Exciting Opening with a Talking Dragon
Jenn Lyons’ book The Ruin of Kings begins with an exciting premise: we have a hero who isn’t going to save the world, but rather tear it apart like a kid with a piñata. At least, if the prophecies are to be believed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; if we’re counting correctly, this won’t happen until about 2100 pages later. Assuming the next two volumes turn out to be similarly hefty bricks. (Yep, exactly that.)
You’ll notice from the very first pages that the story in The Ruin of Kings is densely woven, as is typical of high fantasy, with an incredibly detailed background world. Almost every page includes some integral piece of background information seamlessly integrated into the text. The story is teeming with gods, mages, demons, and dragons, but fortunately, Jenn Lyons’ writing doesn’t suffer from any excessive magical antics. Magic is barely used, and the author’s commendable restraint ensures that the result doesn’t come off as ridiculous.
Oh, and there’s a talking dragon too. Yes, those don’t always turn out well. Somehow, though, it doesn’t come across as a major issue here.
Jenn Lyons Begins Modestly
The entire story is professionally mundane, meaning even the completely ordinary situations are written in an interesting way. The evil characters steal the show, being far more vivid than the others. For example, Talon’s cat-and-mouse game with her former lover is the best scene in the book.
However, there are occasional instances of unnecessary sulking in The Ruin of Kings. Despite being raised in a brothel (and as a performer—what incredible luck!), Jenn Lyons’ main character blushes surprisingly often. And when you’d rather read about the bashful Kihrin’s training, instead, everything else – much less important – takes the spotlight.
And now, let’s draw a nice, long, straight dividing line here:
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Jenn Lyons Gets Carried Away
Seven hundred is too much, even for pancakes, let alone seven hundred pages of text. Of course, if done well (see: The Warded Man), it’s not a problem. But what if Jenn Lyons OBVIOUSLY loves writing so very, very, very much, and even THINKS that more is always better?
Then, when the story should be approaching its climax, well past the halfway point, the author instead throws in a bunch of unnecessary subplots. Rather than leaving some ammunition for the following volumes, she crams a lot into a few chapters and thoroughly explains – perhaps over-explains – what, where, why, and how much.
By the End, The Ruin of Kings Begins to Induce Yawning
Then you suddenly find yourself struggling to follow who is who after so many body-swapping. Or who the heck THEY WERE. (This annoying process eventually turns Jenn Lyons’ work into a self-parody in the final scene of the D’Mon house.)
Meanwhile, a god lurks around every corner, eagerly waiting for a character to wander by so they can leap out and get involved in the story themselves. Ordinary characters wander in and out of the Otherworld as if through a revolving door.
Fortunately, none of this detracts so much from Kihrin’s story that it becomes completely unpalatable. However, it is true that due to all the unnecessary twists, the last hundred pages of The Ruin of Kings can sometimes induce yawns. And especially: the ending doesn’t leave as strong an impression as the overzealous author likely intended.
Rating: 7.2/10
The Ruin of Kings (Chorus of Dragons, Book 1) by Jenn Lyons
560 pages, Hardcover
Published in 2019 by Tor Books
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