Status
Available
Call number
Series
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Collection
Publication
Tom Doherty Associates
Description
When destiny calls, there's no 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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher.*
I was impressed with the world-building in this book, which introduced a complex mythology and society. The world was rich and dynamic and not a little confusing at times. Most of the story is told in alternating views of different timelines, but
I was impressed with the world-building in this book, which introduced a complex mythology and society. The world was rich and dynamic and not a little confusing at times. Most of the story is told in alternating views of different timelines, but
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the story comes together towards the end and concludes in just the way to ensure a sequel (or more). I was impressed, but this book did read pretty slow for me and I do wish it had more of a page-turner quality to it. Still, a solid beginning to a new fantasy series. Show Less
LibraryThing member PardaMustang
What if you weren't the hero?
As a bard’s apprentice, Kihrin grew up with tales of legendary deeds. He also steals, desperate to buy a way out of Quur’s slums. Then he raids the wrong house, he’s marked by a demon and life will never be the same again.
Kihrin’s plight brings him to the
Then again, maybe Kihrin isn’t the hero, for he’s not destined to save the empire. He’s destined to destroy it.”
Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons was one wild ride! This first book in the series follows a Frankenstenian nested story format. Almost the entire story is a flashback, told by two people who recorded the telling. What we hold is mostly the transcription of that recording, presented by Thurvishar D'Lorus, who adds footnotes as he feels are necessary. We also get a third, present day, timeline, which is rejoined by the end of book, closing the nested format. Kihrin tells his story starting from when he was enslaved and sold in auction. Talon, his jailer, thinks Kihrin's story should begin further back, when he first ended up at House D'Mon. The shifting back and forth in time was a bit confusing at first. Each section is clearly labelled, and the narrators speak in different voices. Kihrin's parts are first person, and Talon speaks in third person. This was very helpful for keeping the timelines straight, and it gives two different views of Kihrin and his personality. Seeing these different perspectives was pretty neat. It was the time-jumping that was the confusing part.
This is a complex story, with brilliant world-building. It’s full of intrigue, action and introspection that spans millennia and involves gods, demons, and dragons! When I say intrigue, I mean a lot of intrigue. Honestly, it might even put GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire to shame. There are layers upon layers, which sometimes got confusing trying to keep things straight. I kinda feel like this entire book was prologue for the rest of the series and that's when the meat of the story will come out. I'm hoping future books keep a more linear timeline, while keeping the multiple perspectives. I'd really like a book that focuses more on Terindel and Teraeth. I liked Kihrin well enough, but these two were just fascinating. And the dragons!! We mostly interact with Sharanakal, nicknamed the Old Man. These dragons are massive. They are primal forces of nature, yet their origins are rather humble. From what I gathered, there are eight dragons, just as there are eight Immortals, deities tied to cosmic constants like luck, or death. I wanna see the other dragons!
Just don't get too attached to characters. Like the aforementioned A Song of Ice and Fire, characters are not guaranteed to stick around. The story reminded me more of Michael J Sullivan's Age of Myth series, though Quur itself, especially the Court of Gems, reminded me so much of the drow city Menzoberranzan, from RA Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt series, set in the world of Forgotten Realms.
I will certainly continue this series, it's wonderful in its own right, but I feel it didn't quite live up to the hype heaped upon it. I think the author certainly has the potential to reach the caliber of Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Patrick Rothfuss, and the other current heavy-hitters of fantasy, but Ruin of Kings itself isn't quite up there. Recommended if you enjoy fantasy, epic world-building, rich myth, and lots of intrigue. Oh yes, and DRAGONS!
Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor/ Forge and the author for providing a hardcopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the JBN Book Review.
As a bard’s apprentice, Kihrin grew up with tales of legendary deeds. He also steals, desperate to buy a way out of Quur’s slums. Then he raids the wrong house, he’s marked by a demon and life will never be the same again.
Kihrin’s plight brings him to the
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attention of royalty, who claim him as the lost son of their immoral prince. But far from living the dream, Kihrin’s at the mercy of his new family’s ruthless ambitions. However, escaping his jewelled cage just makes matters worse. Kihrin is horrified to learn he’s at the centre of an ancient prophecy. And every side – from gods and demons to dragons and mages – want him as their pawn. Those old stories lied about many things too, especially the myth that the hero always wins.Then again, maybe Kihrin isn’t the hero, for he’s not destined to save the empire. He’s destined to destroy it.”
Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons was one wild ride! This first book in the series follows a Frankenstenian nested story format. Almost the entire story is a flashback, told by two people who recorded the telling. What we hold is mostly the transcription of that recording, presented by Thurvishar D'Lorus, who adds footnotes as he feels are necessary. We also get a third, present day, timeline, which is rejoined by the end of book, closing the nested format. Kihrin tells his story starting from when he was enslaved and sold in auction. Talon, his jailer, thinks Kihrin's story should begin further back, when he first ended up at House D'Mon. The shifting back and forth in time was a bit confusing at first. Each section is clearly labelled, and the narrators speak in different voices. Kihrin's parts are first person, and Talon speaks in third person. This was very helpful for keeping the timelines straight, and it gives two different views of Kihrin and his personality. Seeing these different perspectives was pretty neat. It was the time-jumping that was the confusing part.
This is a complex story, with brilliant world-building. It’s full of intrigue, action and introspection that spans millennia and involves gods, demons, and dragons! When I say intrigue, I mean a lot of intrigue. Honestly, it might even put GRR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire to shame. There are layers upon layers, which sometimes got confusing trying to keep things straight. I kinda feel like this entire book was prologue for the rest of the series and that's when the meat of the story will come out. I'm hoping future books keep a more linear timeline, while keeping the multiple perspectives. I'd really like a book that focuses more on Terindel and Teraeth. I liked Kihrin well enough, but these two were just fascinating. And the dragons!! We mostly interact with Sharanakal, nicknamed the Old Man. These dragons are massive. They are primal forces of nature, yet their origins are rather humble. From what I gathered, there are eight dragons, just as there are eight Immortals, deities tied to cosmic constants like luck, or death. I wanna see the other dragons!
Just don't get too attached to characters. Like the aforementioned A Song of Ice and Fire, characters are not guaranteed to stick around. The story reminded me more of Michael J Sullivan's Age of Myth series, though Quur itself, especially the Court of Gems, reminded me so much of the drow city Menzoberranzan, from RA Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt series, set in the world of Forgotten Realms.
I will certainly continue this series, it's wonderful in its own right, but I feel it didn't quite live up to the hype heaped upon it. I think the author certainly has the potential to reach the caliber of Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Patrick Rothfuss, and the other current heavy-hitters of fantasy, but Ruin of Kings itself isn't quite up there. Recommended if you enjoy fantasy, epic world-building, rich myth, and lots of intrigue. Oh yes, and DRAGONS!
Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor/ Forge and the author for providing a hardcopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the JBN Book Review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tottman
Kihrin was raised in the slums of Quur. As Kihrin, he is the golden-voiced son of a minstrel. But Kihrin is also the self-named Rook, a highly skilled thief capable of stealing just about anything. Upon a seemingly chance encounter with a powerful demon in the middle of the street, Kihrin discovers
Jenn Lyon’s The Ruin of Kings is a powerful opening novel of a new epic fantasy series. The story is mostly told in two parts from Kihrin’s prison cell. Both trace the path of how he wound up in his present circumstances from alternating points of views, Kihrin’s and his jailer, Talon. Lyons skillfully keeps both narratives moving along while defining a rich, diverse and truly epic world. A world filled with gods, demons, sorcerers and everything in between. The characters are more than simply good and evil. There are complex motivations on both sides. Lyons slowly spills out information on their actions that keep you continually evaluating which side of the ledger the many well-developed characters belong on. Questions of morality and balancing the greater good abound. The novel depends as much on the compelling mystery as it does the action to propel the story along.
There are similarities to Patrick Rothfus’s Kingkiller Chronicles in terms of narrative structure, but the story is very much it's own. Lyon’s has constructed a book that is a complete chapter but in a world that feels like it has a lot of story left in it.
The audiobook is narrated by Vikas Adam, Soneela Nankani and Feodor Chin. Together they do a fantastic job at elevating the story. Given the many mysteries that the characters in the story conceal, it is a delicate job of conveying their personalities while also maintaining the uncertainty of whether the characters can truly be trusted. The story involves intricate, intersecting plots, alternating narratives and a large cast of characters. Adam, Nankani and Chin never leave you confused as to what is going on or who is speaking. At least not any more uncertain than the author intends you to be.
This is an outstanding debut and a welcome beginning to an epic new fantasy series. The audio version complements the storytelling and even at more than 25 hours, never lags. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher.
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several truths about himself. He finds that he is a long-lost prince, that the necklace he wears around his neck is far more than a trinket left from his dead mother, and that he has a destiny more fantastic and more devasting than he could ever have imagined.Jenn Lyon’s The Ruin of Kings is a powerful opening novel of a new epic fantasy series. The story is mostly told in two parts from Kihrin’s prison cell. Both trace the path of how he wound up in his present circumstances from alternating points of views, Kihrin’s and his jailer, Talon. Lyons skillfully keeps both narratives moving along while defining a rich, diverse and truly epic world. A world filled with gods, demons, sorcerers and everything in between. The characters are more than simply good and evil. There are complex motivations on both sides. Lyons slowly spills out information on their actions that keep you continually evaluating which side of the ledger the many well-developed characters belong on. Questions of morality and balancing the greater good abound. The novel depends as much on the compelling mystery as it does the action to propel the story along.
There are similarities to Patrick Rothfus’s Kingkiller Chronicles in terms of narrative structure, but the story is very much it's own. Lyon’s has constructed a book that is a complete chapter but in a world that feels like it has a lot of story left in it.
The audiobook is narrated by Vikas Adam, Soneela Nankani and Feodor Chin. Together they do a fantastic job at elevating the story. Given the many mysteries that the characters in the story conceal, it is a delicate job of conveying their personalities while also maintaining the uncertainty of whether the characters can truly be trusted. The story involves intricate, intersecting plots, alternating narratives and a large cast of characters. Adam, Nankani and Chin never leave you confused as to what is going on or who is speaking. At least not any more uncertain than the author intends you to be.
This is an outstanding debut and a welcome beginning to an epic new fantasy series. The audio version complements the storytelling and even at more than 25 hours, never lags. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher.
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LibraryThing member booklove1
This was a fun book until it turned into an annoying muddle. Jenn Lyons is a good writer and I may try more of her two or three books further along in her career, when she may have figured out that too many plot threads and random changes don’t add up to a satisfying read.
LibraryThing member bm2ng
First of all, I wish this had been the whole story not just an excerpt and I almost didn't read it because it wasn't the complete work. I liked the story and it was very well written. I found the footnotes to be very distracting. It was annoying to have to go back and forth between the story and
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the footnotes, if I waited until after I read the chapter then the footnotes didn't make sense and I had to go back to the story. That was very annoying. If it's important enough to footnote, include it in the story. I also didn't care for the alternating POV's. I wish the author had just written the story without doing that because it interrupted the flow of the story. I would have read the rest of the story if this had been complete but I will not remember this story when the complete one is released so I will probably not read the second half. I liked the story but I guess I don't really care how it ends. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
YA-ish fantasy with a lot of slavery, including soul-slavery that makes defying any orders painful and even deadly if continued. I understand that a technique like having your snarky teen character say “my bad” and similar modern formulations is one way of indicating that they’re doing
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whatever slang is in their completely different fantasy world (this one has multiple gods that occasionally bring people back from the dead if they like them enough, and also the sun is going out because of god shenanigans), but it is a very difficult thing to pull off successfully and I didn’t think it was successful here. Also one of the narrators is a psychotic shapeshifter who eats her victims and gets their memories to substitute for third person omniscient, and she is a caricature who calls everyone, including the other narrator/person she’s torturing, dearie and darling, and that put me off too. Also also, the narrative starts with two different timelines; eventually it becomes clear that both star the same person, albeit under different names, but it’s never clear why they’re split (other than to give the psychotic shapeshifter something to narrate in tandem with the other one) and they then rejoin about 2/3 of the way through, so that was also unbalanced. Show Less
LibraryThing member nosborm
I couldn't put it down. Came to me at the right time. Confusing at points but I'm excited for the presumed sequel.
LibraryThing member sedodge
I picked this book up on a whim and am now anxious to finish the series! It was a bit outside of my normal reading material just because of the lack of romance and overt drama, so it didn't hold my undivided attention like some other books do and it take a bit longer than usual to get through. But
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every time I picked up the book I was blown away by how well written and how creative the plot was. Everything you could ask for was present, from a witty and sarcastic main character, to an dragons and necromancy. I loved they way that the story was told, as a recounting of events with footnotes and I especially appreciated that things weren't over explained. Sometimes in complex fantasy stories the narrative is overexplained to ensure that all readers understand each and every piece, but some things were left for the reader to infer in ruin of kings which I appreciated. Overall it was a very good book, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series! Show Less
LibraryThing member decaturmamaof2
Really involved, satisfying story! The one thing I'd change if I could is she the names that look/sound the same. Makes it really hard to keep up with who is who. (Kind of like the Russian novels)
Awards
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Fantasy — 2020)
IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (Finalist — 2020)
NPR: Books We Love (2019)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Science Fiction and Fantasy — 2019)
Original publication date
2019
Local notes
A Chorus of Dragons, 1
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Lyons |