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A review by sevenlefts
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
3.0
I really liked the idea of this book -- a resetting and re-imagining of early Chinese empire power struggles, told as a story between two friends who later become bitter enemies. As you might imagine, there are a lot of names to juggle, although a cast of characters at the beginning helps figure things out.
The story shifts between three levels: the main protagonists and their families and allies, a pair of brothers who end up fighting for each, and the gods who attempt to manipulate the course of events. The first group was of most interest to me as a reader. The brothers and the gods, ultimately, didn't seem necessary.
Liu writes really well about intrigue and trust, and about power and the various ways it can be wielded. But there are so many battles that are described in a mere paragraph or two that I felt the plot was being pushed a long by a series of "and then this happened, and then that happened." Too much was crammed into one book, I think.
Not sure how I feel about it overall. I'm intrigued enough to want to read further ones in the series.
The story shifts between three levels: the main protagonists and their families and allies, a pair of brothers who end up fighting for each, and the gods who attempt to manipulate the course of events. The first group was of most interest to me as a reader. The brothers and the gods, ultimately, didn't seem necessary.
Liu writes really well about intrigue and trust, and about power and the various ways it can be wielded. But there are so many battles that are described in a mere paragraph or two that I felt the plot was being pushed a long by a series of "and then this happened, and then that happened." Too much was crammed into one book, I think.
Not sure how I feel about it overall. I'm intrigued enough to want to read further ones in the series.