Ruin of Kings

DNF at 50ish pages. There are things I like about this one, but there there were a few too many things I disliked. They kept piling up til I decided to ditch it. I was looking forward to this one, too, so that’s a shame!

The things that piled up:

1. Multiple special gems and jewels and other magical objects. Super rare but we run into a lot of them.
2. Racial essentialism. These people look like this, these other people look like that. To a weird extent while all still usually being human. Speaking as a blue eyed person, we are not that special. Let go of the fascination with blue eyes, authors!
3. Generic main character in Rook/Kihrin.
4. Multiple times when the descriptions were confusing… Kihrin is golden skinned, not olive… but also pale because of the contrast with his dark hair. What color IS he then??
5. The two timelines. For me, I was okay with it if it was for a reason. But multiple reviewers say no, there is no payoff. I’m glad I found that out before I went ahead with the book because that is maddening.

It was a reasonably fun read, but ultimately doesn't say or do anything new or challenge much of anything at all, in the literary genre or as a commentary on the real world. The story is told in alternating chapters of near and far past, arranged so that the further in the past sections end where the more recently set sections began. It's neat and adds to the tension a little bit, but for such a long book it's just not enough to carry it—especially when the convention was dropped for the last several chapters and can't be carried forward into the three sequels.

And god, the names. It's a problem that I run into a lot in fantasy and it's here in force. There are just too many people with similar but unfamiliar names to keep straight, all scheming and plotting against each other. Intrigue is fun to try to puzzle out, but when I have the full picture but can't remember who did what because they all sound the same, that's not fun.

I am struggling to understand how I can like so many aspects of this book but not have enough interest to keep reading.

The writing by Lyons is wonderful. Each chapter is deliberate and helps weave a story from two timelines. The world building was gradual while managing the balance between slow and steady.

I liked this book, so why did I stop? There isn't one simple answer and it may be a me issue more than anything.

This isn't the fault of the author but my ability to see how big the series was.

I started The Ruin of Kings thinking this was a trilogy. Then I learned that a fourth book would be released in 2021. Yes, I could manage that. I would have a break between book three and four but I was good with this.

After I came to terms with four books I realized that a fifth, and final, book would be out in 2022. Oh.

Was I enjoying the series enough to have a few interruptions in reading it? Would I want to re-read the books before 2022? The answers pointed to no.

I also found my reading time interrupted and didn't have a chance to settle in to the book. At most I would get through a few chapters, which was enough to get a story from each timeline. Being able to ping pong from one thread to the next is when this book shined and doing it in piecemeal was definitely a hinderance.

Every few days I would reflect on my enjoyment of the book, see how many hours I had left and wonder if it was worth reading the series. This thread of doubt is a killer to my motivation and once it shows up it is hard to overcome.

I really liked this book. In another year I may tackle the entire series (preferably over winter when I have more time to devote to settling in and reading) but as of now I'm content with my decision to pause things here.

ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.

DNF

I tried, I really did. I gave it my best effort! I went into it hopeful since I'd heard nothing but good things and I love an adult fantasy set in a complex world.

But I just do not like the voice of this book. And I don't mean the back and forth between first person and third by two different narrators in two different timelines, though that probably doesn't help. It just feels overstuffed and I don't enjoy the prose. And honestly, I feel like the world is probably a little too complex. Maybe the book becomes more enjoyable once the world is established and things become clear, but that clearly wasn't happening anytime soon, and I just couldn't hold on long enough to read that point.

I started it when I got it, made myself read 70 pages because I know some books take a while to really get me. But though I kept it on my bedside table, I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading it. I looked at it like a chore that needed to be completed, and that is the last kind of reading I want to do. So I'm admitting defeat: I couldn't finish it.

This is clearly going to be a big hit. Tor's throwing all their weight behind it and it's getting good reviews. But it isn't for me.