The Sun at Twilight by N.L. Holmes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the next installment of the Empire At Twilight series and it focuses on Tashmi-sharrumma, his father has died and he has now been chosen to be the next Great King Tudhaliya IV and as he grieves, he is also wondering how he will be able to take on the mantle of king and worrying that he might not be enough of anything to do it, especially with the family’s questionable allegiances and loyalties he is surrounded with. He does find comfort in his cousin Kurunta, he has since they were boys, but now he has been crowned, he doesn’t quite know how to deal with it, he has never been someone eloquent, however, he also has trouble expressing his feelings as well, as well as his wife, to a point at least. As the funeral rights and commemorative feasting comes to an end, it is time for the oath making part of the ceremony and even though he is exhausted, he agrees and as the vassals approach him to give him their solemn oaths, he is silently hoping that they are genuine with their vows and when he goes to his chambers, he is greeted with the news that his wife is expecting and is due in midsummer, he now hopes that this is a good omen for his reign.

The next day, Tudhaliya tries to escape for a few minutes onto the roof of his palace and away from everyone, but his solitude is broken when Kurunta joins him and the reminisce about their childhood and he can forget for a small time the weight which is hanging on his shoulders now and then his reign really begins when Tudhaliya meets with his generals and his mother the Tawananna to speak about the affairs of the kingdom, that there is more news coming, but this time it is all bad, the Assyrians are hounding his borders and there is a chance that the lands between them and his are vassals who may decide to turn on him if the leverage is right, there is a debate as to what to do, where the choices are hard, wither to direct them one way and give them something else to focus on but break a treaty, or to ask them to cease and desist and if they refuse, to send troops in to send them back to their own country, the king makes a decision which disagrees with the Tawananna and most of the other councillors. Next he finds out that some individuals who were exiled, have been seen and that they may be trying to shore up allegiances to usurp the throne, the decision is made to wait and see what happens, but to keep their ears open. The final thing is that the crops are having another poor year and that they may have to buy in grains if the poor weather conditions continue, after the meeting is finished and other matters of state are resolved, Tudhaliya is notified of a request for help from a vassal king and he agrees to help, but when he gets there, the battle is lost and the person he came to aid runs away instead of fighting back as expected.

As the months pass and the affairs of the kingdom are becoming steadily worse, Tudhaliya does everything he can think of to appease the gods and find out why everything is happening, but he is finding it hard to trust those surrounding him and this is putting a strain on his relationships, including the ones which he thought were the strongest. Will Tudhaliya be able to face his challenges and win the battles and hardships to come, or will the cost be too high and leave his son with a broken kingdom to rule when he has gone? This is a long and arduous journey for the king and you will be swept along with him as you hope from one scenario to the next.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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