Book review: The Ruin of Kings

[nwhiker]

The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons Book 1) by Jenn Lyons.

I really really liked this book, and I think it's a great start to a series.

I listened to the audiobook, and bought the ebook right away so I could re-read parts.

The cons.

• The main protagonists is a bit of a whining teen at times. Yes, he IS a teen, but it still grated. His character was not quite consistent, which was also problematic, and his core identity shifted so many times over the course of the book, it got silly.


• The backstory is quite complex and got confusing, this is one of the reasons I bought the ebook.


• The magical system does not feel well developed.


• I like my books to have permadeath. The stakes are higher.


• The series title is A Chorus of Dragons. The dragons in this one just felt like annoying big monsters, not central to the plot.


• One character did something totally 100% out of character, with no forshadowing, and this made me call the main protagonist's whole viewpoint into question. I hope there is more explanation on that later.


• I really want more female characters who have full agency, rather than being part of the main protagonist's plot.

The neutral.

• The pinchpoint of the story coming together via two narratives/POVs. I liked it, though at times it had the result of making the action feel discontinuous.


• Footnotes. I'm always of a mixed mind about footnotes. These added to the story, no doubt, but I detest them when reading an ebook. Usually they're even more awful in an audiobook, but the footnote "narrator" had the perfect voice to add them and not have it be confusing or annoying.


• The cursing/swearing. I don't mind cursing and swearing, or potty-mouthed heroes, but I'll fully fess up to the fact that I find modern day cuss words jarring in high/epic fantasy.

The pros.

• Fast paced engaging story, set in an interesting world.


• Complex as well. This is a plus, I've read too many simplistic tales. This one also left enough plots points unresolved to tie into the next book.


• The humour. A lot of epic fantasy is epic, but not funny. There were plenty of great lines here. The footnote dude/narrator also had some great lines and his voice in the audiobook made them even better.


• Book 2 will be out in October, and they're shooting for a nine month release cycle. That would be phenomenal.... though the author may need to sleep for a year or so after. She also says on her blog that she's finishing up book 3. This gives me hope since, like many, I'm getting desperately afraid that Pat Rothfuss is never going to finish _The Kingkiller Chronicles_.

Read it. Seriously.