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 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 Netgalley/ Pan Macmillan for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review.
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.
