So, what happens when a barely-thirteen-year-old boy becomes king after a brutal tournament and finds himself leading a kingdom he didn’t even want to rule? That’s exactly what unfolds in The Path of the King by I.M. Solomon. It’s the second book in the Fate of the King series and easily the boldest so far. Westley Jameson—just West to his friends—literally gets thrown into a throne and ends up with the crown. What follows is not your classic “chosen one” tale. It’s raw, fast, and a bit messy (in a good way).
This book doesn’t ease you in. The story picks up right where King of the Round Table Tournament left off. West is now king, the kingdom is in pieces, and he’s got a long list of things to fix—including corrupt nobility, broken laws, magic bans, and public distrust. But what makes this story hit differently is how grounded it stays. Yes, there’s Divinity and dragons. But at the heart of it? A boy trying to do the right thing while everyone expects him to fail.
“We lose people every day. That’s the cruelty of Life and whatnot,” The king takes another drink and wipes his mouth on his sleeve.
“Your knights knew the risks when they joined your ranks. Well, August’s ranks. I doubt they expected that they’d be taking orders from a child.”
— The Path of the King, Chapter Nine “Hearts meet under the Moonlight”, pp. 124-125
When Power Finds the Unready
The Path of the King digs deep into what happens after the crown lands on the wrong head—or maybe, the right one nobody expected. West didn’t fight to become king; he just didn’t die trying to survive the King of the Round Table Tournament. And now he’s got enemies, knights, nobles, and an entire kingdom watching his every move. What’s wild is that he’s still just a kid, figuring it all out as he goes.
The story is a tight mix of fantasy, political drama, and coming-of-age grit. There are no easy wins here. West makes decisions that are controversial and bold—like abolishing the death penalty and reinstating magic in a city that was practically allergic to it. What’s even crazier? He’s doing all of this while dealing with traitors, assassination plots, emotional trauma, and the ghost of a fallen knight who should’ve been king instead.
One standout section is his ceremony, where instead of getting cheered, he’s booed, heckled, and doubted by the public. He still steps up and delivers an unexpected speech—not to impress, but to tell the truth. That’s West in a nutshell: brutally honest, emotionally raw, and probably the only king who’d rather take a nap than give a public address. You can feel the weight of leadership crushing him, but he refuses to let it break him.
The book’s power lies in how it blends world-building with real emotional tension. Whether it’s a hallway full of scheming knights or a single kid hugging West and thanking him for trying to fix the kingdom, each moment builds the idea that ruling isn’t about being fearless—it’s about showing up when it’s hard.
Author of Grit and Growth
There’s no official bio listed for I.M. Solomon in the book, and we’re not going to pretend there is. What’s clear from The Path of the King is that Solomon knows how to write character growth and chaos like he’s lived through both. This isn’t his first time crafting emotional arcs through action-packed storytelling. His world feels lived in, his characters don’t feel recycled, and his dialogue snaps with real personality.
His work shows a clear love for classic fantasy tropes flipped on their heads—kids wielding power, corrupted systems, and moral complexity. If you like stories where the protagonist is figuring things out in real time, Solomon delivers that, all wrapped in a world where Divinity is as dangerous as it is divine.
The Path of the King is a must-read for fans of fantasy that actually respects the stakes. The book invites you to rethink what makes someone worthy to lead—and what kind of strength really matters when the crown gets heavy.
The Path of the King
I.M. Solomon
Grab your copy today—because power doesn’t wait, and neither should you.