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4.63 AVERAGE
4.63 AVERAGE
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:
Yes
Overall, Ken Liu is an incredible writer. I do believe the series is definitely worth reading because there is so many incredible moments and characters and the world building is some of the best.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
there were like 2 new romances i didn’t care for but this was still good - not the direction I expected, but good! i’d say the thematic/philosophical threads come more together than just the plot ones. also i love jia. it had to be said.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
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
emotional
tense
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:
No
There are moments of absolute brilliance here but those moments don't take away from how much of a slog this sometimes felt.
📖 Speaking Bones is the conclusion to the Danelion Dynasty Quartet. This series is inspired by the Han Dynasty, Chinese history and Mythology. It spans multiple generations and continents following the rise and fall of a dynasty.
✨ Review ✨
I really wanted to love this, but sadly, this series went downhill for me. There is still so much to love here. This series started out as a trilogy, but when Ken Liu was writing the final book, it became too long and they made it a quartet. In my opinion, this was a mistake. The first two were fantastic but books 3 & 4 could have been massively edited down.
For the things I love though, starting with the world itself. Ken Liu has created something incredible, the world in of itself is captivating, vivid and so epic in scope. The imagination this man has... I'm in awe. It's also so deeply and beautifully rooted in Chinese history and Mythology. The world itself really does have a spark of life you just don't see often and the way he explores cultural identities within traditions and language is stunning.
I adore the way he explores contrasting philosophies and ideologies and what happens when they clash. Ken Liu has moments here of profound beauty that I truly do appreciate. However, I feel like he has a tendency to repeat and stretch these philosophies out to the point they feel a little tedious to read.
I'm a very character-driven reader, for me characters are the bread and butter of a story. While I don't think Book 1 had the best character work I've ever come across, I do think his characters were fantastic, and I was fully invested. Sadly, with each book I feel like the character work became less and less important. By the time I hit Speaking Bones, I found myself in a place where I didn't care what happened to anyone. Even the more interesting characters felt like critical moments within their development were missing. If you've ever seen the last season of the Game of Thrones TV show. That's what this series felt like for me. It made sense that the characters became who they did, but they also needed more to get there.
The biggest thing for me that didn't work is the meanderings around how every little piece of machinery works, and a lot of it doesn't feel that relevant. These moments were not enjoyable especially because we don't spend much time being shown how things work. These moments took me out of the story because there would always be someone nearby who didn't know anything. So they would ask a million questions, so we as the reader are getting these massive info dumps. It was too much tell and not enough show.
Overall, I'm really glad I read this series, but I'm also really glad it's over. This was a beautifully epic story of the complexities of power, the clash of cultures and ideals and the weight of history. Sadly though for me this doesn't have that re-readable factor but I still highly recommend.
The Grace of Kings - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5 / 5
The Wall of Storms - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 / 5
The Veiled Throne - ⭐⭐⭐ 3 / 5
Speaking Bones - ⭐⭐⭐ 3.25 / 5
📖 Speaking Bones is the conclusion to the Danelion Dynasty Quartet. This series is inspired by the Han Dynasty, Chinese history and Mythology. It spans multiple generations and continents following the rise and fall of a dynasty.
✨ Review ✨
I really wanted to love this, but sadly, this series went downhill for me. There is still so much to love here. This series started out as a trilogy, but when Ken Liu was writing the final book, it became too long and they made it a quartet. In my opinion, this was a mistake. The first two were fantastic but books 3 & 4 could have been massively edited down.
For the things I love though, starting with the world itself. Ken Liu has created something incredible, the world in of itself is captivating, vivid and so epic in scope. The imagination this man has... I'm in awe. It's also so deeply and beautifully rooted in Chinese history and Mythology. The world itself really does have a spark of life you just don't see often and the way he explores cultural identities within traditions and language is stunning.
I adore the way he explores contrasting philosophies and ideologies and what happens when they clash. Ken Liu has moments here of profound beauty that I truly do appreciate. However, I feel like he has a tendency to repeat and stretch these philosophies out to the point they feel a little tedious to read.
I'm a very character-driven reader, for me characters are the bread and butter of a story. While I don't think Book 1 had the best character work I've ever come across, I do think his characters were fantastic, and I was fully invested. Sadly, with each book I feel like the character work became less and less important. By the time I hit Speaking Bones, I found myself in a place where I didn't care what happened to anyone. Even the more interesting characters felt like critical moments within their development were missing. If you've ever seen the last season of the Game of Thrones TV show. That's what this series felt like for me. It made sense that the characters became who they did, but they also needed more to get there.
The biggest thing for me that didn't work is the meanderings around how every little piece of machinery works, and a lot of it doesn't feel that relevant. These moments were not enjoyable especially because we don't spend much time being shown how things work. These moments took me out of the story because there would always be someone nearby who didn't know anything. So they would ask a million questions, so we as the reader are getting these massive info dumps. It was too much tell and not enough show.
Overall, I'm really glad I read this series, but I'm also really glad it's over. This was a beautifully epic story of the complexities of power, the clash of cultures and ideals and the weight of history. Sadly though for me this doesn't have that re-readable factor but I still highly recommend.
The Grace of Kings - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5 / 5
The Wall of Storms - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 / 5
The Veiled Throne - ⭐⭐⭐ 3 / 5
Speaking Bones - ⭐⭐⭐ 3.25 / 5
adventurous
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
So...I did like it. But I just didn't enjoy the rest of the series as much as I did book 1. Altogether an impressively grand scale for the series and there's some great stuff in each book, but I think personally I prefer Grace of Kings as a standalone.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really strong ending tot he series. The biggest flaw with this book is that every battle has the same structure, where there’s a flashback showing how they used technological innovation to solve a problem that otherwise is unsolvable. Feels very mcgguffin-y, and doing it once or twice is fine, but it happens constantly in this book. The characters are superb in this book though, extremely complex and make decisions that are not always the most obvious choice but fit their character and take the story in interesting directions. The ending is very good, and puts a bow on a lot of threads from the series.