The Grace of Kings

The Dandelion Dynasty

By: Ken Liu

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Two men rebel together against tyranny - and then become rivals - in this first sweeping book of an epic fantasy series from Ken Liu, recipient of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.

Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods. Once the emperor has been overthrown, however, they both find themselves the leaders of separate factions - two sides with very different ideas about how the world should be run and the meaning of justice.

Fans of intrigue, intimate plots, and action will find a new series to embrace in the Dandelion Dynasty.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2015 Kenneth Yukun Liu. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

meh

only listened because I'm a fan of kramer. books okay I couldn't really get into it till the last nit, so I'm going to give the 2nd book a try.

Beautiful story telling

The structure and flow of this book is a treat to immerse yourself in. I listened to the entire book while working on my embroidery and it kept me inspired and working for the entire length. I broke my heart when the story ended even though the story had run it’s full corse. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series.

Should have been several books

Wonderful story. Left me wanting more. Some books are 800 pages and should have been 300. This book was 800 pages and should have been three or four books of 800 pages. If they were I would have listened to them all.

...

Painful middle. Kramer couldn't save this one. Would not rec. war descriptions were the best part.

Pretty good

I thought the narrator was good. Some of the names of people and places are tough to follow just by hearing. The story is hopeful, exciting, heartbreaking, and sometimes you really see the idea that our best laid plans might be for naught.

A lot of characters but great story.

Like most epics, this book contains a lot of people which makes listening in atop and go style or simply zoning out a bit very confusing for continuity. However you quickly orient yourself to the narrative and the story itself is really good.

Fun and enthralling

Excellent, engaging, fun, modern grand political drama. It's got an excellent melding of classical intrigue and military action with technological 'silkpunk' innovation and a great cast of characters.

An epic tale that might have been.

This epic fantasy spans decades, starting with a corrupt rulership that has much of the population enslaved one way or another, plenty of folks plot and scheme for a better life. Folks get their wish, sort of, as factions break away from the old regime. Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu become leaders of two of these factions and eventually good friends. However, the glory of battle after battle and the resultant peace will test their friendship.

This was a beautiful, sweeping story. The characters were fascinating and the cast was well balanced. At first, I thought the story would be a kind of alternate Japanese ancient history tale with some mythology tossed in. I was a bit off the mark. While this story has that indeed, there is so much more going on. Various ethnicities are represented and while the story centers around a series of islands, there is plenty of back and forth with the mainland. The characters, by and large, know the world is larger than their immediate settings. Also, there are deities gambling on their chosen favorites, finding sneaky little ways to affect the world they watch.

I especially loved the fighting kites. Yes, these are kites that a warrior straps to their back and they are lifted into the air to do either reconnaissance or battle. There are several scenes that make good use of these kites. There are also airships in play as well!

There are plenty of ladies in this novel and they are not trivial bits of pretty fluff either. Gia is skilled at herb lore and administering her household. She’s a fit mind to spar with one of our heroes, Kuni. Late to the show we get a female warrior, Jin, and I hope we see more of her in Book 2. There are other ladies with large and small roles, but these two really stood out to me.

Kuni wasn’t my favorite character in the beginning but he grew to be so. He starts off as a bit of a wastrel and layabout. He gambles and drinks too much and refuses to work. Yes, he still lives with his parents, so they have to put up with his self-centered uselessness even as they see that he’s clothed and fed. Then things start to change for him and he becomes something else by the middle of the book. He kind of stumbles into his calling.

Meanwhile, Mata struck me as a fascinating character right from the beginning. He’s from a royal family and was raised to be a ruler, if not the supreme ruler. He has refined manners and tastes. Plus he is simply physically imposing with his 8 foot stature and his double pupils. Yes, double pupils. Go look that up. There’s plenty of mesmerizing images even if there isn’t a scientifically documented occurrence.

There’s one drawback to this book and that is all the rather long info dumps. The author writes beautifully, so often I found myself in the middle of an interesting info dump before I knew it. However, there are so many of them that I felt that a good chunk of this book was written like a history novel instead of an action-packed epic fantasy. Perhaps that is exactly what the author intended. Even with all the info dumps, I still really enjoyed the tale.

The Narration: Michael Kramer is a long-time favorite narrator and he doesn’t disappoint with this performance. He has a matter-of-fact voice for the longer info dumps and a variety of voices and accents for the multitude of characters. He’s also great with emotions for the more poignant scenes.

Phenomenal book

Such a refreshing fantasy tale. Set in a fantasy far east island land where honor, tradition and a will to serve rule over all people.

Very Specific Audience

What did you like best about The Grace of Kings? What did you like least?

This book is for those who know far eastern tradition. If you are one of these then this book is for you. However, the plot and execution were only average, at best. The narrator, Michael Kramer, by himself almost makes this book.