The Fall of the Kings (Riverside, #3)

Posted on 22 May 2018 by Ellen Kushner

This stunning follow up to Ellen Kushner s cult classic novel, Swordspoint, is set in the same world of labyrinthine intrigue, where sharp swords and even sharper wits rule Against a rich tapestry of artists and aristocrats, students, strumpets, and spies, a gentleman and a scholar will find themselves playing out an ancient drama destined to explode their society s smug view of itself and reveal that sometimes the best price of uncovering history is being forced to repeat it The Fall of the Kings Generations ago the last king fell, taking with him the final truths about a race of wizards who ruled at his side But the blood of the kings runs deep in the land and its people, waiting for the coming together of two unusual men Theron Campion, a young nobleman of royal lineage, is heir to an ancient house and a modern scandal Tormented by his twin duties to his family and his own bright spirit, he seeks solace in the University There he meets Basil St Cloud, a brilliant and charismatic teacher ruled by a passion for knowledge and a passion for the ancient kings Of course, everyone now knows that the wizards were charlatans and the kings their dupes and puppets Only Basil is not convinced nor is he convinced that the city has seen its last king From the Trade Paperback edition Download The Fall of the Kings (Riverside, #3) – kino-fada.fr In summary why wasn t this book as good as its forebears A Wizard did it.Oh, man, I was so disappointed by this book I wanted to like it, but in the end I just didn t, mainly because I felt a bit like the author betrayed me We return to the world of Riverside around 40 years after The Privilege of the Sword my favorite of the lot, as it was the least angsty and most fun So all the characters I liked are either old or dead But I soldiered on and initially it seemed like a good time was In summary why wasn t this book as good as its forebears A Wizard did it.Oh, man, I was so disappointed by this book I wanted to like it, but in the end I just didn t, mainly because I felt a bit like the author betrayed me We return to the world of Riverside around 40 years after The Privilege of the Sword my favorite of the lot, as it was the least angsty and most fun So all the characters I liked are either old or dead But I soldiered on and initially it seemed like a good time was in the offing instead of swordfighting of which there is none , the characters are scholars at the university, and battles are fought via debate.The beginning of this book was promising, at least to anyone who thinks academic intrigue is kind of hilario...This was a frustrating one I love littlethan academia in a fantasy setting, and a climactic sequence begun by a scholarly debate is sooo up my street but what dreadful pacing it turned out to have This book takes a pleasant road but a slow one towards its destination, and when you finally reach the book s pivotal moment it s so rushed that it s robbed of all its power The relationship between the two leads gets so much focus, only to have its...I m puzzled by this book I like Kushner s other work so much and this one has some of the same flowing language and nice touches of the atmosphere of her other books, but the plot is soooooo drearily slow and the protagonis...Despite the claims of the jacket blurb, The Fall of the Kings is not set in the same world of labyrinthine intrigue asbook Swordspoint, where sharp swords and even sharper wits rule for one thing, swords hardly figure at all in The Fall of the Kings, and sharp wits end up not counting for much Swordspoint was a melodrama of manners The Fall of the Kings is an exploration of the meaning of history, cul...After finishing Swordspoint, I was immediately on the lookout fornovels by Kushner I figured that The Fall of the Kings, while not using the same characters as the previous novel, would still be a fun read Well, I m surmising that as a book written by two authors the novel s fault lies primarily with Delia Sherman for the drop in quality Or Kushner lost whatever way with words she had in the pastthan ten year span from Swordspoint At any rate, I have compiled a list of the obnoxi After finishing Swordspoint, I was imme...Despite the two stars, and despite all the complaints I m going to make below, I never seriously thought about not finishing The Fall of the Kings Its best achievement setting up its plot, making clear what kinds of things are at stake to a degree see below and establishing that the current story has deep connections to the myth and history that the characters retell and uncover, without making any specific ending seem inevitable early on.That was well done, really in other stories I ve Despite the two stars, and despite all the complaints I m going to make below, I never seriously thought about not finishing The Fall of the Kings Its best achievement setting up its plot, making clear what kinds of things are at stake to a degree see below and establishing that the current story has deep connections to the myth and history that the characters retell and uncover, without making any specific ending seem inevitable early on.That was well done, really in other stories I ve read that hold up legends or images from th...It isn t every day I decide to make a visit to the Thesaurus, but in honor of my feelings for The Fall of The Kings, today I have Come with me, as we discover the various synonyms for the word trash , which is the adjective that best describes this book Garbage Junk Rubbish Dross Filth Scum.Take your pick, any of them will do perfectly Now, I ll try and sum up as best I can why is it that this tragic disaster of a book is so horrendous, when the boo...Lots of reviews seem not to have liked the ending But I thought it was a good place to leave things.More proper review when I m less desperately hungover Awake and Alive Edits 26.03.2012 I think part of why people find the ending unsatisfying, and I think it is unsatisfying, I just likes it that way, literary masochism, whey is that Riverside is a very fully realized setting, and Kushner and Sherman want to leave it so Things don t end tidily, some people wander off to do other things It s Lots of reviews seem not to have liked the ending But I thought it was a good place to leave things.More proper review when I m less desperately hungover Awake and Alive Edits 26.03.2012 I think part of why people find the ending unsatisfying, and I think it is unsatisfying, I just likes it that way, literary masochism, whey is that Riverside is a very fully realized setting, and Kushner and Sherman want to leave it so Things don t end tidily, some people wander off to do other things It s similar to the end of Swordspoint view spoiler Michael Godwin disappeared off to where ever the Duchess sent him He d been a vivid and interesting enough character that we want to know how he ends up, but we re not going to follow him because his influence on the story Kushner is telling is now at an end And hey, in The Fall of Kings and The Privilege of the Sword we do get to find out how it all turned out for him hide spoiler I thought thi...More like 2.5 stars The first two books don t really fit neatly into my idea of fantasy But this one dives right in to old rituals Frankly, I found it often confusing, with relatives coming out of the woodwork and far too many student characters I think a person ...Reread this, and I am evenconvinced that this is part one of a larger novel It is engaging, witty and vivid and sensory and rich, with hints of magic it also has an enormous cast Toward the end, rather than pulling them all together, the cast members seem to be dropped or scattered, coming to an abrupt end The central figure, the shadowy Lord Arlen, has yet to reveal motivation or intention, and his pole star, the beautiful Theron Campion, is out for the nonce.Would love to see Part Tw Reread this, and I am evenconvinced that this is part one of a larger novel It is engaging, witty and vivid and sensory and rich, with hints of magic it also has an enormous cast Toward the end, rather than pulling the...

English
22 May 2018

Ellen Kushner