The Empire's Ruin (Ashes of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Staveley Book Review (Spoiler-free)
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Hi y'all! Here's my spoiler-free review for The Empire's Ruin (Ashes of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Staveley! This book was... phenomenal. As always, thank you so much for all your support. Happy reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
Cover art illustrated by Richard Anderson: www.flaptrapsar...
Arts:
-Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy (US cover arts) by Richard Anderson: www.flaptrapsar...
-Map of The Annurian Empire by Isaac Stewart: www.isaacstewa...
-The Empire's Ruin (US cover art) by Richard Anderson: www.flaptrapsar...
-Map of Dombang by Isaac Stewart: www.isaacstewa...
-Kettral by Sammuel Farrugia: www.artstation...
-Skullsworn (US cover art) by Richard Anderson: www.flaptrapsar...
Music:
Jesse Gallagher - Spenta Mainyu
Pre-order the book on:
-Amazon (US): www.amazon.com...
-Amazon (UK): www.amazon.co....
-Book Depository: www.bookdeposit...
-The Broken Binding (Signed book!): www.thebrokenb... (Use my code NOVELNOTIONS121 for discount!)
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Petrick, I bought the Chronicle of the Unhewn throne series due to your recommendations. My trust came from your love of the Riyria and Michael J Sullivan. About halfway through the second book I realized that Brian Staveley is a truly gifted artist. I just finished Skullsworn . I want you to know how much I enjoyed all 4 books. I honestly wouldn't have risked it without your recommendation. It is like I found hidden treasure. So, yes, I am now moving on to the Ashes of the Unhewn Throne. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You're welcome, Irene! Hearing that seriously makes me happy. I agree with you. Staveley is a great writer, and I think he deserves so much more attention and sales! 😄
I just finished the Empire's Ruin. Do you by chance know when the next in the series will be released? I'm having withdrawals from this world already.
Last I heard, the author is still busy writing it. So probably in 2023 or 2024. Believe me, I am so anticipating it, too. :/
I ngl I like Gwenna but can't stand her foul mouth so I'm a little bit conflicted about how much I like her being a main character but hearing that Akiil survived is great. He had a small role in the first trilogy but was one of my favorites
I also want to say that I found the ending of the first trilogy somewhat lacking because I didn't like the development some character were taking (especially our 3 imperial children)
Ah, that's unfortunate but yeah that's a part of Gwenna. She constantly developed throughout the trilogy, and as I mentioned, I liked the first trilogy but they're not my favorites for the last reason you mentioned. The three imperial children, though probably intentional and understandable, can be really infuriating at times through the first trilogy!
Definitely adding to my tbr
Awesome! 😊
Petrik, could I just skip the trilogy and start with Skullsworn? It's just that the trilogy is pretty long and seeing the issues everyone had with Adare and the final book being just a bit of a let-down, idk if I want to go through all that just to get to read Skullsworn and The Empire's ruin.
Skullsworn is definitely okay to read without reading the trilogy; it's a standalone prequel after all. The Empire's Ruin is tricky, though, if you really dont want to, I guess you can read the first two books and skip the 3rd one. The first two books were awesome and important, imo. Note that you can just read The Empire's Ruin if you want, but you'll miss a lot of character's development for the MC.
@@PetrikLeo Thanks for the fast response! (I didn't get a notification until now)
So essentially that's a no haha! Alright, I'll just start the trilogy first and see how it goes from there, it's just that I've already fallen behind so much on my TBR because of my (former) busy schedule. I'm just going to bingeread as much as possible in the coming weeks. Thanks again, you're always such a big help!
bought empires ruin not realizing that it had 4 books of the same series before it now just bough the first book aand going to slowly work my way to empires ruin in the proper order
It's so worth the investment. I hope the sequel to Empire's Ruin will come out soon. So excited for it!
@@PetrikLeo just ordered the emperors blades and will start on it next week, gonna wait a while before getting the other ones in the series, the book budget is low at the moment
I totally get people who want to read in publication order...but I think I'll always be a chronological guy. Granted, sometimes that amounts to the same thing, but I tend to want to read about events in the order they happened, rather than bouncing around.
Might have to check out some Brian Staveley now!
Although I think publication order is often the best, there are times when chronological might end up being a better option. That's how I feel regarding Riyria series by Michael Sullivan. I think my issues is directed towards people who skipped installments to read the newest book in the series; I know a few who did this, and my head can't understand why! xD
I hope you'll love Staveley's books. Chronologically, start from Skullsworn before diving into the main series!
@@PetrikLeo Yeah, deliberately skipping over books to read the latest, hot release is baffling.
Thanks for the starting point rec!
here we go found something else to read, my TBR books and my wallet are judging me very harshly right now
Hahaha! I don't think our TBR books and wallet will ever stop judging us, Olga! xD
@@PetrikLeo definitely not😂
Couldn't agree more on skullsworn! I hardly ever reread anything and I've read that one 3x
Three times!? That's impressive! I know I'll be rereading both Skullsworn and The Empire's Ruin in the future, though! :)
@@PetrikLeo it was such a cool unique story with really different perspectives on life and death that I can't think of any other stories approaching in quite the same way
I'll order it.
You won't regret it, James! :)
Aahh I was waiting (hoping!) for this review, and now I'm even more excited to read this book when it comes out! I finally got around to reading Skullsworn this week and it's, along with Dreams of the Dying, my favorite book I've read this year so far. I might have to re-read at least the third book before I start The Empire's Ruin, just to be able to appreciate Gwenna's character development more :)
Thank you so much, Charlotte! Both Dreams of the Dying and Skullsworn are some of my favorite books of all time! And if you have the time, rereading Last Mortal Bond will definitely benefit Gwenna's character development in The Empire's Ruin! :)
The first trilogy was a little uneven especially in the third book but you could tell Staveley had a ton of talent and was going to be hot shit writer by the time his next series came out. With Skullsworn and the early buzz on this title it seems like his talent has really blossomed. Really looking forward to this one. I hope more people begin to check his work out.
Completely agree with you, Andrew. Like you, I had issues with the 3rd book of the first trilogy, but Skullsworn and this one is where his talent really shows, imo! 😊
Unfortunately this doesn't sound like my sort of book but I still really enjoyed hearing you talk about it. I love listening to people talk about the things they enjoy. The fact that you mentioned this in th same breath as Stormlight seems like high praise indeed. So glad that you have a new series to realy sink your teeth into.
No worries! I'm glad you still enjoyed watching the video at least!! :)
I'm so excited for this one, and your review didn't help to keep me calm. 😆 I knew that Gwenna was a reoccuring character, but I didn't know she was one of the main POVs. She was one of my favorite characters in the main series (together with Valyn) so I know I will love this book.
Thanks for the review Petrik!
You're welcome, Jolien! You're going to love it. There's so much Gwenna here, and I can't get enough of her storyline and character! 😊
Thank you.... for the review 😊😊😊 following u on Instagram too! Happy reading to you.... 📖🎬📽
You're welcome! Thank you for watching. Happy reading to you, too! 😊
Have I read any of these books? Nope. Did I listen to this whole review? Of course! Great job, Petrik! I'll just have to add another author to the never-ending pile.
Thank you so much, Sarah! You are too kind, my friend! At the very least, I think you'll love Staveley's prose! :)
I was disappointed with the first trilogy. I thought the main characters were really boring and they made a lot of dumb decisions. But I really liked Skullsworn. Gwenna being a main character of this new book has me excited. She was one of the best parts of the original trilogy.
I liked the first trilogy but there were indeed parts (like the one you mentioned) that disappointed me. Skullsworn then won me over completely, and this one is even better! 😁 Gwenna is awesome!
I've been already at least quarter way into the book when I realized that there is another trilogy set before this. I didn't really want to pause my reading to read 3 or 4 books, so went ahead regardless. I don't feel like I needed the first trilogy to understand what's happening here, the plot, the worldbuilding and the characters were set up well enough to provide all the necessary information. After I've learned that there are more books, I did pick up some bits where I would assume, it was explained in the first series. One downside of this reading order that I know now who dies in the first trilogy :D
Hahaha yeahh, I talked about this with Brian Staveley himself! I think it's impossible for us, readers who've read the first trilogy, to think this book can be fully enjoyed by those who haven't read anything in this world yet. But for newcomer, surprisingly many have mentioned that they're okay with reading it without reading the previous books. Props to Brian Staveley for making the narrative working on both direction! :)
I just picked up other Brian Staveley books, this is definitely on my radar to read after that. Thank you for the review!
You're welcome, Steve! His prose is so delightful to read! :)
I had mixed feelings about the original trilogy and the standalone. Would you say I may enjoy this one more or is this more of the same?
I think this is his best work so far, but considering how mixed you felt about Staveley's books, I don't think this one will win you that much.
I have the Emperor's Blade up next on my TBR. I cannot read books by the same author out of order, even if they are stand-alone. I think it would send me into a state of frenzy to read a series out of order. Lol
Thank you again for your reviews. ❤️
You're welcome, Wendy! I'm so glad to hear that you're definitely the same as me on thus; reading series out of order purposefully drives me nuts! 😂 I hope you'll enjoy The Emperor's Blades! 😁
Great. I look forward to this book.Are there any familiar characters in the book
Thank you! Yeah, there are plenty of characters from the first trilogy here! 😊
Have the trilogy from Brian Staveley gathering dust in my TBR .. Guess this is reason enough to start reading it !
4 books to catch up on!! I hope you'll have a great time reading them! :)
Great review Petrik! As a fan of the first trilogy, I'm looking forward to reading more in this world. I also picked up The Sword of Kaigen of your recommendation knowing very little about the book and was completely blown away. What an amazing book, I understand why you've been praising it so much, everybody should read this!
Thank you so much, Eugene!! If you liked the first trilogy already, I have no doubt this will amaze you even further! I'm also pleased to hear that you loved Sword of Kaigen that much, it's a masterpiece and I will never shut up about it! 😁
I have the unhewn throne trilogy. I’m dying to get to it. I just have to get some series wrapped up first.
I hope you can get to it soon! I have a bit of a mixed feeling (overall positive) regarding the trilogy, but Skullsworn and this one were just too good!! :)
@@PetrikLeo it’s been pushed three times already but I’ll read it this year!!! I hope 🤞🏻
This sounds fantastic! Had the Emporer's blades on my shelves forever so will definitely move that up my tbr! The releases this year are taking fantasy to the next level!❤️
Hear hear! So many amazing books being released this year!! 👍
I really like your content! Keep it going!
Thank you, Michael! I'll do my best!! 😊
Great review. You never let me down. I am about to finish The Ember Blade, read it because you recommended it, wonderful story, took me a couple months (I am a slow reader). Need a new standalone book, should I read Skullsworn next?
Thank you so much, John! So glad to hear that. I loved The Ember Blade, and if you decide to pick up Skullsworn after that, I think you're making the right choice! :)
@@PetrikLeo Ok going to pick that up next. Thank you.
Immense character growth and development is exactly what I like to see. I had no idea this book was so long. Release date can't come soon enough!
It's epic and incredible. I really hope it's not just me enjoying it.Two more months!! :D
I cannot wait for this baby to come out!!!
It will be so worth the wait! 😊
I definitely want to give Stavely another go. I liked Emperor's Blades but the rest of the series was not my favorite. I have heard good things about Skullsworn and now this new book sounds like he has grown as an author.
For me I Enjoyed The Emperor's blades. I loved the pace and the world building but on the flip side I just didn't really care for any of the characters. I got put off picking the other books because of this but I'm now intrigued to maybe give this series another go. 🤔
I loved both Emperor's Blades and its sequel, Providence of Fire, but I did have some issues with Last Mortal Bond. I absolutely loved Skullsworn and The Empire's Ruin, though. I think trying Skullsworn should be a good gauge on whether he'll be an author for you or not!
Another author whose books I desperately want to start reading!
I hope you'll enjoy them, Alena! 😁
Your Goodreads review already had me so hyped for this book, but in this video you somehow managed to get me even more excited (which I didn't think was even possible, lol). I am in pain, I need this book right now... I want more Gwenna!! Is it July already?!?!
I truly can't wait for you read this, Esmay!! I know you're going to love this one so much. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it! 😊
@@PetrikLeo I have already pre-ordered it, so I will definitely let you know my thoughts when I finally get my copy! Can't wait :)
I really want to read Empire's Ruin but I haven't read any books by this author, so I just added The Emperor's Blades to my TBR. Thanks for the tip! 😀 Great review!
Thank you so much, Manda Mae!! Fingers crossed you'll enjoy The Emperor's Blades when you get to it! 😊
Manda...I am reading this one first...you should be alright to start with this one. The world-building and references are not overwhelming. By the third chapter, I was good and no longer needed to take notes.
@@Speed202 Thanks for the info!
I'm DYING to read this one
Hopefully you'll be able to read it sooner than later! 😊
@@PetrikLeo the moment it comes out I'm reading it for sure
Wow, that's some high praise. I know that Way of Kings is probably you're favourite series of all time. If this rivals it, I can only imagine how amazing it'd be. I'm very excited for the book now lol.
Loved the review, thanks a lot!
I think The Faithful And The Fallen is is favourite current series. Stormlight Archive hasn't finished yet. 👍
Yeah!! I don't give this kind of praises lightly, but this one definitely reminded me of The Way of Kings (a more grim version of it!)
I honestly don't know which one I love more between The Stormlight Archive and The Faithful and the Fallen! xD
@@PetrikLeo Well ones finished, one hasn't! Plus its not going to end anytime soon 😳 lol
Just bought the pre-order, can't wait for it. I loved the first trilogy and especially Skullsworn :) Epic fantasy and deep character stories. More! More! More!
OH YESS!! Then I'm sure you're going to love this one! 😊
I gotta tell you Petrik Leo. I have picked this one up first from Stavely and it's a page-turner. I generally have to keep a notebook handy when I read a book out of sequence like this one to extrapolate the details needed to understand the world. It's very intriguing to do it this way because fortunately, this title stands strong with its characters that you don't need to have read the prior books. There are enough hints to understand where the characters are now and I am of course intrigued to go back and read the previous books. Looks like I can skip the third one by how the conversation is going here in the comment section.
I talked about this with Staveley himself, and we come to the conclusion that we (readers who have read the previous books) can't imagine the possibility of reading this without them. 😅 But seems like there's a lot of newcomer who think it's possible. As long that you enjoyed it, that's what matters!
I'm up to chapter 32. It's slow and puts me to sleep. Very slow and horrible plot development.
Disagree completely, I think it's never slow and the plot development is incredible. You should DNF it, though, if it doesn't work for you. That happens.