's sees his wolf will be the last. The possibility of their romance being cut short weighs heavily on them, making their relationship feel all the more convincing. It's another way in which the violence of this world feels very necessary for the story rather than feeling gratuitous.

Fight on, Fight on…

So that's Kingsfang. I'd recommend it to queer fans of gay romance and dark fantasy who are happy to read something with some real-world relevance. It's especially great for readers who are looking for more romance and action than in-depth, high fantasy worldbuilding. The book seems to be part of a planned series if the ending is anything to go by, so I look forward to seeing what comes of Caylen and Vahn's defense of Zev in the future.