The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons Pages: 560
Published by Tor Books on February 5, 2019
Series: A Chorus of Dragons #1
Genres: adult, Fantasy & Magic
Source: Finished Hardcover from Publisher
Also in this series: The House of AlwaysThere are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens.
Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn't what the storybooks promised.
Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family's power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin isn’t destined to save the empire.
He’s destined to destroy it . . .
Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss, debut author Jenn Lyons delivers an entirely new and captivating fantasy epic. Prepare to meet the genre’s next star.
The Ruin of Kings is the first book in the Chorus of Dragons series by author Jenn Lyons. The Chorus of Dragons series is a high fantasy series, and I have to say, I really loved this book. I am so excited to continue on. I just know this is going to be a series that I will completely love! (hopefully from start until finish!) The Ruin of Kings is Jenn Lyons debut novel and she certainly created a big and complex world to start off with. This novel is a large undertaking. It is not a book that you can speed through, but rather this is a book that is meant to be explored and savored. If you read it too fast, you may be confused or overwhelmed by the sheer amount going on in the plot and the multiple timelines that are present, but if you slow down The Ruin of Kings is a very well crafted story.
In the Ruin of Kings we meet our main character Kihrin, who starts off the story in Jail. (at least in the present timeline) but soon the reader sees that this novel is told in multiple different timelines, jumping back and forth between them, which is an interesting story telling technique because we get to see some of the events that led to Kihrin being imprisoned, but not necessarily all is revealed in order. And then to make matters more complicated, we don’t actually start out the story with Kihrin’s perspective, but rather with this perspective of his jailor. Really cool if you are paying attention, but it can get confusing. Especially at first. I found myself wanting to map out a timeline of events as they were revealed so I wouldn’t get lost. While I liked that there was a lot going on in this story, I am kind of hoping that in the next book we keep the multiple perspectives, but that we limit the timelines to one linear timeline (maybe with sporadic memories from the past) rather than jumping back and forth between 3 timelines.
Kihrin is such an interesting character. Just like everything else with this novel. He has a huge destiny to live up to. I don’t want to get into too much because it is something that is revealed gradually, layer by layer as the story progresses, but Kihrin wears many hats, and he is a very complex character. The Ruin of Kings has everything I love in a fantasy; a crazy world, a crazier plot that will really mess with you head at times (in both good and bad ways!) political intrigue galore, battles and plenty of adventure.
Fans of epic fantasies will really like the overall complexity of the world. I think once you really get to know the characters and the world, you will fall in love with the book. I loved the story line of this one so much and I can’t wait to see where it goes. I know it can seem daunting at first (and trust me, i was right there with you feeling confused at first) but stick with it! It gets easier to follow along with, and this really does become an unputdownable adventure. I can’t wait to see the next installment from Jenn Lyons.
Praise for THE RUIN OF KINGS
“[A] jaw-dropping, action-packed story of betrayal, greed, and grand-scale conspiracy . . . Lyons ties it all together seamlessly to create literary magic. Epic fantasy fans looking for a virtually un-put-down-able read should look no further.” ―Kirkus, starred review
“Rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it.” ―Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians
“It was one hell of a ride. I gobbled it up and was hungry for more.” ―Glen Cook, author of The Black Company
“The Ruin of Kings is a fascinating story about a compellingly conflicted young hero in an intriguingly complex world.” ―L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of the Recluse series
“A thriller plot of revenge and loyalty with a get-under-your-skin and keep-you-reading-all-night mysetery at its heart. I loved it.”―John Gwynne, author of Malice
“The Ruin of Kings revs up with the glitz of a high-speed, multi-level video game, with extreme magic and a teen hero with angst.” ―Janny Wurts, author of The Curse of the Mistwraith
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Elena
My favorite fantasy world is Lord of the rings!