The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
Published 31st October 2019 by Tor UK
Star Rating - ***.5
Goodreads Challenge - 63/50
I was gifted a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
You can have everything you want if you sacrifice everything you believe.
Kihrin D'Mon is a wanted man.
Since he destroyed the Stone of Shackles and set demons free across Quur, he has been on the run from the wrath of an entire empire. His attempt to escape brings him into the path of Janel Theranon, a mysterious Joratese woman who claims to know Kihrin.
Janel's plea for help pits Kihrin against all manner of dangers: a secret rebellion, a dragon capable of destroying an entire city, and Kihrin's old enemy, the wizard Relos Var.
Janel believes that Relos Var possesses one of the most powerful artifacts in the world―the Cornerstone called the Name of All Things. And if Janel is right, then there may be nothing in the world that can stop Relos Var from getting what he wants.
And what he wants is Kihrin D'Mon.
Jenn Lyons continues the Chorus of Dragons series with The Name of All Things, the epic sequel to The Ruin of Kings.
My Thoughts
I read the first book in this series earlier on in the year and I was really excited to dive into this one. I didn't love it as much as the first but it was definitely a solid sequel.
One of the things I really enjoyed about the first book was the unique writing style and this one followed suit in that respect. As with the first book, we follow one story told by two different perspectives however, I found this one a bit easier to follow as we follow the story in a linear fashion unlike the first book. The other thing I really like about these books is the world and the story development. It's very detailed and I think the author did a great job at creating a really well thought out story.
My favourite part of the first book through was the characters, I particularly loved Kihrin however, he isn't very prominent in this instalment and I think that's why I didn't love this one as much as the first. In this book we follow Janel and Brother Qown's story that led to them to be where they are at the beginning of the book. Kihrin is here in the background and you do get his witty remarks between each section of storytelling but I just didn't find Janel's story as compelling as Kihrin's. I also felt that at times the story became a little bit long winded and it could have been shortened in places, with less repetition between perspectives. That being said I liked the references to Janel's appearances in the first book and how all of this tied together and I liked the final section of the book when we jump back to present time and the action with Kihrin again at the forefront of the story.
Overall, as I said before, I think this was a very solid sequel that expanded upon the story that was set up in the first one. There were a few interesting twists and turns, especially in the final part that kept me wanting more. I think the author has created some really clever storytelling full of interweaving plots and narratives and I'm really excited to pick up the third and final book in this series to see how everything ends.
Overall Rating (3.5*)
