eparsons516's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this and am excited for the next one!
However, there were 7 POVs, which can be a bit much, and I wish we got to see more of Alex and Cyn. Also, I don't understand why Zo was even there, even though I enjoyed her POV?
Overall, a great read.
However, there were 7 POVs, which can be a bit much, and I wish we got to see more of Alex and Cyn. Also, I don't understand why Zo was even there, even though I enjoyed her POV?
Overall, a great read.
marissacelina's review against another edition
5.0
For more reviews, check out Keep Calm and Love Books
This book follows Alexander the Great, yes the same one we learn about in high school, in his teenage years to becoming the king of Macedonia . It takes place in 360 BC, which is just crazy to read about in Herman's amazing descriptive text. This did take me a while to read and get into but that's only because of the amount of characters with crazy long ancient names. I needed time to remember the roles some of these people played in our protagonist's storylines. With that in mind, there were A LOT of different character arcs. I actually really liked Herman's writing and the distinguishing between the characters, it was really fun and different to read about this mysterious, unknown time period from a historian's (Eleanor Herman) mind.
For everyone's storyline, we have 3 main plots: Alexander, Katerina and Zofia's. Among those we then have the minor plots with different P.O.V chapters: Jacob, Hephaestion, Cynane, and Olympia. It sounds really confusing but it wasn't! I liked how we heard from everyone's head and it gave us more perspective on the story and world we're set in. Speaking of the word, this takes place in, again, 360 BC, so the Gods and Goddesses from Greek mythology are pretty prominent in this. We always get references about how not long ago the Gods roamed the earth. I really liked the incorporation of mythology and how we frequently get references of Zeus, Ares, Oracle of Delphi, Athena etc. Again, Herman is a historian so it does not surprise me that she included history that's pretty accurate to today's knowledge.
This is a quote from the Author's Note at the end of the book:
"Though this is a work of fantasy with some fictional main characters—Katerina, Jacob, and Zofia—I wanted to make their world of 340 BC as historically accurate as possible... While Alexander’s half sister, Cynane, might feel too modern, she really did model herself on the Amazons and was known for her military prowess....His father, the king, was distant and harsh; his manipulative, ambitious mother was devoted to her snakes and widely regarded as a witch; his older half sister, Cynane, was a jealous, competitive Amazon; his younger half brother, Arrhideus, was mentally handicapped; and his tutor, Leonidas, employed educational methods that would today land him in jail for child abuse."
I loved how accurate this was and it really does make me want to read more of her work.
Now, for the actual characters and storylines, the only plot that really advanced in the beginning was Princess Zofia. Right away, her story just goes to the max with drama and she has to fight for what she wants and realize the dangers outside of her well protected and sheltered life in the palace. We left her story very open ended and I'm excited to see how her's will end in the sequel. I also just really want her to help with the war in Pella and meet everyone. We start the book off in Katerina's P.O.V and we can already tell she's not normal. She definitely has some strong magic coursing through her veins and I liked how the book ended with her owning her true self and I'm so excited to see her embrace herself fully. Heph, Alexander's best friend (even in history), was pretty dull, but I still liked hearing his thought. His one problem, which clearly states in the book, is his pride. I really found his pride annoying at times but towards the end, like everything, he was just getting better and I think he's going to be a great hero in the end.
My favourite storyline had to be between Kats and Cynane, Alexander's sister. Something about her abrasive manner and how she'll do anything to prove she doesn't want to be just a lady (GoT's Arya basically) was amazing. From the start of her P.O.V chapter, I knew I'd like her.
"As she slips through the crowd, she intentionally brushes against different men. She’s not sure why she does it—to remind herself of her power over them, perhaps? Or maybe because even through the coarse cloth of her dress, it feels kind of thrilling when they touch—as if anything could happen."
I just feel like there are so many great moments in this book that I need to quote them all for you guys. If you need convincing to read this book at all, just look at all of the glorious reviews it has. This book was amazing and I can say it is my favourite read in 2016 so far. I can't remember a book I read that just left me speechless and MAKE me want to search the web to find out more of the stuff that conspired in 360 BC. Guys, just read it. It's simply amazing and I am now going to read Eleanor Herman's other novels.
Here are some quotes to persuade you further:
Alexander's P.O.V:
"Down on the street, a man driving an empty cart is cursing bitterly, trying to back up his donkey and cart to make way for another vehicle. That’s how it is, Alex thinks. Someone always has to give in. But not for long. He has other plans, plans his father doesn’t know about. And if he succeeds, he’ll be the greatest leader this world has ever known."
Cynane's P.O.V:
"True loyalty—it’s almost unheard of. And it’s exactly what Cyn has been looking for all these years. Correction: it’s what she has been looking to destroy."
Katerina's P.O.V:
"“There was, long ago, in the time before time, a great battle between gods and monsters,” Ada begins, looking straight ahead. “The gods won but lost much of their power and became almost mortal, mating with humans.”"
Hephaestion's P.O.V:
"“Kat, you’re going to be all right,” he lies. She doesn’t answer. She’s looking in wonder at the sky, moving her pale lips. He turns to see what it is that so fascinates her. It’s the hellion, flying in wide lazy circles over the battlefield, howling as it rises higher and higher, and is gone."
I am so excited to read Herman's sequel to the Blood of Gods and Royals series, Empire of Dust.
This book follows Alexander the Great, yes the same one we learn about in high school, in his teenage years to becoming the king of Macedonia . It takes place in 360 BC, which is just crazy to read about in Herman's amazing descriptive text. This did take me a while to read and get into but that's only because of the amount of characters with crazy long ancient names. I needed time to remember the roles some of these people played in our protagonist's storylines. With that in mind, there were A LOT of different character arcs. I actually really liked Herman's writing and the distinguishing between the characters, it was really fun and different to read about this mysterious, unknown time period from a historian's (Eleanor Herman) mind.
For everyone's storyline, we have 3 main plots: Alexander, Katerina and Zofia's. Among those we then have the minor plots with different P.O.V chapters: Jacob, Hephaestion, Cynane, and Olympia. It sounds really confusing but it wasn't! I liked how we heard from everyone's head and it gave us more perspective on the story and world we're set in. Speaking of the word, this takes place in, again, 360 BC, so the Gods and Goddesses from Greek mythology are pretty prominent in this. We always get references about how not long ago the Gods roamed the earth. I really liked the incorporation of mythology and how we frequently get references of Zeus, Ares, Oracle of Delphi, Athena etc. Again, Herman is a historian so it does not surprise me that she included history that's pretty accurate to today's knowledge.
This is a quote from the Author's Note at the end of the book:
"Though this is a work of fantasy with some fictional main characters—Katerina, Jacob, and Zofia—I wanted to make their world of 340 BC as historically accurate as possible... While Alexander’s half sister, Cynane, might feel too modern, she really did model herself on the Amazons and was known for her military prowess....His father, the king, was distant and harsh; his manipulative, ambitious mother was devoted to her snakes and widely regarded as a witch; his older half sister, Cynane, was a jealous, competitive Amazon; his younger half brother, Arrhideus, was mentally handicapped; and his tutor, Leonidas, employed educational methods that would today land him in jail for child abuse."
I loved how accurate this was and it really does make me want to read more of her work.
Now, for the actual characters and storylines, the only plot that really advanced in the beginning was Princess Zofia. Right away, her story just goes to the max with drama and she has to fight for what she wants and realize the dangers outside of her well protected and sheltered life in the palace. We left her story very open ended and I'm excited to see how her's will end in the sequel. I also just really want her to help with the war in Pella and meet everyone. We start the book off in Katerina's P.O.V and we can already tell she's not normal. She definitely has some strong magic coursing through her veins and I liked how the book ended with her owning her true self and I'm so excited to see her embrace herself fully. Heph, Alexander's best friend (even in history), was pretty dull, but I still liked hearing his thought. His one problem, which clearly states in the book, is his pride. I really found his pride annoying at times but towards the end, like everything, he was just getting better and I think he's going to be a great hero in the end.
My favourite storyline had to be between Kats and Cynane, Alexander's sister. Something about her abrasive manner and how she'll do anything to prove she doesn't want to be just a lady (GoT's Arya basically) was amazing. From the start of her P.O.V chapter, I knew I'd like her.
"As she slips through the crowd, she intentionally brushes against different men. She’s not sure why she does it—to remind herself of her power over them, perhaps? Or maybe because even through the coarse cloth of her dress, it feels kind of thrilling when they touch—as if anything could happen."
I just feel like there are so many great moments in this book that I need to quote them all for you guys. If you need convincing to read this book at all, just look at all of the glorious reviews it has. This book was amazing and I can say it is my favourite read in 2016 so far. I can't remember a book I read that just left me speechless and MAKE me want to search the web to find out more of the stuff that conspired in 360 BC. Guys, just read it. It's simply amazing and I am now going to read Eleanor Herman's other novels.
Here are some quotes to persuade you further:
Alexander's P.O.V:
"Down on the street, a man driving an empty cart is cursing bitterly, trying to back up his donkey and cart to make way for another vehicle. That’s how it is, Alex thinks. Someone always has to give in. But not for long. He has other plans, plans his father doesn’t know about. And if he succeeds, he’ll be the greatest leader this world has ever known."
Cynane's P.O.V:
"True loyalty—it’s almost unheard of. And it’s exactly what Cyn has been looking for all these years. Correction: it’s what she has been looking to destroy."
Katerina's P.O.V:
"“There was, long ago, in the time before time, a great battle between gods and monsters,” Ada begins, looking straight ahead. “The gods won but lost much of their power and became almost mortal, mating with humans.”"
Hephaestion's P.O.V:
"“Kat, you’re going to be all right,” he lies. She doesn’t answer. She’s looking in wonder at the sky, moving her pale lips. He turns to see what it is that so fascinates her. It’s the hellion, flying in wide lazy circles over the battlefield, howling as it rises higher and higher, and is gone."
I am so excited to read Herman's sequel to the Blood of Gods and Royals series, Empire of Dust.
justanothernerdling's review against another edition
4.0
I actually quite liked this! This is a re-telling of the story of Alexander the Great, an awesome blend of magic, myth and history. It takes place between Greece and Macedonia. It’s kind of like Game of Thrones, in the sense that the different chapters are from the point of view of different characters, but, unlike GoT, the amount of characters is actually manageable.
I thought that this book had a great and diverse set of characters. Sure there are historical inaccuracies, but hey, it’s a re-telling. The main characters are Kat, Alex, Jacob, Zofia, Cyn and Heph, and they all relate to each other in some way or another. Kat and Jacob come from the same village, and are finally coming together when Jacob tells her he’s going to participate in the Blood Tournament, something kind of like the Hunger Games. Kat follows him and becomes Alex’s guest. Alex’s best friend is Heph, who likes Cyn. He (Alex) is meant to marry Zophia for political reasons.
Each of the characters were built super well! They have real quirks and personalities, and had their own motivations, which sometimes lead to unusual situations. Personally, Heph really isn’t my favorite, but Kat and Alex are cool. Jacob is quite clingy, and Cyn... well I can’t say much about her without spoiling the entire book.
What I really enjoyed was the world-building. I absolutely loved both the way it was put together and written, and what the world was like. There was a certain... grace to it, and elegancy, even though it was also dark and bloody. It’s really hard to explain, but it was really unique.
There was a great mystery behind Kat’s character, which I loved reading about! Again, I can’t say more, simply because it would give away too much.
The book had a great rhythm and was nice to read - I managed to reading it practically one sitting.
I’m giving this a 4.5/5 feathers! Can’t wait for part 2!
I thought that this book had a great and diverse set of characters. Sure there are historical inaccuracies, but hey, it’s a re-telling. The main characters are Kat, Alex, Jacob, Zofia, Cyn and Heph, and they all relate to each other in some way or another. Kat and Jacob come from the same village, and are finally coming together when Jacob tells her he’s going to participate in the Blood Tournament, something kind of like the Hunger Games. Kat follows him and becomes Alex’s guest. Alex’s best friend is Heph, who likes Cyn. He (Alex) is meant to marry Zophia for political reasons.
Each of the characters were built super well! They have real quirks and personalities, and had their own motivations, which sometimes lead to unusual situations. Personally, Heph really isn’t my favorite, but Kat and Alex are cool. Jacob is quite clingy, and Cyn... well I can’t say much about her without spoiling the entire book.
What I really enjoyed was the world-building. I absolutely loved both the way it was put together and written, and what the world was like. There was a certain... grace to it, and elegancy, even though it was also dark and bloody. It’s really hard to explain, but it was really unique.
There was a great mystery behind Kat’s character, which I loved reading about! Again, I can’t say more, simply because it would give away too much.
The book had a great rhythm and was nice to read - I managed to reading it practically one sitting.
I’m giving this a 4.5/5 feathers! Can’t wait for part 2!
suhbreenah's review against another edition
5.0
Wow this book was such a wild ride! I was kind of worried about getting into an epic fantasy because I tend to move through those kinds of books really slowly but no regrets here. As a person who loves history I was drawn to this book in particular involving the history of the time of Alexander the Great, though I wasn't sure how well that would mesh with the magic elements I'd heard about. However I think it worked really well, partially because the book didn't only follow Alexander, which I hadn't known prior to starting it. I definitely wouldn't be worried about being unable to distinguish characters. I, as someone who usually struggles with that, didn't have any trouble with it at all. Each character manages to be unique with their own twists to have you rooting for each one as you read their perspective chapters. This book is a little slow because it starts off with a lot of build-up but by the end you won't regret it. Highly recommend.
I'd also like to briefly discuss the magic system. The different kinds of Blood Magic really intrigued me, though I feel like it was presented in such a way that it felt a little out of place at first. I also would be much more interested in seeing these powers manifest in other characters. I think we definitely saw those hints in Heph and Cyn, and I'd really like to see how those progress over Kat's animal abilities. And what about Alexander? Did they just split the magic between them since they're twins, or is he something completely different? I really want to see that explored in the future. AND really interested to see more of Olympias's story with Riel. This curse thing is intruiging.
All in all, really enjoyed this. Looking forward to the next, and I'm strongly hoping for more action and magic in the books ahead after all the backstories presented in this installment.
Spoiler
I feel like I was annoyed with each character in this book at one point in time. Not annoyed as in I did not like their presence in the story, but annoyed as you would be towards a sibling making a wrong move. I loved the way the characters were written, especially Olympias and Cyn. If I had to pick a least favorite I'd probably have to say Kat just because I felt like she very much went into an almost Disney princess trope in that she did nothing wrong except fall in love and whatnot. She just seemed to be a weaker character to me, and I feel like her backstory wasn't as big of a reveal as it was presented to be. But Cyn. Wow I loved her. She was so kick-butt and even though she was kind of evil I feel like I understand her motives enough to still prefer her to Kat and even to cheer her on. Also I must say I'd MUCH rather see her with Heph. They feel like they're much more natural and interesting for each other vs Kat winning over his affections despite her meanness, another situation we've seen plenty of times. Oh and I cannot leave this review without talking about Olympias. I love to hate her. Her backstory completely changed my view of her, and now I'm just kind of stuck about how to keep disliking her as much as I did before. I love that Herman wrote from her different perspectives because it really illustrates the politics in a whole new way. Royal drama has gotten so interesting and this book definitely follows that pattern.I'd also like to briefly discuss the magic system. The different kinds of Blood Magic really intrigued me, though I feel like it was presented in such a way that it felt a little out of place at first. I also would be much more interested in seeing these powers manifest in other characters. I think we definitely saw those hints in Heph and Cyn, and I'd really like to see how those progress over Kat's animal abilities. And what about Alexander? Did they just split the magic between them since they're twins, or is he something completely different? I really want to see that explored in the future. AND really interested to see more of Olympias's story with Riel. This curse thing is intruiging.
All in all, really enjoyed this. Looking forward to the next, and I'm strongly hoping for more action and magic in the books ahead after all the backstories presented in this installment.
bookishnicole's review against another edition
I recevied this book from Goodreads First Reads Program.
I DNF'd around page 200. I couldn't connect with the characters or get invested in what happened with them. I usually read on my hour long commute each way, but found it difficult to want to pick up the book the two days that I had it with me.
I think part of the problem is that there are too many POV's, you have Kat, Jacob, Alexander, Heph, Cyn, Zo and The Queen. I also didn't like how every name was shorted, like Timourus (Not the actual name because I can't remember it without the book in front of me) became referenced as "Tim" which I will admit I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty confident that they did not shorten names like that in the time of Alexander the Great but I could be wrong.
I probably could have kept reading and pushed through it, but there are too many books to force yourself through one that you're not really enjoying.
I DNF'd around page 200. I couldn't connect with the characters or get invested in what happened with them. I usually read on my hour long commute each way, but found it difficult to want to pick up the book the two days that I had it with me.
I think part of the problem is that there are too many POV's, you have Kat, Jacob, Alexander, Heph, Cyn, Zo and The Queen. I also didn't like how every name was shorted, like Timourus (Not the actual name because I can't remember it without the book in front of me) became referenced as "Tim" which I will admit I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty confident that they did not shorten names like that in the time of Alexander the Great but I could be wrong.
I probably could have kept reading and pushed through it, but there are too many books to force yourself through one that you're not really enjoying.
tomberly's review against another edition
5.0
This book was sooooooo good!!!! I didn't know much about Alexander the Great but this books makes me want to learn MORE!!! By the end of the I'm torn for my love of Jacob and Kat and Heph and Kat
kimreadsthings's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
Well, it looks like I missed the hype bus for this one. Legacy of Kings failed to engage me at the start and, unfortunately, the slow pace and predictable plot kept me from engaging throughout. This is a sort of “retelling” of the story of a young Alexander the Great, but with some minor fantastical element, namely magic. It’s like “history, but magic is real!” Awesome, right? Except when the characters are dryly drawn, the plot is ridiculously convenient, and there is nary a fresh twist or turn to be seen.
Clocking in at past 450 pages, this book could easily have done with a good bit of editing. There are seven POV characters, so if multi-POV makes you dizzy this is not going to be your thing. I normally love multi POV, but not here. The voices stretched so thin, and are so very repetitive. I feel like this book could have easily been 100 less pages if the characters hadn’t constantly and repetitively been internally monologuing. Each POV character would repeat their plot goal in every single chapter. It was to the point where I wanted to say each time, “Yes I understood your goal the first time you said it. You don’t have to repeatedly intone it in every single chapter.” I don’t know if it was thinking that switching between the POVs that readers would forget which character’s goals were which but you just need to have greater faith in YA readers’ ability than this. It made for a super tiring experience.
Find the rest of my review at The Midnight Garden
Well, it looks like I missed the hype bus for this one. Legacy of Kings failed to engage me at the start and, unfortunately, the slow pace and predictable plot kept me from engaging throughout. This is a sort of “retelling” of the story of a young Alexander the Great, but with some minor fantastical element, namely magic. It’s like “history, but magic is real!” Awesome, right? Except when the characters are dryly drawn, the plot is ridiculously convenient, and there is nary a fresh twist or turn to be seen.
Clocking in at past 450 pages, this book could easily have done with a good bit of editing. There are seven POV characters, so if multi-POV makes you dizzy this is not going to be your thing. I normally love multi POV, but not here. The voices stretched so thin, and are so very repetitive. I feel like this book could have easily been 100 less pages if the characters hadn’t constantly and repetitively been internally monologuing. Each POV character would repeat their plot goal in every single chapter. It was to the point where I wanted to say each time, “Yes I understood your goal the first time you said it. You don’t have to repeatedly intone it in every single chapter.” I don’t know if it was thinking that switching between the POVs that readers would forget which character’s goals were which but you just need to have greater faith in YA readers’ ability than this. It made for a super tiring experience.
Find the rest of my review at The Midnight Garden
ys2212345678's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5