It doesn’t hurt at all that Kihrin is a wry narrator with a rebellious streak. There’s dynamic action, thrilling chases, and a few heart-wrenching moments as you realize how certain events inevitably have to play out.

The immediate drive to see how these events connect is strong, and the first couple hundred pages are a compelling read. THE RUIN OF KINGS starts out with its best foot forward as mentioned before, the two dueling storylines involve a murder and our hero’s enslavement. I found myself going back and re-reading early passages in the book in a new light, having a fuller understanding of the characters and mythology in play. And as the story progresses, one’s understanding of the significance of people or events shifts as details are revealed and events unfold. When Kihrin in the later storyline mentions an event from his past, the reader starts to anticipate it happening in the earlier narrative, watching for the triggers that will cause things to happen. The beauty of these layers is that they do not (for the most part) confuse, but enhance the overall pacing and tension. The chapters alternate between these timelines until they meet up for one last breathless finale. The bulk of the story follows Kihrin at two points in his life: the first, when he arrives on slave docks to be sold, the second, an earlier time in his life when he accidentally witnessed a murder. At the upper level is what you might call the chronicler of events, the person who is “compiling” these different narrations together, adding their own annotations to clarify terminology, add other rumors about what really happened, or insert their opinion. The story is told by multiple narrators, each telling a different part of the tale. The successful creation of this epic feeling is in part attributed to the fascinating layering of timelines. Our attachment to Kihrin is what pulls us forward, and perhaps allows us to overlook some of the flimsier parts of the world-building. It’s a journey of personal stakes, but told in such a grand way that it feels like a epic of kingdom-sized proportions. It follow the saga of Kihrin, street thief turned lost-heir of a Royal Household, as he navigates a web of intrigue and prophecies that will kill him if he’s not careful. THE RUIN OF KINGS is a high fantasy that manages to be personal and sprawling at the same time.

It has not affected my review in any way. Note: I received an ARC from the publisher at San Diego Comic Con.

The ruin of kings