A true one-off, The Kingdom is a gripping fantasy thriller that blends Disney-esque fairytale, android scif-fi and courtroom drama to wonderfully disorientating effect. Beneath the flash and sparkle, though, lies a subtle treatise on political and moral corruption.
Welcome to the Kingdom, a dazzling fantasy theme park where 'happily ever after' is not just a promise, but a rule . . .
It's a fairytale which ends in murder as the one of the 'Fantasists' goes renegade... Ana, a half-human, half-android princess, is tasked with entertaining visitors and making wishes come true but now she's on trial, after finding herself experiencing emotions and romantic feelings against all her programming.
Told through court testimony, interrogation records and fragmented flashbacks, The Kingdom has the futuristic appeal of Westworld and the twists and turns of a true-crime thriller.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781509899388
Number of pages: 464
Weight: 246 g
Dimensions: 196 x 130 x 22 mm
Disney on steroids... a surefire discussion starter about desire and power. - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg is a revelation. It’s uniqueness and ingenuity absolutely blew me away. I cannot recommend this clever, chilling and stunning novel enough. - Midnight Book Girl
An exciting and thought-provoking Young Adult novel. - Juno
When the book starts it has the air of a book about Disney princesses brought to life, but make sure you persevere, as this young adult narrative becomes increasingly dark. As Ana’s growing awareness and understanding is explored, so subplots make you question the reality of her thought processes. Is she truly just an automaton after all? There is a murder and there is a solution but the book actually, quite cleverly, explores so much more. I did not expect to be recommending this book when I started. I did not even think I would read it to the end, but I did. I recommend you do the same - Crime Review
I really enjoyed this book, I read it in about two days so I really recommend if you want a nice quick read that still has a good storyline. I enjoyed the format of it with the transcriptions, helped make this seem... More
#TheKingdom is a theme park in the future, and Ana the main character is a hybrid Fantasist, an android/human Princess (think Disney Princess) who’s sole function is to make the guests happy and their dreams come... More
Very good book. Explores different emotions for different characters. I liked the contrast of story (Ana's point of view) and court trial transcript, it made the story more interesting and I could not put it... More
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