The Ruin of Kings, Jenn Lyons
The Ruin of Kings, Jenn Lyons
20 Rating(s)
List: $44.99 | Sale: $31.50
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The Ruin of Kings

Author: Jenn Lyons

Narrator: Feodor Chin, Soneela Nankani, Vikas Adam

Unabridged: 27 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/05/2019


Synopsis

A Kirkus Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy pick for 2019!
A Library Journal Best Book of 2019!
An NPR Favorite Book of 2019!

"Everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it."—Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians

When destiny calls, there's no fighting back.

Kihrin grew up in the slums of Quur, a thief and a minstrel's son raised on tales of long-lost princes and magnificent quests. When he is claimed against his will as the missing son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds himself at the mercy of his new family's ruthless power plays and political ambitions.

Practically a prisoner, Kihrin discovers that being a long-lost prince is nothing like what the storybooks promised. The storybooks have lied about a lot of other things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he isn't the hero after all. For Kihrin is not destined to save the world.

He's destined to destroy it.

Jenn Lyons begins the Chorus of Dragons series with The Ruin of Kings, an epic fantasy novel about a man who discovers his fate is tied to the future of an empire.

"It's impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all . . . a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings to dwell in for a good long while."—The New York Times

A Chorus of Dragons
1: The Ruin of Kings
2: The Name of All Things
3: The Memory of Souls

About Jenn Lyons

Twice-nominated Astounding Award finalist Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, a rebellious cait sìth, and a nearly infinite number of opinions on everything from Sumerian mythology to the proper way to make a martini. After thirty years as a graphic artist, art director, and video game producer (in that order), Lyons now happily splits her time between game development and novel writing. Her geek roots run deep, beginning with first edition Dungeons & Dragons in grade school and continuing today with an ever-evolving roster of hobbies—recent obsessions include pyrography, stenography, and medieval occult manuscripts. She is also the author of The Sky on Fire and the A Chorus of Dragons series, which begins with The Ruin of Kings.

About Soneela Nankani

Soneela is a classically trained actress with over 500 titles in many genres including her specialties: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, and Sci-Fi. She has garnered 26 Earphone awards, an Audie; and was awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. Her audiobooks have been featured in AudioFile Magazine, The Washington Post, Audible and The New York Times.She is known for her facility with languages and accents and her flexibility to handle a range of genres and styles. She loves to inspire hope, swooning and laughter in her listeners.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Petrik on March 14, 2019

ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review. Convoluted and complex are probably understatements, but I don’t have any other words to describe the main attributes of this debut. For those of you who don’t know, The Ruin of Kings have been the fantasy debut that Tor has be......more

Goodreads review by Becca on March 13, 2022

As someone who loves a hard, defined magic system and concrete worldbuilding, I shouldn't have really liked this. We have two unreliable narrators throughout the bulk giving conflicting information on the magic and history and the characters are a mess of reincarnations, Gods, God Kings, people who......more

Goodreads review by Holly Hearts Books on August 24, 2019

Have you ever been to denial town? Currently visiting and it sucks.... The Ruin of Kings has been on my radar ever since it was announced in 2018 being compared to Joe Abercrombie (one of my favorite authors), Patrick Rothfuss, and Brandon Sanderson. It sounded so good - a heavy dose of epic fantasy......more

Goodreads review by James on December 19, 2018

We did this (myself and Emma) as a combined review for Fantasy Book Review which can be seen here. [URL not allowed] These were my thoughts following on from what Emma had already written. I received a limited edition proof copy of The Ruin of Kings in exchange for an honest rev......more

Goodreads review by Amy on March 08, 2021

3.5 stars UPDATE: I am still chewing on this story, 7 months later. I had to bump it up to 4 stars for the sheer lasting effect alone. Maybe I love this? There is such a thing as too much, too fast, too deep, and too convoluted in high fantasy. This is arguably it. Writing: ★★★★★ World Building: ★★★★★ Pa......more


Quotes

"It's impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all, the sheer, effervescent joy Lyons takes in the scope of her project . . . a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings to dwell in for a good long while."—The New York Times

"Ms. Lyons is all set to take her readers on a long journey indeed, unfolding and unfolding like brilliant origami. So far, though, not a hairy chest in sight, nor a languishing maiden. Fantasy has moved on, and is all the better for it."—The Wall Street Journal

"An impressive and highly accomplished debut . . . The Ruin of Kings makes both an ideal introduction to epic fantasy and a rewarding read for fans of the genre."—The Los Angeles Times

"With the scope and sense of fatality of Patrick Rothfuss, and well-choreographed action sense of Brandon Sanderson, Lyons leaps into the big leagues of epic fantasy and sticks the landing."—Booklist, starred review

"[A] jaw-dropping, action-packed story of betrayal, greed, and grand-scale conspiracy . . . Lyons ties it all together seamlessly to create literary magic. Epic fantasy fans looking for a virtually un-put-down-able read should look no further."—Kirkus, starred review

"Tightly plotted . . . its lore and memorable characters will leave epic fantasy fans eager for the second volume."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This stunning debut takes epic fantasy to a high level, portraying a world filled with magic, demons, gods, and dragons, in which politics and power plays are the laws of the land."—Library Journal, starred review

"Rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply, deeply satisfying. I loved it."—Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians

“It was one hell of a ride. I gobbled it up and was hungry for more.”—Glen Cook, author of The Black Company

The Ruin of Kings is a fascinating story about a compellingly conflicted young hero in an intriguingly complex world.”—L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of the Recluse series

"A thriller plot of revenge and loyalty with a get-under-your-skin and keep-you-reading-all-night mystery at its heart. I loved it."—John Gwynne, author of Malice

"The Ruin of Kings revs up with the glitz of a high-speed, multi-level video game, with extreme magic and a teen hero with angst."—Janny Wurts, author of The Curse of the Mistwraith


Awards

  • Library Journal Best Books of the Year
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year