What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dandelion Dynasty #3
The Veiled Throne
With the invasion of Dara complete, and the Wall of Storms breached, the world has opened to new possibilities for the gods and peoples of both empires as the sweeping saga of the award-winning Dandelion Dynasty continues in this third book of the “magnificent fantasy epic” (NPR).
Princess Théra, once known as Empress Üna of Dara, entrusted the throne to her younger brother in order to journey to Ukyu-Gondé to war with the Lyucu. She has crossed the fabled Wall of Storms with a fleet of advanced warships and ten thousand people. Beset by adversity, Théra and her most trusted companions attempt to overcome every challenge by doing the most interesting thing. But is not letting the past dictate the present always possible or even desirable?
In Dara, the Lyucu leadership as well as the surviving Dandelion Court bristle with rivalries as currents of power surge and ebb and perspectives spin and shift. Here, parents and children, teachers and students, Empress and Pékyu, all nurture the seeds of plans that will take years to bloom. Will tradition yield to new justifications for power?
Everywhere, the spirit of innovation dances like dandelion seeds on the wind, and the commoners, the forgotten, the ignored begin to engineer new solutions for a new age.
Ken Liu returns to the series that draws from a tradition of the great epics of our history from the Aeneid to the Romance on the Three Kingdoms and builds a new tale unsurpassed in its scope and ambition.
Princess Théra, once known as Empress Üna of Dara, entrusted the throne to her younger brother in order to journey to Ukyu-Gondé to war with the Lyucu. She has crossed the fabled Wall of Storms with a fleet of advanced warships and ten thousand people. Beset by adversity, Théra and her most trusted companions attempt to overcome every challenge by doing the most interesting thing. But is not letting the past dictate the present always possible or even desirable?
In Dara, the Lyucu leadership as well as the surviving Dandelion Court bristle with rivalries as currents of power surge and ebb and perspectives spin and shift. Here, parents and children, teachers and students, Empress and Pékyu, all nurture the seeds of plans that will take years to bloom. Will tradition yield to new justifications for power?
Everywhere, the spirit of innovation dances like dandelion seeds on the wind, and the commoners, the forgotten, the ignored begin to engineer new solutions for a new age.
Ken Liu returns to the series that draws from a tradition of the great epics of our history from the Aeneid to the Romance on the Three Kingdoms and builds a new tale unsurpassed in its scope and ambition.
982 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 2021
511 people are currently reading
23070 people want to read
About the author
Ken Liu
467 books22k followersKen Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards for his fiction, he has also won top genre honors abroad in Japan, Spain, and France.
Liu’s most characteristic work is the four-volume epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers, not wizards, are the heroes of a silkpunk world on the verge of modernity. His debut collection of short fiction, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. A second collection, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, followed. He also penned the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker. His latest book is All That We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whispering hacker who saves the world.
He’s often involved in media adaptations of his work. Recent projects include “The Regular,” under development as a TV series; “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in season one of Netflix’s breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, with Craig Silverstein as executive producer, adapted from an interconnected series of Liu’s short stories.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, history of technology, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.
In addition to his original fiction, Liu also occasionally publishes literary translations. His most recent work of translation is a new rendition of Laozi’s Dao De Jing.
Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
Liu’s most characteristic work is the four-volume epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers, not wizards, are the heroes of a silkpunk world on the verge of modernity. His debut collection of short fiction, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. A second collection, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, followed. He also penned the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker. His latest book is All That We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whispering hacker who saves the world.
He’s often involved in media adaptations of his work. Recent projects include “The Regular,” under development as a TV series; “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in season one of Netflix’s breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, with Craig Silverstein as executive producer, adapted from an interconnected series of Liu’s short stories.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, history of technology, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.
In addition to his original fiction, Liu also occasionally publishes literary translations. His most recent work of translation is a new rendition of Laozi’s Dao De Jing.
Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 710 reviews
June 9, 2023
4.5/5 stars
The Veiled Throne is a marvelous story. It is a unique and superbly-written first half to the concluding installment of The Dandelion Dynasty.
It is a challenging task to review each book in The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu. Each book in the series so far has packed so much content into them, and I don’t foresee this changing in the last book of the series, too. However, I find the task of reviewing The Veiled Throne to be even harder than reviewing The Grace of Kings or The Wall of Storms due to the fact that The Veiled Throne is the first part of a whole package. The Dandelion Dynasty was originally planned to be a trilogy. But the third novel got bigger and bigger until it reached more or less 700,000 words. It is impossible to print 700,000 words novels in one volume. The Veiled Throne and Speaking Bones made up the third book of the series, and Ken Liu acknowledged this at the end of the book. Both The Veiled Throne and Speaking Bones are meant to be read as one book, and I am essentially reviewing only the first half of it here. I loved The Veiled Throne. I did not love it as much as The Grace of Kings or The Wall of Storms. But keep in mind that once I finished reading Speaking Bones this month, I could end up loving The Veiled Throne more.
If it has been a while since you read The Wall of Storms, it might take you some time to adjust with reading the first quarter of The Veiled Throne. The Veiled Throne is divided into four parts, and the first 100 pages in the first part of the novel revolve around an entirely new character named Goztan, and this section takes place in the past again. We did not get the continuation to the end of The Wall of Storms until the second part begins. But if you’re in the third book of the series now, I think you will know Ken Liu’s storytelling style is not what we’d call as conventional. But I’m going to assume that you’re reading the third book of the series because you love the previous books, and you have faith in Ken Liu’s storytelling style. The themes and characters’ background explored in Part 1 of The Veiled Throne is incredibly important for the later sections of the book.
From reading The Grace of Kings and The Wall of Storms, I am already a diehard fans of The Dandelion Dynasty. But this does not mean I am reluctant to voice my criticisms, even when they're very few. Unlike The Wall of Storms where it reeled me from cover to cover, The Veiled Throne is not safe from a slight disruption in pacing. There were two events in the novel where I felt the pacing certainly dragged a bit. The first one is during the beginning of Part 2 of the book, and the other one is in Part 4, which I will get into later. Although Part 2 continues from where The Wall of Storms left off, it also begins with a 100 pages battle scene. In my opinion, this big battle scene happened too early. Though the naval battle itself was creative, cleverly designed, and inventive, most of the characters involved in this warfare were new characters I did not care about yet. Fortunately, after I reached the chapter titled Stowaway, almost every page in The Veiled Throne since then was contemplative, immersive, thought-provoking, and also beautiful.
And that's exactly it. A necessary paving stone is what the early sections of The Veiled Throne entail. I haven't proved this yet at the time of writing this review, obviously, but the entirety of The Veiled Throne is most likely a scintillating paving stone for Speaking Bones. I've said it multiple times already, but Ken Liu is one of the most intelligent writers in the science fiction and fantasy space right now. The power of stories, the prominence of legacies, the benefit of education and languages, the deadly price of war, the beauty of cultures, and the difficulty of unity between different beliefs were SOME of the topics and themes discussed in The Veiled Throne. Through the variety of characters Liu created, the character's actions and philosophies in The Dandelion Dynasty not only made me invested, but they also made me ponder. And this goes for ALL the characters in the series. Not just the returning characters but also the new ones introduced and developed in The Veiled Throne.
To avoid spoilers in my review, unless it’s new characters appearing for the first time in The Veiled Throne, I will refrain from using the name of the returning characters in this review. There are many set pieces in The Veiled Throne. Politics, war, scheming, manipulation, battle frenzy, and honor invade the pages of this novel. There are so many characters in this epic fantasy series now, and they come with their own belief, agendas, and motivation. As I read through The Veiled Throne, I never once felt like the characters, technology, and culture were not meticulously developed. And Ken Liu ceaselessly surprised me with each book in the series. The Veiled Throne is in a way much less intense in comparison to The Wall of Storms. However, this does not mean the narrative was ever lacking in its analysis and extrapolation of human behavior.
Additionally, I would like to add that Ken Liu simply excels wonderfully at writing lovable and hatable characters. In my review of The Wall of Storms, I mentioned that Liu has crafted some of my most beloved characters in science fiction and fantasy. And he also created one of my most hated characters of all time. This is what he successfully did again in The Veiled Throne. The Blossom Gang is a group of people I initially thought too late to introduce and develop in the book. But I was proven so mistaken by this. After reading Part 4 of The Veiled Throne, I became immensely invested with this group of characters, especially Dandelion and Kinri. And I genuinely can't wait to see how their existence will help shape the events in Speaking Bones. Of course, talking about my first impression, I thought Cutanrovo would be a boring character. Oh god, I should've known that everything Liu displayed in his books is there for many good reasons. Cutanrovo's brutality and fanaticism are genuinely terrifying because people like Cutanrovo truly exist in our world. It's all so amazing.
Before I discuss Part 4 and the climax sequence of the novel, I need to highly praise Liu’s prose again. There were way too many passages in this book I highlighted because they were so profound. I feel like each passage I highlighted could easily become a topic of discussion among readers. And guess what? I highlighted 78 passages in The Veiled Throne. The Wall of Storms and The Veiled Throne have the most passages I ever highlighted in a single book. And it is very likely this event will be repeated in Speaking Bones. For some perspective, I usually highlight about 10-20 passages in a single epic fantasy novel. But I feel it is a form of injustice to do that with a book in The Dandelion Dynasty.
Liu didn't shy away from examining multitudes of topics crucial to The Dandelion Dynasty and our world. Whether it is about how we become more like our enemies in war voluntarily or not, or maybe about the determination to do what is right even if the world is never fair, everything felt seamlessly implemented into the narrative. And there was a passage in the book I can't shake. It was about how it is normal for those who did NOT personally experience specific suffering to easily romanticize aspects of the past even when the past itself was much worse than the present to those who experienced it speaks volumes about us as individuals. Even though the importance of stories is one of the main topics of The Veiled Throne and the series, Liu exhibited that it is also noteworthy to remember that some experiences are impossible to be replicated through texts and stories.
Finally, let's discuss the climax sequence in Part 4 of The Veiled Throne as spoiler-free as possible. If you have heard about this novel, you might have heard that it has one of the most original and imaginative climax sequences to grace an epic fantasy novel. Usually, in epic fantasy, a climax sequence is filled with one of the most intense sections of the novel; it is often manifested in battle/assassination/war scenes. The final 300 pages of The Veiled Throne are none of that. Though still relatively tension-packed, the climax sequence of The Veiled Throne arrived in the form of a, wait for it... cooking competition. Exactly. A cooking competition! It's true that, as I said, The Veiled Throne is technically only the first half of a larger volume, but I've never read any epic fantasy novel that ended with a cooking competition. And we can tell from the narrative that Ken Liu is super passionate about this subject. For example:
The passage above is a glimpse of how stunning the description of food and taste in The Veiled Throne is. It is without a doubt that this cooking competition section will be polarizing to readers. And as someone who loved the cooking competition sections, I have to admit that there were minor flaws to the reading experience. Mainly, it is because I think the cooking competition ended up becoming a double-edged blade to the narrative caused by the length of the cooking competition itself. I was very much immersed, impressed, and amazed by the First Contest, but by The Second and even the Third Contest, I think the cooking competition was too long for the novel's own good. I have no doubt this will pay off nicely in Speaking Bones, but even then, no matter what satisfying pay-off it brings, I don't think my opinion (at least in my first-time reading) about how this cooking competition is too long will change.
But it is a disservice to the climax sequence if I only talk about my minor issues with it. At the end of the day, there is a lot of genius quality in the cooking contests. Not only does Liu develop Dandelion and Kinri deeply here, I am 100% sure it is for the story to come in The Speaking Bones, but Liu's immeasurable passion for the cooking contests has opened up my mind further. It was brilliant how Liu interconnects cooking, honor, legacy, love, stories, and food together. The appreciation of food, culture, and the point of cuisine and art were undeniably magnificent. Plus, the entire climax sequence was so well-written that I was left hungry every time I read through the pages. The narrative talked in detail about how we are always affected by our mind-pleasure and bias when it comes to experiencing food, art, or stories, and I fully agree with it. When it comes to the matter of taste, what we define as delicious food or great books can differ from one individual to another. Even among individuals with super similar tastes, we frequently still have one or two opinions (even if they're small) that transform our analysis into something of our own. I will let two quotes from the book justify what I meant:
And
That feeling of tickling caress in my heart is what I feel with each book in The Dandelion Dynasty. The Veiled Throne may be, in comparison, my least favorite installment in the series so far, but the all-consuming narrative is still a near-absolute captivating reading experience. Even with its few flaws, The Veiled Throne is still a riveting prelude to the end of The Dandelion Dynasty. The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu has earned my love, and love, once given, cannot be rescinded. I am equally excited, scared, and sad to finally listen to the voice of the Speaking Bones soon.
P.S:
I’m giving this a 4.5 stars rating rounded down for now. But depending on Speaking Bones, I could end up rounding up the rating to 5 stars instead.
You can order this book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Andrew W, Amanda, Annabeth, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Ellis, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Mike, Miracle, Nanette, Neeraja, Nicholas, Reno, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Shawna, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
The Veiled Throne is a marvelous story. It is a unique and superbly-written first half to the concluding installment of The Dandelion Dynasty.
“Though each individual mortal experiences life for but a score of years, they can draw upon a store of stories left by all their forbearers. The race of humankind grows toward infinity, even as the nature of each individual is limited. Nature may describe tendencies and circumscribe potentialities, but it is within the power of each soul to nurture itself for another life, to imagine a course not taken, to strive for a different view. Through that yearning by the finite for the infinite, the portraits painted by all the mortal eyes may yet piece together a grander truth than our divine understanding.”
It is a challenging task to review each book in The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu. Each book in the series so far has packed so much content into them, and I don’t foresee this changing in the last book of the series, too. However, I find the task of reviewing The Veiled Throne to be even harder than reviewing The Grace of Kings or The Wall of Storms due to the fact that The Veiled Throne is the first part of a whole package. The Dandelion Dynasty was originally planned to be a trilogy. But the third novel got bigger and bigger until it reached more or less 700,000 words. It is impossible to print 700,000 words novels in one volume. The Veiled Throne and Speaking Bones made up the third book of the series, and Ken Liu acknowledged this at the end of the book. Both The Veiled Throne and Speaking Bones are meant to be read as one book, and I am essentially reviewing only the first half of it here. I loved The Veiled Throne. I did not love it as much as The Grace of Kings or The Wall of Storms. But keep in mind that once I finished reading Speaking Bones this month, I could end up loving The Veiled Throne more.
“Everyone is a storyteller… That’s how we make sense of this life we live. Misfortune and affliction test us with one blow after another, most of which we don’t deserve. We have to tell ourselves a story about why to make all the random manipulations of fate and fortune bearable.”
If it has been a while since you read The Wall of Storms, it might take you some time to adjust with reading the first quarter of The Veiled Throne. The Veiled Throne is divided into four parts, and the first 100 pages in the first part of the novel revolve around an entirely new character named Goztan, and this section takes place in the past again. We did not get the continuation to the end of The Wall of Storms until the second part begins. But if you’re in the third book of the series now, I think you will know Ken Liu’s storytelling style is not what we’d call as conventional. But I’m going to assume that you’re reading the third book of the series because you love the previous books, and you have faith in Ken Liu’s storytelling style. The themes and characters’ background explored in Part 1 of The Veiled Throne is incredibly important for the later sections of the book.
“In Dara there is a sacred bond between a teacher and a student. Though I am your slave, I am also your teacher. It’s my duty to protect you from the consequences of bad choices, and that duty is not dissolved just because you didn’t like my lessons.”
From reading The Grace of Kings and The Wall of Storms, I am already a diehard fans of The Dandelion Dynasty. But this does not mean I am reluctant to voice my criticisms, even when they're very few. Unlike The Wall of Storms where it reeled me from cover to cover, The Veiled Throne is not safe from a slight disruption in pacing. There were two events in the novel where I felt the pacing certainly dragged a bit. The first one is during the beginning of Part 2 of the book, and the other one is in Part 4, which I will get into later. Although Part 2 continues from where The Wall of Storms left off, it also begins with a 100 pages battle scene. In my opinion, this big battle scene happened too early. Though the naval battle itself was creative, cleverly designed, and inventive, most of the characters involved in this warfare were new characters I did not care about yet. Fortunately, after I reached the chapter titled Stowaway, almost every page in The Veiled Throne since then was contemplative, immersive, thought-provoking, and also beautiful.
“As the Ano sages would say… ‘Sometimes a paving stone is essential on the path to mine pure jade.’ Even an impractical idea may spark a better plan down the road.”
And that's exactly it. A necessary paving stone is what the early sections of The Veiled Throne entail. I haven't proved this yet at the time of writing this review, obviously, but the entirety of The Veiled Throne is most likely a scintillating paving stone for Speaking Bones. I've said it multiple times already, but Ken Liu is one of the most intelligent writers in the science fiction and fantasy space right now. The power of stories, the prominence of legacies, the benefit of education and languages, the deadly price of war, the beauty of cultures, and the difficulty of unity between different beliefs were SOME of the topics and themes discussed in The Veiled Throne. Through the variety of characters Liu created, the character's actions and philosophies in The Dandelion Dynasty not only made me invested, but they also made me ponder. And this goes for ALL the characters in the series. Not just the returning characters but also the new ones introduced and developed in The Veiled Throne.
“The emperor’s school affiliation or academic accomplishments are not the point. The point is, as a child, the emperor was once inspired by the words of Kon Fiji to defend his friend Rin Coda from arrows raining out of the sky, an incident well-known by every teahouse storyteller. From this, we can infer that scholarship is directly correlated with courage. The more books read, the greater the warrior.”
To avoid spoilers in my review, unless it’s new characters appearing for the first time in The Veiled Throne, I will refrain from using the name of the returning characters in this review. There are many set pieces in The Veiled Throne. Politics, war, scheming, manipulation, battle frenzy, and honor invade the pages of this novel. There are so many characters in this epic fantasy series now, and they come with their own belief, agendas, and motivation. As I read through The Veiled Throne, I never once felt like the characters, technology, and culture were not meticulously developed. And Ken Liu ceaselessly surprised me with each book in the series. The Veiled Throne is in a way much less intense in comparison to The Wall of Storms. However, this does not mean the narrative was ever lacking in its analysis and extrapolation of human behavior.
“Adherence to the teachings of the sages or the gods both require faith. But in every age and among all peoples, the ones who live by faith alone and the ones who reject faith completely are few, while those who stand on the border between belief and disbelief, leaning toward what is convenient at the moment, make up the majority.”
Additionally, I would like to add that Ken Liu simply excels wonderfully at writing lovable and hatable characters. In my review of The Wall of Storms, I mentioned that Liu has crafted some of my most beloved characters in science fiction and fantasy. And he also created one of my most hated characters of all time. This is what he successfully did again in The Veiled Throne. The Blossom Gang is a group of people I initially thought too late to introduce and develop in the book. But I was proven so mistaken by this. After reading Part 4 of The Veiled Throne, I became immensely invested with this group of characters, especially Dandelion and Kinri. And I genuinely can't wait to see how their existence will help shape the events in Speaking Bones. Of course, talking about my first impression, I thought Cutanrovo would be a boring character. Oh god, I should've known that everything Liu displayed in his books is there for many good reasons. Cutanrovo's brutality and fanaticism are genuinely terrifying because people like Cutanrovo truly exist in our world. It's all so amazing.
“In our histories, we call those who kill thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions, great, but they are often little more than hollow shells, walking corpses into which we project our fantasies of what heroism and nobility look like. I know what an obsession with vengeance and heroism did to my nephew; I do not believe that is what your mother would want for you.”
Before I discuss Part 4 and the climax sequence of the novel, I need to highly praise Liu’s prose again. There were way too many passages in this book I highlighted because they were so profound. I feel like each passage I highlighted could easily become a topic of discussion among readers. And guess what? I highlighted 78 passages in The Veiled Throne. The Wall of Storms and The Veiled Throne have the most passages I ever highlighted in a single book. And it is very likely this event will be repeated in Speaking Bones. For some perspective, I usually highlight about 10-20 passages in a single epic fantasy novel. But I feel it is a form of injustice to do that with a book in The Dandelion Dynasty.
“The best scholars spend so much time studying the Classics that they forget to eat not because they wish to exercise power as high officials, but because they love the smell of writing knife carving into hot wax and the mind-pleasure of debating the wisdom of the sages with a friend. The tinkerers and wanderers who invent and create do so not to pursue profit, but because they love the freedom they experience when they make a thing: something imperfect, silly, perhaps even useless, but theirs and wholly new.”
Liu didn't shy away from examining multitudes of topics crucial to The Dandelion Dynasty and our world. Whether it is about how we become more like our enemies in war voluntarily or not, or maybe about the determination to do what is right even if the world is never fair, everything felt seamlessly implemented into the narrative. And there was a passage in the book I can't shake. It was about how it is normal for those who did NOT personally experience specific suffering to easily romanticize aspects of the past even when the past itself was much worse than the present to those who experienced it speaks volumes about us as individuals. Even though the importance of stories is one of the main topics of The Veiled Throne and the series, Liu exhibited that it is also noteworthy to remember that some experiences are impossible to be replicated through texts and stories.
“She had lived so long as a reader that she had forgotten that a culture could not be reduced to writing, that wisdom could not be imprisoned in books, that to live was to breathe, to dance, to hunt, to forget.”
Finally, let's discuss the climax sequence in Part 4 of The Veiled Throne as spoiler-free as possible. If you have heard about this novel, you might have heard that it has one of the most original and imaginative climax sequences to grace an epic fantasy novel. Usually, in epic fantasy, a climax sequence is filled with one of the most intense sections of the novel; it is often manifested in battle/assassination/war scenes. The final 300 pages of The Veiled Throne are none of that. Though still relatively tension-packed, the climax sequence of The Veiled Throne arrived in the form of a, wait for it... cooking competition. Exactly. A cooking competition! It's true that, as I said, The Veiled Throne is technically only the first half of a larger volume, but I've never read any epic fantasy novel that ended with a cooking competition. And we can tell from the narrative that Ken Liu is super passionate about this subject. For example:
“It was a painting richer in color than the work of jaded portraitists in money-blinded Dimushi, a symphony more pleasing than the vulgar din generated by the orchestras of traveling folk opera troupes, a tapestry of sensations and textures against the tongue more varied than the smooth silks and rough hempen clothes and nubbly woolen yarns found in Boama, a potpourri of aromas more intoxicating than the famed medicine shops of Çaruza, and a parade of tastes each more astounding than the last, a feast for the senses fit for the gods.”
The passage above is a glimpse of how stunning the description of food and taste in The Veiled Throne is. It is without a doubt that this cooking competition section will be polarizing to readers. And as someone who loved the cooking competition sections, I have to admit that there were minor flaws to the reading experience. Mainly, it is because I think the cooking competition ended up becoming a double-edged blade to the narrative caused by the length of the cooking competition itself. I was very much immersed, impressed, and amazed by the First Contest, but by The Second and even the Third Contest, I think the cooking competition was too long for the novel's own good. I have no doubt this will pay off nicely in Speaking Bones, but even then, no matter what satisfying pay-off it brings, I don't think my opinion (at least in my first-time reading) about how this cooking competition is too long will change.
“Remember that cooking and eating are about more than sustenance. Food is a language of its own. Chewing up tough meat and vegetables to feed us one mouthful at a time was how parents spoke to us before we had grown teeth or learned our first words; making their favorite dishes and leaving them on the ancestral altar is how we tell our parents that we love them when they can no longer hear us. We honor our past and hope for the future when we cook and eat.”
But it is a disservice to the climax sequence if I only talk about my minor issues with it. At the end of the day, there is a lot of genius quality in the cooking contests. Not only does Liu develop Dandelion and Kinri deeply here, I am 100% sure it is for the story to come in The Speaking Bones, but Liu's immeasurable passion for the cooking contests has opened up my mind further. It was brilliant how Liu interconnects cooking, honor, legacy, love, stories, and food together. The appreciation of food, culture, and the point of cuisine and art were undeniably magnificent. Plus, the entire climax sequence was so well-written that I was left hungry every time I read through the pages. The narrative talked in detail about how we are always affected by our mind-pleasure and bias when it comes to experiencing food, art, or stories, and I fully agree with it. When it comes to the matter of taste, what we define as delicious food or great books can differ from one individual to another. Even among individuals with super similar tastes, we frequently still have one or two opinions (even if they're small) that transform our analysis into something of our own. I will let two quotes from the book justify what I meant:
“Mind-pleasure comes from love, Kinri, love of sister, parent, friend, country, literature, beauty itself. A great lady I met at Lake Tututika on that outing taught me that. Love allows us to taste the fish, not just to weigh it. “And so, the best way to evoke mind-pleasure is to tell a story about love. That’s what all great art, fine cooking included, is about.”
And
“Weighing the fish requires only a fair scale, but there is no fairness when it comes to taste. The senses are governed by mind-pleasure. If you love a man, you think him handsome; if you hear a song from your childhood, you think it pleasant; if a smell or taste reminds you of home, then you feel its tickling caress in your heart.”
That feeling of tickling caress in my heart is what I feel with each book in The Dandelion Dynasty. The Veiled Throne may be, in comparison, my least favorite installment in the series so far, but the all-consuming narrative is still a near-absolute captivating reading experience. Even with its few flaws, The Veiled Throne is still a riveting prelude to the end of The Dandelion Dynasty. The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu has earned my love, and love, once given, cannot be rescinded. I am equally excited, scared, and sad to finally listen to the voice of the Speaking Bones soon.
“Some of the most important decisions we make in life are not derived from reason, from weighing the fish, from an evaluation of the pros and cons—but from a simple leap of faith, of love that needs no evidence, apology, or argument.”
P.S:
I’m giving this a 4.5 stars rating rounded down for now. But depending on Speaking Bones, I could end up rounding up the rating to 5 stars instead.
You can order this book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Andrew W, Amanda, Annabeth, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Ellis, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Mike, Miracle, Nanette, Neeraja, Nicholas, Reno, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Shawna, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
July 14, 2023
A step down from the previous two books in this series, but still a tremendously fantastic book in it's own right. If the final book in this 4 book series is as good as any of these 3, this will go down as a top 3 fantasy series of all time for me.
Watch my video review by clicking here.
Watch my video review by clicking here.
July 9, 2021
3.5 stars
I didn't love this book as much as the first two, it could just be me and you all know I'm fighting this reading slump. I'm trying to mix things up but it's a hit or miss.
I loved Goztan, I thought she was awesome, but I was a bit lost here and there. I will be adding the paperback and audio to my collection as I will want to read them again when the fourth book is finished and see if it was just me.
Blog: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
I didn't love this book as much as the first two, it could just be me and you all know I'm fighting this reading slump. I'm trying to mix things up but it's a hit or miss.
I loved Goztan, I thought she was awesome, but I was a bit lost here and there. I will be adding the paperback and audio to my collection as I will want to read them again when the fourth book is finished and see if it was just me.
Blog: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
August 1, 2023
Epic, generational fantasy with terrific creaturs, battle scenes and...A COOKING BATTLE!
I will definitely do a video about this series when I get to the end of Speaking Bones, but for now, please read The Dandelion Dynasty!
4.5 / 5
I will definitely do a video about this series when I get to the end of Speaking Bones, but for now, please read The Dandelion Dynasty!
4.5 / 5
November 30, 2022
This is one of the books which is famous for being the first half, of what was intended as one giant book, as a result is does suffer from a slightly lackluster climax compared to Wall of Storms, and it has a countdown, that seems really important, that we never get to.
However, I still thought this book was (mostly) pretty fantastic. It's very hard to go into detail, especially since Liu is an author where just saying character names is arguably a spoiler, but while I don't think this was as well paced as Wall of Storms, or Grace of Kings, the character work was phenomenal. This series now has one of my 10 favorite characters of all time in it, and it is not who I would have expected during book 1. It also introduces a new character in this book, and the idea and execution of this character is just genius.
I should also warn people, that if you find yourself not trusting authors if it is not obvious why something is important to the rest of the narrative, this book may frustrate you. We start this book following new characters, who then go on to do some stories within stories. I love stories within stories.
Then later on, there is a literal cooking competition. Should it probably have been shortened?
yes.
Were all the details strictly necessary?
no.
Did I like most of the other plots more?
yes.
Did I still end up liking it?
Yes.
The other real complain I have, is that there is a new antagonist introduced, and I find her very very annoying to read about. I find her to be rather 1 dimensional, and it basically seems like everything in this book just goes how she plans. Basically, unlike every other character in this series, she seemed somewhat immune to Murphy's law.
Lastly, I want to say the worldbuilding, and exploration of theme is amazing. Dara is one of the most fully fleshed out and interesting worlds I have read about.
Despite being the first half of a longer story, I still loved Veiled Throne, it was less page turny then the other 2, but also I had a deeper attachment to the characters than I did in Grace of Kings.
For that it gets an 8.7/10
However, I still thought this book was (mostly) pretty fantastic. It's very hard to go into detail, especially since Liu is an author where just saying character names is arguably a spoiler, but while I don't think this was as well paced as Wall of Storms, or Grace of Kings, the character work was phenomenal. This series now has one of my 10 favorite characters of all time in it, and it is not who I would have expected during book 1. It also introduces a new character in this book, and the idea and execution of this character is just genius.
I should also warn people, that if you find yourself not trusting authors if it is not obvious why something is important to the rest of the narrative, this book may frustrate you. We start this book following new characters, who then go on to do some stories within stories. I love stories within stories.
Then later on, there is a literal cooking competition. Should it probably have been shortened?
yes.
Were all the details strictly necessary?
no.
Did I like most of the other plots more?
yes.
Did I still end up liking it?
Yes.
The other real complain I have, is that there is a new antagonist introduced, and I find her very very annoying to read about. I find her to be rather 1 dimensional, and it basically seems like everything in this book just goes how she plans. Basically, unlike every other character in this series, she seemed somewhat immune to Murphy's law.
Lastly, I want to say the worldbuilding, and exploration of theme is amazing. Dara is one of the most fully fleshed out and interesting worlds I have read about.
Despite being the first half of a longer story, I still loved Veiled Throne, it was less page turny then the other 2, but also I had a deeper attachment to the characters than I did in Grace of Kings.
For that it gets an 8.7/10
February 19, 2022
I’m so glad that I finally made time to return to this series. It’s definitely my favourite ongoing series right now, and despite a slower start here because it had been a while since book #2, I found it fairly easy to get back into and start to really love once more. This was actually supposed to be the final book but as Liu wrote it was clear to him it needed to be split into two books as there was too much to include. Although I wish I knew the end, I am also glad to go back into the world once again later this year when the final one comes out. I’ll be super sad to leave it, but I also can’t wait to see what Liu has up his sleeves!
What I absolutely loved about this book was the second half. The first half had lots of great moments and developed the story across the world with particular focus on some of the key characters of this book. Definitely Unredeemed Dara and the Lyucu are a key focus point for lots of the first half, and although Dara does feature at some moments it’s the second half of the book which is based on Dara predominantly and which I adored.
The world continues to evolve and develop in this book with more scholars/masters teaching students and a huge focus on invention and innovation. The Lyucu story is pretty stable at the start of this, but it soon turns fractious and savage and filled with unspeakable horrors. Meanwhile, the focus on stories which starts right from page 1 is maintained throughout the whole book and I loved the way that Liu managed to weave extra mini stories about gods, heroes, enslavement, bravery, determination, culture, love, trust and so much more in. We see segments of the Gods and we see the mortals of the world as they tell one another stories and act out tales to one another around campfires, on ships, in towns and cities. We see innovative ideas starting to shape new stories and new ways of living, and we see blending together of cultures and divisions of cultures based on the leadership.
The characters who stand out most to me from this are definitely the Blossom Gang and Kinri and Dandelion, however Thera’s story was a heartbreaking one and Goztan and Tanvanaki have a pretty hard road in this book too with the shift in ruthlessness and their harsh pasts.
The second half of this book is a big shift from where you think things are headed at the start, and I adored it. I’m so glad Liu took the time to delve into the culture of Dara through a foreigner’s and native’s eyes and to compare and contrast and meld it into one. This section of the book is filled with ideas that I loved, love itself, passion and care and friendship. It’s filled with flavour and food and performance and drama. It’s long and yet I still could have read more. I just fell head over heels for this part and it was a definite 5*s for me.
The representation in this book was definitely something I noticed with gay characters mentioned and disabled characters being enabled and a key focus. One of the Blossom Gang, Rati Yera, is in a wheelchair and yet she’s vital to the gang and their success and she’s never looked down on or pitied or dismissed. She is an inspiring inventor of amazing works and she is admired by her friends and strangers alike. I really enjoyed her inclusion and felt like so much of her character is defined by her route through life and I loved seeing her triumphs along with the rest of the gang.
There were a few reveals in the end of the book I didn’t anticipate and I love when a book manages to surprise me and excite me and this did that. I look forward to seeing how the threads of so many disparate and unique stories are pulled together in the final book. I’m certain it’s going to be a wild ride.
5*s on this one for me as although I know it won’t be for everyone with the slower start and shift in focus, it ticked everything I didn’t know I wanted. Loved it. <3
What I absolutely loved about this book was the second half. The first half had lots of great moments and developed the story across the world with particular focus on some of the key characters of this book. Definitely Unredeemed Dara and the Lyucu are a key focus point for lots of the first half, and although Dara does feature at some moments it’s the second half of the book which is based on Dara predominantly and which I adored.
The world continues to evolve and develop in this book with more scholars/masters teaching students and a huge focus on invention and innovation. The Lyucu story is pretty stable at the start of this, but it soon turns fractious and savage and filled with unspeakable horrors. Meanwhile, the focus on stories which starts right from page 1 is maintained throughout the whole book and I loved the way that Liu managed to weave extra mini stories about gods, heroes, enslavement, bravery, determination, culture, love, trust and so much more in. We see segments of the Gods and we see the mortals of the world as they tell one another stories and act out tales to one another around campfires, on ships, in towns and cities. We see innovative ideas starting to shape new stories and new ways of living, and we see blending together of cultures and divisions of cultures based on the leadership.
The characters who stand out most to me from this are definitely the Blossom Gang and Kinri and Dandelion, however Thera’s story was a heartbreaking one and Goztan and Tanvanaki have a pretty hard road in this book too with the shift in ruthlessness and their harsh pasts.
The second half of this book is a big shift from where you think things are headed at the start, and I adored it. I’m so glad Liu took the time to delve into the culture of Dara through a foreigner’s and native’s eyes and to compare and contrast and meld it into one. This section of the book is filled with ideas that I loved, love itself, passion and care and friendship. It’s filled with flavour and food and performance and drama. It’s long and yet I still could have read more. I just fell head over heels for this part and it was a definite 5*s for me.
The representation in this book was definitely something I noticed with gay characters mentioned and disabled characters being enabled and a key focus. One of the Blossom Gang, Rati Yera, is in a wheelchair and yet she’s vital to the gang and their success and she’s never looked down on or pitied or dismissed. She is an inspiring inventor of amazing works and she is admired by her friends and strangers alike. I really enjoyed her inclusion and felt like so much of her character is defined by her route through life and I loved seeing her triumphs along with the rest of the gang.
There were a few reveals in the end of the book I didn’t anticipate and I love when a book manages to surprise me and excite me and this did that. I look forward to seeing how the threads of so many disparate and unique stories are pulled together in the final book. I’m certain it’s going to be a wild ride.
5*s on this one for me as although I know it won’t be for everyone with the slower start and shift in focus, it ticked everything I didn’t know I wanted. Loved it. <3
December 14, 2021
4.0 Stars
This was another solid entry in one of my favourite fantasy series. Admittedly, it took me a while to get back into this one, but eventually I was pulled back into this wonderful world. I did not expect the cooking element, but I absolutely loved that aspect of the story. I'm really looking to seeing how the series will end in the final book.
This was another solid entry in one of my favourite fantasy series. Admittedly, it took me a while to get back into this one, but eventually I was pulled back into this wonderful world. I did not expect the cooking element, but I absolutely loved that aspect of the story. I'm really looking to seeing how the series will end in the final book.
December 3, 2025
3.5⭐️ I think I’m more relieved I finished this book than excited about it. I love this series, but I struggled a lot with this entry. It’s 1,000 pages that really makes you feel its length, and while there are some incredible highs, there are also long stretches where I found myself completely uninterested in what was happening. I can’t wait to read Speaking Bones and look back on The Veiled Throne with some perspective
June 28, 2025
On re-read, I was a lot more open-minded to taking my time with the very complaints I had in my first read through.
This is the genius of Liu.
Now I know the major reveals and overarching plot, I am better able to enjoy the smaller moments, the themes, and the character connections.
Kuni’s children are centre stage and paving the way, dandelions shooting up and spreading seeds of ideas.
Initial 2022 review:
”No, the Grace of Kings is too dangerous to leave in the hand of any man or woman. There must be a design to ensure lasting peace, to prevent the kind of havoc wreaked by a tyrant like Mapidéré or the Hege-mon. I have to find a way to sheathe the Courage of Brutes, the Ambition of Nobles, and the Grace of Kings- without leaving the weak at the mercy of the strong."
Empress Jia is, as always, contriving a larger plot shrouded in secrecy she justifies as being for the good of the empire. But it is clear that her distrust and secretive nature has pushed everyone away from her, including her children, advisors, and friends. How this will will impact the future of the empire will be seen as her plot unravels in time for the final instalment.
Lutho, the god of knowledge, becomes mortal to explore the unknown wonders beyond the wall of storms. I think this added to my enjoyment of following Princess Théra and Takval in their effort to build a force big enough to take on the Lyucu. It allowed Liu to explore the world through the eyes of a child, completely untouched by nurture or nature.
We see how strong and resilient Théra has become, how she must adjust and adapt. Liu always writes unorthodox romances which bring out the best in each partner.
Considering the tense storylines of the others, Princess Fara seems calm in comparison. She just wants to be normal, out of the shadow of her family, name, and prestige.
Her story is one of culinary secrets and competitions. Pretty anticlimactic in comparison, right? Yet, whilst it seemed odd and out of place, it was sweet and had deeper repercussions (as is always the case with Liu).
”War is love corrupted?"
Dandelion nodded. "That's how I see it.
War comes from hatred, but hatred is always based on a selfish love, a love that seeks to confine rather than to expand love of home can turn into hatred of strangers; love of country can turn into arrogance toward other states; love of fellow travelers can turn into a desire to suppress anyone with a different opinion."
I did find myself skimming more in this book. Whilst I’m blown away by Liu’s genius in his creations and inventions, reading 3+ consecutive pages of how food tastes or how a certain machine operates was too much for me.
(2025 interjection - I found myself really enjoying the competition and descriptions, but I did still find my mind wandering with the pages of description of the processes behind the show.)
This was a very anticlimactic book, but I think Liu handles it perfectly. It is clear it is all building to one final encounter in the last instalment, where all the players are being moved into place.
Nevertheless, another mind-blowing book where the 1,000 pages mostly flew by.
She had lived so long as a reader that she had forgotten that a culture could not be reduced to writing, that wisdom could not be imprisoned in books, that to live was to breathe, to dance, to hunt, to forget.
(On reread, my enjoyment has increased.)
Bookstagram
Tiktok
This is the genius of Liu.
Now I know the major reveals and overarching plot, I am better able to enjoy the smaller moments, the themes, and the character connections.
Kuni’s children are centre stage and paving the way, dandelions shooting up and spreading seeds of ideas.
Initial 2022 review:
”No, the Grace of Kings is too dangerous to leave in the hand of any man or woman. There must be a design to ensure lasting peace, to prevent the kind of havoc wreaked by a tyrant like Mapidéré or the Hege-mon. I have to find a way to sheathe the Courage of Brutes, the Ambition of Nobles, and the Grace of Kings- without leaving the weak at the mercy of the strong."
Empress Jia is, as always, contriving a larger plot shrouded in secrecy she justifies as being for the good of the empire. But it is clear that her distrust and secretive nature has pushed everyone away from her, including her children, advisors, and friends. How this will will impact the future of the empire will be seen as her plot unravels in time for the final instalment.
Lutho, the god of knowledge, becomes mortal to explore the unknown wonders beyond the wall of storms. I think this added to my enjoyment of following Princess Théra and Takval in their effort to build a force big enough to take on the Lyucu. It allowed Liu to explore the world through the eyes of a child, completely untouched by nurture or nature.
We see how strong and resilient Théra has become, how she must adjust and adapt. Liu always writes unorthodox romances which bring out the best in each partner.
Considering the tense storylines of the others, Princess Fara seems calm in comparison. She just wants to be normal, out of the shadow of her family, name, and prestige.
Her story is one of culinary secrets and competitions. Pretty anticlimactic in comparison, right? Yet, whilst it seemed odd and out of place, it was sweet and had deeper repercussions (as is always the case with Liu).
”War is love corrupted?"
Dandelion nodded. "That's how I see it.
War comes from hatred, but hatred is always based on a selfish love, a love that seeks to confine rather than to expand love of home can turn into hatred of strangers; love of country can turn into arrogance toward other states; love of fellow travelers can turn into a desire to suppress anyone with a different opinion."
I did find myself skimming more in this book. Whilst I’m blown away by Liu’s genius in his creations and inventions, reading 3+ consecutive pages of how food tastes or how a certain machine operates was too much for me.
(2025 interjection - I found myself really enjoying the competition and descriptions, but I did still find my mind wandering with the pages of description of the processes behind the show.)
This was a very anticlimactic book, but I think Liu handles it perfectly. It is clear it is all building to one final encounter in the last instalment, where all the players are being moved into place.
Nevertheless, another mind-blowing book where the 1,000 pages mostly flew by.
She had lived so long as a reader that she had forgotten that a culture could not be reduced to writing, that wisdom could not be imprisoned in books, that to live was to breathe, to dance, to hunt, to forget.
(On reread, my enjoyment has increased.)
Bookstagram
Tiktok
October 8, 2025
Im confusion
September 17, 2025
In Reverence of Language
Do you not change your stories? But stories are as alive as we are, and surely they change with each retelling. All my stories grow and learn, just as I grow and learn.”
"Stories are what move people’s hearts, long after all the facts and figures have faded away."
Life goes on Times change, dynasties rise and fall. Big-concept change is always the backdrop for grand sagas, and Dandelion Dynasty is huge. I was very invested in the female characters Jia and Thera, they are interesting and complex. Through the ebb and flow of dynasties, someting must remain steadfast in order to preserve history, and there are two very different perspectives as to how this history should be preserved. The empire wants to categorize and systematize everything and everybody with identifiers like assigned gender roles. There is a plea throughout to honor oral traditions as they fly and spread like dandelion seeds in the wind. This book is filled with beautiful meditations on language, how we use it, what it means, and the stories that it preserves. In oral traditions, stories change. People fear change and oral history does not always get the reverence that Ken Liu brings to it. He brilliantly describes the new language as "word-scars" or the death of language.
The wisdom of our ancestors is not dead like yours,” said Adyulek. “You seek to kill the living voice by fixing it with your word-scars, but you don’t understand that what you’ve caught with your symbols is only a corpse, not the truth.
You speak of the logograms as though they’re only for the rich and powerful,” said Jia, “but they are symbolic links to our collective story as a people, rich and poor alike
In the time before stories were the gods born, By their will is the world mended and re-torn. Strong bones can be crushed by stronger jaws, Every heroic cycle hews to eternal laws.
the Grace of Kings is too dangerous to leave in the hand of any man or woman. There must be a design to ensure lasting peace, to prevent the kind of havoc wreaked by a tyrant
Every living thing changes,” said Adyulek. “I don’t carve the same scenes into turtle shells as my mother did, and she did it differently from her mother. I don’t dance the same way I learned from the shaman who taught me. We live by the voices of our ancestors, and in the fullness of time, add our voices to theirs. Just as the flowers that bloom in the scrublands change from season to season, the stories will change from telling to telling. Only those too young, inflexible, or arrogant to understand the sacred mysteries would believe otherwise.”
Were there moments this got painfully long? Yes. That's the nature of it. But I was patient with myself and took breaks. Reading 3 books in this series honestly feels like an accomplishment. Will I get to book before next year? Only time will tell....life will go on, either way ;)
Do you not change your stories? But stories are as alive as we are, and surely they change with each retelling. All my stories grow and learn, just as I grow and learn.”
"Stories are what move people’s hearts, long after all the facts and figures have faded away."
Life goes on Times change, dynasties rise and fall. Big-concept change is always the backdrop for grand sagas, and Dandelion Dynasty is huge. I was very invested in the female characters Jia and Thera, they are interesting and complex. Through the ebb and flow of dynasties, someting must remain steadfast in order to preserve history, and there are two very different perspectives as to how this history should be preserved. The empire wants to categorize and systematize everything and everybody with identifiers like assigned gender roles. There is a plea throughout to honor oral traditions as they fly and spread like dandelion seeds in the wind. This book is filled with beautiful meditations on language, how we use it, what it means, and the stories that it preserves. In oral traditions, stories change. People fear change and oral history does not always get the reverence that Ken Liu brings to it. He brilliantly describes the new language as "word-scars" or the death of language.
The wisdom of our ancestors is not dead like yours,” said Adyulek. “You seek to kill the living voice by fixing it with your word-scars, but you don’t understand that what you’ve caught with your symbols is only a corpse, not the truth.
You speak of the logograms as though they’re only for the rich and powerful,” said Jia, “but they are symbolic links to our collective story as a people, rich and poor alike
In the time before stories were the gods born, By their will is the world mended and re-torn. Strong bones can be crushed by stronger jaws, Every heroic cycle hews to eternal laws.
the Grace of Kings is too dangerous to leave in the hand of any man or woman. There must be a design to ensure lasting peace, to prevent the kind of havoc wreaked by a tyrant
Every living thing changes,” said Adyulek. “I don’t carve the same scenes into turtle shells as my mother did, and she did it differently from her mother. I don’t dance the same way I learned from the shaman who taught me. We live by the voices of our ancestors, and in the fullness of time, add our voices to theirs. Just as the flowers that bloom in the scrublands change from season to season, the stories will change from telling to telling. Only those too young, inflexible, or arrogant to understand the sacred mysteries would believe otherwise.”
Were there moments this got painfully long? Yes. That's the nature of it. But I was patient with myself and took breaks. Reading 3 books in this series honestly feels like an accomplishment. Will I get to book before next year? Only time will tell....life will go on, either way ;)
December 15, 2022
I loved this fantasy, but I need to be very clear on something: it's unique. What I love about it is not the things it does to emulate other epic fantasies, but how it goes well into its own thing.
So why call it an epic, sweeping, grandiose fantasy, then?
Because it has immense depth of story to it, a real focus on stories within stories, a need to draw a constantly shifting line between stories that are alive and stories that are dead and the overwhelming desire to make a reality at the cost of losing the deeper truth of the past.
The spirit is not always the same thing as the immortal word.
All of this is part of the wonderful, wonderful theme, but I'd be doing the book a great disservice by ignoring the immense care put into exploring these two vastly different cultures, the Dara and the Pékyu, and the multi-generational schemes and the true attempts at assimilation -- or a brewing war.
It's the focus on the cultures and the hard-won victories and failures that make this book brilliant. What makes it weird and unique is how it will spend its first parts in wonderful adventure and sea battles and its latter portions in funny and awesome culinary battles.
I'm still reeling with how DIFFERENT this is. Believe me, that's pretty amazing.
Totally worth it.
So why call it an epic, sweeping, grandiose fantasy, then?
Because it has immense depth of story to it, a real focus on stories within stories, a need to draw a constantly shifting line between stories that are alive and stories that are dead and the overwhelming desire to make a reality at the cost of losing the deeper truth of the past.
The spirit is not always the same thing as the immortal word.
All of this is part of the wonderful, wonderful theme, but I'd be doing the book a great disservice by ignoring the immense care put into exploring these two vastly different cultures, the Dara and the Pékyu, and the multi-generational schemes and the true attempts at assimilation -- or a brewing war.
It's the focus on the cultures and the hard-won victories and failures that make this book brilliant. What makes it weird and unique is how it will spend its first parts in wonderful adventure and sea battles and its latter portions in funny and awesome culinary battles.
I'm still reeling with how DIFFERENT this is. Believe me, that's pretty amazing.
Totally worth it.
February 20, 2024
9.4/10
Okay another one that's hard to place quite right. First off, I'll say that I think this series was written for me. It checks every box for the things I'm looking for in a fantasy series. So while this book is the weakest of the three so far (for good reason - it's basically Speaking Bones pt. 1), it's still a super easy 5 star read for me and one of the highest ratings I've given to a book (the previous two books in the series are, in fact, the top two on my all-time rankings list).
So let's start with the good: the story picks up right where Wall of Storms leaves us and progresses at lightning pace for the first 50% of the book, jumping from storyline to storyline and big event to big event. Liu's world building, character development, story telling / intrigue, and prose are world class. His prose especially gets me in every book. He knows when to take his time and really dig into the emotions of a scene, he knows when to push the narrative and write very directly. He's able to weave in and out of purplely prose when he wants to / when it adds value to the scene. I could go on and on. And all the while, his writing is approachable and never pretentious.
The world building and characters - what can you say? The world is vast, rich, full of character and culture, traditions and religions*. The politics is the best of any series I've read. The characters are diverse, complex, flawed, interesting, unique and constantly face trying events and increasingly difficult decisions. There are characters that you can identify and align with on both "sides" and those that you despise. And the great thing is, those characters are likely different for different readers.
The somewhat bad: two things - 1. Maybe call it suboptimal planning? This is half a book, not book 3 in a series. If you go in knowing that, then that's fine as your expectations will be matched. But if you go into this thinking you're getting a complete book, then you may be disappointed. Now to be fair, I'm actually fine with where the book ended and it didn't feel super abrupt to me. It's just not on par with the ending of the previous two books.
2. Even though this is really half a book, it itself is basically cut in two halves from a narrative standpoint, with the first half being a continuation of Wall of Storms and the second half being the Great British (Dara) Bake-off. It's a bit jarring of a transition at first, but I got into it pretty quick - the new cast of characters is wonderful. At first, I wasn't quite sure of where this storyline was going, but by the end of this book, I think I can see his vision.
The main thing I've learned over three books is: trust Ken Liu. He always has a plan (well so far at least) and brings an eloquent resolution to whatever storylines he's weaving.
Can't wait to finish out the series next month!
Okay another one that's hard to place quite right. First off, I'll say that I think this series was written for me. It checks every box for the things I'm looking for in a fantasy series. So while this book is the weakest of the three so far (for good reason - it's basically Speaking Bones pt. 1), it's still a super easy 5 star read for me and one of the highest ratings I've given to a book (the previous two books in the series are, in fact, the top two on my all-time rankings list).
So let's start with the good: the story picks up right where Wall of Storms leaves us and progresses at lightning pace for the first 50% of the book, jumping from storyline to storyline and big event to big event. Liu's world building, character development, story telling / intrigue, and prose are world class. His prose especially gets me in every book. He knows when to take his time and really dig into the emotions of a scene, he knows when to push the narrative and write very directly. He's able to weave in and out of purplely prose when he wants to / when it adds value to the scene. I could go on and on. And all the while, his writing is approachable and never pretentious.
The world building and characters - what can you say? The world is vast, rich, full of character and culture, traditions and religions*. The politics is the best of any series I've read. The characters are diverse, complex, flawed, interesting, unique and constantly face trying events and increasingly difficult decisions. There are characters that you can identify and align with on both "sides" and those that you despise. And the great thing is, those characters are likely different for different readers.
The somewhat bad: two things - 1. Maybe call it suboptimal planning? This is half a book, not book 3 in a series. If you go in knowing that, then that's fine as your expectations will be matched. But if you go into this thinking you're getting a complete book, then you may be disappointed. Now to be fair, I'm actually fine with where the book ended and it didn't feel super abrupt to me. It's just not on par with the ending of the previous two books.
2. Even though this is really half a book, it itself is basically cut in two halves from a narrative standpoint, with the first half being a continuation of Wall of Storms and the second half being the Great British (Dara) Bake-off. It's a bit jarring of a transition at first, but I got into it pretty quick - the new cast of characters is wonderful. At first, I wasn't quite sure of where this storyline was going, but by the end of this book, I think I can see his vision.
The main thing I've learned over three books is: trust Ken Liu. He always has a plan (well so far at least) and brings an eloquent resolution to whatever storylines he's weaving.
Can't wait to finish out the series next month!
December 5, 2021
4.75 stars
thoughts:
-ken liu kills it with the themes as always
-i think this book has the weakest plot of the series so far (because it feels like the first half of a big book) but the best character work
-takval 100% has bi wife energy
-tanto and rokiri precious babies uwu
-the hype for book 4 is UNREAL - the payoff for some of the plot threads is going to be insane
-love love love the blossom gang, kinri and dandelion
-jia was unhinged in book 2 but off the rails in this one T_T
-the "climax" is so unexpected and very different in tone from the first two books but i loved it
thoughts:
-ken liu kills it with the themes as always
-i think this book has the weakest plot of the series so far (because it feels like the first half of a big book) but the best character work
-takval 100% has bi wife energy
-tanto and rokiri precious babies uwu
-the hype for book 4 is UNREAL - the payoff for some of the plot threads is going to be insane
-love love love the blossom gang, kinri and dandelion
-jia was unhinged in book 2 but off the rails in this one T_T
-the "climax" is so unexpected and very different in tone from the first two books but i loved it
February 22, 2025
A step down from the masterpiece that is Wall of Storms, but still very good.
The first half of this 1000 page tome was a lot of fun. Liu has such an addicting writing style and world building philosophy. There was no shortage of action or intrigue either.
The latter half of the book definitely hit the brakes. Which is surprising since the previous books behaved the opposite way. While I didn't actively dislike a particular restaurant themed storyline, it didn't land for me in the same way the first half did. Ultimately, things wrapped up with a strong setup for book 4, though, after an odd jaunt with some new characters.
I await with bated breath.
9/10
The first half of this 1000 page tome was a lot of fun. Liu has such an addicting writing style and world building philosophy. There was no shortage of action or intrigue either.
The latter half of the book definitely hit the brakes. Which is surprising since the previous books behaved the opposite way. While I didn't actively dislike a particular restaurant themed storyline, it didn't land for me in the same way the first half did. Ultimately, things wrapped up with a strong setup for book 4, though, after an odd jaunt with some new characters.
I await with bated breath.
9/10
May 31, 2024
A brilliantly written masterpiece about wargames, political intrigue, love and humanity.
In war, we become like our enemies, whether we want to or not.
I just absolutely love it when I fall in love with a series. The Dandelion Dynasty will almost certainly be one of my favorite fantasy series I’ve ever read when I finish. This third installment confirms everything I’ve loved about this series and delves into just so much with character development, lore, political intrigue and brinkmanship, wargaming, culture clash while diving deep into the philosophy of discovering human nature. With this exploration comes very dark depictions and themes: genocide, ethnic factionalization, consolidation of power, rationalizations and human rights violations. Ethics and morality, nationality and humanism as well as authoritarianism and egalitarianism are all masterfully explored here and I enjoyed every moment of it. Liu is also a master wordsmith, creating beautiful prose when it is called for but also being economical to advance a plot along.
This book was also just fun. Liu knows how to write an engaging plot line. And plot lines? There are a ton of them. But once the reader gets into the groove, it all comes so easily. The dialogue, fighting, and relational conflict is just so incredibly compelling. I have one complaint: the cooking competition went on for waaaay too long. I mean it was an absolutely ludicrous choice to make to put a 100+ page long cooking competition where a climax should be. But because I trust this author and story so much, I will totally let it slide.
The following is a plot summary full of spoilers:
Eyes so attuned to the flow of power that she is blind to everything else…
In war, we become like our enemies, whether we want to or not.
I just absolutely love it when I fall in love with a series. The Dandelion Dynasty will almost certainly be one of my favorite fantasy series I’ve ever read when I finish. This third installment confirms everything I’ve loved about this series and delves into just so much with character development, lore, political intrigue and brinkmanship, wargaming, culture clash while diving deep into the philosophy of discovering human nature. With this exploration comes very dark depictions and themes: genocide, ethnic factionalization, consolidation of power, rationalizations and human rights violations. Ethics and morality, nationality and humanism as well as authoritarianism and egalitarianism are all masterfully explored here and I enjoyed every moment of it. Liu is also a master wordsmith, creating beautiful prose when it is called for but also being economical to advance a plot along.
This book was also just fun. Liu knows how to write an engaging plot line. And plot lines? There are a ton of them. But once the reader gets into the groove, it all comes so easily. The dialogue, fighting, and relational conflict is just so incredibly compelling. I have one complaint: the cooking competition went on for waaaay too long. I mean it was an absolutely ludicrous choice to make to put a 100+ page long cooking competition where a climax should be. But because I trust this author and story so much, I will totally let it slide.
The following is a plot summary full of spoilers:
Eyes so attuned to the flow of power that she is blind to everything else…
January 14, 2024
I am growing to be obsessed with this series. The first book had me hesitant but intrigued, the second book had me questioning humanity and the third book has officially hooked me for good. I love how complex this story, world, and themes are in this series. I am going to be devastated when this series is over, I also have no inkling on how this story is going to end.
Wall of Storms ended on such a low note. Everything was in chaos, so many favorite characters died and Dara was invaded. But Veiled Throne shows the characters continuing to persevere and move forward.
Veiled Throne follows old characters and adds in some new ones as well. Thera’s story in Ukyu-Gonde is fascinating and really grew to love her and Thekal. They continue to thrive even when they have nothing. Most of the book follows seems to follow Thera. There is still a wide variety of points of view but I would venture to say Thera probably has the most chapters.
Empress Jia is still the worst and I cannot stand her. I do like that she is getting tormented in her dreams though. I was sad there are not a lot of scenes with Phyro, but I think the next book will include him more. The other character who gets probably the most chapters (especially towards the middle/end) would be Kinri. Kinri is a new character and I loved his addition. He interacts with Fara and it was so nice to get to finally know Fara as well. Plus the storyline with these characters was so enjoyable. There is a whole large scene about a cooking competition! I loved it!
Overall I love this series. I cannot get over all the themes that are explored as well. The Lyucu are still vicious but there is a conversation about accommodation v. suppression. The book also explores the differences in cultures and how to reconcile them, and that no culture may be ‘better’ than another. This is explored with the Dara people and Agon people in the example of farming v. roaming or reading v. story-telling. With Jia you get the debate about the death of a few v. the death of many (subterfuge v. war). There is also the repeating theme of mercy v. genocide to establish a ruling authority. And a theme of faith and the application of faith with different cultures as well. This world has the idea of multiple gods and the gods in this world interact individually. It appears the gods each pick their favorite hero and they tend to push/lead them but the gods are not able to decide what they collectively want, so the gods tend to cause more chaos and confusion for everyone.
I absolutely love this series and I would highly recommend giving it a try if you have not already. I love how complex the characters and themes are in this series. The author has created an amazing world. Just be prepared to constantly have your emotions a mess because the author pulls no punches when it comes to the fate of his characters or when it comes to describing brutal scenes. I am terrified and excited to see how this series will end, but I do not think I am prepared!
Wall of Storms ended on such a low note. Everything was in chaos, so many favorite characters died and Dara was invaded. But Veiled Throne shows the characters continuing to persevere and move forward.
Veiled Throne follows old characters and adds in some new ones as well. Thera’s story in Ukyu-Gonde is fascinating and really grew to love her and Thekal. They continue to thrive even when they have nothing. Most of the book follows seems to follow Thera. There is still a wide variety of points of view but I would venture to say Thera probably has the most chapters.
Empress Jia is still the worst and I cannot stand her. I do like that she is getting tormented in her dreams though. I was sad there are not a lot of scenes with Phyro, but I think the next book will include him more. The other character who gets probably the most chapters (especially towards the middle/end) would be Kinri. Kinri is a new character and I loved his addition. He interacts with Fara and it was so nice to get to finally know Fara as well. Plus the storyline with these characters was so enjoyable. There is a whole large scene about a cooking competition! I loved it!
Overall I love this series. I cannot get over all the themes that are explored as well. The Lyucu are still vicious but there is a conversation about accommodation v. suppression. The book also explores the differences in cultures and how to reconcile them, and that no culture may be ‘better’ than another. This is explored with the Dara people and Agon people in the example of farming v. roaming or reading v. story-telling. With Jia you get the debate about the death of a few v. the death of many (subterfuge v. war). There is also the repeating theme of mercy v. genocide to establish a ruling authority. And a theme of faith and the application of faith with different cultures as well. This world has the idea of multiple gods and the gods in this world interact individually. It appears the gods each pick their favorite hero and they tend to push/lead them but the gods are not able to decide what they collectively want, so the gods tend to cause more chaos and confusion for everyone.
I absolutely love this series and I would highly recommend giving it a try if you have not already. I love how complex the characters and themes are in this series. The author has created an amazing world. Just be prepared to constantly have your emotions a mess because the author pulls no punches when it comes to the fate of his characters or when it comes to describing brutal scenes. I am terrified and excited to see how this series will end, but I do not think I am prepared!
November 28, 2025
Lots of differing opinions on this instalment, and I have to say I fall somewhere in the middle. Enjoyed a lot of it, clocked out for some it. It's my least favourite instalment of the series so far, but I see the vision. This probably falls more into 3.75 ish scale for me.
March 5, 2024
"Well, shit." Is basically how I felt through most of the book. While The Veiled Throne was not as exciting as The Wall of Storms I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It was filled with tragedy and hopelessness that spoke to my innate melancholy. Maybe it's just my sad boy tendencies making those bits stand out more, but there was a clear contrast to me between the tone of this book and the last one. Which I kinda liked, but as previously established I'm a bit of a fuckin bummer, so mileage may vary.
I do have some reservations about the way the book was structured. The main plot lines are essentially abandoned at the halfway point and replaced with a 500 page side plot. Which seems an odd way to do it. Why not split it up like all the other plotlines? Especially with that reveal near the end. This makes the book feel disjointed and almost like the whole Blossom Gang story was meant to be a separate novel.
Speaking of, I actually liked the whole Blossom Gang story. It was charming and full of that fantastical silk-punk engineering I love so much. It was fun and engaging in a way I wasn't expecting from what is primarily a fucking cooking competition. I loved the little "blossoming" love story between Kinri (Savo) and Dandelion (Fara). I was fascinated by the contraptions and mechanistic marvels on display. I greatly appreciated the characters and shared philosophy of the Gang and their dedication to shunning authority and embracing a life of what I can only describe as "stubbornly compassionate and curious freedom". However, putting this story essentially by itself and taking up most of the second half of the book felt like a weird ass organizational choice to me. Especially with a book as long as this one is, I can definitely see how many people would struggle to finish it.
Gaddamn there was a lot of tragedy in this novel though. Where Wall of Storms had triumph over hardship and a hopeful view of the future of the story, The Veiled Throne throws that shit right out the window. Basically making everything appear hopeless and depressingly fucked up by the end, and leaves me wondering how the fuck things are gonna turn around from here? I guess that's the point though, because now I'm really invested in finding out what happens next. Damn you Liu, I got shit to do. I don't have time to be reading these bigass fuckin books all day. But I guess you've forced my hand now. I am very eager to read the next book and dedicating another month of my life to seeing how it all ends.
I do have some reservations about the way the book was structured. The main plot lines are essentially abandoned at the halfway point and replaced with a 500 page side plot. Which seems an odd way to do it. Why not split it up like all the other plotlines? Especially with that reveal near the end. This makes the book feel disjointed and almost like the whole Blossom Gang story was meant to be a separate novel.
Speaking of, I actually liked the whole Blossom Gang story. It was charming and full of that fantastical silk-punk engineering I love so much. It was fun and engaging in a way I wasn't expecting from what is primarily a fucking cooking competition. I loved the little "blossoming" love story between Kinri (Savo) and Dandelion (Fara). I was fascinated by the contraptions and mechanistic marvels on display. I greatly appreciated the characters and shared philosophy of the Gang and their dedication to shunning authority and embracing a life of what I can only describe as "stubbornly compassionate and curious freedom". However, putting this story essentially by itself and taking up most of the second half of the book felt like a weird ass organizational choice to me. Especially with a book as long as this one is, I can definitely see how many people would struggle to finish it.
Gaddamn there was a lot of tragedy in this novel though. Where Wall of Storms had triumph over hardship and a hopeful view of the future of the story, The Veiled Throne throws that shit right out the window. Basically making everything appear hopeless and depressingly fucked up by the end, and leaves me wondering how the fuck things are gonna turn around from here? I guess that's the point though, because now I'm really invested in finding out what happens next. Damn you Liu, I got shit to do. I don't have time to be reading these bigass fuckin books all day. But I guess you've forced my hand now. I am very eager to read the next book and dedicating another month of my life to seeing how it all ends.
January 12, 2022
"Stories are as alive as we are, and surely they change with each retelling. All my stories grow and learn, just as I grow and learn."
"Everyone is a storyteller. That's how we make sense of this life we live. Misfortune and affliction test us... We have to tell ourselves a story about why to make all the random manipulations of fate and fortune bearable."
I have the phrase "The stories we tell ourselves" tattooed on my wrist. One of the reasons is because we construct narratives about everything around us to make sense of the world. We truly are the storytelling animal. I think Liu and I agree on this, as the theme of this book is how central stories are to the human experience.
It's tough to talk about books deeper into a series if it's a series with lots of deaths and plots, because even mentioning a character's name can be a spoiler. I am in love with the world Liu has crafted and it feels very lived in. The character work is superb and economical. Characters can disappear for 300 pages, show up again for 5 and I am awed at how complex they manage to be. Two of these characters are so well drawn that I wish more people knew about them so I could gush. Liu does so many bold things with the prose that leaves me constantly wowed- two of my favorite passages are from the perspective of a whale (whales call humans "half-octopuses") and from a character who is new to human life and learning how to breathe, see, smell, experience for the first time. There are so many fantastic quotes that I eventually just stopped writing them down out of exhaustion.
That said, this was my least favorite of the series, which is a bit unfair. The final book was split in two, and this is the first half. I knew that going in, but the pacing really suffers in the second half as you know the book is reaching the conclusion without any sort of resolution. There's a competition section that went on a long time that I felt could have been trimmed for extra time with different characters. This book is Dune part 1, but it paved the way for an epic ending.
8/10
"Everyone is a storyteller. That's how we make sense of this life we live. Misfortune and affliction test us... We have to tell ourselves a story about why to make all the random manipulations of fate and fortune bearable."
I have the phrase "The stories we tell ourselves" tattooed on my wrist. One of the reasons is because we construct narratives about everything around us to make sense of the world. We truly are the storytelling animal. I think Liu and I agree on this, as the theme of this book is how central stories are to the human experience.
It's tough to talk about books deeper into a series if it's a series with lots of deaths and plots, because even mentioning a character's name can be a spoiler. I am in love with the world Liu has crafted and it feels very lived in. The character work is superb and economical. Characters can disappear for 300 pages, show up again for 5 and I am awed at how complex they manage to be. Two of these characters are so well drawn that I wish more people knew about them so I could gush. Liu does so many bold things with the prose that leaves me constantly wowed- two of my favorite passages are from the perspective of a whale (whales call humans "half-octopuses") and from a character who is new to human life and learning how to breathe, see, smell, experience for the first time. There are so many fantastic quotes that I eventually just stopped writing them down out of exhaustion.
That said, this was my least favorite of the series, which is a bit unfair. The final book was split in two, and this is the first half. I knew that going in, but the pacing really suffers in the second half as you know the book is reaching the conclusion without any sort of resolution. There's a competition section that went on a long time that I felt could have been trimmed for extra time with different characters. This book is Dune part 1, but it paved the way for an epic ending.
8/10
May 31, 2024
4 1/2 Stars.
Went down some unexpected paths to set up book four, that were slower and less epic in scope than the first two books. Still very excited to dive into the finale. Hope to see Speaking Bones match or come close to the masterpiece that was Wall of Storms (An all time favorite of mine). Love this world.
Went down some unexpected paths to set up book four, that were slower and less epic in scope than the first two books. Still very excited to dive into the finale. Hope to see Speaking Bones match or come close to the masterpiece that was Wall of Storms (An all time favorite of mine). Love this world.
December 9, 2022
Amazing book. Never thought a cooking competition would be so riveting to read.
April 17, 2023
Tras cinco años de espera volvemos al Archipiélago de Dara, el aclamado universo y máximo exponente del silpunk creado por Ken Liu e inspirado en la Dinastía Han. El trono velado es la tercera entrega de la saga, con la que Ken Liu trata de mostrarnos más a fondo a los enemigos de su Dinastía del Diente de León y todos los peligros que deben enfrentar nuestros protagonistas para conseguir forjar la ansiada paz.
Con la invasión de Dara completada y el Muro de las Tormentas roto del todo, el mundo se ha abierto a nuevas posibilidades para los dioses, gobernantes y pueblos de ambos imperios. La princesa Théra ha cruzado el legendario Muro de las Tormentas con una flota de naves para conocer y derrotar al enemigo en su tierra. En Dara, las rivalidades entre la región conquistada por los Lyucu y la Corte del Diente de León están en un periodo de tensa paz, plantando semillas para un futuro que se aproxima mucho más rápido de lo que todos esperan. En todas partes, el espíritu de innovación baila como vilanos de diente de león en el viento, y los plebeyos, los olvidados, comienzan a diseñar nuevas soluciones para una nueva era.
Si siempre resulta difícil hablar de la tercera entrega de una saga, en el caso de El Trono Velado se torna una tarea aún más complicada. Con casi mil paginas de extensión, El Trono Velado puede considerarse la mitad de un tercer libro que estaba destinado a publicarse como un solo tomo, pero que finalmente y debido a su larga extensión, ha tenido que dividirse en dos. De esta manera, la tercera entrega de la saga es una especie de posicionamiento de la piezas de ajedrez cuya partida se resolverá en su siguiente entrega, de también casi un millar de páginas y titulada Huesos Parlantes. Eso no hace que las batallas, la tensión, las tramas y las intrigas tengan menos interés para el lector. Sin embargo, esta tercera entrega de la saga pone especial hincapié en dejar a sus personajes en diferentes partes del tablero con los que poder mover ficha en el futuro hacia cualquier inesperada posición.
Reseña completa en el Nº17 de la revista Windumanoth: https://lektu.com/l/revista-windumano...
Con la invasión de Dara completada y el Muro de las Tormentas roto del todo, el mundo se ha abierto a nuevas posibilidades para los dioses, gobernantes y pueblos de ambos imperios. La princesa Théra ha cruzado el legendario Muro de las Tormentas con una flota de naves para conocer y derrotar al enemigo en su tierra. En Dara, las rivalidades entre la región conquistada por los Lyucu y la Corte del Diente de León están en un periodo de tensa paz, plantando semillas para un futuro que se aproxima mucho más rápido de lo que todos esperan. En todas partes, el espíritu de innovación baila como vilanos de diente de león en el viento, y los plebeyos, los olvidados, comienzan a diseñar nuevas soluciones para una nueva era.
Si siempre resulta difícil hablar de la tercera entrega de una saga, en el caso de El Trono Velado se torna una tarea aún más complicada. Con casi mil paginas de extensión, El Trono Velado puede considerarse la mitad de un tercer libro que estaba destinado a publicarse como un solo tomo, pero que finalmente y debido a su larga extensión, ha tenido que dividirse en dos. De esta manera, la tercera entrega de la saga es una especie de posicionamiento de la piezas de ajedrez cuya partida se resolverá en su siguiente entrega, de también casi un millar de páginas y titulada Huesos Parlantes. Eso no hace que las batallas, la tensión, las tramas y las intrigas tengan menos interés para el lector. Sin embargo, esta tercera entrega de la saga pone especial hincapié en dejar a sus personajes en diferentes partes del tablero con los que poder mover ficha en el futuro hacia cualquier inesperada posición.
Reseña completa en el Nº17 de la revista Windumanoth: https://lektu.com/l/revista-windumano...
October 17, 2022
The writing was good and the plot was interesting but my ebook was almost 2000 pages long and soon felt like a tedious task to pick up. I couldn't get fully emersed in the writing as the page numbers kept stressing me. I hope some day I won't have that problem but at the moment I do
March 11, 2025
Definitely a step down from the other books but still good. The 60%-90% is awful. The amount of pages I had to read about cooking competitions puts an itch in my mouth only a shotgun could scratch…
That being said I love everything else and am excited to read the last book
That being said I love everything else and am excited to read the last book
August 19, 2024
Siete largos años hemos tenido que esperar para leer el "El Trono Velado", tercera entrega de la saga "La Dinastía del Diente de León". ¿Un tiempo de espera largo, normal, corto? Es relativo, depende con qué lo compares. Con Brandon Sanderson, mucho. Con otros ilustres conocidos, poco. Léase esto último como "Vientos de Invierno" o la continuación de "El Temor de un Hombre Sabio".
El problema no es la espera en sí, si no más bien si merece la pena esta espera. En este caso no tendría clara la respuesta.
Me gusta mucho "Ken Liu" como escritor, tiene calidad, estilo propio y ante todo sabe narrar historias. Lo malo es que parece ser que está más centrado en satisfacer con su narrativa ciertos idearios políticos y determinadas demandas sociales que en construir historias sólidas, dinámicas y entretenidas. Seguro que quién haya leído el libro sabrá identificar a qué me refiero.
En lo estrictamente literario "El Trono Velado" es un libro tristemente descompensado. Tiene partes memorables y otras de un relleno olvidable. Falta mucha tijera en esta tercera parte y creo que el autor cae en los mismos errores que ya lastraron la primera mitad del segundo libro, "El Muro de las Tormentas". Estos errores son principalmente dar un exagerado desarrollo a los personajes (entre ellos, muchos secundarios) y dedicar un excesivo número de páginas a subtramas de escaso interés a estas alturas de la historia.
El principal problema es que "El Trono Velado" al contrario que "El Muro de las Tormentas" no tiene un final épico, ni tan siquiera definido. No remonta en su segunda mitad, tampoco en su conclusión; no terminas el libro con esa deseada sensación de satisfacción.
Esta ausencia de final es lógica si pensamos que este tercer libro nace de la necesidad de dividir un último libro que acabó siendo demasiado largo. Pero esto tampoco justifica la irregularidad general del libro, ni la decisión del autor de mantener contenido irrelevante y aburrido.
Siendo sincero no creo que nadie abandone la historia tras este tercer libro menos inspirado. Si has llegado hasta aquí es porque te gusta lo que lees y hay que confiar en que "Ken Liu" conseguirá un final memorable en "Huesos que Hablan" para una de las mejores y más revolucionarias sagas dentro de la fantasía del siglo XXI. Material y talento hay. De sobra.
Nota: 3,25 - 3,5 estrellas.
January 1, 2022
This is series is an actual masterpiece and each book gets better and better. Genuinely one of the most complex, nuanced, and well-developed worlds I've ever read and I cannot wait to see how Ken Liu wraps it all up in the final book.
July 18, 2025
Ken Liu is a certifiable genius. I don’t know how he does it or how I can even properly review this book. The Veiled Throne just elevated this series to new heights for me as a reader.
We meet several new characters in this book, all of whom are complex, with individual motivations that are well fleshed out and uniquely their own. The addition and introduction to Kinri’s character was by far my favorite part. His character raised the stakes, added nuance, and somehow threaded together every single theme Liu is presenting with this story.
According to my Kindle app, I have 517 highlights and 263 notes 😅 so instead of trying to pick a favorite, here’s a list of some other things I loved about this book:
* ASOIAF levels of political scheming
* Romantic subplots that had be in tears
* Pages of philosophical wisdom
* My favorite meddling Gods
* Twists and revelations that made my mind reel 🫨😵💫
* Found family
* Grave robbing (don’t ask questions just read this damn book)
4.75 ⭐️!
We meet several new characters in this book, all of whom are complex, with individual motivations that are well fleshed out and uniquely their own. The addition and introduction to Kinri’s character was by far my favorite part. His character raised the stakes, added nuance, and somehow threaded together every single theme Liu is presenting with this story.
According to my Kindle app, I have 517 highlights and 263 notes 😅 so instead of trying to pick a favorite, here’s a list of some other things I loved about this book:
* ASOIAF levels of political scheming
* Romantic subplots that had be in tears
* Pages of philosophical wisdom
* My favorite meddling Gods
* Twists and revelations that made my mind reel 🫨😵💫
* Found family
* Grave robbing (don’t ask questions just read this damn book)
4.75 ⭐️!
September 7, 2024
Not as good as the first two but still.mostly a great comtinuation of the dandelion dynasty it might be a little slower than Its predecessors but thats because Ken Liu wrote both this book and Speaking Bones as one novel . His publishers declined too publish this book as one novel which I get but it affecrs the pace of this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 710 reviews