The Review

Now as a relative newcomer to this author’s fantasy series, I can only share with you guys my thoughts on this individual narrative as I am unfamiliar with the series as a whole. However, I must say the author has crafted a truly remarkable and vibrant world. The history, culture, and mythos the author has developed in this book feels rich and engaging, and while I would definitely recommend reading the first two books in the series to fully understand the politics and history of this kingdom, the in-depth and descriptive nature of the narrative really invites newcomers and fans of this series alike into the story and
this massive world.

The author found the perfect balance of world-building and character development in this story. The gritty realism of the style of fantasy narrative was felt immensely in the narrative, and the only real criticism I have is the tournament scenes towards the end of the narrative feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the narrative and feels like it could be its own separate novella or short story set within the same universe instead. Otherwise, this was a truly engaging and memorable read.

The Verdict

An astounding, memorable, and breathtaking fantasy read, author Ken Liu’s “The Veiled Throne” is a must-read novel this winter. Due for release this December, this novel will be beloved by fans of the series while newcomers will be enthralled by the larger than life world the author has crafted, and the balance the author found between the action sequences and the more psychological and political battles fought back in the kingdom of Dara.

Possible Triggers:
Torture | Death | Rape

Summary:
Book 3 of the ‘Dandelion Dynasty’ series.

Characters:
The story follows multiple characters across various continents/cultures.

My particular favorite:

Dandelion: I can not go into details about this one, because spoilers, but I was pleasantly surprised that this character was way more interesting than I thought she would be. Here I thought she was some squishy dainty little thing, and instead she blew me away with her receptiveness to learning everything. A++ for strong female characters that aren’t necessarily physically strong or the definition of “bad-ass'', but instead strong because of their compassion and willingness to learn. It's nice to celebrate different kinds of strengths.

Positives:
+ Just like the previous two books in the series, there are short stories of the deities of the peoples in the book. I really love how much that explains why certain things are important to individual cultures in the book. There is something so amazing about the differences and similarities of the various cultures' creation stories and other stories that touch on importances to cultural identities.
+ Absolutely loved the Agon/Dara combination of cultures.
+ A++ for the cool (yet again) joint animal and human teamwork.
+ I am really thankful for the ‘date’ listed underneath each chapter heading - while my mind's timeline isn't absolutely perfect in my head, it helped me to center myself each time to where I was diving into the story.

Negatives:
- This isn’t a negative exactly, because I really enjoyed this part of the story, I’m just a little conflicted with it as well. Without getting into too many details, the last third of the story has a competition in multiple parts. I loved the competition, I loved the work that went into it, the detailing of the competition during it actually happening, and I even loved the amount of attention the competition garnered. I did, however, find the competition a little jarring. We were reading about war, war atrocities, conflict between cultures, battles, kidnapping, and then all of a sudden there is this competition which does not have. . .world or nation altering consequences. It just seemed kinda random to shift the view from such BIG things to something smaller (though no less important to the people it affects). Odd, but not unwelcome. I did really appreciate the timing though. Some of the chapters before were very heavy.

Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book in the series. While there weren’t as many world altering things going on during this book as in the previous two. I do feel like this set up things real nicely for all that is going to be resolved in book 4. I am absolutely invested in knowing WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

I was not a huge fan of the "competition" section in the later half of the book, but wow, this story is so epic and original

An epic fantasy. Maybe it would have helped to read the first two books. It's very wordy and descriptive. Over all, I didn't feel it was a book for me.

This book shines in the series as one that has excellent continued development and pacing. One of the most important elements of reading a good story, especially one of this caliber, is how the journey goes as you move through it as a reader. I was a huge fan of the plot and pacing throughout and it was a win!

This is a worthy addition to the Dandelion Dynasty series, and I love the way Liu spends large portions of the book, especially in the second half, delving further into everyday life in Dara. That said, I hadn't been aware this wasn't the last planned book any longer--reading it with that in mind will help any readers who, like me, spend a lot of time thinking "WAIT how is this going to wrap up in the last 50 pages??" It won't.

Even though I was not a fan of this book, The Veiled Throne by Ken Liu is a very well-written novel. There is no doubt this will be a popular release. The fantasy aspect was really well done.

Following the events in The Wall of Storms, with an armistice signed between the Lyucu invaders and Dara, each side seeks to stabilize conditions in their respective controlled territories. The Lyucu are focused on pacifying the people they conquered and projecting military might against the threat of a new war with Dara or rebellion among the people they've enslaved. They don't know if or when they might receive reinforcements from their distant homeland, and their political factions fight over questions of cultural assimilation. Dara, having been devastated by the war with the Lyucu, has its own political squabbles, as one faction is decidedly pro-war and the other is determined to maintain peace with the Lyucu at any cost. Meanwhile, Princess Théra has undertaken an audacious, dangerous mission to the Lyucu homeland to create an alliance with the Lyucu's enemies in hopes of cutting off the Lyucu colonization project in Dara.

I love this series. Ken Liu is one of my favorite authors, and I remain thoroughly impressed with what he's doing with his epic fantasy series. He brings an aspect of grand scale to it that I don't often see in epic fantasy. Books 1 and 2, The Grace of Kings and The Wall of Storms, each cover the events of an entire war, and book 2 begins a generation after book 1. This keeps the series from getting bogged down in lengthy maneuvering that seems to go nowhere. *cough* Wheel of Time *cough* Yet even with the compressed nature of the story, Liu takes time to develop colorful, nuanced characters and build intricately realized cultures that feel like they have the weight of history behind them. Drawing from Chinese cultures and history, Liu weaves in whole schools of philosophy, poetry, and art into mundane activities and bureaucratic structures. It's utterly gorgeous and he manages to make it all plot-bearing rather than just shiny diversions.

This novel spends a great deal of time exploring cultural change and responses to it, as well as nationalism, propaganda, and the way cultures perceive and justify their actions and interpret other cultures. No side has truly clean hands in this series, and each genuinely believes themselves the heroes of their own story in a war for freedom against the cruel barbarians. I absolutely love that Liu takes the time to explore all these aspects of these warring cultures in intricate detail, exploring the good and the bad of each and what happens when they interact with each other.

Another thing I love about this series are the clever and highly imaginative plots its protagonists dream up to win conflicts and get themselves out of scrapes. There's no shortage of those in The Veiled Throne, and the new characters introduced in this novel are no less crafty than those who came before. Even fairly low-stakes adventures are a delight to read.

This is perhaps the slowest novel in the series to date, as it is set during a period of ostensible peace and works to set everything up for the finale. This series was originally planned as a trilogy, but when the final book grew too big, it was split in two. Not unexpectedly, there's some middle book syndrome here, but I still loved this novel. It's richly developed in ways that very few other epic fantasies are, and I find everything about it captivating because of how those extraordinary details are woven throughout the story to tell thoughtful, nuanced stories. I've been eagerly awaiting this book for a while, and it lived up to my expectations.

"The Veiled Throne" by Ken Liu is a thrilling addition to the Dandelion Dynasty Series. As with the other books in the series this is an intricate elegant epic tale of the royalty, common folk, soldiers, enemies, gods, bamboo-punk technology, culture, and most important survival of the fictional empire of Dara. Between my appreciation of other books written by Ken Liu, along with the tantalizing hints of expansive adventure in the book description, I read books 1 and 2 in the series in preparation to read this, the third book in the series. This was time well spent! Each book is a grand excursion into the exciting epic fantasy realm of the heroes and enemies of Dara complete with extensive glossaries, extensive lists of characters, maps, and detailed history. Each of these books contains a lot of entertaining content. Much of the series is focused on empire building, though there are many interesting diversions into the culture of this world. For example, much of the last half of this book takes an almost jarring switch from the rather bloody life-and-death struggles of multiple invasions to focus on the experiences of key and future key characters battling not so much for their lives but for the survival and supremacy of a restaurant with ties to the royal family. At first, this switch from death and destruction to economic and culinary competition seemed jarring, but it does fit in nicely with the various plot lines, and sets the stage for the continuation of this series in the fourth book. I am breathlessly awaiting the next book!

I would like to thank Ken Liu and Saga Press for kindly providing an electronic review copy of this book.

This series has been incredibly impressive and plot driven. It’s action packed and the descriptive world building is top tier!

Ken Lui is a master storyteller and writer. He has created a rich, vibrant and action packed universe that is inspired by oriental ideals and history. I loved reading the other books in the series and always look for more works for this author.

Thank you to Gallery Books and #netgalley for the opportunity to review an e-copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Of all the books I've read recently, this one is one of the hardest to do without spoiling, because while, in some ways, compared to the previous books, nothing much militarily happens, but it was still a completely fascinating and compelling read. This is the third book in the series, but the characters are mostly all new, despite the world picking up pretty much where the last book left off. The last book felt so action packed that I am afraid others might feel it is table setting-but I have a different take in that the author was clearly looking to explore other facets of his universe. There were battle scenes, of course, an action filled set piece at the beginning, and, for a large portion of the book, a nonconventional battle that was every bit as compelling as a garinifin vs airship battle. Mild spoiler: it had more in common with a Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen battle than a military one, but the backstory and appreciation of tactics and strategy were pure Liu. I think I like these books MORE for having the courage to explore these aspects of the society, and more importantly, the skill to make them compelling. While other aspects of the story felt a lot like red herrings and build up...by this point the reader can trust Liu to pay it off. Now-the pay off does now arrive in this book for many of the plot threads, and I had felt that the climax of the previous book and the first one were higher highs, but this book consistently delivered at a high level. I think if you love Liu you will adore this book. Anyone who is a fantasy fan should pick up this series-but I'd recommend starting with Book 1. If there are people who know Liu from his work translating Cixin Liu, hardcore sci-fi fans that don't like fantasy may not like this as much as others, but I'd still say to give the first book a try.
I like how the author played around with the meaning of loyalty in this book. This is something he has investigated before, but it finally sunk through to me, or it was more forward here in terms of questions of betrayal, and even, identity. So even though this is a 'fantasy' book, those themes can be teased out, and I think were intentional, though a reader may have to be more literarily serious than I am, because I typically read to escape. This was entertaining as anything! I look forward to the next one.

MY REVIEW: 3.5 STARS

I'm not sure if it was me or the book! I would day since I loved the first two books and didn't get to do a reread that it was probably me =(

I absolutely loved the character, Goztan - Thane Of The Five Tribes Of The Antler! I thought she was awesome!

I didn't like some of the stories of the gods that depicted some animal brutality and other parts with animal brutality. I mean most of it was what really happens in life but this day and age, I don't want to read that kind of stuff, but like I said, it's easy enough to gloss over.

I did feel lost in some of the other parts of the book, but please don't let this take away from anyone reading the book! I'm going to still add the paperback and audible to my collection and reread them all once the final book is out! The first two books were 5 star and this one might change back to that number in a reread, although, a 3.5 star is not bad!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a digital copy of this book!

Mel

I received an ARC through NetGalley. Part 3 of the Dandelion Dynasty series (no longer a trilogy) advances the plot incrementally during a time of truce between the Lyucu invaders and the Dara government, but builds up what almost feel like secondary plots regarding a restaurant rivalry, the Dara settlement in the Agon homeland, and the continued scheming of Empress Regent Jia. Obviously everything is building up to the final book, but this one felt a bit like killing time.

The Veiled Throne is about another world with warring factions that have deep biases against each other. Liu goes into great depth in describing this world. I enjoyed the book.

The third book in the Dandelion Dynasty, this epic adventure blends rivals and tyrants with fickle gods. Princess Théra, the former Empress Üna of Dara, yields the throne to her younger brother and journeys to Ukyu-Gondé beyond the impenetrable Wall of Storms with a fleet of ships and ten thousand people. Bravely confronting adversity, she meets each challenge bravely, and refuses to let the past dictate the present.

Very very interesting next chapter in the Dandelion Dynasty. There was definitely a lot action, excitement, and entertainment. But to be honest, I was very confused and almost lost at times. the story was in so many places with so many characters, I continually had to go back to the glossary to figure out who they were. I think the story did hit a little bit of a lull compared to the first and second books, which is understandable, but I think the ending really set up excitement for the next chapter in the series. The character development was really well done, and the story was good, albeit just a bit slow for my liking. In general, if you read the other books in the series you will enjoy the book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ken Liu, and Gallery / Saga Press for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

We just continue to get deeper and deeper into this world with each entry. I enjoyed the characters and pacing and I can't wait for more. Plus...look at the cover! Gorgeous! This is definitely going on my shelf!