47 pages • 1 hour read
The Runaway King
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Background
Series Context: Jennifer A. Nielsen’s Ascendance Series
Utah-born author Jennifer A. Nielsen was born in 1971 and is primarily known for her middle grade and young adult fantasy novels. Her Ascendance series, previously known as the Ascendance trilogy, is her most well-known work. The first book in the series, The False Prince, was published in 2012 and received the Whitney Award for Best Middle Grade Novel. The second book, The Runaway King, also won the same award in 2013. The Shadow Throne, the last book of the original trilogy, was published in 2014. Following the success of the first installments, two other books were later added to the series, The Captive Kingdom (2020) and The Shattered Castle (2021).
The narrative of The Runaway King picks up one month after the events of The False Prince. In the opening book of the series, Jaron, the narrator and protagonist of the Ascendance series, is only referred to as Sage. Sage is introduced as a 14-year-old orphan recruited along with several other boys by a nobleman named Bevin Conner. The latter wants to train the boys in order to replace Carthya’s younger prince (Prince Jaron) with one of them. Indeed, Prince Jaron has been assumed dead after his ship was attacked by pirates.
However, unbeknownst to anyone, the young prince escaped the pirates. His father, King Eckbert, decided to keep him in hiding to protect him and avoid an outright war with the pirates. Conner, in league with the latter, then assassinates the king, along with the queen and crown prince Darius. The murder of the royal family leaves Carthya in turmoil and on the brink of a war. However, Conner’s plan to replace the lost prince with one of his trainees backfires when it is revealed that Sage is in fact the true heir to the Carthyan crown, Jaron Eckbert. Aided by his friends Mott, Tobias, and Imogen, Jaron takes back his throne. He defeats Roden, one of the other orphans trained to assume the prince’s role, and locks Conner up before finally being crowned King of Carthya.
Literary Context: The Hero’s Journey
First formally theorized by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), the Hero’s Journey is a common narrative structure that connects folktales and myths from around the world. In contemporary narratives, it is often used in fantasy and children’s/young adult literature because of its emphasis on character growth through adventure and adversity. Nielsen’s The Runaway King, which follows the tradition of coming-of-age tales, depicts a typical Hero’s Journey.
The structure of the Hero’s Journey is characterized by its focus on a typically naïve or inexperienced protagonist. In The Runaway King, Jaron is a young, newly crowned king who struggles to find his place in the world. The hero then embarks on a journey that leads them to face a series of obstacles before returning home changed for the better. Significantly, the hero’s physical journey is often used to symbolize their emotional development, such as Jaron’s solitary confrontation with the pirates leading to his renewed desire to rely on his friends.
Additionally, the climax of the Hero’s Journey is typically framed as a symbolic transformation or rebirth. In The Runaway King, Jaron is at his lowest point physically, spiritually, and emotionally during his duel with Roden: He is weak, wounded, and humiliated. That final duel, however, marks a turn in his character development, as he demonstrates growth in his most significant moral qualities (cunning, trust, and forgiveness). At the end of the book, Jaron returns home and his inner transformation is symbolized by his people’s gratefulness and love, cementing his position as the triumphant Hero.
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By Jennifer A. Nielsen
