The Red King (novel)

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The Red King is a book by the author Victor Kelleher, set in medieval times about a king who rules his kingdom with an iron fist.

[edit] Plot

The main character of this book, TimKin a girl in part of a circus troupe first encounters the wrath of the red king when her troupe travel to a town to perform who isn't allied with the red king

The red king sends his men to deliver the red disease, fatal and apparently incurable to the whole town. TimKin and her kind master manage to escape the area but her master dies shortly after, and not long after she passes out nearly dead

Not long after she awakens to find a collar around her neck, the collar was originally on her when she along with others in the circus troupe under the master were slaves yet treated kindly, just before his death her master had freed her, yet now she has it back on

Not long after she is realizes the one who put on it is a trickster and thief named Pete who along with his monkey Crystal & bear Bruno are after the treasures of the red king said to lie deep within his fortress

TimKin learns that there is one cure to the red disease, a fruit grown on a special tree, not just any tree, but a tree where once a healing pond that could cure any disease, the red king decided to remove it by planting a tree over it.

TimKin soon learns about a fire that is in the red king's fortress, a fire that so hot it can cause someone to live through death due to hardening them but with the sacrifice of their strength and old self.

Such a creature guards this tree. As Pete and the others get to the red king's fortress, they must fool the red king's men, who on the day they arrive, are choosing people to perform in front of the red king, luckily passing.

After a harrowing adventure where nearly being eaten, killed, drowned and poisoned they manage to defeat the red king by forcing him into the fire so many times there is nothing left of him.

While due to Pete's actions at first TimKin at the moment the collar is removed wants nothing to do with him due to his selfishness and risking their lives for gold.

In the end they team up and continue on adventures.

The Red King was shortlisted for the 1990 Australian Children's Book of the Year Award and was at one point runner up in the 1990 South Australian Festival Awards for Literature.