Reviews

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

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210's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

hawker998's review against another edition

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adventurous

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

belle2022's review against another edition

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4.0

What a fantastic debut. I’m now a huge fan of the author. This book in particular follows a mirage of characters all based in different parts of the ‘world’. The book is heavy on the politics and war side of things, with many characters being introduced and then killed off. It’s a fantasy novel which includes quite a few topics such as warfare, relationships, power struggles, gender roles, right and wrong and more.

We follow a few characters but two main characters. Kani Garu and Mata Zyndu. These two characters quickly became favourites of mine. Kani never failed to make me laugh but there were times where what he did could have been questioned. Mata just felt sad to me. With such a strong legacy left behind that he felt he had to fill, he really did what he thought he needed to. I thought he bond between him and his uncle was beautiful before it was ruined. Maybe he lost himself along the way. He was also quite questionable with some of the things he said and did.

They both treaded the line between right and wrong, but I couldn’t help but root for them. They have such a changing relationship throughout the book and by the end I was just left reeling.

Dara seems to have influenced or inspired by Chinese history. I’m sure if I knew more about it I would have been able to see more similarities. The complexity of the plot and certain small things here and there could honestly have felt completely real. Especially with the power struggles that truly do not stop until the end.

The writing I think flowed so well and while I got the hang of the jargon and culture, it felt even easier to read. Some the scenes are heart wrenching and there are even funny beautiful moments. Having interventions from the “Gods” throughout the book I thought was excellent. While entertaining but through provoking. I hope they also turn up in the next book. I also hope we see more female characters in this next book too. Where the first book has left off I think we probably will.

I know this book might not be for everyone, I had no expectations when going in. But I was truly pleasantly surprised. The second book seems to have done even better, so I’m excited to see where this goes!!

themillonthefloss's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

4.5

hmj29's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

3.0

lyriclorelei's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

The world in this is very rich and full, which did mean that it took me a sec to get locked in to everything.

kendylldrilling's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.5

I initially struggled with the prose here, and I wanted the plot to be a little bit more concentrated in certain areas, but I was fully invested around the 70% mark. The world building is fresh, interesting, and surprising in places, and I look forward to seeing it expand in the following books, as well as (hopefully) getting a deeper look into some of my favorite characters.