Oh boy, this book was so much fun to read!

While not every fantasy junkie loves reading Young Adult Coming of Age stories, if the overall elements are in the right dosage, I simply can't get tired of reading them. Fortunately, Dream of Empty Crowns has a lot of things that I really enjoy in books (political backstabbing! Military scenes! Yeah!!!).

Our hero Gordon has lived his entire life in a well-off village less than half a day's walk from his nation's capital, strangely nicknamed the Kingdom of Thirteen. He has grown up alongside his childhood friends: Asa and Skyler, and his caring uncle Loren who is a very talented healer. And lucky him! To make this story really stand out from other Coming of Age teenager village boy hero stories, Gordon suffers from the devastating sweetblood disease (most likely Type I Diabetes). Now, this makes the plot a whole lot more interesting, because this is a medieval world where although magic is presumed to exist, healers don't have much technology to rely on to care for their sick, and it seems like Loren is the only healer in the entire world who has managed to figure out how to not only keep Gordon alive, but be rather healthy.

Now, getting back to the story, the first chapter is a huge milestone in the lives of the three childhood friends. In their nation, each 5 years they get a new gullible teenager to become king or queen. Apparently the political system was set up centuries ago by the 13 founders because they presumed the children wouldn't harbor malice, and given the job is only temporary (they have to resume their peasant lives once their term ends), there is little incentive for corruption... While we all know there's loopholes in every system that the villains in this book have taken advantage of, Gordon and his friends are all potential candidates to become the upcoming king and they innocently place a wooden plaque with their names into the choosing tower.

The selection day soon arrives, and... much to Loren's horror, and Gordon's disbelief, the next king is.... GORDON!!! Before the poor kid knew it, he loses sight of his uncle, and is dragged to the stage. As reality settles in, he stares at the nation's first councillor Thrundulin (and the main villain at the same time). The guy is clearly pissed off and Gordon has no idea why.

Gordon has always been raised by Loren to be scholarly and to try to keep certain secrets to himself, and he has managed to survive the first dinner without getting stabbed or poisoned. It isn't until the coronation where something really weird happens and he sees a futuristic vision of a multinational war on an airship, alongside several people he hasn't met yet... Gordon collapses to the floor and is hastily taken to the healers. Gordon miraculously escapes the palace thanks to the assistance of a mysterious teenager girl named Aline, locates his uncle, and all three flee for their lives as second-in-command military commander Brenddel goes on a desperate hunt.

Thurndulinn is at a quandary. He has been rigging the boy king selection for years to ensure he manages the kingdom however he sees fit, and didn't expect spies to use his schemes against him by casually selecting Loren's nephew, who at one time used to work in the palace.

Things move at a very swift pace, and we have several separate storylines from the main cast: Thurndulin's mischief, Gordon's adventures fleeing multiple nations while they locate Loren's allies, and Brenddel's POV while he seems to have his own morals being questioned.

Out of the characters of the book, I liked the cautiousness of Loren and Brenddel's questionable loyalty (seems like it is all spurred from a nascent soft spot for sweet Asa, who never deserved to be pulled into this whole mess any more than Gordon did).

If there is one thing that really made this book stand out, it's the world building. We get to visit 4 nations in the story (5 if you include the semi autonomous pirate enclave), and each country has completely opposing political systems that at first sight don't make all that much sense. Lots of honorable characters, and others such as the Queen of Thurnn who do some bad things, but for perfectly valid motives.

I really can't say much more about this story due to the risk of spoiling it, but I simply couldn't put it down and read it in just a few hours. It will be really hard for me to resist the temptation to read the sequels. I probably won't last a month before curiosity grabs a hold of me and entices me to find out what happens next.

I award the book 4 1/2 stars, only because there are a few typos and missed commas. However, it was still a really great read. ( )