The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1)
Summary:
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 too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he's not the hero, for Kihrin is not destined to save the empire.
He's destined to destroy it. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This is a complicated read and I don’t think it’d be a good one to pick up when life was super busy and you couldn’t maintain momentum. Alternatively, start a flow chart because the format includes alternating chapters, from the perspective of two characters, telling the same story starting at different points on the timeline. If you think you can handle that, then the book is fantastic. Our main character is Kihrin who is thrust into the middle of the cluster that is a prophecy, political web, secret society, demons, reincarnation, gods, magic, and unique characters. It starts out roughly with a traditional coming-of-age / origin story, but quickly spirals into much more.
I genuinely don’t know if I’ve ever read a book with a blend of so many different themes thrown into a single story, but it somehow works. It can be confusing, but if you accept that you won’t be able to keep everything 100% straight it’s ok. If you try to vigilant on every point you’ll notice some inconsistencies that were occasionally annoying. Throughout it all, the footnotes gave me a proper laugh and are worth the time clicking (kindle) or reading in line. I highly recommend picking this up to epic fantasy fans looking for something completely unusual!
Warning: Contains repeated violence and sexual content.
Rating: 5 stars!
Who should read it? Fans of complex and politically motivated fantasy series!
Want to read the whole series?
The Name of All Things (A Chorus of Dragons #2)
The Memory of Souls (A Chorus of Dragons #3)
The House of Always (A Chorus of Dragons #4)