Fool
DETAILS: Publisher: Ashkad Publishing Publication Date: September 14, 2026 Format: ARC Length: 421 pg. Read Date: September 1-3, 2026
What’s Fool About?
The God-King Vaerain is a generally benevolent ruler—under the broadest definitions of both of those terms, and for those who aren’t on his bad side, things in the kingdom’s capital seem okay. This is definitely the case for his “Fool and Trusted Advisor”—almost his most trusted Advisor—and friend, Kyrien Meras. Not terribly long ago, Kyrien was a prisoner of war with a very short life expectancy, but now he finds himself in a very different position. He’s successful, has no real material concerns, his wife and child enjoy comfortable living—basically, everything’s coming up Millhouse for him.
But there are forces who are not content with Vaerian’s rule. Those who see him as a tyrant and want to see him replaced with something better—there are differences, naturally, in what might be considered the better alternative. But that’s not important for now. What is important is that some of them have decided it’s time to act.
They do so by kidnapping Kyrien’s son, Pavi. They promise to treat him well and not harm him while Kyrien accomplishes a task for them—they want to know the source of the God-King’s magic. If Kyrien can use his position and wits to uncover that source, Pavi is returned. It’s just that simple.
Of course, everyone “knows” that Vaerain was given his powers by the gods Wrath and Mercy—like all his predecessors. All Kyrien has to do is disprove a core tenet of a centuries-old religion, call into question the bedrock of the government, expose his friend/benefactor, and do so without tipping off the most powerful figure in the world in just a few days.
That should be a piece of cake for a comedian/comic actor—any fool would know that.
Acali, Kyrien’s wife, is not content to sit and wait for Kyrien to do the nigh-impossible. She grew up in the lower-class areas of the capitol and thinks she still can find her way around sketchier areas—so she sets out to discover who took Pavi to get him back the more direct way.
The Religion
The first time I read through this, I didn’t pay as much attention to the religion as I should have. It seemed a little better designed than your typical Fantasy religion. This time, I paid it more attention.
It’s essentially a take on the dualism so popular in philosophy and in some religions (including heretical versions of Christianity), a combination of eutheism and dystheism. The Father God is Wrath, the Mother God is Mercy, and the followers of this religion (which don’t, incidentally, include Acali) will cry out to either, depending on the circumstance—while it does appear that many individuals tend to invoke one over the other.
Lockhaven does a fantastic job of laying out this religion in a phrase or two early on, and then seeds references throughout the rest of the text in a subtle way so that it permeates the book—it feels real; people invoking the name of one of the deities doesn’t feel tacked on, but genuine—routine.
We don’t get a lot of detail about the faith—we have no need to, it’s not that kind of book. Just enough to let us know it exists and that it means something.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this up because I beta read this months ago and wanted to see what it was like in its final form—also, honestly, because it’s a new Lockhaven novel and I’m a sucker for those.
I stuck with it because of the combination of family drama and palace intrigue—plus, I wanted to know how the King got his powers. Okay, sure, I knew already—but that’s why I stuck with the book the first time. This time it was more about seeing the pieces come together for Kyrien. That was super-satisfying.
The Fool
[this feels spoilery, even as I try to make it vague]
It’s an apt title for Kyrien*. Kyrien dedicated his life to his family—first his parents, and then his childhood friends. He sacrifices a lot for those friends, and later gains a wife and son. His relationships with his mentor and cast are familial, too. Theoretically, all he does is for his wife and son, but at some point that starts to slip (as we see in the opening pages).
How this happens, why this happens—is partially understandable. Maybe it’s completely understandable. But it is foolish. He’s gotten complacent, he’s grown comfortable, he’s started (maybe) to buy into his own hype—and his priorities shifted without his notice. And when he does catch a glimpse of that, he doesn’t seize the opportunity to correct it.
The nice thing is that foolishness can be cured. But there’s no guarantee that Kyrien will realize his need for a cure—or that he will in time.
* And maybe a couple of other characters, but let’s stick with the clear example.
So, what did I think about Fool?
There’s just so much that I want to say here. Let’s see if I can keep myself concise.
I’ve read everything that Lockhaven has published. Well, I thought I did, until he mentioned a novel published under a different variation when I interviewed him this week, so I guess I should say every Fantasy novel he’s written. We’re going to have to wait a month or two for me to polish off his works. Regardless—I’ve enjoyed all of them. But this is the best thing he’s written, and it ain’t even close.
There’s a lot going on here beyond just the story of the kidnapping and the search for Vaerain’s power source, and I’d like to blather on about them, but you’d enjoy them more when you encounter them yourself.
There’s not a tremendous amount of action—but when it shows up, Lockhaven nails it. There’s a large-scale battle, there’s some hand-to-hand combat, there’s some magic battles, and some great chase scenes.
But this book lives in the quiet moments, times of introspection and conversations between two or three people. Where people can be honest and vulnerable, or vague, misleading, and maybe manipulative. Lockhaven uses both well to show what’s going on with our characters. While the action scenes show what they’re capable of—these scenes are about why they’re capable of them.
I really like the children’s songs, incidentally. When I picked up The Name of the Wind the next day, I couldn’t help but think of them as I read the children’s songs that Kvothe recounted. In fact, while reading this both times, I drew comparisons to works by Scott Lynch, M. A. Carrick, Christopher Buehlman, M.L. Wuang, and Patrick Rothfuss. With all due respect for Lockhaven—I’m not suggesting he’s quite at the level of all of them yet, but there are elements of this novel that drew on similar themes, characteristics, and ideas. And people who appreciate what those authors were about should find plenty in Fool to appreciate, too.
This is a novel about parenthood and family, of caring for those who don’t have the same kind of power and privilege you do (which can be considered a kind of parenthood and family writ broadly). That’s tucked away in a story about palace politics, intrigue, and danger—with a side order of satire and appreciation for the comic arts.
I strongly urge you to make the choice to pick up Lockhaven’s Fool, to do otherwise would be (forgive me) foolish.
