Book Review: The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean

*I received a digital ARC on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Title: The King is Dead
Author: Benjamin Dean
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9780316519144

Synopsis:
Heavy is the crown James has been born to wear, especially as the first Black heir to the British throne. But with his father’s recent passing, and with a new boyfriend to hide, James is woefully unprepared for the sudden shine of public scrutiny.

When his secrets come spilling forth across tabloid pages and the man he thought he loved has suddenly disappeared, James finds himself on the precipice of ruin. As every detail of his life becomes public knowledge, his sense of safety is shattered and the people he trusts the most become the likeliest suspects.

———-

The King is Dead is a story that parallels the experiences that we’ve seen splayed out in the media as Meghan Markle joined Prince Harry as his wife. As a Black woman joining the ranks of the British Monarchy, she was and continues to be subject to heinous grief and blatant racism at the hands of the press and public. This story gets deep inside the palace as a teen Prince, the Black son to the late White monarch, and secretly gay to top it off, takes the throne in his father’s stead. James never expected to be king at such a young age. While he knew he would have a difficult time as the first Black and gay heir to the throne, he never expected to come under such intense harassment just minutes and hours into his reign. To top it all off, his secret love interest ends up missing, and James’ deepest secrets are suddenly splayed over the front page of the hottest papers in the nation.

Score one for this story for a creative, relevant, and timely premise. It’s parallels to what we’ve seen in our own world are clear and cutting. This story is also a commentary on the very tangible and ongoing struggle with racism that permeates society and the backlash that those that don’t quite fit “the mold” face when they dare to be great. They are held to impossible standards and are set up to fail. They face unbelievable and unfair scrutiny for everything and are shaped in a way that constantly places them as “other.” James sees this first hand as he is torn to shreds with unrelenting hatred and critique.

While this story was ok, it wasn’t great. It had the potential to be a really thoughtful and poignant addition to the literary landscape and while the themes themselves are incredibly engaging, the story itself was plain as day. While it’s shaped to be a mystery, there’s really no mystery. The antagonist, while not revealed until the end, is so incredibly obvious that you’re really just biding time until the narrator reveals the twist. It was a bit of a let down that the story was so transparent.

If I could’ve recommend any rewrites, I would have suggested spending more time on characterization to give a greater understanding and more context to the individual characters and their motives. There was so much hatred and darkness too in this story, which is understandable given the protagonists experience. From a story perspective, bringing some balance to the darkness, to give more hope to the young king, would have helped to build a more robust plot line. There is so much mistrust, even in the moments of tenderness and love. The shadow always lingers. Even in darkness, there is always some hope, but it really felt as though that was lacking for poor James.

I do think this story is most definitely worth a read. It’s a blunt and stark outline of the traumatic experience of bearing the brunt of the world’s cruelty. While there could have been improvements to the strength of the plot and story structure, James himself is a lovely and loveable character. And the story does leave the reader with somewhat of a sense of healing and new beginning so there is a sense of a brighter future to come.

Happy reading!