User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
ARC & Review Copy provided by my friend—Traveling Cloak—and the publisher—Tor UK—in exchange for an honest review.The Name of All Things is vast, complex, and engrossing; a wonderful improvement over its predecessor.It’s quite surreal to think that Jenn Lyons released her debut,
The Ruin of Kings, at the beginning of this year and a week from now its sequel,
The Name of All Things, will be published to the world as well. Some of you may be familiar with
The Ruin of Kings; it was Tor’s biggest and most advertised debut of the year. If you’ve read my review on
The Ruin of Kings, you would know that I’ve had my share of mixed feelings with Lyons’s debut. It wasn’t that it was a bad book per se, but more like it could’ve been an even more incredible debut if it wasn’t due to the storytelling style that in my opinion felt too unnecessarily convoluted; whether you loved it or not though, I don’t think there’s any doubt that
The Ruin of Kings was a super memorable debut with a unique narrative style. I can assure you that
The Name of All Things is a terrific sequel that retains the series’ unique storytelling style but it was told in a much less convoluted manner which ends up elevating the book to triumph over its predecessor.
The Name of All Things is the second book out of five in
A Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons. The story starts a few days after the destructive conclusion in the first book. Janel Theranon is asking Kihrin D’Mon—the main character of the first book and series—for his help to kill a dragon. Before they embark upon the quest, Janel and Brother Qown, recounts their background story that leads to their current timeline with Kihrin; their flashback runs in a parallel timeline to Kihrin’s in the first book. Told in a similar fashion to
The Ruin of Kings, Janel’s flashback is narrated by herself through first-person narration, and Brother Qown, the chronicler of Jane’s story, tells bot of their story to Kihrin in third-person perspective.
Hearing this, you might be worried that this will end up being as confusing and convoluted as the previous book, but despite the constant alternating switch in narrative and timelines, there’s one adjustment in the Lyons’s storytelling style that makes
The Name All of Things so much more accessible without losing the scope and complexity of the series: Janel’s flashback sections move forward in a chronological fashion. Unlike Kihrin’s story in
The Ruin of Kings, the narrative doesn’t start at two different periods of flashback that progressed together at the same time. I personally believe that the overall quality of this book and the series itself are so much better for it. Do note that regarding the main plot itself, the present timeline moves forward only a bit. If you’re in here expecting a huge continuation to Kihrin’s story, there’s a high chance that you will be disappointed; only Part 4, which summed up the last 60 pages of the book, progressed the present timeline and Kihrin’s journey. I did wish that Part 4 was longer because the momentum building towards it was great, but the final battles of the book ended too quickly to my liking.
That said, I do want to acknowledge that I love Janel more than Kihrin as the main character. There’s just something about her attitudes and personality that had an impact more than Kihrin did. Janel and the Joratese culture were fascinating, and I incredibly enjoyed reading her relationship development with Arasgon, Qown, and Kihrin. Also, Janel reminded me of The Fool from
The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb, that should say enough how great she was as the main character to follow. The themes of justice, reincarnation, identities, and familial connections were heavily dominant and well done. Let me remind you that there’s a glossary at the end of the book which will be highly beneficial. Each chapter begins with a very short snippet that recounts the events that happened at the end of the first book; believe me, there was a LOT. Before I close this review, Jenn Lyons isn’t a complex fantasy storyteller exclusively, she’s also a terrific artist. There are three gorgeous maps and tons of beautifully drawn chapter icons; all of them were drawn by Lyons herself! I’ll let the arts speak for themselves.
The Name of All Things is definitely superior compared to its predecessor; it’s an epic fantasy sequel that contains intriguing cultures, complex world-building, gods, demons, gigantic dragons, and magical artifacts. Written with engaging prose, Lyons created a sequel with a high focus on characters—both old and new—and world-building. Lyons seems to be preparing the story towards reaching a darker path in the third book,
The Memory of Souls, and I’m really curious to know what comes next.
Official release date: 31st October 2019 (UK) and 29th October 2019 (US)You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Rating: really liked it
Okay, so it doesn’t have all our peeps from the first book but I still loved it!! The third book will have them in it! And that 3rd book cover is amaze balls! I look forward to the continuing story!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Rating: really liked it
I procrastinated starting my review for this
because how do you review something so utterly, complexly perfect?!. You DON'T. You just stand aesthetically in the rain to cover up the emotions attacking your face because you have to wait months (AND MONTHS) for the next book. Least to say discovering Jenn Lyons' work has been my favourite part of 2020. Her fantasy is deliciously complicated and the backstory and histories are so deep, but never in an unnecessary way, and the plot twists and schemes are absolute mastery. It's intense. Like, yes, when we start talking about who you were in your last life, etc, mixed with this life, etc, my brain dies a bit. Also all the names? Stop naming your weapons, son, I can't keep up with the humans names let alone the sPEAR HAS A NAME. But I don't even care? Because I appreciate it. I've been starved for intricate world building and it is here for me.
This book centres on Janel, instead of Kihrin. It has the same set up as last time though, except this time Janel finds Kihrin in a tavern in Jorrat, and she catches him up on what she's been doing these last 4 years. It's set 3 days after the disaster at the capital, aka, three days since the last book ended. Kihrin has the magical murder sword. He knows Janel from the visions. But he doesn't KNOW her. And neither do we, so we get to. And the the chapters are broken up between Janel and Qown (a hufflepuff SOFT CINNAMON PRIEST).
And I freaking loved them? I have a tendency for my attention to drift if books don't follow one narrator -- but Janel is just INCREDIBLE and I'm half in love with her. And Qown is honestly a soft idiot so I adored him too.
Also this brings me to needing to happy/cry over
the amount of queer rep here. Jorrat is like the queerest place ever. Are you queer, genderqueer, trans, ace, gay, bi?!? Um, ALL ARE REPRESENTED. (Like they even mentioned being ace!!) Janel is genderqueer -- uses she/her pronouns but she is a man. Gender/sex are not the same. In fact JANEL gets confused that Kihrin doesn't understand. When they talk about some of the trans characters, Janel is just, "Oh how do you do it in your country then?" And Kihrin is like ?? we don't. (Fool world.) It's just
so inclusive and it's SO GOOD to read an epic fantasy where the world is not so limited as ours is. We gotcha dragons and gays. (Also I absolutely am dying here hoping it's a love triangle with Janel/Taraeth/Kihrin in the next book...let them be polyam pls.)
Okay okay I don't even know what else to cover here.
The gods? Shall we talk about how freaking epic all the magic systems and gods are?! And by "epic" I mean half the time the gods are totally useless but we love them anyway. Also Thane kind of hates everyone and bless her, socialisation is hard. I loved just how the world grew on every page, how the magic systems flexed and deepened as we explored more of this universe. AHHHH.
Also --
the villains are honestly terrific. Because there's less black-and-white evil here and I actually loved that we got to know more of Relos Var. Also Senara (who writes the most GORGEOUSLY SCATHING FOOTNOTES through the whole book) became one of my utter favourites. Oh is she a villain? Yes. Do I love her. Also yes.
And the plot is twisty, backstabbing, carefully articulate genius. That is all I can say. Yes, it's long, and sometimes not fast paced enough. But it set the building blocks for the finale that knocked me over.
Also Kihrin is, absolutely, a dumbass and I love him. (view spoiler)
[Taraeth yelling at the end "YOU WERE GONE FOR 3 DAYS AND YOU MANAGED TO LOSE THE SWORD AND FUCK UP THE WORLD WELL DONE". (hide spoiler)] But I also am desperately hoping that book 3 is Taraeth's?!?! It has an elephant on the front so please let it be.
Honestly, this series is just phenomenal, and I will sing its praises until I pass out. It's lush and vast and diverse inclusive, and utterly badass. I've realised I love reading epic fantasy by women because you can just FEEL the male authors heavy breathing as they try to write a woman as a person. Here there are effortless piles of incredible, phenomenal women -- not to mention genderqueer and trans people. I'm in love with the characters, my imagination is sparked to life by the world, and the plot has me desperate for more. Can this just be my new favourite epic fantasy series? Because it is.
Rating: really liked it
"What's that," asked the author. "You absolutely loved the characters from the first book. Yeah. Fuck you. They're not in this one."
"What's that," asked the author again. "You were really into the story of the first book, and couldn't wait to find out what happened next? Well, fuck you twice. This book has nothing to do with anything that happened in the first book, even though, you know, the apocalypse just started and all."
Raise your hand if you HATE when authors do this.
(-_-)/
Okay. So. I'm a little over 20% done with this book, and it has some seriously huge problems. Two of them being the ones mentioned above. No returning characters from the first book (Kihrin does not count because all he does is offer an occasional comment on the story being told. He is not actually a part of the story.) And it is utterly disconnected from the story of the first book. We had this big epic fight that ended with all of the demons being set free to wake up the imprisoned, sleeping dark god that will destroy the world... and then we start this book straight off with HUNDREDS of pages of irrelevant back story of a character that had maybe 15 pages, if I'm being generous, in the first book. I. DON'T. FUCKING. CARE.
It wouldn't be so bad if Janel was in ANY WAY likeable or interesting. BUT SHE'S NOT!!!!! And her story is fucking boring. There is NOTHING driving it. There is no reason for anything to be happening. She hasn't even bothered to say what her goal in doing anything even is! The author has forgotten three of the most basic things in storytelling. She forgot to give me a reason to care about her protagonist. She forgot to give her protagonist any sort of motivation as a character. And she forgot to add in any sort of driving force moving the plot forward. Which makes trying to read this book EXTREMELY boring and frustrating, because I have no reason to care about the character or anything happening to her, and I have nothing within the story to hook me; something to make me care.
Not only is it a bit of a slap in the face that this book is NOT a continuation from the end of the first book, but the story we're being given instead is just not very good. The book starts off with Kihrin asking Janel what's going on, and Janel is like, "oh, I can't just tell you, or you might take it out of context, let me give you my entire life's story first." Funny that the author should mention context like that to justify her story to us, seeing as how she keeps using all kinds of weird fantasy words without giving any context for their meaning in this book. I don't remember that being a thing in the first book. And, uh, I’m not really all that in to horses. All the horse talk, the horse terms, the everything in life being compared to horses, yeah, that’s really starting to grate on me. Just one more thing that I absolutely do not care about in this book.
Also, one more thing. This book has a serious social justice chip on its shoulder. First, let me say that I usually do not have a problem with social justice at all. Of the five main characters in the book I'm currently writing, four are women, three are Asian, one is black, two are gay, and one is autistic. I'm a firm believer that everyone should have heroes that look like them to look up to. What I DON'T like is being bludgeoned in the face with it.
Here’s one example: This is something that actually happens in this book. Kihrin and Janel are having a conversation about something completely different, and Janel just out of nowhere starts explaining what transgender means to him. Completely unprovoked, she steps completely away from the story, and starts lecturing the readers about what it means to be transgender. Using, of all the stupid things in this world, horse analogies. Just, why? It’s SOOOOO jarring to have her just, all of a sudden, ignore the conversation that she’s in and go off on this tangential rant that really has nothing to do with what’s going on, or what’s being discussed. The moment you start lecturing your readers is the moment you have stopped telling a story.
Let me reiterate that I have only read about 20% of this book, and this is only ONE instance of MANY in only 20% of the book. This was a HUGE problem with the latest season of Doctor Who. Every. Single. Episode. Had at least one of the characters step out of the story to lecture the audience on the moral of the story. Or The Last Jedi and the Rose's terribly written lecture on slavery, and DJ’s lecture on the fact that the “good guys” are relative. I mean, the Canto Bight side story was already playing havoc with the pacing of the rest of the movie, and that lecture brought even the Canto Bight section to a screeching halt.
I don't mind progressive messages in stories. I welcome them. But they have to be competently delivered, and this one is NOT. When a character completely divorces herself from the story to lecture me on the author's opinions, it has stopped being a story. Any character that steps out of a story to lecture me is a character that I instantly dislike. There are better ways to incorporate your social justice message than to have the characters drop everything they're doing and lecture the readers on it.
There is such a thing as subtlety. You can weave your ideas into the story without bringing it to a screeching halt, and bashing your readers in the face with it. Go read Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (please go read it, it was really really good). That is a book that has an overt social justice message that is woven very well into the story and never bashes you in the face. It’s the most entertaining book I’ve read in years. This one is, by comparison, is just so inept. It makes the author look like a flippin' amateur. The REALLY annoying thing, is that I know for a fact that this author CAN be subtle with her social justice messages, and make them just as impactful, because she did it in the first book with homosexuality and slavery. God, this book is so frustrating!
AGAIN. IT IS NOT THAT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE CHARACTER BEING TRANSGENDER. IT IS WITH THE COMPLETELY INEPT AND INCOMPETENT WAY THAT THE AUTHOR PORTRAYS THIS CHARACTER, AND CROWBARS HER HEAVY-HANDED PSA ABOUT IT INTO THE STORY AT MORE THAN ONE POINT IN THE PORTION OF THE BOOK THAT I READ.
I don't know. This book is extremely hard for me to enjoy. I've been toying with the idea of just putting it down and forgetting about this series. The beginning of this book is THAT BAD. Just. What the hell was she thinking? Let's take everything good about the story and toss it out for this mediocre, boring mess? It's so frustrating, because I really, really loved the first book, and the characters in it. Talon, especially. And instead of continuing the story, we get this. Uhg! The author VASTLY overestimated how much I care about the mystery behind this character that briefly showed up in the first book. I don’t. I don’t need to find out about her life. Especially when the character is not, in any way, compelling, she has no motivation within the story, and the story itself has nothing driving it forward.
After slogging through to almost halfway, I give up. This book is not for me. Mostly just all of the problems I stated above continuing on and showing no signs of getting better. I just thoroughly dislike Janel. She literally has not one single likable or sympathetic aspect to her character, and her constant preaching is really starting to get annoying. I’m not mad at this book. It’s not so far up its own ass that it can see daylight from the other end like a certain other second book in a popular fantasy trilogy that shall remain nameless. I’m just really, really disappointed. I’m disappointed that the author decided not to continue the story I was enjoying, with the characters that I knew and loved. I’m disappointed that this story didn’t have even half of the life and color of the first book. If it had been, in any way, a good story about a good character, I would have been annoyed, but I’d have read it, and probably liked it. But it feels so soulless compared to the first book. I’m disappointed that this mysterious character that was briefly introduced near the end of the first book turned out to be so boring and unlikable. I’m disappointed that the publisher’s summary flat out lies about what this book is about. It’s almost like they knew this book wouldn’t sell if we knew it was not a direct continuation of the first book or something... oh, right... fuck them. And just, for the love of god, can you stop talking about horses for two goddamn sentences? Please?
With all that said, I think I’m just walking away from this series. It just feels like the author does not respect me as her reader, and there are plenty of other authors out there that do. I’m trading this one back to audible for another book that I will hopefully enjoy more than I did this one. I don’t want the author to keep my money. She didn’t earn it. This book breaks the promise made by the first book in the series.
Rating: really liked it
Sad to say that after really enjoying The Ruin of Kings, this one missed the mark for me.
The Ruin of Kings got me hooked on Kihrin's story, and after a very confusing start to the series, I was looking forward to things becoming clearer as the story progressed.
However, The Name of All Things did not go in the direction I expected. Instead of building upon the first book, it was essentially the same thing, following a different character. I found this odd as the first book had a very unique narrative, so it didn't make sense to me for the second book to be told in exactly the same way, with 2 narrators, switching between 3rd and 1st perpective, and following 2 timelines.
I've been told that books 1 and 2 serve as a king of prequel to the rest of the series so I will be continuing, but this was a very disappointing follow up to The Ruin of Kings for me.
Rating: really liked it
🐎 Full review posted! 🐎 I’m consistently impressed by Jenn Lyons and her ability to cram (what feels like) every element of fantasy you could think of into one series. The presence of dragons, royals, gods, demons, wizards, witches (and more!) provide an abundance of truly breathtaking action sequences. This paired with the fact that the characters are
incredible propel
A Chorus of Dragons towards a spot as one of my all time favourite series.
“How easy is it to convince ourselves we’re infallible, that our way and point of view are the only ones that matter. Oh, it is the easiest trap, and it always comes loaded with the most effective bait, our own desperate need for self-worth.”
The Name of All Things is—objectively—a very jarring sequel. Instead of picking up where
The Ruin of Kings left off, the original cast is essentially unapparent (save for Khirin and some others like Relos Var). Knowing this beforehand lowered my expectations substantially. I mean, I love my boy Teraeth! And how cool was Tysentso? I know they’re all coming back in the next book, but little old me did not want a new cast.
Let me tell you; I ate my previous words (or thoughts)
very quickly. The recently introduced characters were new levels of amazing (though Taraeth still owns my heart) (and Khirin’s -10 IQ might as well too). Janel practically invented the word badass, Ninavis will receive a guaranteed “thank-you” for kicking me, and Qown makes me want to adopt him.
There is so much LGBTQ representation! I mean, you name it, this has got it. Lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, asexual and nonbinary characters are all present. I loved how the Joratese people could not give two shits about who sleeps with who or who identifies as what (no matter what the rest of the empire thinks).
The worldbuilding…. Are there too many places for my tiny brain to keep up with? Probably yes. Do I care? No. Every single place Janel or Qown visited was a delight due to how vividly it stood out from the previous location. Lyons’ descriptions are so well executed; I had great fun conjuring up mental images of the gorgeous locations she brings to life. This paired with the complex and action packed storyline leaves me no room for complaints.
Finally, the
romance! The love triangle forming between Khirin, Janel and Taraeth is quite possible everything I need in life. Janel + Khirin make me want to scream (in the best way possible) and Janel forcing Khirin to realize his bestie is gay for him had no right being so funny:
“Janel stared at him. “You play the harp?”
“Yes, I play the harp. And Valathea was my
” Khirin trailed off as Janelle's eyebrows rose. Then he remembered what Taraeth has said about having a type.”For harp players LMAO
“He cleared his throat. “It’s not like that.Taraeth and I are just friends.””Whatever you say, Khirin. Anyways, I sniff polyamory on the way. Onto book 3!
Rating: really liked it
This review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...
The Name of All things is the second book in the A Chorus of Dragons series following on from the first book, The Ruin of Kings. The Name of All Things features a new main character in Janel Theranon and runs parallel to that of Kihrin’s story in The Ruin of Kings apart from the final part of the book which moves the present storyline forward.
The Name of All Things starts two days after the climactic ending of The Ruin of Kings. After destroying the Cornerstone, the Stone of Shackles and unwittingly releasing demons across the Empire of Quur Kihrin has escaped to Jorat where a stranger, Janel Theranon and her acquaintance Brother Qown are inexplicably waiting for him at a tavern. Janel needs Kihrin to help her kill a dragon before it destroys Atrine, the capital city of Jorat. Janel has her own story that is full of adventure and exploits to tell. With a storm raging outside, trapped in the tavern until it passes both Janel and Brother Qown recount everything that has led to the present and their meeting with Kihrin.
Brother Qown narrates in the third-person reading from his own written journal and Janel in the first-person, from her memory as they share the telling of the story and trade storytelling duties back and forth. Just like in The Ruin of Kings there is also a chronicler who has transcribed the whole story and who has added their own footnotes throughout. For The Name of All Things, the chronicling duties are undertaken by a different chronicler to The Ruin of Kings and they raise the snark bar to a whole new level of snarky awesomeness with their droll, sarcastic and wry footnotes.
At the beginning of each chapter, the story reverts back to the tavern. The interludes are entertaining and act as stop-gaps, breaks and breathing room for the main story to settle. They give the characters a chance to add context, digest and discuss what they have just heard and learnt.
The Name of All Things is told in a very similar way to how the story was told in The Ruin of Kings. But, at the same time, it is also more straightforward, which I mention for those that found the first book hard to follow. The Ruin of Kings wasn’t told in a linear fashion, it jumped around a lot and could be confusing to keep track of events and timelines. This time, in The Name of All Things the story is told chronologically making it more accessible to read and far easier to follow.
Through tragic events, experiences and hardship we get to see Janel grow as what she endures changes and shapes her. She is a terrific and fully-fleshed main character, fearless, flawed, headstrong, stubborn, strong and tormented. There are plenty of other well-drawn and individual characters (Dorna, Ninavis, Qown and Arasgon) that have roles to play in the story too.
By setting the story in different locations to The Ruin of Kings and by featuring a (mostly) different set of characters (some familiar faces from The Ruin of Kings do pop up during Janel’s story and for the finale too) it really aids in expanding the world. There is a depth to the world-building and every aspect of Lyons creation is complex and elaborately stitched together. It is a cruel world, hard, harsh and savage. A world that is sharpened like a blade and that will cut you if you let it. It is a world that is steeped in history, a rich and bloody history that has continued to echo through the ages with reverberations that are still felt in the present. The history, the lore, the mythology, the politics, the different cultures (the Joratese and Yoran are both fascinating) and religions are singular, all highly impressive. But, put all together, they are all pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly and form an exquisitely constructed and intricately detailed world that feels real and that comes alive on the pages.
Throughout Janel’s story, there are occasional references to Kihrin’s own story. The slight overlapping of events serves to add depth, an extra layer and give a slightly fuller picture to the whole story. Allowing you to glimpse the impact that certain events that took place in The Ruin of Kings had at the exact moment that they happened in a different location.
The story is complex but never overly complicated to follow including plenty of action, politics, rebellion, prophecies and some twists along the way. There are demons, dragons, bigger metal dragons, firebloods (fanged, intelligent, resilient and loyal talking huge animals that are descended from horses), gates/portals, gods and goddesses, magic, magical artefacts, vampires, wizards and witches.
The writing is detailed, descriptive and easily evokes vivid images of the various locations visited during the story. The dialogue between the characters is absolutely superb including emotion, dry humour, barbs being traded and it is lively with feeling. It is only a little thing, inconsequential to the story but under each chapter heading is a subtitle, a droll sentence referencing events from The Ruin of Kings. Those subtitles never failed to make me smirk and just go to show the extra thought that Lyons has put into her work.
For those expecting The Name of All Things to be a direct continuation of Kihrin’s story. Well, you will need to alter your expectations or be left disappointed. Janel is the main focus in The Name of All Things and, for the most part, Kihrin only has a minor role to play, appearing in the tavern interludes and acting as a listener to Janel and Qown. It is only in the final part where the current story moves forward that Kihrin has a larger role. I have to admit that I did wonder if I would enjoy The Name of All Things and reading about a new character (she does briefly appear in The Ruin of Kings) in Janel. Or, would I be left yearning to carry on with Kihrin’s story? Honestly, within a few pages of starting The Name of All Things, I was hooked and I didn’t want to put the book down. I loved The Ruin of Kings, it was a tremendous debut and start to the A Chorus of Dragons series. But, The Name of All Things raises the bar and from start to finish, it is an exceptional read. For me, it is better than The Ruin of Kings and builds to an edge-of-your-seat and thrilling climax that leaves some tantalising threads dangling and I didn’t want it to end, next book, please!
Simply, the Name of All Things puts the EPIC in epic fantasy.
Rating: really liked it
(Warning: This review features minor spoilers for The Name of All Things, as well as a major spoiler regarding the ending of the first book in the series, The Ruin of Kings. If you haven't read The Ruin of Kings or The Name of All Things yet, you might want to proceed with caution when it comes to reading my review for The Name of All Things.)
I really liked The Name of All Things for many reasons, I definitely have some very mixed feelings about the book as well. On the positive side of things, I definitely found the plot of The Name of All Things much more straightforward and easier to follow, and not as convoluted as I found The Ruin of Kings to be. The Name of All Things also had great pacing like The Ruin of Kings did, and Jenn Lyons also did a great job of maintaining the style of writing and somewhat humorous tone that I loved about The Ruin of Kings.
That being said, it really frustrated the hell out of me that Lyons basically threw Kihrin on the back-burner in this book, and pretty much focused on the characters Janel and Qown for the most part instead. While I definitely love both Janel and Qown (I honestly like Qown the most out of the two) and I think that their introduction to the series contributed a lot of great things to the series in terms of world building, I don't think that Lyons should have introduced them in this book at the expense of Kihrin's role in the series. For the record, I did think that Relos Var was a truly awesome character, though. I was also very disappointed by the fact that Tyentso was barely featured in The Name of All Things after being named empress at the end of The Ruin of Kings. Plus, I was especially disappointed by the fact that Talon was completely absent from The Name of All Things. However, I would like to mention that Jenn Lyons did reply to a tweet of mine on Twitter while I was in the process of reading this book, telling me that both Tyentso and Talon would be returning in the third book, The Memory of Souls; and I'm really hoping that Kihrin, Tyentso, and Talon will all be featured in The Memory of Souls in a much larger capacity than they were in this book.
Ultimately, my thoughts and feelings regarding The Name of All Things are definitely very complicated; since I did think that this book was better and more enjoyable for me than I thought The Ruin of Kings was in some ways. However, I was definitely very frustrated by the fact that Lyons put the spotlight on Janel and Qown so heavily in this book; and that ultimately definitely hindered my enjoyment of this book to a certain extent. Despite the complaints that I have about The Name of All Things, I'm definitely highly anticipating the release of The Memory of Souls.
My rating/score: 3 1/2 out of 5 Stars on the Goodreads rating system, and 7 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
***Update***
After reading The Name of All Things for the second time, I have to say that I found myself enjoying it a little bit more than I did when I read it the first time, so I've decided to raise my rating/score for the book to reflect my heightened level of enjoyment of this book.
My rating/score: 4 out of 5 Stars on the Goodreads rating system, and 8 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
***Update***
Rating: really liked it
There is SO much going on in this series and I'm certain I'm not catching all of it, but I'm having a fabulous time. The Name of All Things explores gender identity and sexuality in really cool ways, pushing back on a lot of cultural assumptions. I adore Janel as a character. The twists and turns of political intrigue, magic, and mythology are excellent. There are Firebloods (sentient talking horses), dragons, old gods, snarky footnotes... Basically all the things I love. Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy for review, all opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
I absolutely loved The Ruin of Kings, so to get an early copy into my hands was a gift from the gods. The Name of All Things picks up pretty much directly after The Ruin of Kings, with Kihrin having found himself in Jorat after needing to leave Quur because he maybe, hypothetically, technically killed the Emperor. But it wouldn't be the Chorus of Dragons series if Kihrin caught a break, soon enough he finds himself roped into killing a dragon - among other things.
"If you hear my dying screams, avenge me."
Star shrugged. "Not sure how. You're the one with the fancy sword."
Though we do of course see Kihrin, The Name of All Things is first and foremost, Janel's story. Having briefly met Janel is book one, we find out what she was doing during the Ruin of Kings, which eventually leads to why she needs Kihrin's help to slay a dragon. Now I'll admit - when I first realised this would be primarily Janel's POV before she met Kihrin I was a little disappointed because I was so keen to see Kihrin, Teraeth, Tyensto & co again. However it is impossible not to be won over by Janel. She is just amazing, I love her. She's badass, refuses to take men's shit and could step on me. That doesn't mean we don't see Kihrin's snark though, he is a salty boy and we love him for it.
I love Jenn's worldbuilding. What she has created in A Chorus of Dragons is nothing short of phenomenal. The Empire of Quur and it's dominions are brought to life. Two of the things that I love most about it, is that 1) she confronts Quur's colonisation and bloody history, and 2) we legit get a whole ass country where polyamory and gender fluidity is the norm.
I love fantasy, it's my favourite genre but there are times, where despite the fact that you can have dragons and magic and anything is possible, it still ends up being racist, sexist and homophobic with empires - often without challenging those things. (On that note I will never get the people who don't blink an eye at dragons but supposedly having happy gay people or whatever is unrealistic). In The Name of All Things (and the RoK) Jenn challenges these things. Quur is an patriarchal, homophobic and racist empire, who over the course of its history has invaded most of the countries on the continent but it's not just accepted or left uncritiqued. We are also given Jorat where queer, polyamorous relationships are accepted and are the norm. Jenn said fuck your heterosexual fantasy worldbuilding. And it's really wonderful to see.
Now let me tell you - the excitement I have for the next book is extreme. We will get to (hopefully) see Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel together. I need this like I need air, you don't understand - I have never wanted to see a ship come together more. Please Jenn deliver us the polyamorous, badass trio we deserve.
The Name of All Things continues to cement A Chorus of Dragons as one of my favourite series despite the fact this is only book two of five. There's disaster bisexuals, prophesies, dragons, complex and layered villains who, even if you don't condone their actions who can understand - it's just everything.
*I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*This review and more can be found at https://wildheartreads.wordpress.com/
Rating: really liked it
This sequel is better than the first in several ways, but I should mention that I really enjoyed the way the reveals kept dropping and kept us guessing in the first.
This one, however, moves us into Janel's storyline and has a delightful setup of actually Telling the story within the story in a way that tickled many of my clever narrative fancies. The asides and commentaries were great.
That being said, it's a delightful turn. And there are dragons galore. The good kind. Immortal, magical, and in some cases, way too crafty and cruel. But there's always a reason. Or fourteen. I'm a big fan of old heroes living long enough to be the villains.
This is solid, rich, and fun. I definitely recommend it for you epic fantasy readers who have been missing the good stuff for far too long.
Rating: really liked it
....i loved loved loved book 1 and i came for kihrin....this book was not about kihrin it was about janel. janel is so-so, her story however was mindnumbingly boring. no one is more upset about this low rating than me, trust me. this series was going to be one of my favourites. maybe less janel next time? maybe.
Rating: really liked it
DNF. Notes to self about why I shouldn't try to finish it in the future:
1) still hate the footnotes. Distracts from just reading the book and they don't add anything except demeaning sarcasm.
2) after getting through the first 75 pages I'm still bored out of my mind and especially let down how slow and frustrating the storyline is going.
3) wtf is all this talk about stallions/mares/female/male? Don't care. Doesn't make the story better. If Janel has to tell the reader that she's better than any other creature regardless of gender, sex, ethnicity, or partners she needs to show it. We don't need discussion around it and if I'd been Kihrin I'd have left asap with that ridiculous demeaning dialog.
4) this is the woman that intrigued him so badly? Disappointed to say the least.
Maybe the book gets better at some point along with the characters too but too many other great books calling my name to waste my rare free time on this. Self, don't fall for it. Stay away from this book!
Rating: really liked it
For my money, this is even better than the first book in the series. It's smoother and faster, with a much more straightforward narrative, and it contains all the things I loved best about book 1 (snark! dragons! footnotes! more snark!) plus: incredible action scenes, the badass horse-girl protagonist of my heart, some AMAZINGLY compelling villains, and the burgeoning spark of a three-way romantic tangle in which I am now deeply invested.
(Read in ARC form because I'm lucky and I know Jenn well enough to shout AUGH! THESE WONDERFUL IDIOT TEENS!! at her.)
Rating: really liked it
Thank you very much to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing a review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.The Name of All Things is the epic sequel to a fantasy book that has already become an all-time favourite of mine. The Ruin of Kings was a stunning and complex novel with badass characters and a phenomenal storyline that kept me gripped to the page. A book such as this would be difficult to top, but Jenn Lyons manages to do just that with The Name of All Things.
While The Ruin of Kings followed Kihrin D’Mon’s story, The Name of All Things introduces us to Janel Theranon, whom Kihrin briefly meets in the first novel. The Name of All Things is Janel’s story, set during the events of The Ruin of Kings, told in flashbacks to Kihrin by Janel herself and her friend Brother Qown, in a small tavern in Jorat, with an ice-breathing dragon waiting outside to kill them all. Janel needs Kihrin’s help in killing a dragon before it awakens and massacres an entire city full of people. As Kihrin listens to Janel’s story, he discovers that her life is far more intrinsically entwined with his own than he realised.
Janel is easily one of my most favourite characters in this series, just behind the bisexual disaster that is Kihrin D’Mon. She’s such a powerful person who inspired a group of exiles, peasants and nobles alike to follow her, all of whom have decades on her. She has a fiery personality and a strong sense of justice and what is right. Brother Qown, on the other hand, is a sweetheart who needs to be protected at all costs. While Janel is all fire and ferocity and a natural-born leader, Brother Qown is calm and gentle, driven by knowledge and a desire to learn. This novel has a whole cast of fantastic secondary characters who readers will undoubtedly fall for, but I’ll let you discover how wonderful they are. Let me just say: Dorna rules.
Unlike The Ruin of Kings which had a non-linear narrative, The Name of All Things is told chronologically, with a brief return to present-day Kihrin in the tavern at the beginning of each chapter. I personally enjoy books with non-linear stories as I love piecing together clues dropped in chapters from different timelines, but I think many readers who perhaps struggled reading The Ruin of Kings will find The Name of All Things a bit easier to follow. Kirhin’s story resumes in the last 100 pages of the book, with an epic battle that the entire book had been leading up to.
Lyons’ world building continues to blow me away. In this novel, we follow Janel into the wilds of Jorat, the icy fortress that is Yor, and the mazed city of Atrine. Each city or country we’re introduced to is so vividly brought to life with phenomenal descriptions of its people and diverse cultures. They seem impossibly real, a mark of Lyons’ fantastic prose. I have to say that my favourite country that we’ve come across so far is Jorat, a place where gender fluidity and polyamory are ingrained into the culture. No one bats an eye at a trans person or a polyamorous throuple, which is as it should be. Janel herself is genderqueer, and she goes by she/her pronouns. In Joratese culture, she is a stallion, although to anyone someone outside of Jorat she would be viewied her as a mare because of her physical appearance.
I really appreciate Lyons’ discussion about gender and sexuality, and how she challenges the fantasy genre’s tendency towards white, cisgender, heterosexual characters. Its hard to believe that a genre that has the potential for so much imagination — a genre that frequently includes dragons, elves, centaurs, zombies, unicorns, mermaids, and so much more — still balks at the idea of including people of colour, queer people, trans or non-binary people, or disabled people in books. Or, when they are included, are called “unrealistic”: as in its “unrealistic that this queer person exists and has a happy ending”. I’m thankful for the authors like Jenn Lyons who challenge the stereotypical worldbuilding of fantasy novels that have been the norm for far too long.
The Name of All Things ups the tension and excitement of the first book in the series tenfold. Janel’s story is an adventure tale of epic proportions featuring gods, demons, dragons that can talk, unique magic systems, and the most incredible worldbuilding I’ve read in a very long time. Lyon’s writing draws the reader into the story and makes us fall in love again with beloved old characters as well as many new ones. I am dying to get my hands on the third book in the series, The Memory of Souls. I can’t wait to see where this fascinating tale will go next.
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Buddy reading with Ash!!
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I got an arc
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what do I have to do to get an arc of this
