Kingdom of the Cursed

Kerri Maniscalco’s Kingdom of the Cursed creates a world where deception is a fundamental tool for survival and power, exploring how truth can be an elusive concept. This theme unfolds as the protagonist, Emilia, navigates the treacherous political landscape of Hell, where every interaction is layered with potential falsehoods. Through characters who strategically omit, manipulate, and fabricate information, the novel suggests that truths are found through personal intuition and critical judgment. The theme is vital to the narrative arc of developing self-knowledge, showing that the basis of truth is self-awareness and personal honesty, allied to the search for the “true” self.

In creating a setting filled with falsehood and uncertainty, Maniscalco sets up truth as a rare and precious virtue in the novel. The inhabitants of the Seven Circles, particularly the demon princes, consistently employ deception to advance their agendas. The seven royal Houses engage in constant “royal posturing” (59), a game of strategic secrecy and misinformation that maintains a shifting balance of power. In making “posturing” the height of Hell’s duplicity, the novel suggests that expression of the true self is its opposite, the most powerful form of truth.