"The Ruin of Kings" by Jenn Lyons is a thrilling and immersive epic fantasy novel that is sure to delight fans of the genre. Lyons' world-building is exceptional, with intricate details and a rich history that make the story feel fully realized. The plot is twisty and unpredictable, with plenty of action and intrigue to keep readers engaged. The characters are complex and multifaceted, with their own motivations and secrets. Overall, "The Ruin of Kings" is a fantastic start to what promises to be an epic series. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy and adventure.

This was a great intro into a fantastic new fantasy series! I'm looking forward to reading the complete book.

The Ruin of Kings is the first novel in a planned five-book series that Tor has been heavily advertising for months, and compared to every bestselling fantasy author alive. As an added bonus, you can read the first 17 chapters for free here.

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 . . .

This book was...fine? However, I'm don't think I'm going to continue with the series.

The world building, in particular, was amazing - Lyons clearly has a talent and it is on full display in this book. The history is rich, the politics is rife, and we have Gods, demons and a dragon. This is basically all I ever want in a book.

Really, what ruined (hah) the book for me was the narrative format. We have three switching timelines, the present told by the protagonist Kihrin's jailor, Talon, and two separate timelines that detail Kihrin's past. The two past timelines are further complicated by being written narratives, complete with footnotes. The switching between these different timelines was unnecessarily complicated, and I constantly felt like I was being kicked out of the story and left to refigure out what was going on. The framework didn't add anything other than it being difficult to read, and I really struggled to get through this.

So while the plot (from what I got of it) was good, the characters interesting, and world building great, I had to deduct several stars because it was pointlessly difficult to read.

If you are a fan of complex storytelling devices and enjoy unreliable narrators, I would recommend this to you. If you are like me, and do not, then maybe give it a pass (or read the first chapters online before purchase!)

L

It was good to read the preview and it was better to read this excerpt.
I loved what I read, the well written characters and what I could understand of the world building.
I look forward to reading the book because I want to know what comes next.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this ARC

My thanks to Pan Macmillan for providing via NetGalley the opening 24 chapters of Jenn Lyons’ ‘The Ruin of Kings’, the first in a highly anticipated epic fantasy series.

It’s a little difficult to say much about a novel based on only a part, though I was able to gain a sense of Lyons’ style and world building.

To be honest the format was not the easiest to cope with. The narrative moves between three timelines; all involving Kihrin, the main protagonist. This temporal flip-flopping was a bit confusing.

We open and occasionally return to Kihrin in a prison cell watched over by Talon, a shapeshifter. Kihrin’s past is recounted in the other two timelines.
The later timeline, after Kihrin is enslaved, is told in the first person; while the earlier period of his life is related in the third-person.

Even though I enjoyed what I read the constant shifting between locations and groups of supporting characters wasn’t easy and at times broke the tension.There are footnotes throughout clarifying points and providing background. Some are quite useful and others a bit random.

When I come to read the entire book I probably will need to take notes on who’s who and the like as it’s a complicated world with a large cast of characters.

The above answers the question of whether after reading this extended preview will I buy the entire book? Yes as I connected with Kihrin and want to see how things turn out for him. The pre-order is in.

Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this extended sampler. This does not affect my review. As it is not the whole book I can only comment on what I’ve read so far.

The story itself was really interesting however the narrative style with multiple timelines switching back and forth made it really confusing to follow the story. I also found that the footnotes distracted from the story and I felt they didn’t add much to the story.

If you can navigate the timelines then I think you will enjoy the book.

There's a lot of potential here and I still love the story concept. However, I was completely put off by the narrative style. The swapping between who is narrating the story is somewhat confused and doesn't add much at all. The footnotes also didn't really seem to add much, beyond drawing my attention away from the text.

I quite enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting: the demons, magicians, princes. I liked the story. The only thing I didn't like is the backstories told. I thought it would be so much better if the book was simpler. But, I'm curious how it'll go.

Thanks a lot to the publisher and Netgalley for this sampler.

Everything that is wrong with Sanderson's books, wrapped in cliches and stuffed with reused tropes that just won't die out (tender whores, Lovecraftian cults, the chosen one (or not) "slavery light", The Ancients, The Kraken, The Dragons and etc). A mediocre read at best, a book that would dissuade a person from reading epic fantasy at worst.

Thanks to Tor's/Macmillan powerful marketing campaign to give me an ARC for a review.

Full review coming in Three Crows Magazine

threecrowsmagazine.com

3.5 stars, maybe 4 - may change as I review the full book upon publication.

I recently finished reading this preview available on Netgalley of The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons and enjoyed it very much. I did have some problems with the chosen narrative style which did not help the story, but the book was fascinating enough to keep me glued to the pages.

Our story starts off with the protagonist stuck in a prison cell and his formidable captor watching over him, preventing any chance of escape. His captor is bored and demands (threats are made) the protagonist tell her the tale of how exactly he got here. Thus we find out what has transpired, but from chapters told through alternate viewpoints. One from the protagonist, Kihrin, and the other from the jailor, Talon. These alternating viewpoints then also have different timelines and every time a viewpoint switches it is almost a mental exercise in remembering what is going on. There is also another complication with the viewpoints, as one character can see from multiple viewpoints, but I will leave it at that. See why I mentioned the confusing narrative style?

Young Kihrin is a talented thief who witnesses something he should not have, which then sets in motion events that will eventually lead to him being claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, as mentioned in the blurb. The Kihrin we find languishing in the jail cell though, seems to be a very different version of the character and I can only wonder at all the changes in him and the events that transpired to result in his incarceration.

I have not read Jenn Lyons before, but apart from the confusing narrative I enjoyed her writing. Worldbuilding was solid, characters were interesting and the story riveting. As mentioned, this was just a preview though, so I cannot judge the entire book but only comment on what I have read so far. The thing is that this book would likely have been amazing without all the extra complication of the viewpoints and timelines etc. When it was good, it was SO good. But the narrative choices take so much away from the story. I am not sure if the rest of the book gets less complicated as it continues, but the story being as fascinating as it is, I hope that the next book takes a simpler approach. The preview ended just as things got REALLY interesting, so I am pretty much clueless as to what’s next but still VERY eager to find out where this is going. I have hope, friends. Another (part of a) book on the TBR list.

Thank you!! Netgalley and tor books for this opportunity to read arc of Ruin of Kings!!
This book first caught my attention on instagram, because of the beautiful cover and interesting synopsis of the book!!
If your into epic fantasy, world building, unique characters, dragons, wizards, demons, princes, politics, ships, sea monsters and adventure, then this totally is the book for you!! This a storytelling you wont forget!! Will totally fall in love with this world and characters!! Cant wait to get it, when it comes out 02/05/2019!!

I’m really looking forward to reading The Ruin of Kings and this little sampler is enough to whet my appetite and make me eager to read the full thing! Can’t wait for February!

It was an amazing start to an epic series. I can't wait to read the whole book. Thanks for the preview.