The Ruin of Kings

Too slow :(

This book was a slow burner, started slow and it was a bit difficult to get into it but then it picks up and gets better. The author reveals the story through two characters telling their story from different times and their perspectives. It took me a while to appreciate that type of storytelling but I did come to think it was a nice unique way to do it. There is a lot of things going on and so I did get lost in who was who at times. The magic systems allows for people to be reborn and switch bodies which leads to some difficulties keeping up with who is who and who is relative to who.

Very confusing book, but not in a complex sense. More in how it was written with 2 storylines going back and forth constantly. BUT I was never bored and loved the story. It all came together in the end. Excited to see where the rest of the series goes

4 out of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already ordered book 2, but damn if I'm not also very overwhelmed and confused by it.

It immediately throws you in the deep end, because a lot of things are talked about (places, people, things), but never explained until you start figuring (some) things out by context clues later. I also think I got whiplash from the amount of things happening in part 2. Everything happened so quick I felt like I barely got the chance to process any part of it before the next big thing happened. Which, while probably realistic for the situation, does take away some of the emotional impact for me.

Kihrin dying, being in the realm of the demons(or something? Everything that happened there was super confusing), remembering all his past lives, being alive again, going to stop Dead man, killing him, the whole geashes being gone, immediately leaving, leaving Tereath and other person behind, I'm still kinda confused why he had to leave, not to mention all the other perspectives in between. I'm also sad about Galen's dead, especially because he died thinking Kihrin didn't care for him, but who knows maybe he'll come back. I also don't quite get where his shift in character came from or why he thinks Kihrin just left him).

I quite liked the characters, all of them were very interesting. I especially liked Kihrin and Tereath, I really liked their interactions, would have loved more scenes with them together (also totally shipping them).

The pacing was a bit off for me, I thought the way the story was told in part one, with the switching perspectives and timelines was nice, both were intriguing and while I was sometimes annoyed with the switch, the other storyline usually pulled me in again quickly enough. But overall the pacing was a bit too fast for my liking, I would have liked some more moments to sit with the characters, get their thoughts on current events, before the next big thing swept them away. I hope this changes in the rest of the series, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment too much.

Overall I very much enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading the next one soon!

Epic, multibook fantasy seems a lot less common these days, but Jenn Lyon's A Chorus of Dragons is an intriguing new entry into this niche subgenre. The Ruin of Kings is an impressive setup. Told through two narrators of questionable reliability an impressive amount of world building and character development is achieved. We have some dubious prophecy, gods walking around as men and a deep history of conflict and conquest across multiple species. There is plenty to keep a fantasy nut interested!

Even though we have two narrators, the story follows a single character (one of the narrators) and is told from their perspective or from the jailor's perspective in alternating chapters, with their story tending to be more current compared to the jailor's telling of the older parts of their history. With roots in both the criminal underworld and the ruling upper classes we have an insight into all parts of the society we are witness to.

This was a fun read - plenty of swashbuckling action, myth building and general epicness. Whilst it falls into a few tropes in places, these do not feel to tired and the general sense of story is carried impressively through the alternating story telling. The voice of the narrators is clear enough too.

An impressive start to what is slated to be a 5 book arc. I look forward to seeing where this one goes!

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to do a recap of the plot in this review because it is mind bogglingly complex. The format of the story was so confusing. The main character was imprisoned by a woman. The woman was telling his story from when he was a young boy, while the main character was telling his story starting later in his life. We were switching back between the two. But we also had some conversations in the present day between them. And all of this was being transcribed by a narrator, who would cut in sometimes with footnotes about the story. So that in itself was complex. But then, once you get into the family trees of these characters, and their histories, the complexity increases tenfold. You're constantly trying to figure out who is related to who, and who is a god, and where everyone fits. To add even MORE to that, a lot of the names are very similar, so I found myself thinking we were talking about one person, when we were talking about someone else. I will say that listening to the audiobook helped a lot with this confusion because there are 3 different narrators, so it helps the reader keep track of who is talking. I will say, there are demons, royalty, dragons, gods, and the afterlife all in this book, so if that interests you, you may like this book.

Despite the complexity of the story, I did really enjoy it. I'm sure I still don't understand all that I read, but I did enjoy the plot and the characters. It was fast paced and interesting, even if it was suuuuuper long. I didn't find myself getting bored at all, and the audiobook was 27 hours, so that's saying something. The ending was buckwild, and I am very excited for my hold on the next book to be ready from my library.

I would recommend this book to people that aren't afraid of a complex fantasy story. This definitely isn't a book for a fantasy beginner.

TW: abusive relationship, alcohol, amputation, attempted murder, blood, bones, child abuse, rape of a child, death, demons, emotional abuse, fire, gore, homophobia, incest, kidnapping, misogyny, murder, pedophilia, poisoning, prostitution, rape, sexual assault, sexually explicit scenes, slavery, torture, violence, war

This is a tough one to review. I had a hard time getting through it. It should have been right up my alley with all the fantasy elements. I just found there to be too many characters to keep track of, and the duel storylines made it difficult for me to care about them. I usually enjoy a complex story, but only if it's necessary to the story.
I, of course, purchased books 2 and 3 before reading the first. The only thing that might get me to read book 2 is curiosity. Maybe with the first book setting the stage, the second will lead to a more focused storyline.

4.5 stars
I just finished reading this again before I continue on with the series. I don't know why I found it confusing the first time I read it. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind, or maybe I wasn't paying attention because I was not confused this time. I am giving it a higher rating this time around as well. I loved it.


3.5 stars
I really enjoyed most of this book, however, there were times when I was very confused. Hopefully that won't be the case in the next one.

I think this might have been excellent if I'd read it on paper. As an audiobook, I was just lost. I couldn't keep track of who was who under the changing names. :(

I really liked this book in the beginning but the ending was not satisfying. Some things were too far fetched, and it felt she was wrapping up just for the sake of wrapping up. Also the format of jumping between two different pasts was also confusing.

Just excellent.