Reviews tagging 'War'

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

21 reviews

paperbacktiger's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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thecriticalreader's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

 
Context: 
I decided to read The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu because I was in the mood for epic fantasy and have heard a lot of positive things about it. I borrowed it from my library through the Libby App.
 
Review:
I don’t think that anyone has ever told Ken Liu about the “show, not tell” rule in writing. Everything—and I mean everything—is spelled out for the reader in The Grace of Kings. He constantly explains what is happening, who the characters are, what the characters are thinking, what personality traits the characters have, why the characters are doing something, what philosophical themes and questions the reader should ponder, why a certain aspect of the plot is important or impactful, etc. Exchanges between characters go something like this:
 
Character 1: I am feeling _____ because ______ elements of my upbringing conditioned me to react this way.
 
Character 2: You are indeed _______. Would you like to hear my plan to achieve ______, which will fulfill your ______ desires in ________ exact way? 
 
Character 1: Sure, what is your plan?
 
Character 2: My plan is to trick the enemy using _____ tactics. They will fall for these tricks because of ______ elements of their personality or planning.
 
Character 1: Wow, your plan is so smart because they will not see ______ tactics coming, because of ______ elements of the personality or planning.
 
As you can tell, this can become frustrating and repetitive quickly. That being said, there are a few advantages to this writing style. It makes an otherwise intimidating epic fantasy book incredibly easy to digest, as the reader never has to do any thinking for themselves. Since many consider The Grace of Kings to be a prologue of sorts for the rest of the series, Liu can cram an enormous amount of plot and action into one book. He tells the reader exactly what they need to know so that each scene propels the storyline forward. In this way, The Grace of Kings is a fast-paced and exciting read, a somewhat uncommon trait in epic fantasy tomes. 
 
Liu’s extreme “tell not show” approach to storytelling, however, hinders the book more than it helps. It insults the reader’s intelligence by spelling out the obvious and strips the reader of any agency. Furthermore, the book spends no time lingering with the characters or world for the sake of development. I’m not someone who believes that every epic fantasy needs to be a slow burn filled with quiet character moments and lengthy descriptions of the setting, but good gracious! Let us get to know the characters rather than just telling us who they are! You can’t have an emotional payoff without quality buildup!
 
I was willing to accept the story as it was and enjoy the ride, even if the style of narration didn’t fit my tastes. Unfortunately, I found a lot of the dialogue to be cliché and cringeworthy: every time Liu clearly wanted a character to sound witty, flirtatious, profound, or badass, I found myself rolling my eyes. His attempts at championing feminist ideals in the narrative are also a joke, as it’s clear that he doesn’t actually know how to write female characters. Oh, and did I mention that the central conflict of the story is the result of a stupid miscommunication, just like in a bad rom-com movie? At a certain point, it was hard to take The Grace of Kings seriously, I knew that my chances of genuinely enjoying it were slim. 
 
I’m willing to concede that The Grace of Kings has a clever, ambitious plot and some cool worldbuilding elements; it kept me more or less entertained for 600+ pages, so that’s an accomplishment. Nevertheless, it suffers from a writing style that leaves nothing to the imagination. I think in the hands of a more capable writer—someone like Guy Gavriel Kay, for instance—The Grace of Kings could have been a masterpiece.
 
The Run-Down: 
You will probably like The Grace of Kings if . . . 
·      You want to read a fast-paced, exciting epic fantasy of grand scope
·      You are more of a plot-driven reader than a character-driven reader
 
You might not like The Grace of Kings if . . .
·      You want to spend time getting to know a world and its characters
·      You dislike a writing style that leaves nothing to the imagination
·      You dislike poorly written female characters
 
A Similar Book: 
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (a 4.5-star read for me!)
Similarities Include:
·      Epic fantasy about a people rebelling against a despotic rule
·      Light magic system
·      Multiple main characters from different backgrounds
·      Political maneuvering and a punchy plot

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astatt's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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albernikolauras's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A sprawling story covering the fall and rise of dynasties in the Islands of Dara. For a book that is broken into short spurts of time, Liu draws you in to get attached to characters all over the islands. It took me awhile to read through, but it was so rewarding.

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shermansays's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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bluejay21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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kendal_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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macliffe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A really good book overall. I felt immersed in the world and very attached to some of the characters. The reason I marked it down was just because sometimes the world building was just a little too vast for me. The were so many locations and they’d get conquered by this person or that person so it was really hard to keep track of (I didn’t have access to a map which did not help. I would suggest reading the physical book of this and not listening to it on audio like I did just so it’s easier to keep things straight). I couldn’t tell a lot of the side characters apart from each other. I had other little nitpicks which bumped it down to a 3.5 for me, but I did always enjoy it overall. It did a great job of immersing me every time I picked it up again and I always wanted to keep reading.

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aweekinthelife's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

picked this up on recommendation and i'm committing to continuing the rest of the series. took about 25% to feel like anything was happening at all but even then the whole book felt like setup for the rest of the series to me. the characters are fairly lovable but the pacing is a little unpredictable. 

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larsen1191's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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