Howard Andrew Jones is joining us today to talk about his novel For the Killing of Kings. Here’s the publisher’s description:
Their peace was a fragile thing, but it had endured for seven years, mostly because the people of Darassus and the king of the Naor hordes believed his doom was foretold upon the edge of the great sword hung in the hall of champions. Unruly Naor clans might raid across the border, but the king himself would never lead his people to war so long as the blade remained in the hands of his enemies.
But when squire Elenai’s aging mentor uncovers evidence that the sword in their hall is a forgery she’s forced to flee Darassus for her life, her only ally the reckless, disillusioned Kyrkenall the archer. Framed for murder and treason, pursued by the greatest heroes of the realm, they race to recover the real sword, only to stumble into a conspiracy that leads all the way back to the Darassan queen and her secretive advisors. They must find a way to clear their names and set things right, all while dodging friends determined to kill them – and the Naor hordes, invading at last with a new and deadly weapon.
What’s Howard’s favorite bit?
HOWARD ANDREW JONES
I’m a sucker for stories about heroes. I don’t mean the flawless, square-jawed kind, but complex humans who face nightmarish challenges to aid their friends and defend the innocent. Men and women who act with honor, who strive to be worthy of those they lead, and who do the right thing even when no one’s looking.
Maybe that fascination stems from catching the 1970s Four Musketeers movie in the theatre when I was very young, and being captivated by the close-knit unit who risked their all for one another with wit and skill and a little luck. Certainly I loved the heroism and sacrifice in all those re-runs I watched of the original Star Trek, where if not for devotion to one another and their belief in the best in humanity, the crew wouldn’t have survived the mission.
I’ve certainly been inspired by the astonishing exploits of Medal of Honor recipients, who risked and often lost their lives in defense of their comrades and those under their protection. Sometimes those actions were so jaw dropping they defy belief, like Audie Murphy’s heroism, toned down in his biopic lest the audience deem it Hollywood nonsense.
Given all that, it’s probably no surprise that I wrote a story about members of an elite group of highly trained warriors. When the novel begins, all’s not right in the Altenerai corps, or in the realm they serve. For some, honor has become an inconvenience. Leaders have gained authority not through hard won wisdom and dedication to their people, but because of loyalty to self-serving causes. A few veterans and squires stumble into what looks like a simple deception, only to discover a secret that’s festered into a conspiracy that threatens not just them, but their entire nation.
When it comes to my favorite bit, I could have written about my love for these characters, many of whom have been kicking around in my head for a quarter century, or my love for The Chronicles of Amber, which was as big an influence upon this book as the aforementioned musketeers. But I’m probably most pleased with the ceremonies I drafted for the Altenerai, the most important of them being the oath sworn when their members reach the seventh and highest circle of their order and don the sapphire ring:
When comes my numbered day, I will meet it smiling. For I’ll have kept this oath.
I shall use my arms to shield the weak.
I shall use my lips to speak the truth, and my eyes to seek it.
I shall use my hand to mete justice to high and to low, and I shall weigh all things with heart and mind.
Where I walk the laws will follow, for I am the sword of my people and the shepherd of their lands.
When I fall, I will rise through my brothers and my sisters, for I am eternal.
These words are the foundation of everything the protagonists of For the Killing of Kings believe. I like to think if I’d found them as a younger man I’d have judged them worthy of consideration and that they might even have impacted the way I conducted myself.
LINKS:
For the Killing of Kings Universal Book Link
For the Killing of Kings Excerpt
BIO:
Howard Andrew Jones is the author of For the Killing of Kings, four Pathfinder novels, and a critically acclaimed Arabian Fantasy series. He’s the editor of the print magazine Tales From the Magician’s Skull and the Executive Editor at Perilous Worlds.
When not helping run his small family farm or spending time with his wife and children, he can be found hunched over his laptop or notebook, mumbling about flashing swords and doom-haunted towers. He’s worked variously as a TV cameraman, a book editor, a recycling consultant, and as a writing instructor at a mid-western college.
