A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying
A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying series, Book 1
Kelley Armstrong
Puffin Canada
Fiction, MG Fantasy
Themes: Canids, Cryptids and Unknown Beasts, Diversity, Equines, Girl Power, Gryphons, Small Animals
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Description
By the traditions of their realm, the firstborn child of the reigning monarch is destined to become the next King or Queen, and the
next-eldest inherits the role of Royal Monster Hunter. In the case of twins Princess Rowan and Prince Rhydd, mere minutes separate
their destinies... minutes that Rowan would do anything to reverse. Her brother is a decent enough hunter, but a much better diplomat
than she will ever be, and she is not only the superior tracker but has a passion for the job that he never developed. It's not just
about slaying beasts; it's about managing them, understanding them, reducing conflicts with humans. Killing is always the last resort.
If only she could prove herself to her mother and the others of the royal council.
When her chance comes, it has a price tag she never anticipated. A gryphon attack leaves the realm suddenly without a monster slayer,
just as more and more sightings are reported. But there are those who don't believe the twelve-year-old has what it takes to take up the
ebony sword. She is set a challenge: within the year, she is to kill the gryphon that got away. To do this, she'll have to get training
from a reclusive master who has turned down every apprentice who ever came to him. But Rowan isn't about to give up. Not when her
success or failure will determine not only her own fate, but the future of the entire realm, which could fall into the hands of a tyrant.
With a gruff warg and a scrappy young jackalope as her only companions, she sets off the prove herself.
Review
Another audiobook to kill time at work, A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying has a slightly misleading title. Rowan and her colleagues and predecessors aren't "slayers" at all, save when there's no other choice. Even "hunter" is a minor misnomer. But, then, the term "monster" itself is a bit of a contentious one in the story itself; many people attribute them with magical or demonic powers, when the monster hunters themselves understand that they're just animals, if often very dangerous and clever animals, the result of natural evolution and not supernatural intercession. (Well, evolution with some stretching, of course, to end up with gryphons and pegasi, but it works in the story world.) In any event, Rowan starts off determined to find a way to defy tradition and swap roles with her twin brother, but she has a lot to learn about not just the job but the world at large beyond the castle walls. She encounters more than one sign that, outside her small noble circles, the realm isn't quite the peaceful and contented place she's always believed, with real suffering and injustices that can't always be blamed on other noble houses or simple mistakes. The monsters, too, can be trickier than her studies and previous sheltered experience set her up for. But Rowan is nothing if not persistent, learning from her mistakes and from those around her (when she realizes she actually has something to learn from them, at least.) The plot has few if any lulls, full of decent characters (save a couple flat baddies) and intense encounters and several fun moments. The whole makes for a solid tale of fantasy-flavored adventure with many memorable beasts and a protagonist worth rooting for.