Customer Reviews

Kingdom Alliance (Ruin Mist Chronicles, Book 2) (Ruin Mist Chronicles)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ok...first of all, the first book (Keeper Martin's Tale) was great "for a first in a fantasy series". Like it should, it introduced the world, the characters, etc, etc. This second and successive books are great on multiple levels and far surpasses ALL fantasy writers I have read (and I've read a LOT, including the Big Four: Tolkien, Jordan, Martin, and Goodkind) This series is the tightest, most intelligent and captivating I have ever read. Stanek breathes new life into fantasy with great plots, multi-dimentional characters, realistic imagery, solid dialog, and seamless storytelling.

It's not just great fantasy... it's great Writing, period. Read this series!

It's so rare to find a fantasy series, or any series for that matter, that improves with each book, but Ruin Mist Chronicles is one such series. I felt like I was pulled through this book, what an amazing read. Highly recommended.

Robert Stanek is one of the most unique voices in fantasy and it is no wonder he has been recognized as the 'best new voice'. Ruin Mist is the only fantasy multiverse of its kind I know of where you have three intertwined realms (the author calls these realms over earth, middle earth and under earth). Ruin Mist is a vast, colorful, and incredibly original world that you are drawn into, and can't wait to learn more about. As someone who has been waiting forever for announced Encyclopedia of Ruin Mist, I couldn't believe the publisher gives away the entire encyclopedia of Ruin Mist with the deluxe edition of this book. The only thing missing is the accompanying art, but there's plenty of art to satisfy.

In this second book, the realms are reeling from the fallout from the happenings of the first book. The survivors may get what they desire, but that is only one of many threads in the story. The plot continues to be highly intruiging, and thankfully not rushed like the previous. This is undoubtedly several orders of magnitude better than the first one, and I found the first one to be quite good.

This author has a clear voice and tells this story with incredible precision. Kingdom Alliance is the second book out of four in the Ruin Mist Chronicles. The series is completed, and very good. Like the other books in the series, this book takes place in a world known as Ruin Mist which is from an elvish proberb about the lost ages and the ruin of time. Ruin Mist is an ancient world once ruled by titans and dragons. The titan and dragon masters no longer rule, but their reach still affects the lands and the other peoples of the world. In Ruin Mist, elves and men are ancient enemies, and many of the other peoples have disappeared from the lands. The story follows the adventures of several groups of characters in what may be the world's final age, an age where men and elves may disappear from the lands for good.

In many ways, this book is even better than the first one. I loved how the story continues almost immediately after the end of the previous book. I'll tell you this: I wanted the sequel when I was only half-way through the book. It's filled with lush detail and such an interesting plot and complex characters that the final chapter leaves any reader hungry for the next book in this series. The author did an incredible job.

Like the first one, this was one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. I am an avid reader of fantasy and other fiction books and I would place this one at or very near the top. Very entertaining and engaging. I can't recommend this book strongly enough, and I must say this even better than the first one. If this book in anyway piques your interest, then you definitely should get it. Amazingly well written with a rousing conclusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books of this series. The plot is complex and the author does a good job of character development.

The first three books are filled with intrigue, action and adventure. Stanek's characters kept me captivated. The writing is far bettter than Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

I reccomend this book. It isn't all bright and sunny days, where the good triumph and evil is destroyed, just remember 'The Fourth Comes.'

Several friends had been trying to get me to read this for a few years now. I actually started reading Keeper Martin's Tale, but only got about 100 pages or so in before I gave up. When I saw Kingdom Alliance and Fields of Honor recently, I decided to give it another try just to shut them up. Boy, am I glad I listened to them! One you have all the characters straight, the story is quite engaging. Some things that may seem superfluous at the time end up being critical later on.

One thing that Stanek does much better than the master himself, Tolkien, is write interesting female characters. Whereas the females in The Lord of the Rings seemed tacked on, the females in this book are well-written, deep characters who are critical to the story. Characters like Adrina, Myrial, Galan, and yes, even the vile Erravane.

Also, you never really seem sure whom to root for. Characters you may dislike at first soon become your favorites. I'm not a big fan of fantasy overall, Martin and Jordan in particular, but after reading this series, I doubt I'll be able to read anything else in this genre, because nothing can top this! I've just completed reading Fields of Honor and I hope, the fourth, Mark of the Dragon comes out soon, because I'm seriously addicted to this series!

Kingdom Alliance will remind you why you love fantasy in the first place. The story is part mystery and part fantasy, and always interesting. Stanek captures the wonder of visits to magical places like the "Mouth of the World", the utter despair of tragedy and loss, and the deepest darkest selves of his characters. For those who say Robert Stanek's books are GRRM-lite, I wouldn't disagree. Like "A Song of Ice and Fire," the books continue to have very good character development and an intelligently written style. There are many characters for you to care about because of their strong nature and many characters for you to hate because of their vile nature. Also like Tolkien, Stanek manages to create a brand new world, rich in history, populated with new and mythic peoples/creatures.

Before I read Stanek's "Keeper Martin Tales" I was starting to think I'd read every decent one out there, but a friend recommended this series and I'm glad I listened to his advice. This series has restored my faith in fantasy novels.

With many comparisons to Tolkien and what not, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was glad to find the writing isn't like Tolkien's, it is very different and I'm glad for that too. Tolkien is thick reading. Stanek is pure joy. Plus rather than following a small band of characters, this book is about a changing world with many players, many location, and many motivations. There's plenty of human drama and political intrigue to keep anyone's interest no matter the taste.

While Stanek's work isn't as detailed as Tolkien or as skillfully written when it comes to crafting sentances and paragraphs, he more than makes up for it by writing a complex and understandable story with many well-developed characters and very good pacing to it all. In some ways, this does make him better than Tolkien as the work is more accessible to the average reader.

I continue to be amazed at how much depth and rich history there is in the world. The deluxe edition of this book has 50 pages of detail on the peoples, places and things in the world. That's 10 more pages than "Keeper Martin's Tale" had. What's wonderful is how the history forms the background and helps fill in the backstory without being overwhelming or taking over the main story.

Highly recommended reading, and a whole lot of fun to read as well.

When I first read Keeper Martin's Tale it took me a few chapters to get into it. Then by Chapter 12 "Vangar Forest" I was so hooked I couldn't put it down. Chapters 12 to 29 are filled with sweeping action scenes that in my opinion are only rivaled by Tolkien's battle-filled Two Towers. Kingdom Alliance deals with the aftermath in a way that is equally sweeping and epic in scale.

As other reviewers have said Robert Stanek has set a new standard for the genre. Keeper Martin's Tale proves you don't have to build up for 10 books to the epic battle. Tolkien knew this and so does Stanek.

In Kingdom Alliance we learn what is taking happening in the kingdoms. King's mate, the trios, and the dragon tower are three of the most amazing things I've ever read about in a book. Read it and you'll know why so many readers think so highly of this series. I can't wait for "Fields of Honor" and "Mark of the Dragon".

Steal this book if you have to, a must for any fantasy fan.