Ebook The Ruin of Kings A Chorus of Dragons Jenn Lyons 9781250175489 Books

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Product details Series A Chorus of Dragons (Book 1) Hardcover 560 pages Publisher Tor Books; 1st Edition edition (February 5, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1250175488

The Ruin of Kings A Chorus of Dragons Jenn Lyons 9781250175489 Books Reviews

• Like some of you, I'm checking out new/recent books while I WFR (Wait For Rothfuss). I know that Rothfuss and Sanderson are high bars in the genre, but this evokes neither writer, not even a little, and I really don't understand the glowing reviews that suggest this book is in that league.
  
  It DOES evoke the TV series "Lost", which I was unfortunate enough to be exposed to for awhile. It feels like the depthless characters are constantly retconned; the protagonist is THIS person's son, then THAT person's son, then neither of THOSE people are who they are, look, there's an alien race for one paragraph, then we teleport someplace, now the enemies are allies, and now the trusted friend goes on a murder spree, but it was a mimic, not the friend who is apparently now dead, except they're not dead THIS time, etc. It's *exhausting*. The lineage/actual identity of the majority of main/regular characters is updated so frequently that the whole thing reads like the family tree at the beginning of "Idiocracy".
  
  The world is underdeveloped and the dialogue stilted and rote. The protagonist is a slave/hero/waif/lost scion/fool/moral pillar/demigod/lusty lad/mixed-breed/prince/you-name-it. No fantasy archetype/mythos was forgotten in making this dude.
  
  Lastly, the MANY footnotes, most of which contribute absolutely nothing to the narrative, have to be explicitly navigated to, a experience requiring hand repositioning, precision selection, and a load of patience.
  
  I only finished this because there are no refunds, and I'm still WFR.
• This book is absolutely engrossing. The author has created a vast world with a lot going on and a complicated history. I love her decision to drop us there with very little explanation. We our following Kihrin and trying to keep up with what is going on with him while trying to keep up with names and facts thrown at us. It’s a wild ride but very much worth beginning.
  
  For the most part this book concerns two timelines that are told in alternating chapters. Both are focused on Kihrin but at different points. The story begins with Kihrin imprisoned with a demonic jailer. We have no idea how or why he is there and we will not find out for some time. His origin story is then split up into two parts. First he is telling us about being sold as a slave in a storyline that will eventually bring us up to the present where he is imprisoned. That story alternates with him as boy of sixteen and will bring us up to him becoming a slave.
  
  Kihrin is a great protagonist. We know right away that he is flawed but with a good sense of humor and heart. He was born in less than desirable circumstances and found himself taken in by a female brothel owner and his adopted father is a blind musician who plays in the brothel. Kihrin is a thief in a dangerous world. Very quickly his circumstances will change and his life will move forward at a dizzying pace.
  
  This is an epic world with vast areas and politics. The author chose an interesting path by not really explaining much of this world. We are dropped into it and it’s made very clear how much is going on that as a reader we cannot possibly understand. It’s done very matter of factly. The story moves rapidly without pausing to orient us. There are gods, goddesses, magic creatures, demons, dragons and so on that we see as we move through this world. This works surprisingly well as you follow Kihrin through his misadventures.
  
  This is a hard story to explain without making it clear how fun it is to read. I hate flashbacks and I am not a big fan of this book choosing to tell its story in alternating timelines with every other chapter but it works. His origin is alluded to but never made clear until much later on in the book. Kihrin has blue eyes which has a significant meaning and could mean he is related to a powerful family. It sounds quite convoluted but it is told quite well. Part of this story is being told by another person as footnotes which are informative and funny.
  
  I would have preferred a straight forward timeline but the author does a great job in holding the reader’s attention. I did find myself so engrossed in one timeline that it was jarring to go back to the other one and remember where I was but as I started reading it became quite clear. Again as a review I think that would sound very muddled but it’s worth it. I was shocked to find out when I went to write this review that this is the author’s debut novel. She has such a great way with her story that I was fully engrossed in it. I was also surprised to find out she was a woman given how fully male Kihrin is. I thought this had to have been a male writer. Her world building is fascinating and I want to learn more. Our secondary characters are also fully realized with great personalities that I want read more about. You will not want to miss this one. It’s a great novel and a great start of a series. I really enjoyed the ending and cannot wait to read the next book.
• I was lucky enough to be able to read a beta copy of the book, and I absolutely loved it. Early reviews are comparing it to everything from Game of Thrones to The Name of the Wind and Lies of Locke Lamora - and I see elements of all of those in there.
  
  Essentially, it has a Locke-esque rogue protagonist, but he's telling his own story (Kvothe style), in a setting with a lot of Game of Thrones style political intrigue. Overall, I'd actually say the feel of the story is probably closest to Locke Lamora, with some amazing atmosphere, characters, and world building.
  
  If you're in the mood for a darker epic with tons of interesting characters and intrigue, I strongly recommend this book.
• A really hyped book, the first few chapters were engaging but then honestly it felt like there was one or two things almost every chapter that seemed too happenstance, too lucky, too easy for the characters that it made the plot hard to follow. “Don’t like that character, they’re actually good. Think they’re dead? They’re actually in someone else’s body.” Confusing, muddled and even at the end I wasn’t sure what the story was even fully about. I don’t usually write reviews but felt like Tor really hyped this one and I was fairly disappointed. Maybe it’s to other people’s tastes and I know writing is REALLY hard, so I hope the author keeps working on her craft and delivers something worthy of preordering )
• This is a good book. It's a solid book. It's also a confusing book. The interleaved timelines and litany of family names get more confusing the further along you get. That being said, it's a promising series start, and with the timelines finally consolidating at the end there is hope that Book #2 will banish this practice and stick with normal character-based perspective chapters. The world itself is nicely built and the characters are reasonably interesting. I would recommend this book... not as strongly as a Rothfuss, Sanderson, or Butcher novel, but certainly as a series that is worth keeping an eye on.