Anji Kills A King (The Rising Tide #1), by Evan Leikam

Anji Kills A King is the first book in the dark epic fantasy series The Rising Tide, written by Evan Leikam, published by Titan Books. A strong debut, fast paced with a carefully crafted imaginery, that uses its world to question about goverment systems, injustice and how far you can go for a cause, while giving us a cast of memorable characters along the journey.

A raw and gritty story that starts with Anji, a orphaned laundress, taking the opportunity when it appears and assassinating the king; with the chaos, she tries to flee from Linuria, with a big bounty over her head. Even the legendary Menagerie, a group of mercenaries whose magical masks give them poweres, are behind Anji's trail; it's the Hawk who finds Anji, starting a journey to take her reward, while at the same time having her own reasons to keep Anji away from the rest of the Menagerie. Together, they will have to form an unlikely alliance while driving Anji to her own death, avoiding the rest of the Menagerie and maybe learning a few of things on the road.

Anji is a conflictive character by herself; she's impulsive, bordering the stupidity at many points, and we will see her fighting and screaming to the Hawk many times. She becomes annoying at many points, but also, when you take into account that she's being directed to her execution, it is understandable at many points; and once we learn about her background, you relatively get along of why all happened. 
The second part of our duo, the Hawk, is a older woman, part of the legendary Menagerie, but who also has her own reasons to act as she's trying; to be fair, I feel she's extremely patient with Anji. A character that slowly grows into the reader, from that cold bounty hunter, to a more human version that we start to guess alongside the road, somebody that actually cares about changing things and acts for that, with the time that still has.
The rest of the secondary cast doesn't shine as much as our two main characters, but it is interesting to know the rest of the Menagerie and discover their tortuous relationship with religion; it also serves as a distinction between what the stories tell about heroes and what the "heroes" really are.

While this is a really gritty novel (and there are plenty of dark moments sprinkled here and there), Leikam has also put much care behind crafting a world that feels complete, not only describing the power structures, but also presenting us the alternatives. The verbal confrontations between Hawk and Anji are the perfect excuse to give us that glimpse into the Tide, a rebel group, what really means the assassination of the King, and their backgrounds; it feels really organic, helping also to introduce difficult themes such as drug addiction and inequality.
As previously said, this is a fast-paced book, with plenty of action, but it is true that the first 40-50% can be a bit repetitive, especially in terms of structure; all is explained at the end, and I can say that probably the final section is the most impactful in emotional terms, but it can be rough to reach.

Anji Kills a King is a great debut novel, perfect for those that look for a gritty dark fantasy novel, which can be read as an standalone story that continues into a series; if you are an Abercrombie fan, definitely give this one a try. Leikam is a voice with potential, and honestly, I wonder how this series will continue!