It is incredibly difficult to review this since this is only an extended excerpt and not the entire book itself. Nevertheless, The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons is quite the romp. There is a beautifully and imaginatively crafted world that offers vast potential as the setting to a deeply personal and massively epic story. These wonderful elements are wrapped up inside a structure that is puzzling and frustrating.

Both the main character, Kihrin, and the worldbuilding in The Ruin of Kings are exceptional. The detail that Lyons has worked into every part of her world is captivating. From royal houses to thousands of years of history, the setting of this world invites you deeper and deeper into the story. The magic system was tantalizingly fascinating. There is vast potential here. I also felt Kihrin was a very well fleshed out MC. It was interesting seeing both his own internal perspective as well as an external perspective. I’m not sure that either represents a particularly reliable perspective. Individual chapters fly by and induce a deep-seated need to know what happens next.

Unfortunately, for me a lot of that vast potential in the setting gets lost in the odd structure of the novel. We begin with a brief letter written by a character to explain recent events. This character serves as the ultimate narrator, providing footnotes throughout the book. There is then a frame story in third person between Kihrin and Talon as Kihrin waits in a jail cell. They each then alternate telling Kihrin’s tale while it’s recorded by a magic rock (which is used by our ultimate narrator as his main source for writing the story). To further complicate the structure, Kihrin begins telling his tale at one point in time, but Talon thinks he should have started earlier, so begins the telling earlier in Kihrin’s life. Kihrin tells it from first person perspective, while Talon tells it from third person, often changing the perspective character. For me, this structure just did not work. The footnotes were distracting and hinted at really interesting things that never got fleshed out. Jumping around in the timeline from chapter to chapter made it difficult to let the story overtake me. I wanted to be immersed in this world, but never felt like that happened.

There is vast potential here, but I think the structure works against the natural tension and immersion of the story. I would have preferred it was told chronologically in third person, allowing the setting to really come to life and carry me away, rather than feel jerked around. Having said that—I can’t give it less than three stars, simply because the writing is superb and the individual chapters are so well crafted. I’ll have a hard time recommending it, even so.

I enjoyed The Ruin of Kings. It left me wanted to read more and delve deeper into Kihrin's world. I look forward to seeing more from this author and more about Kihrin and the land of Quur.

I enjoyed the story and characters in The Ruin of King but struggled a lot with the voice, timeline jumps, and footnotes. I'll try again when it comes out and I can physically flip to the footnotes.

This book sucked me in from the very beginning. The writing is set up to tell 3 timelines for the main character at once; giving you an origin story where the MC is a street urchin with a mysterious birth, a what-happened-next main story-line where the MC is older and now dealing with magic, gods and demons, and a how-it-ended-up story line where the MC is in a dungeon being taunted by a demon.
Honestly, I think this is a brilliant way to draw the reader in. I'm dying to know how to he got from street urchin to vitally important MC, to obviously having gone wrong somewhere and in a dungeon. I just need to know!
The characters are good, not necessarily predictable, very distinct, and not too like their tropes, although I think the dialogue could use a little work. I like the Main Character, although the world-building is happening a little Too slowly, leaving us annoyingly in the dark about some basic facts about this world. I like not dumping it on us all at once, but I wish for a little more.
The use of "footnotes" within the text, as if the book were a report being written to some government official, is a nice way to provide world-building information without interrupting the story. I like the whimsical feel of a 3-rd party commenting on the events.
I was only given Part One to read, so I'm dying to get the book for real and find out how it end!
I received this book as an ARC copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Ruin of Kings was different to what I expected. It begins with a letter that tells us he will write a full account of the events that led up to the burning of the Capitol. This meant that there was little footnotes at the end of each chapter which explained a few things. I kind of liked this format although I did feel a little confused at first. The footnotes were fun! I

Then you begin the story with a boy in a cell (Kihrin) and his jailer (Talon) and to pass the time she asks him to tell her his story. The chapters are set up to alternate between Kirhin and Talon telling the story. I liked that we saw two sides to Kirhin and I found it interesting but it took me awhile to get used to switching between 1st and 3rd person. There is quite a few characters and they turn up in both Kirhins recent events timeline and Talons past events. Honestly it's confusing but also worth the read if you can.

Kirhins life is hectic. There's evil magicians, a war between gods and demons, a messed up family, a cult and dragons. It was interesting but with the politics and family and people who are not who they say they are, it can be hard to remember everything. The middle section of this book is amazing and I really enjoyed how intricate the world was. The world building is beautiful, there's a history, politics, magic and a culture which made it feel more real. It also didn't hide away from the horrible acts such as slavery, murder, rape and the people are dark and dangerous. There is also a lighter more humorous parts to the book. For me the ending felt a little rushed and there was a few curveballs thrown at me. But I enjoyed the majority of this book but I don't think I will read it again and I'm not sure if I want to continue. The format of it was the main problem for me.

This is only a preview, but I really like what I read. The setting and characters were very well written and intriguing, and I really want to know what happens next. I was really interested by Kihrin's story; he seems like a nicely developed country, and I want to read more about him.

Perhaps the one complaint I have is how the perspectives switch between first and third person; this was somewhat disconcerting.

This is a review for the complete book by Emma Davis & James TIvendale for FBR

Kihrin is many things: orphan, thief, long lost son of a prince, destroyer of the world? Whatever else he is, he’s also having a really bad time of it. Everything he’s ever believed is lies, new truths discovered through violence and death. But since his new life involves evil magicians, a death cult, a war between gods and demons, the kind of family that epitomises the whole keep-your-enemies-closer philosophy, and dragons…. well, his chances don’t seem like they’ll be looking up any time soon. After all, he’s in prison when we meet him.

Right from the outset, it’s clear this book isn’t set up in the usual fashion. Kihrin languishes in a jail cell, bullied by his captor into narrating the events that led him to this point. Into a magic rock no less. His tale is told in alternating chapters, while his jailer, Talon, accounts for the other. But here’s the hook, she has some very particular skills that means the story she’s telling is also his, adding parts of the plot not only on a different timeline, but from varied perspectives too. If that isn’t complicated enough, the resulting recording (magical rock, remember?) from which this book is supposedly drawn is then provided with somewhat snarky commentary in footnote style from a whole other character who is also involved in the story at various points. It’s an interesting premise, but one that nevertheless has its own challenges. When it works it creates an escalating tension as the chapters flip, each one ending on a cliffhanger, so that it’s impossible to put the book down. The chapters are short, high energy, and thrilling.

But that’s when it works. The dual storyline of Kihrin in first person and then in third from differing perspectives sometimes created a strange dissonance, almost like it was two different people, and not just because of the character development acquired in one half or the other. There’s a constant need to remember which Kihrin knows what and when he learned it, especially because the overarching plot is seriously convoluted. Not only is there high stakes politics, ethnic and religious wars, and familial infighting on an epic scale, there’s body-swapping. So people might not be who you think they are. Or were. Or whatever. To say it brings about some dodgy familial connections is a bit of an understatement. When the format fails, bogged down in detail and unnecessary complication, things end up needing to be explained a bit too much by one person or another, making it feel unnatural. Even if, because of the complexity, they probably really do need to work through it themselves. This happens a bit too much at the beginning and then again with the finale, which felt rushed and threw in some curve balls to conform to the prophesies which underly the action.

So at this point, you might be wondering how it got 4 stars at all? (Another of our reviewers, James Tivendale, has read this also which is why the rating is higher than the 4-stars Emma mentions- Editor) Let me go back to the whole ‘when it works’ thing I was talking about before. Parts of this book are blindingly good. As in, 5-stars-are-not-enough kinda great. Pretty much all the middle in fact. If you’re one of the people that read the preview, it starts right at the end of that and lasts all the way till the stories converge in the final segment. This is where Jenn Lyons’ creativity shines. From beginning to end, the worldbuilding is excellent, layered and intricate, developed by an author who knows everything about the place she’s created. It’s never less than believable, from the systems of government to history, cultural norms and values to religion and magic. There’s diversity of all sorts, including both underlying and overt dialogue about sexual identity/choice that surprised and pleased me. Of course, it’s not all hearts and rainbows, variation brings hostility and this is a dangerous world. All of the abhorrent aspects of human society are here: slavery, racial wars, rape, incest, murder, human sacrifice. People have dark stories and even darker motivations. Even our lead has a real attitude, though considering his circumstances I can understand where he’s coming from, and in any case, it’s done with comedy rather than angst. It’s not just him either. The book had the same kind of humorous banter and point scoring backchat that reminded me much more of Urban Fantasy. The exchanges between Kihrin and Teraeth were exceptional, transforming from genuinely funny to moving and emotional and back again with ease. Such humour provided a very necessary lightness in pretty dire circumstances and gave Kihrin the kind of appeal accorded to those who respond to the shit shovelled in their direction with two fingers and a smile. Yet he’s only one of a whole cast of memorable characters, so well conceived and vibrantly portrayed that they carry the book even when the plot loses itself a bit. Most of the true character development came predominantly in that middle section and was by far the best part of the book, managing to maintain momentum whilst deepening the relationships between characters and expanding our knowledge of the world. I raced through it, loving every minute. There were questions answered and even more asked, a labyrinthine game that has been played for thousands of years. And even though the ending didn't hold quite the same thrill, it held enough surprises, enough possibilities, to whet the appetite for more.

Despite my quibbles, I’m intrigued about where this will go. The dual storyline format doesn’t seem to be one that can be successfully repeated, potentially giving the next book an entirely different feel. Certainly, the final scenes include some you-can’t-do-that moments that I can’t wait to see explored. If you thought things were going to hell here, the future seems like it’s already on fire…. I'll be there to see it burn.

ARC via publisher for fantasybookreview.co.uk

Additional notes by James Tivendale - I think Emma summed up most of the points perfectly.

I agree with what Emma said about the point of views switching between 1st and 3rd person sometimes being confusing and the reader having to readjust. The beginning and middle I rated 10/10. The ending occasionally felt forceful and rushed until the final 30-40 pages which I found absolutely stunning. There are a lot of characters and many of which have very similar names and there are very complex family trees. Lyons kindly includes a Dramatis Personae as well as explaining difficult or uneasy context to help us understand the deepness and complexities in her amazingly crafted world.

Following on from there being many characters it does get confusing with the two timelines. One being Kihrin's 1st person perspective which is his recent antics and the other being his jailor Talon's descriptions of what happened before his sections. Many of the cast are in both timelines and with short, sharp and often very thrilling chapters and I believe only 4-years difference between the action of both segments it does sometimes take a few minutes to work out, or it did for me if this is before or after what happened last. First of my two further negatives is that I didn't really grasp the reasons for the whole prophecy about our main character and I never thought he wasn't the hero as the tagline states. Also, the 80-90% section of the narrative is too swift, and however amazing it is, pardon my french - it's a bit of a 'head-fuck.'

I sound like I've been negative here but I'm really not. Emma summed up perfectly what I enjoyed about this book. I still believe this will be an instant classic and TOR have got an absolute winner on their hands. My comments might have been the harshest but I've pushed the rating up because of how great I think this book is, albeit including minor issues. The Ruin of Kings will be in many top-10 lists next year and I cannot wait to see what comes next because I'm 100% here for the whole ride.

This The Ruin of Kings book review was written by Emma Davis and James Tivendale

THE RUIN OF KINGS is an exciting start to a dream gone quite wrong. An orphan, a thief, a long-lost prince...what will become of Kihrin when all is said and done? Fast-paced, entrancing, and not above making its readers laugh amidst the darkness, this story promises only one thing: one complicated thrill of a ride.

Wow. This one was seriously interesting,
The worldbuilding went a bit over my head and there were some info dumps in the beginning, but I found that I really liked the narrative voice and style here, and the characters were very intriguing. I feel like I can't say much about the plot since this review is based only on a preview excerpt, but I can say that the atmosphere was incredibly well drawn, I felt the slave market, the prison cell. I literally felt transported reading this. And I'm very much curious to see where Kihrin's story goes. I will definitely be checking this one out when it becomes available.

First of all, I wish this had been the whole story not just an excerpt and I almost didn't read it because it wasn't the complete work. I liked the story and it was very well written. I found the footnotes to be very distracting. It was annoying to have to go back and forth between the story and the footnotes, if I waited until after I read the chapter then the footnotes didn't make sense and I had to go back to the story. That was very annoying. If it's important enough to footnote, include it in the story. I also didn't care for the alternating POV's. I wish the author had just written the story without doing that because it interrupted the flow of the story. I would have read the rest of the story if this had been complete but I will not remember this story when the complete one is released so I will probably not read the second half. I liked the story but I guess I don't really care how it ends. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Who doesn’t love a story with dragons in it? (And if you don’t, what’s wrong with you!?)

This particular story is all about Kihrin, a slave. Or is he a prince? Or a thief? Or the person destined to destroy the world? What a hefty job title. And the thrills keep coming: we’ve been promised demons, dragons, power plays from powerful families and a very particular brand of magic- my favourite bit in the extract is the gaesh, where a part of somebody’s soul is removed and kept in a magical artefact to help control them. Gruesome, but fun…

As previews go, this one surpassed all expectations - traipsing elegantly into the top 5 expected book releases. I appreciated the way the first section hooked the reader, leading you to want more. An overplayed plot, given its own unique twist.

I received a free e-copy preview excerpt of this book from NetGalley for review purposes. It included the first 23 chapters (seemed like about half the book).

Ho-lee-crap. I was *not* expecting to love this as much as I did. I was expecting it to be your average adventure-fantasy, but there's a lot here to like. Kihrin is kind of a dumbass, but I was fascinated by his story. Getting to know the various characters was interesting, because they each had their own actual developed personality (unlike a lot of the newer stuff out there that sacrifices world-building and characterization for romance and a badly-written plot). The plot itself is pretty tangled up, and even though I'm pretty sure I got the first half of the book, I have no idea where it's really going. And for once, I liked that!!

There were two things that really took away from the book for me:

1. I HATED switching back and forth between Kihrin and Talon for each chapter.
2. Those footnotes! They were numerous, they didn't seem to be super helpful, and who the heck was speaking in them? It wasn't Talon, and presumably wasn't Kihrin - was it supposed to be the person writing everything down from the recording stone? Was it someone else? I'm hoping we get that later.

I am definitely placing this on my to-be-finished shelf (not that I have one) and will hopefully remember to pick up a copy when it's released so I can finish the damn thing! Setting Google alert now...

I'm hooked already... I don't think I can wait until this books release date to read the rest of the story!! I can see this being one of my favourite 2019 reads!

The Ruin of Kings is a fantastic novel — my one regret is that I was only able to devour the preview instead of the full book. It’s a fantasy tale set in a world that seems similar to Middle Earth with less creatures, save for dragons, of course. The progression of the novel is compelling, gradually revealing tidbits of details through two timelines. I couldn’t wait to get to each new chapter, to put the pieces together and figure out who our main character really is.

There are many deep forces in this world that tie life, magic, and death together into three realms that are recognized and worshipped. The magical aspects are fascinating. We meet demons and sorcerers, many as ancient as the land they stand on. We’re introduced to objects with immense, evil powers. A sense of good versus evil lies beneath every page, making you wonder what everyone’s intentions are. The grandiose implications are eminently entertaining.

It’s also notable how easy it is to follow along with the world and the characters. So many epic fantasy novels flood you with names, kingdoms, gods, and random beings that are impossible to remember. Here, each character has an obvious purpose and place within the plot.

Overall, there’s an impressive strength in the writing and storytelling that makes The Ruin of Kings a great read. I look forward to flying through the rest of the book as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Ooop! I'm not reading this -- I didn't realize it was just an excerpt when I downloaded it. I'll wait for the entire ARC or the full book. Nothing against excerpts, but I'd rather wait.

The Ruin of Kings - Preview Excerpt by Jenn Lyons 4 stars

I was lucky enough to a multi-chapter excerpt of "The Ruin of Kings". This books has been heavily touted on Tor.com. In fact, there is a chapter by chapter review going on right now. I liked what I have read, but the reason it is 4 stars instead of 5 is the fact that the narrator and timeline changes every other chapter. It took me awhile to get used to that. After 23 chapters, I am still not quite sure who the main character is - a thief?, a chosen of the Goddess of Luck?, a forgotten branch of a noble family, maybe royalty?, the needed sacrifice to win a long war between gods and demons?. The excerpt provides a lot of clues that tantalize, but doesn't clearly explain. In addition, the hero is wearing an valuable object in which we don't know the full extent of its properties. Mysteries abound and I have to read the rest of the book to satisfy my curiosity. I can't wait.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for providing this Preview

This is set to be one of my favourite fantasy releases of 2019! What a shame this is only an extract (though it is a nice substantial one), as it left me dying to read the rest of the book! The characters are compelling, the world-building is fun and thorough, and the writing style, complete with footnotes, had me enthralled. I can't wait to read the whole thing.

I really like what i read of that book and i can't wait to read the whole story ! I think it's the perfect beginning to an epic story

2.5/5 stars

I was given all of Part 1 to read and review. My expectation is that this novel will be 2 parts, seeing as Part 1 was quite lengthy.

This was a book I had my eye on. The summary sounded really interesting and different than most YA Fantasy books that have been released lately. Unfortunately, the execution wasn't at all what I hoped for amd left much to be desired. I found this firat part to be a mess, really. While I can see what the author was going for in the constant reversing of character POVs every chapter, it was just too messy and hard to follow. While it gets better as the book gets closer to the end of Part 1, it still remains to be convoluted. The reason why our MC is in danger is bland, the world(s) is confusing, and the side characters are forgettable. The only name I can remember is Talon, and that's because I see it constantly. After reading Part 1, I cant see myself going out of my way to pick up the book to read the rest. While it seems that it was improving, having half of the book be confusing and forgettable isn't really that great. I'll unfortunately have to say I'm passing on the rest of the novel. Maybe I'll pick up any future novels Lyons will write, but sadly this isn't the one for me.

ARC of Part 1 provided to be for free by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.