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sabrinz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
I really enjoyed this book - even if it took me ages to finish. It was more circumstances that kept me from reading more than me not wanting to.
For everyone wanting to read this, this book is best suited when you have time to read for longer periods of time. If you read it chapter by chapter with even some days between chapters, you might lose some of the connections that are woven in the different chapters and that tie the different characters together.
It's a brilliant book about friendship and how things are perceived, but also how you go about doing things.
For everyone wanting to read this, this book is best suited when you have time to read for longer periods of time. If you read it chapter by chapter with even some days between chapters, you might lose some of the connections that are woven in the different chapters and that tie the different characters together.
It's a brilliant book about friendship and how things are perceived, but also how you go about doing things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, War, and Violence
mandkips's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Grief, and Infidelity
catapocalypse's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I wish I'd rated and reviewed after my first reading, for the sake of seeing how differently I may feel after this one. I feel as if I enjoyed it even more this time around.
This first entry in the Dandelion Dynasty is like a prologue for the rest of the series, in that it focuses on the events that first unify Dara and deals with the generation prior to the central characters of the rest of the books. I don't consider this a weakness; it's an adventurous read as we follow the mighty warrior Mata Zyndu and the cunning gangster-turned-government official-turned-rebel Kuni Garu, and the rise and fall and rebirth of empire. It's an epic fantasy and silkpunk treatment of events in Chinese history leading to the rise of the Han Dynasty, and it's a whole lot of fun.
There's valid criticism about the women and lack thereof in much of the book, which is essentially what prevents it from a full 5 stars for me. I love Gin Mazoti, like Risana and Mira a lot (but they could have had more "screen time!"), but something about Jia is still off, for me. I'm not entirely sure how to articulate it; maybe it's that she becomes too reactive after starting out so strong and proactive?
I look forward to rereading the next installment, and then finishing the series.
This first entry in the Dandelion Dynasty is like a prologue for the rest of the series, in that it focuses on the events that first unify Dara and deals with the generation prior to the central characters of the rest of the books. I don't consider this a weakness; it's an adventurous read as we follow the mighty warrior Mata Zyndu and the cunning gangster-turned-government official-turned-rebel Kuni Garu, and the rise and fall and rebirth of empire. It's an epic fantasy and silkpunk treatment of events in Chinese history leading to the rise of the Han Dynasty, and it's a whole lot of fun.
There's valid criticism about the women and lack thereof in much of the book, which is essentially what prevents it from a full 5 stars for me. I love Gin Mazoti, like Risana and Mira a lot (but they could have had more "screen time!"), but something about Jia is still off, for me. I'm not entirely sure how to articulate it; maybe it's that she becomes too reactive after starting out so strong and proactive?
I look forward to rereading the next installment, and then finishing the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, War, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief
griffinthief's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, and Death of parent
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
THE GRACE OF KINGS is the story of the shattering of one dynasty and the early forging of another. Two friends who take down an empire together become bitter enemies and are unable to walk away until one (or both) are utterly broken.
The third person narration mostly follows Mata and Kuni, then Jia, as well as a smattering of other perspectives as is necessary for the particular scene. There are interludes where the gods are commenting on events and taking sides, I like how they made it unambiguous that the gods exist and are interested, but that the humans are the main actors. It made their small interventions feel more meaningful, while keeping unquestioned the agency of the main characters.
Mata Zyndu is the last member of the Zyndu clan. Kuni Garu woos Jia Matiza and begins trying to improve his life by having literally any job in order to impress her parents. This doesn’t work very well (he strives to do the most interesting thing and very few available steady jobs can qualify as “most interesting”). He becomes a bandit early on in the narrative, which is how he meets Mata Zyndu. Jia is a source of stability for Kuni early on but eventually figures out how to claim more of a place for herself which isn’t as dependent on him for her story.
Kuni and Mata have different approaches from the beginning of their acquaintance. Early on they’re able to coordinate their strengths to great effect, but once things start falling apart their differences make small misunderstandings large and their newly-competing political goals slowly remove pressure to reconcile. Mata has this larger-than-life physical presence and strong principles, but his rigidity starts to get in the way. Kuni is flexible but directionless, moving from one small goal to the next, checking in with his friends and confidantes.
Kuni and Jia are best described as having a series of long-distance relationships with each other. They stay consistently important in each other’s lives, but they have to figure out how to balance their relationship, Kuni’s drive to do dangerous things, and Jia’s need to have a life that’s more than hoping he’ll be able to come home. I’m very pleased with the solution they reach, it works well for the narrative and for the characters involved.
The worldbuilding is very detailed in terms of politics and political history of the region where the story is set. Early on there’s an entire chapter which details the most relevant portions of that history. I think it’s a good test for whether you’re likely to enjoy the rest of the story. It felt a bit dry, partly because it was a lot of information at once, but I enjoyed the detail of it and within a few chapters I was very grateful for that early context. Kuni and Mata become political players because war is political and they decided to fight the Empire. I like being given the context to have an idea what certain moves could implicate for other things in play before they’re spelled out in the text, and being given the political histories early on was great for that.
The ending is fitting based on the flower motif and which flower is in the name of the series (it’s not the chrysanthemum). In particular I like how it allows for narrative stability at the very end while hinting at the shape of specific trouble to come.
I read this as an audiobook and I plan to read the rest of the series that way. It was easy to follow and I like the narrator.
The third person narration mostly follows Mata and Kuni, then Jia, as well as a smattering of other perspectives as is necessary for the particular scene. There are interludes where the gods are commenting on events and taking sides, I like how they made it unambiguous that the gods exist and are interested, but that the humans are the main actors. It made their small interventions feel more meaningful, while keeping unquestioned the agency of the main characters.
Mata Zyndu is the last member of the Zyndu clan. Kuni Garu woos Jia Matiza and begins trying to improve his life by having literally any job in order to impress her parents. This doesn’t work very well (he strives to do the most interesting thing and very few available steady jobs can qualify as “most interesting”). He becomes a bandit early on in the narrative, which is how he meets Mata Zyndu. Jia is a source of stability for Kuni early on but eventually figures out how to claim more of a place for herself which isn’t as dependent on him for her story.
Kuni and Mata have different approaches from the beginning of their acquaintance. Early on they’re able to coordinate their strengths to great effect, but once things start falling apart their differences make small misunderstandings large and their newly-competing political goals slowly remove pressure to reconcile. Mata has this larger-than-life physical presence and strong principles, but his rigidity starts to get in the way. Kuni is flexible but directionless, moving from one small goal to the next, checking in with his friends and confidantes.
Kuni and Jia are best described as having a series of long-distance relationships with each other. They stay consistently important in each other’s lives, but they have to figure out how to balance their relationship, Kuni’s drive to do dangerous things, and Jia’s need to have a life that’s more than hoping he’ll be able to come home. I’m very pleased with the solution they reach, it works well for the narrative and for the characters involved.
The worldbuilding is very detailed in terms of politics and political history of the region where the story is set. Early on there’s an entire chapter which details the most relevant portions of that history. I think it’s a good test for whether you’re likely to enjoy the rest of the story. It felt a bit dry, partly because it was a lot of information at once, but I enjoyed the detail of it and within a few chapters I was very grateful for that early context. Kuni and Mata become political players because war is political and they decided to fight the Empire. I like being given the context to have an idea what certain moves could implicate for other things in play before they’re spelled out in the text, and being given the political histories early on was great for that.
The ending is fitting based on the flower motif and which flower is in the name of the series (it’s not the chrysanthemum). In particular I like how it allows for narrative stability at the very end while hinting at the shape of specific trouble to come.
I read this as an audiobook and I plan to read the rest of the series that way. It was easy to follow and I like the narrator.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Suicide, Torture, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Murder, and Child death
masterofthedeck's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Child death
rorikae's review
challenging
dark
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
3.5
In 'The Grace of Kings,' Ken Liu starts an epic fantasy silkpunk series that centers on two men who will shape the future of their empire.
Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu grow up in separate areas of the empire. After Emperor Mapidere's death and the ascension of the boy emperor Erishi, the political situation in the empire becomes less stable and both men begin to forge their own paths. When they meet, they strike up respect for one another that becomes a fast friendship. But as the trials of trying to gain control in the empire increase, their friendship and loyalty to one another is tested.
I'm a little bit conflicted about this book. It starts off with an incredibly memorable first scene that does a great job of establishing the world and the empire but then it loses its track for the first 20 to 30% of the book. Liu takes time with each of the characters he introduces but instead of weaving these together to explore more of the backstory of the empire, it feels jumbled and hard to follow. We are constantly being pulled to and fro with new characters and it makes it hard to establish the main characters of the story until far into the book. Once the introductions and background settle and the story focuses more squarely on Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu, it flows much better and is much more intriguing. Liu's use of backstory works better further along in the story when characters are introduced every once and awhile and the backstories are allowed the time to flesh out the characters and how they connect to the wider plot. Other than some of these later additions, I found it hard to remember many of the characters beyond the main set.
Some of my favorite parts of the story are the ways that Liu uses the gods and their meddling in human affairs as well as the way technology is utilized. Once the story moves from introducing characters to focusing on character development, it hit its stride and I became far more invested in Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu.
I would be interested to read the next book in the series, especially the way that this book ends. I thought that some of the main parts of this story would continue on throughout the series but with how the book wraps up, it is clear that it will be heading in new directions in book two.
Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu grow up in separate areas of the empire. After Emperor Mapidere's death and the ascension of the boy emperor Erishi, the political situation in the empire becomes less stable and both men begin to forge their own paths. When they meet, they strike up respect for one another that becomes a fast friendship. But as the trials of trying to gain control in the empire increase, their friendship and loyalty to one another is tested.
I'm a little bit conflicted about this book. It starts off with an incredibly memorable first scene that does a great job of establishing the world and the empire but then it loses its track for the first 20 to 30% of the book. Liu takes time with each of the characters he introduces but instead of weaving these together to explore more of the backstory of the empire, it feels jumbled and hard to follow. We are constantly being pulled to and fro with new characters and it makes it hard to establish the main characters of the story until far into the book. Once the introductions and background settle and the story focuses more squarely on Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu, it flows much better and is much more intriguing. Liu's use of backstory works better further along in the story when characters are introduced every once and awhile and the backstories are allowed the time to flesh out the characters and how they connect to the wider plot. Other than some of these later additions, I found it hard to remember many of the characters beyond the main set.
Some of my favorite parts of the story are the ways that Liu uses the gods and their meddling in human affairs as well as the way technology is utilized. Once the story moves from introducing characters to focusing on character development, it hit its stride and I became far more invested in Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu.
I would be interested to read the next book in the series, especially the way that this book ends. I thought that some of the main parts of this story would continue on throughout the series but with how the book wraps up, it is clear that it will be heading in new directions in book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War, and Infidelity
natyosch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Suicide
katt's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Confinement, Violence, Torture, and Suicide
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