A review by bsparks2112
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

adventurous emotional tense fast-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

4.0

I was really impressed by this - I knew I was a fan of Liu's short-form writing, so I was excited to finally get around to his take on epic fantasy, and it did not disappoint me. Possibly the most impressive thing here is his deep and vivid worldbuilding, which envisions the full history and mythology of the islands of Dara with the granularity of a real historical document. The feel of thousands of years of incident and culture is evident in Liu's writing, which is thought-out and detailed enough to inform events and character decisions very convincingly. Speaking of the characters, I also thought he excelled on this front, populating this world with unique and colorful individuals who are by turns loveable and impressively ruthless, and sometimes both at different points in the narrative. The story takes some impressive twists and turns, covering years of life and history for its protagonists and depicting epochal shifts in Dara with clarity and emotional weight. There were points where I was almost taken aback with how quickly Liu blows past major incidents that would have been the totality of some writers' narrative but are covered in just a few pages here. Some of the characterizations and dialogue do tend to fall into fantasy cliche from time to time, likely as a result of Liu's brisk pacing. But overall this was quite satisfying, and does tell a compelling story all on its own while also working as an effective series-starter; I'm thrilled to dive into the second book to see how he follows up on this one.