Le Sang des 7 Rois (The Blood of the Seven Kings)

“Pétrus took his lute and strummed a few dramatic chords. He cleared his throat.

— Hear ye, hear ye, good folk! On this beautiful spring day, I will tell you the true story of the Captain of the Rocks, Lord of the Gulls, Highness of a fort lost in the midst of the raging waves, Emperor of the Storms and Clouds so eager to go to the fertile lands of the Seven Kingdoms to mourn the desolation of these remote places. I will sing to the glory of the bushes, the pebbles and the winds; to the glory of women, of the most beautiful children; to the glory of our lost loves, our ravishing dreams, our ravished futures.”

On a remoted planet in the Solar System, Sergeant Orville lives a quiet life on the sentry walk of a fortress that no enemy ever attacks. However, his peaceful existence is disrupted by the abduction of two ordinary teenagers. On behalf of the King, Orville tracks down the abductors, setting out on the paths that lead to the Ridge, a giant mountain that is said to be impassable.

The event that threw Orville on the road shakes the medieval world and tears it apart. At the heart of the tensions, children are born at random with blue blood, a heritage of ancient Mage Kings that allows them to enjoy great strength and longevity. Aware of the dangers that these individuals represent for the already fragile political balance, the Inquisition conducts a relentless culling of the population, with many being executed at the stake.

Secret societies clash, political balances are disrupted, pirates prowl and live on plunder while enjoying the benefits of complicity... Yet the real danger comes from elsewhere: a magnate from Earth has targeted this isolated planet to retrieve a code he has been deprived of, and which would grant him immortality.

Press

“With The Blood of the Seven Kings, Régis Goddyn signs andambitious and well-crafted first cycle which offers a very innovative story at the crossroads of genres. He demonstrates that the French science fiction knows how to renew itself with talent.”

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