A Throne Betrayed by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas, a good book that reads well and makes you want to keep reading. For those who enjoyed the other books in the series this is a must read.

You would enjoy “ A Throne Betrayed” if you like!!!
- Political intrigue
- Intense sword fighting
- Morally gray characters
- Captivating character driven plot

This was phenomenal, I went in unaware about this book and the world, or that it was a game! Just reeled in by the cover and description. Now I am in love and invested in what will happen next.

This follows 3 different POVs from different characters all in different clans. Each clan and person have their own aspirations and how it all slowly weaves together is something special. The writing style is simplistic but descriptive enough that we are able to picture the land and people, while still explaining the confusing political situation.

I strongly enjoyed all the world building and this was a great start to a series and really placed all of the chess pieces on the board.

!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!
YAKAMO!!!!! WHY HAVE THEY DONE MY BABY LIKE THIS!!! He just wanted appreciation and to stop losing his clan, while the rest is playing the dumb court politics— while trying to put someone of pure sadism in power. Ughh I am team Yakamo and … yes I know that he is a little bad, but he has reason for this. I honestly can’t wait for the next story just for Yakamo.

As someone who loves the Legend of the Five Rings games and tie-in novels I was excited to read A Throne Betrayed and this was only aided by it being written by Julie Kagawa alongside JT Nicholas. The first thing I want to talk about are the characters. They are so human and life-like which just helps you get entangled in the narrative so much quicker. They are emotional and realistic and you feel like you are right there beside them.
The narrative itself is complex and full of twists, turns and intrigue from the start and sits perfectly within the Legends of the Five Rings world. You get gripped from the first page and cannot help but want to know what happens next. The other thing I adore about these tie-ins is even if you are new to the lore of the worlds they are set in you can still enjoy these novels. A definite 5 star read.
As always thank you to Aconyte Press for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

Give me ten more, please! I love the Legend of the Five Rings lore, and this book is the perfect novelization. While many of these characters are well-known in the old lore, this novel does a great job of bringing them to life and making me fall in love with them all over again. This doesn't hold back any of the gritty, tragic, emotional portions of the story. If this wouldn't spoil the story for the campaign I'm running, I would make all of my players read this, because it makes the world feel real and lived-in. You can feel the different ways of life in each of the clans and how it affects the empire as a whole, even in this new time of uncertainty. I would recommend this to newbies to the world and hardcore fans as well. I will be patiently waiting for the next installment.

The emperor is dead, and his son is missing.

A Throne Betrayed follows a complex cast of characters as they manage demonic invasion, political intrigue, and the fate of the kingdom. I've never experienced the world/game this is based off, but the story is welcoming and compelling enough even without the extra information (though I might end up looking into it?). Though I had a particular fondness for Yakamo's story throughout the book, every character's plot was well worth reading. Looking forward to (hopefully!) more entries in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher, and author for the opportunity to read this book.

Sensational!

Enter the world of the Legend of the Five Rings. A society based on that of Ancient Japan, that is divided into clans where the jousting for supreme positions within the empire is murderous and compelling. Where champion ronins abide. Where the Emperor is the empire, supported by the clans who are held together in uneasy truces that will only take a spark to ignite. Then there’s the challenge beyond the empire that’s streaming forth from the Shadowlands being held at bay by the Crab clan. For L5r world “Winter is coming” as the undead, goblins, orca and demons burst forth. The dead are constantly reanimated, chilling the living.
The Crab clan champion’s son, Hida Yakamo faces down the things spewing forth from the shadowlands. The clan sends for help with the defence but is ignored. Given the state of the court, not unsurprising.
The empire is collapsing, the Emerald Emperor has been assassinated, his champion Toturi has become a wondering ronin, searching for the two missing princes, and along the journey, following the true ronin way, righting wrong as he finds it.
The Crane clan champion, Doji Haturo, finds her clan caught up in territorial challenges from the Lion clan. Is there something else happening here with the appearance amongst the Lion clan of a Phoenix clan member? And what of the Scorpian clan?
The outbreak of war, the happenstance of the disgraced wandering, yet questing ronin, the dark shadowlands push, clans jousting for power, all come together to bring us the beginnings of an epic series.

An Aconyte Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

A Throne Betrayed by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas is one heck of a tome! It is a cross between Game of Thrones and The Battle of the Five Armies (the hobbit trilogy of films). This is an incredible read! I'm so glad I was able to read this on my Kindle, because there were so many words I was not familiar with; all the different kinds of swords and weapons alone could fill a dictionary. In this book, the women are strong fighters, Samurai !! as well as the men, who are also Samurai warriors. The mystical is in this book, particularly within the Crab clan. So many clans, ogres, goblins and the like. We are talking warring Samurais!! Hundreds of people are killed in battles and some come back to life., I found this book to be exciting...! I mean the sentence alone of "wriggling piles of their own dead, and climbed to their feet, still holding the weapons they had died with." What a description, the entire book is like that one sentence. You'll be on the edge of your seat. I only hope this might be Volume 1 of many!
Highly recommended!!!

When you start a fantasy series and get hooked, you know you’ve entered a relationship that’ll last, either until the final book or until something makes you fall out of love with it.
I’d already read some books from the Legend of the Five Rings series, and I love Julia Kagava’s writing, so I knew I had to read this one and see what kind of journey I was about to begin.
From the very first pages, I was pulled into a world that felt like ancient Japan, a place steeped in despair, betrayal, and violence. It’s a world where honor and duty are sacred, but in the chaos of the moment, hope is hard to find.
This story leans more into emotion and intrigue than action. It’s not about nonstop battles, it’s about building a rich world, weaving in political tension, and introducing characters with depth.
And the characters are one of the strongest parts. The world-building is solid, following a canon shaped over the years. But the characters? They’re perfectly placed in the canon, and still manage to feel vivid and real.
The fantasy and horror elements are well balanced. And even though it’s not a fast-paced book, it never loses momentum or lets your attention wander (ADHD here, if it kept me focused, it’s doing something right).

This feels like the beginning of a love story that’ll stretch across several books, at least until The War of Clans reaches its final page.
For now, I definitely recommend it.
Many thanks to Aconyte Books and Love Book Tours for this digital copy, all opinions are mine

I read the original 7 Clan Wars novels that had been published in the early/mid 00s, for a long time I felt like no L5R novelization could ever come close to the love and obsession they drove me to... Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas have blown my mind. The characters are great, their motives are clear cut and for new people to the L5R world, it does explain a lot of the Japanese words and bushi rules.
Toturi is the former Emerald Champion, who witnessed the death of the prior emperor Hantei, and is traveling to find the lost prince. In his travels, he ends up on a quest of honor, and how to teach others how to do right by the Akodo code, even as a ronin.
Hotaru is the current Crane Champion, watching the twists and turns of the court intrigue, and wanting to do right by her Clan, goes to save the prince.
Yakamo is the son of the Crab Clan Champion, who watches over the Wall and helps defend it from demons and worse who dwell in the Shadowlands. He begs for aid from the other Clans, only to be ignored and mocked, and has to find a way to help his Clan from being wiped out.. Even if it means turning to the same kind who slaughter his kin.

I've been enjoying the Legend of the Five Rings world for a long time and was excited to read this new series. It was a strong start to the Clan Wars series and thought the overall concept worked with the previous books in this world. I thought the characters were so well written and had that historical element that I was looking for and glad had that spark that I was looking. Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas were able to weave a strong storyline and am excited to read more in this series and from both authors.

Politics and conflict between the Great Clans abound in Rokugan after the Emperor's recent death in this Legend of the Five Rings novel, the first of a new epic series.

From the very first page, A Throne Betrayed sinks its claws into the chaos of a crumbling empire and doesn’t let go. I absolutely ate it up. War. Betrayal. Honor. And Sacrifice.

The characters are gold. Raw, emotional, deeply flawed, and so richly developed. I found myself especially gutted by Yakamo and the plight of the Crab Clan. Their sacrifices are gut-wrenching, and yet the rest of the Empire seems blind to it. It’s tragic, and it’s brilliant.

“You did not fail. We were betrayed.”

The emotional weight of this book sits heavily in your chest. And despite the depth of worldbuilding (and it is dense), I never felt truly lost. That said, I did find myself Googling quite a few terms. A glossary or footnotes would have been a helpful touch for newcomers, especially to the Legend of the Five Rings universe.

The pacing leans more epic than fast, and while some passages meander without much dialogue, I personally didn’t mind. As someone who loves emotionally driven writing, those moments added tension and gravity. But I know some readers prefer things snappier!

This book has me setting a new goal: I want to read more of the Legend of the Five Rings books. This world is so rich and textured and I can tell there’s so much more still to explore.

Final Thoughts:
Heavy, heartfelt, and utterly gripping. A Throne Betrayed is an epic of loyalty, loss, and legacy—and I’m desperate for the next installment.

A rip roaring intro to an exciting new arc of books within the Legend of The Five Rings. A Throne Betrayed kicks off The Great Clan Wars and I cannot wait to read how it all unfolds.

The Emerald Emperor, Hantei the 38th is dead, killed by a Scorpion clan member. His sons and heirs to the throne have gone missing, and in one fell swoop the Emerald Empire topples over the brink of war. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time. The dread forces in The Shadowlands are amassing in numbers unseen by any living Crab clan member to date, and for the first time in living memory the Crab may not be able to hold back the oncoming tide . . .

What a banger of an intro. I haven't read anything by either of these authors before, but I know Julie Kagawa is fairly popular in the YA sphere so I guess it's no surprise this turned out to be one of the better L5R novels. Let's get into it.

We follow three main POVs that allow us to capture a relatively complete picture of the collapse of the Empire. In the halls of the Imperial Court we follow Doji Hotaru, the Crane Clan Champion. Through her lens we witness the outbreak of war as the Lion clan, unhappy with the way the Crane clan have managed to occupy the vacuum of Imperial power use it as an excuse to escalate their border skirmishes into Crane territory into all out war. Hotaru is an engaging character, the consummate samurai but one with a human element to her that her harder counterparts seem to lack, which we mainly see through the slight romantic subplot that is laced through her story and the way she meditates on the desolation of war, and the necessity of duty to clan and Empire. Her story is more political and intrigue driven and perfectly complements the other two storylines we follow. There's also plenty of action here, have no fear on that front.

The other major character we follow is Toturi, the disgraced Emerald Champion who becomes ronin after the assassination of the Emperor. Through his character arc we get a hard look at the toll this societal structure has on everyone from commoner to clan-affiliated samurai, and the disillusionment that begins to fracture this traditional status quo. Toturi is absolutely the wandering ronin trope, becoming embroiled in no win situations because of his sense of duty and morality, and that's a story that never gets old.

And finally, we have Hida Yakamo, the son of the Crab Clan Champion and heir to that role. The Crab are in dire straits defending the border of Rokugan from the evil entities that the Shadowlands spew forth, and in an act of desperation for the first time in a generation, the Crab send an emissary to the Emerald Throne to beg for reinforcements to hold back the tide. But of course, with the upheaval that happens, things take some messed up twists. Yakamo was the least fun of the POVs to read to be honest. He's basically a competent soldier and leader who nevertheless feels like a constant failure because he's constantly denied acknowledgement or approval from his father, who clearly isn't the kind of personality who goes in for that kind of stuff. That being said, he has a pretty messed up character arc in here, and given the way it ultimately plays out he goes from the least interesting to most fascinating character to follow over the course of the book.

All told, the book delivers exactly what I hoped for when I heard we were getting the Clan Wars. Samurai politicking, which is on another level from regular political intrigue because of the way every word, thought and action conveys a hidden meaning. Some pretty cool action scenes, as the Clans fail to set aside their infighting and historical agendas in the face of dire straits, and on the personal level as multiple people pursue retribution and vengeance for past grievances in a never ending cycle of pain and hatred. And of course, looming over it all, the epic fantasy level threat of Fu Leng's denizens that spew forth from the Shadowlands, held back only by the failing strength of the Crab clan.

A banger of a read. If you've never read L5R before, this is a great place to start as well, as it not only introduces you to many of the heavy players of the world but also kicks off an incredible story arc. That being said, its obvious to say that if you've been keeping up with L5R to date there's plenty to enjoy here, as at least one character we've seen from the novellas reappears in here. I dig it.

NOTE: Youtube link goes public on August 2nd 2025 @ 3 PM EST.

This is a tie-in for the media sensation Legend of the Five Rings. I had no idea about it prior to this. With that said, I found the book entertaining and dark, in a good way. I will definitely be purchasing for the library!

A caveat here is that I’ve been a fan of l5r since the 2000s, through the ccg and rpg, and I followed the reboot under fantasy flight pretty closely as well.

This book, and one might infer this series, is plotting a really interesting course. It retains a lot of the features of the fantasy flight reboot (hoturi, the sons of the emperor being missing, and seemingly the manner of the coup) but much of the structure of this book demonstrates a love of the old aeg era storyline, including some truly hilarious foreshadowing. It’s really impossible to predict how this is going to work out from book one, but as a framework for this story it’s very engaging and nostalgic to both eras of the game, which I imagine was the goal.

There’s a few shortcomings as a consequence. Some of the storylines feel very rushed (all the crab stuff in particular) as the book tries to set the stage for the events to come.

I’m excited to read the rest of the series as that’s when we’ll start to get to stuff that the fantasy flight reboot never got to, and we’ll see what this writing team has in them as far as plotting goes.

A multi POV story set in Rokugan, a fantasy version of medieval Japan in the aftermath of the Emperor's assassination and political infighting:
- There's Toturi, former chief bodyguard of the slain emperor, who finds himself at the end of a rebel army trying to restore peace
- There's Yakamo of the Crab whose clan defend the southern border against the demons/spirits of the Shadowlands. Seeking reinforcements, the Rokugans prefer to fight amongst each other rather than their external enemies. After a healing, he's possessed of new powers, thoughts and ambitions.
- There's Hoteru, ostensibly the Crane Champion fighter but depicted as a one note fool who's either lusting after Lady Kachiko (a far more interesting character) or jealous that she's not the object of Lady Kachiko's affections.
- There's also a shadowy presence at court who may, or may not, be influencing/controlling some of the players.
The book ends with each character having completed something and tee'd up for the next action on their to-do lists.

For those familiar with the lore of this land, this book probably fits right in (I've read the Daidoji Shin mysteries by Joshua Reynolds, also part of this universe) but be prepared to have things stated rather than explained - I'm not sure who Fu Leng is/was but they're the evil genius behind the shadowland monsters. Then there are other things which are constantly restated - I'm not sure how many times we're told it's Hantei 38th who was killed. There's also Hoteru's one tone jealousy. Trying to write within an existing universe something which satisfies the hard core fans as well as those new is a difficult balance but I'm not sure this book quite pulls it off.

Despite this, an entertaining yarn for a few evenings. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My thanks to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for an advance copy of this fantasy adventure story set in the world of a popular tabletop gaming, dealing with the death of rulers, loss of purpose, court intrigue, monsters, magic, and of course honor.

I remember when TSR starting making fantasy novels set in the world of their game systems. I was the happiest person in the world. I am not sure why but I love novelizations of all kinds. Movies, television, radio shows, role playing, computer games I just can't get enough. I think it might have to do with the familiarity of the subject, wanting to see characters from some entertainments continue on, long after The End appears on the screen. For role playing games I think it was more that I wish I was running these adventures of even playing in them. As I got older it was harder to find people to play with, so most of my joy came from the books. In fact there are many books set in role playing worlds that I have never played. After reading this book, I really have to make some more friends. A Throne Betrayed: A Legend of the Five Rings Novel is the first book in the War of the Clans series written by New York Times Best-selling author Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas. The book is set in a perilous time, full of betrayal, assassination, kidnapping, strange creatures, mysteries, and a quest to find oneself.

The Emperor has been struck down, killed by a trusted member of the Scorpion Clan, leaving the Emerald Empire teetering. In addition the Emperor's sons are missing, adding further chaos to the situation. The lines of understanding, the mutual fear, the animosities that kept the clans in check to each other have been removed, and now a weak government means that the clans will battle both on the field, and in the shadows for power. Toturi was once the Emperor's champion, he in fact found the dead Emperor fresh corpse, but could do nothing to save him. Toturi is now a rōnin, a samurai without master or purpose, still trying to keep justice, while trying to make sense of what happened. Though lost to himself, Toturi has gained companions on his search, but how much he can trust his new friends he doesn't know. Doji Hotaru is in the capital watching things slowly decaying, having feelings for one person, and fear and disquiet for another. Hotaru sees what is happening but as no idea how to stop things, even as the darkness gets closer. Meanwhile on the frontier with the Shadowlands, creatures of darkness attack the Wall, a Wall that is closer and closer to falling. Hidu Yokamo is used to the usual monsters, but these new creatures, along with the dead rising, are something he never trained for. And something these forces might not be able to stop.

As I said I am unfamiliar with the game, though I have read many books based here. I am not sure if this is early in the world, setting up adventures, or just a new campaign. I really enjoyed this book, the mix of characters and their motivations, and the way the authors developed them over the course of the book. There are many changes for the characters, and they show a lot of growth, and makes one flip pages faster and faster to see what is coming next. Action and intrigue mix well, and both are handheld equally well. I really enjoyed the action. The story moves a bit in time, but I think that really helped the book, and one doesn't get lost or confused.

A very good story, for those unfamiliar with the game. Those who play it will probably pick up a lot a missed, so I recommend it to them. This is like a great movie, the way characters are introduced, plots developed and built on. A really good series I want to read more of. Even more I want to play the game.