“”Consequences” – John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4

I am thankful to NetGalley, Tor and the author for my ARC of this book – Below are my honest thoughts on the same

“I won before I lost.”

Anji Kills a King starts promisingly with Anji killing the king in the first few paragraphs of the book itself. The story that follows deals with the consequences specifically for Anji, who is on the run, and in general for a kingdom that was ruled by an unpopular, weak puppet of a king. Anji’s on-the-run life is a fairly hard, grimy, gritty few weeks interspersed with her interactions with the members of the Menagerie, a legendary band of bounty hunters dispatched to bring Anji back to her execution. Anji is put through the wringer mentally and physically as each member of the Menagerie has their idiosyncrasies and their own brand of crazy, keeping the narrative compelling and engrossing.

“If I’m an assassin after killing one man – one who deserved it, I might add – what does that make you.”

AKAK is a journey book that follows Anji after the titular incident. Even as she tries to make her way across the countryside, we get glimpses of the state of the nation – a sense of civil unrest, talks of a rebellion, the distaste for the ruling classes, and a general sense of unrest permeating through the countryside. Barely a couple of days into the escape, Anji is captured by Hawk of the Menagerie, seemingly acting on her own without the support or knowledge of the Menagerie. Anji’s travels (and travails) with the Hawk take up a good chunk of the book and help establish a bit of the antagonistic mentor-mentee relationship.

“I did it… for the money of course. Assuming the price was right.”

Each member of the Menagerie has a magical animal-shaped mask that gives them superpowers, but it also takes a toll on them, and each member copes with the madness in their own way. Hawk is a crotchety, grumpy old woman who is also possibly addicted and has a harsh way of looking at things. However, she is not unkind and has her motivations on why she wants to capture and make Anji face justice. While she doesn’t hesitate to kill anyone who threatens to thwart her objective, her interactions with Anji keep evolving through the course of the story – from treating her as just an asset and payday to working together with Anji as they face multiple threats, internal and external. The book does ratchet up once other members of the Menagerie get hold of Anji – the level of brutality and cruelty on display helps frame the Hawk-Anji relationship even further.

“If you want real change, the kind that lasts, you have to accept that you’re a small part of the larger whole. That out of many one force may yet overcome. We are the many. The lowborn, the common. The labourers and the farmers and the fishermen. One act like the one you committed will not dismantle years of oppression and greed. One murder, regardless of its rank, will grant the many their due.”

The journey element also allows for significant time to reflect, and this is where the “Consequences” piece comes home to roost. This ties in the strongest element of the book – Anji as a character. We see this kid who killed the king and fled, but piece by piece, Anji gets disassembled. We examine why she was where she was to do the deed she did – and it took an exceedingly painful personal set of incidents for her to be there. We see the family history, the sense of a collapse of the society, the crushing of dissent, and Anji’s own training for higher things in life before life (through the king) unceremoniously dumps her into being a castle servant. The book also deals with decisions that people in power make and the myriad ways of affecting the small folk. While the decisions may not be personal to the people in power, for the folks affected, it seems highly personal and can foment hatred and distrust, seeming parallels to the world we live in. In a way, it also examines what a revolution is all about and the ideologies behind a revolution – sometimes a revolution isn’t about cutting off the head of the snake. Like Hydra, it may sprout other heads. A revolution requires systemic change, and that is the aspect that firebrands don’t spend enough time thinking about. Anji was simply at the right place at the right moment, but her actions came not with the history of revolution but as a result of her loss and trauma, and on such small things, revolutions are likely to hinge.

“Couldn’t I be in trouble for something more exciting?

You already are, and you’re about to be executed for it.”

The flashes of world-building that the author sketches in this world are also quite interesting. The magic is called Maxia and does take a toll on the user. There is also a question of who has access to that magic and how it is frowned upon for the common populace to have access to it. There is also a massive drug and addiction problem pervading the land, and what this addiction mutates into – a theme that gets explored a lot in the second half of the book. It is also a weird land that the story is situated in – there are blood-thirsty spiders, monstrous mutated scorpions, and other creatures that call the desolate pathways their home. There is also a Senate that holds the real power and a Religious order that is quite shady and nefarious, twisting righteous motivations into a self-serving play for power and control. All these are fabulously teased out seamlessly in the narrative.

“Futility bores me. Who gets to eat what? Who dies when? Who shits where? Do all you like. Set fires in all the places you deem necessary. It’s all the same in the end. Some people have things, other don’t. No amount of protest will make it any different. The revolution ends, and people are still starving somewhere.”

The journey element is the key element of the book, but the book needed to end strongly as well. In a way, the book ends well, but there is an element of predictability to it as well. At around the midpoint of the book, you conclude that this will go either of two ways – and the book does go down that path. The book stretches that inevitable so that when it happens, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and has a solid impact. The ending, while predictable, is suitably satisfying and poetic.

“If you’re willing to kill for a cause, you should be ready to die for one too.”

Anji Kills a King is a very promising debut. It is quite well written and revels in some of the ground-level grittiness and griminess associated with a revolution through the eyes of a spunky, desperate, fatalistic survivor in the form of the titular Anji. This is also a book that lives for the journey and has a chase element to it, with several bounty hunters in search of the Macguffin. The Macguffin in question is Anji, but we see this Macguffin evolve from a blank canvas to a compelling character of agency. Anji Kills a King is a debut to remember from Evan Leikam.

Rating – 4 Bounty Hunters on 5

Anji Kills a King is available now from Titan books – you can order your copy HERE