Title: The Kingdom in the Middle (Stories of Live in Crisis)
Author: Nadi Abdi
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Historical
Length: 20 pages
Source: I received a free copy from the author.
Rating: 3 Stars
Blurb:
The wish that killed five kingdoms. From wishes gone wrong to dreams turned to nightmares, these short stories reflect the desperation that comes with being a human in almost inhumane situations. A drained and exploited kingdom wishing to be free. A loved one who no longer loves you but won’t admit it. A child looking for one moment’s peace in a cruel and chaotic home. A spouse and an immigrant who only wish that promises be kept. They find reprieve in the unlikeliest of places, including in the arms of death itself.
Content Warning: Death. I will not discuss it in my review.
Review:
Be careful what you wish.
Fans of W.W. Jacob’s The Monkey’s Paw might have already guessed what this tale is about as the two share certain similarities. Knowing the plot twists wasn’t as important as following the king as he attempted to make the lives of his subjects easier. It was a noble goal that I wholeheartedly supported and hoped he’d accomplish.
The ending was a bit of a letdown given how abrupt it was. I was okay with the fact that it wasn’t as happy as I hoped it would be, but I also wished the author had spent more time explaining why the king had developed his special power that kicked the storyline into motion and what would happen to his kingdom after the final scene. There was so much more that could have been done with this premise, and I would have happily gone with a higher rating if it had been given additional time to develop and explain why this world worked the way that it did.
I liked the way this story nudged readers to consider every possible outcome of the decisions we make in life, from the ordinary to the unlikely. These scenes when this truly felt like a fairy tale because of how indirectly it made its point and how much it trusted the reader to connect what I thought were fairly obvious causes and effects. Yes, I know that might sound like a little of a contradiction, but it makes sense within the context of something that wants readers to think a little but also doesn’t make it too difficult to understand what’s going on.
The Kingdom in the Middle was thought provoking.