The Henchmen of Zenda

Many years ago, I read and re-read Anthony Hope's "The Prisoner of Zenda" as a child. To me, it was this wonderful novel, with a swashbuckling British hero, a weak king, and a dastardly villain, unimaginately nicknamed the Black Prince, both for his secrets and the color of his hair. The only thing that disappointed was the manner of the Prisoner of Zenda's ending, which to my eight-year-old mind was ... seriously lame. A few years later, I discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs' "The Mad King," which is a retelling of the same story with a more jovial, less stuffy American hero and an ending that was ... well, if not better, a bit less lame. Still, it was a good read, and, in my opinion, better than the original. My copy's pages are well worn from use. And now, several decades later, I've found KJ Charles's "The Henchmen of Zenda." This book is the perfect storm for me, with the point of view of a complicated villain (one of the henchmen of the title) who is unapologetic about his morals - murder, theft, and romantic infidelity are regular activities - but holds certain things sacroscant - you always come to a friend's rescue, without question or hesitation. The book turns on its end the original, and truly, is so much better. The ending is satsfying and PERFECT. Word of warning, though, "The Henchmen of Zenda" contains an M/M romantic pairing and explicit sexual content that would not in any way have been appropriate for my younger self to read at eight or 12 years of age. Bless you, Kj Charles, you brought me back to my first favorite book, and did it better. I am now re-reading the other two books again - purely because of this book.