Last Updated on June 10, 2025
Michael Michel’s The Price of Power is a thick, multi-POV tome for fans of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. With an emphasis on character building, The Price of Power is an intricate, slow-burning, morally grey book one.
“A trail of dark footprints followed them. Imprints of the past. Little graves waiting to be filled.”
It’s impossible to talk about this book without praising its character work. Every single person we’re introduced to feels real, fresh, and deeply human. The side characters, whether they’re there for a single page or a hundred, feel razor sharp, but The Price of Power’s true money-maker is its four main POVs.
You have Barodane Ironlight, a guilt-ridden, drug-dealing prince living in self-imposed exile; Ishoa Ironlight, a young princess going through trials and politics while trying to decide between love and duty; Thephos, a man on a suicidial mission that will either end in death or power; and Locastrii, a grandmother who is creating the world’s savior.
I don’t think there’s much disagreement that The Price of Power’s standout character is Barodane Ironlight. Michel’s writing of the character jumps off the page and drags you into a dingy drug den with him. The regret, self-hate, and self-imposed futility of his character is both heart-breaking and jaw-dropping. While the other POVs have some great moments and some banger lines, Barodane chapters are an absolute treat and leave you craving more of him.
While each POV in The Price of Power is unique, interesting, and the voices are fresh, they do frequently feel disjointed. You can see the themes and world-building that tie Barodane and Ishoa together, but the others often feel like they’re in their own world. Ultimately, this wasn’t an issue for me as the writing was strong enough to make me buy into each character, but less patient readers may pause and wonder “why are we with this character?”
“He looked at his hands. Weak. Capable of burying brothers but too weak to kill fathers.”
While The Price of Power’s main strength is its character work, the prose and the action both deserve special shout outs. Michel has a talent with prose that reminds me of Richard K. Morgan and Mark Lawrence. It’s pretty, but never overly so, and it’s always fresh and engaging. This is a thick, slow-burning book, and Michel’s prose keeps you moving.
The action may be rare in this tale, but it’s viciously and viscerally portrayed. It’s bone-crunching, it’s blood-letting. You can feel the impact of maces and axes, you can feel the slicing of swords. All around elite stuff.
At the end of the day, I adore this book. It’s a thick slow-burn, so buyer beware, but if you want a thoroughly crafted tome with an emphasis on character work ala Joe Abercrombie from one of indie fantasy’s most exciting voices, pick up The Price of Power.
Read The Price of Power by Michael Michel
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