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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to say, Riot is getting really good at bringing their game world, Runeterra, to other mediums. Just as Arcane was a very capable fantasy TV show, Ruination is a very capable fantasy novel.
Is it groundbreaking? No. Did I finish it in three days? Yes.
And I enjoyed every damn minute of it!
Ruination is a sort of prequel. It takes place several decades before the game’s current time period and explores a major event in the game’s lore—the titular Ruination—which birthed several of League’s champions.
This allows the writer, Anthony Reynolds, the same kind of playground that the writers of Arcane enjoyed. The audience knows how the story ends and whom the major characters will become, but we don’t know what exact road will lead to that endpoint.
I suspect this makes the novel extra fun for League of Legends fans, but rest assured, if you’re like me and don’t know anything about the Ruination, you will still understand and enjoy the story.
=== What comes next is somewhat spoiler-y. If you don’t want to know anything about how Ruination ends, close this review now and go read the book. Have fun, bye! ===
=== Seriously, spoilers below this line. ====
This whole prequel structure is important because it allows Ruination to be a different kind of novel than we generally get in the high fantasy genre.
Even if you know nothing of the lore, you can sense the creeping dread right from the first page and the novel eventually becomes almost like a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy. You realize pretty early on that people will fall—the only question is how.
And when the end finally comes, it’s pretty spectacular and heartwrenching.
This leads me to my only gripe with the novel: Ruination kind of has two endings.
One ties off the strands of the novel itself—it’s appropriately heartbreaking and shocking and dark, with only a tiny glimmer of hope. It’s exquisite!
The other sets up the game and muddies the emotional impact of the first.
Because we are supposed to go play League after putting down the book (I guess), some pretty major characters don’t really get closure—they just exit stage left. Others die dramatically, but then get resurrected in new forms and with markedly different personalities to match their game counterparts.
Some of these transformations are better than others, but all of them happen too quickly and too soon.
I guess what I want to say is that I would have liked to sit with my grief a bit more before I see the Spear of Vengeance emerge and I’m pretty confused as to what became of the king of Camavor and his beloved.
Anyway, even with this caveat, I really enjoyed my time with Ruination! It’s a good story, expertly written with great characters and set in an interesting world.
I hope Riot continues putting out novels and shows because I’m falling deeper and deeper in love with Runeterra but League is unfortunately not my cup of tea and I don’t think it ever will be.
Is it groundbreaking? No. Did I finish it in three days? Yes.
And I enjoyed every damn minute of it!
Ruination is a sort of prequel. It takes place several decades before the game’s current time period and explores a major event in the game’s lore—the titular Ruination—which birthed several of League’s champions.
This allows the writer, Anthony Reynolds, the same kind of playground that the writers of Arcane enjoyed. The audience knows how the story ends and whom the major characters will become, but we don’t know what exact road will lead to that endpoint.
I suspect this makes the novel extra fun for League of Legends fans, but rest assured, if you’re like me and don’t know anything about the Ruination, you will still understand and enjoy the story.
=== What comes next is somewhat spoiler-y. If you don’t want to know anything about how Ruination ends, close this review now and go read the book. Have fun, bye! ===
=== Seriously, spoilers below this line. ====
This whole prequel structure is important because it allows Ruination to be a different kind of novel than we generally get in the high fantasy genre.
Even if you know nothing of the lore, you can sense the creeping dread right from the first page and the novel eventually becomes almost like a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy. You realize pretty early on that people will fall—the only question is how.
And when the end finally comes, it’s pretty spectacular and heartwrenching.
This leads me to my only gripe with the novel: Ruination kind of has two endings.
One ties off the strands of the novel itself—it’s appropriately heartbreaking and shocking and dark, with only a tiny glimmer of hope. It’s exquisite!
The other sets up the game and muddies the emotional impact of the first.
Because we are supposed to go play League after putting down the book (I guess), some pretty major characters don’t really get closure—they just exit stage left. Others die dramatically, but then get resurrected in new forms and with markedly different personalities to match their game counterparts.
Some of these transformations are better than others, but all of them happen too quickly and too soon.
I guess what I want to say is that I would have liked to sit with my grief a bit more before I see the Spear of Vengeance emerge and I’m pretty confused as to what became of the king of Camavor and his beloved.
Anyway, even with this caveat, I really enjoyed my time with Ruination! It’s a good story, expertly written with great characters and set in an interesting world.
I hope Riot continues putting out novels and shows because I’m falling deeper and deeper in love with Runeterra but League is unfortunately not my cup of tea and I don’t think it ever will be.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-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
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-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
dark
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes