A Kirkus Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy pick for 2019!A Library Journal Best Book of 2019! An NPR Favorite Book of 2019! “Everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it.”–Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians When destiny calls, there’s no fighting back. Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a … fighting back.
Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a minstrel’s son raised on tales of long-lost princes and magnificent quests. When he is claimed against his will as the missing son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds himself at the mercy of his new family’s ruthless power plays and political ambitions.
Practically a prisoner, Kihrin discovers that being a long-lost prince is nothing like what the storybooks promised. The storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he isn’t the hero after all. For Kihrin is not destined to save the world.
He’s destined to destroy it.
Jenn Lyons begins the Chorus of Dragons series with The Ruin of Kings, an epic fantasy novel about a man who discovers his fate is tied to the future of an empire.
“It’s impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all . . . a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings to dwell in for a good long while.”–The New York Times
A Chorus of Dragons
1: The Ruin of Kings
2: The Name of All Things
3: The Memory of Souls
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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This book totally rocked my world. It’s a fantasy told with alternating POVs surrounding the hero’s life, all compiled by a secondary character in a format that has footnotes. It’s so clever! Truly outstanding characters, amazing world-building, and story I couldn’t put down. And an ending that I shouted with glee at. Literally shouted. Scared my poor dogs.
If you dig fantasy, I highly recommend this one.
Everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it.
A thriller plot of revenge and loyalty with a get-under-your-skin and keep-you-reading-all-night mystery at its heart. I loved it.
It was one hell of a ride. I gobbled it up and was hungry for more.
The Ruin of Kings is a fascinating story about a compellingly conflicted young hero in an intriguingly complex world.
This is a must read! And it’s finally out, so what are you waiting for? 🙂
Full confession: I’ve DNF’d a lot of big fat fantasy books lately, but this one had me riveted to the last page despite the elaborate family trees and occasionally confusing identity switcheroos. The world-building was just so brilliant (without lazy info-dumping, thank you!), the characters funny and real and memorable, the prose utterly perfect. Even in those moments when I felt a tad lost amid the plot twists, I didn’t care because Jen Lyons had me happily curled up in the palm of her hand. If you like coming of age tales with magic and good and evil and everything in between, you need this series!
Plenty of shapeshifting (body-swapping) witches will keep any reader on their toes. Very interesting plot development with two different narrators eventually converging on a final outcome.
I picked up this book because of it being :
A Kirkus Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy pick for 2019.
A Library Journal Best Book of 2019.
An NPR Favorite Book of 2019.
It did not disappoint. The best thing is there are already three books in the series. Enjoy!
Very difficult to follow at times. Looks like author got stuck at times & became tedious to read. Got more than 2/3’s of the way through then put the book down. With so many great books available I doubt I will get back to this book
I enjoyed this read. Consistent and good characters. Plot that kept me reading and was believable.
One of the best fantasy fictions I have read in years. Well written with plenty of plot surprises. The style of story telling is not my favorite, but worked well in this tale.
Could not get into this book. Boring!
I needed a score card to keep track of who was whom, who used to be whom, who has taken over the body of whom….you get the picture. Interesting story structured to be needlessly complex to the point of the ridiculous.
Extremely complex with different timelines, god, and tribes. Also extremely fascinating but a little hard to keep track of who is who. I just went with the flow and eventually it all came together.
This is going to be the biggest fantasy epic since Game of Thrones (let’s hope this author finishes this though). High fantasy, lots of moving parts, plenty to still be explained and/or resolved. Can’t wait for the next installment!
As readers of this blog know, I’m always on the lookout for a new fantasy to really sink my teeth into, one that would allow me to lose myself in its world while also keeping the pace moving. I remembered seeing Jenn Lyons’ The Ruin of Kings at Barnes and Noble some time ago, but it was some time before I could actually sit down and read it, and even more time after that until I’d finished it.
The novel follows Kihrin as he struggles to come to terms with a destiny that is far grander–and far more dangerous–than he’d ever imagined. It toggles between three different timelines, as well as several characters, before they all come together in the sort of climaxes that are the hallmark of much epic fantasy. The novel ends with Kirhin fleeing into exile, while a horde of demons has been unleashed upon the land.
The Ruin of Kings has all of the ingredients that I love about epic fantasy. Kihrin is a very sympathetic hero, and there are enough side characters with their own personalities to flesh out the story. There’s an extensive cosmogony, and the world that the characters inhabit is a once beautiful, deadly, and cruel. This is the sort of novel in which you can truly lose yourself, as you become invested both in the hero’s journey and in the world in which it takes place.
What’s more, it’s told in a very lively and engaging fashion that actually had me laughing out loud a couple of times. It’s not just that Kihrin is an irreverent character–though that is true–it’s also that the other characters are as well. What’s more, there are footnotes scattered throughout, all of which come from the compiler of Kihrin’s story. While these sometimes provide useful context for what’s happening in the story, just as often they’re witty or amusing asides and commentary about what is happening. They are very amusing, but they can also be a bit distracting at times (as is often the case when people choose to use footnotes in fiction).
Much as I enjoyed this book, however, I do think that sometimes it does get a bit self-indulgent with its complexity. It can sometimes get a little bewildering trying to sort through the various social structures, magic systems, and goddesses. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that so many of them have very similar-sounding names, which can get a bit bewildering at times. Just as importantly, there are some aspects of the narrative itself that can get a bit bewildering, as there are quite a few twists and turns along the way. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it is definitely something to keep in mind as you start to read.
While some reviewers have really come down hard on the choice to have the novel toggle between three different periods of time–the time of the compiler, the frame narrative, and the time of the main action of the story–I think that this is actually one of the novel’s more interesting moves. Admittedly, it does get a bit confusing at times, trying to piece together this fragmented story, and I’m not entirely sure I understand the point of telling the story in this way.
However, since ornateness is hardly unique to Lyons (Brandon Sanderson comes to mind as someone else who gets a little indulgent in this regard), I won’t hold her to account too much. It just means that, as you read, you want to either keep a running tab of the various mentions of characters (the book contains a glossary, but sometimes it’s helpful to keep your own notes), or actually outline what’s going on. Alternatively, you can follow my method, which is to just keep moving forward and assume (rightly, I think) that the numerous conundrums will be resolved in the end.
Overall, I very much enjoyed The Ruin of Kings. By the time that the novel ended, I was left hungering for more. Lucky for me, the sequel, The Name of All Things, has already been released, so I can’t wait to devour it and report back to you on my findings.
Stay tuned!
Unique format makes the timeline a little hard to follow but also openings for character development that is difficult to manage in a linear timeline.
A very engaging story, hard to put down. Not a short, one-night read (I think that’s a big plus).
I’m now happily reading the next story!
I starting reading more from this author.