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longlong96's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely not a ruined book! The storytelling is so well done. From a dedicated league of legends fan, being able to see the characters come to life and interacting with one another is such a surreal and wonderful experience. Will want a sequel or prequel to this book ASAP!
krysiyu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
seraphofshadow's review against another edition
3.5
I felt like there was definitely room for improvement in the characters and how they interacted. For people who play league of legends the book handles the subtlety of the nods like it is wielding a hammer. That said this book tells the story of a tragedy well enough and I hope that the author or another backed by riot learn from the shortcomings and give us more of the world to explore. I love to see champions given more life like Kalista which I will always think about differently looking at her visuals.
mojodeji's review against another edition
5.0
An INCREDIBLY solid book, I’m pretty amazed. Coming off Arcane, I was thrilled to see that a League of Legends novel has been published so I decided to take a peek at this.
The characters in this novel are so truly flawed and human and how each’s personality drives this story is actually wonderful to see unfold. I love how this novel allows the characters to fail and propel the story even further. It also makes great use of multiple POVs!
I would definitely recommend this to any fan of Arcane looking to step their toes back into Runeterra (without having to play LoL itself). It’s very easy to digest this book without knowing much about League (I’ve barely touched that game). I would definitely recommend NOT looking up the characters if you don’t know them from League cause it spoils what it’s an incredibly epic ending.
The characters in this novel are so truly flawed and human and how each’s personality drives this story is actually wonderful to see unfold. I love how this novel allows the characters to fail and propel the story even further. It also makes great use of multiple POVs!
I would definitely recommend this to any fan of Arcane looking to step their toes back into Runeterra (without having to play LoL itself). It’s very easy to digest this book without knowing much about League (I’ve barely touched that game). I would definitely recommend NOT looking up the characters if you don’t know them from League cause it spoils what it’s an incredibly epic ending.
russejenn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don’t really know how to rate this one. It’s well written, but I think it’s just not my genre (too much action). At times this book was frustrating, as the characters were all flawed in ways that were, once again, frustrating. All of the men in this book were whiny entitled babies (Viego, Hecarim, Thresh, Ryze), first of all. And Kalista’s main crime was being incredibly naive. All played a significant role in the downfall of this nation, and it was all for selfish reasons. Kalista is the only one with good intentions but her efforts are tainted by her willingness to go through with clearly malicious plans. I do wonder if this book would have been better or worse if I hadn’t been playing League for over a decade. Was hard to separate it in my brain, and my experience of reading this can be summed up as the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme.
bloodstarvedbeast's review against another edition
3.0
Read this following watching the show Arcane. It's a good attempt at a novel, though I feel the first half is stronger than the second. If you know lore about Kalista (the protagonist) you would expect that what caused her to become an angered wraith would be more deep than the story actually goes into. Some of the choices made by the characters seem a bit trope-y at times. There were moments that the villains and the heroes were in conflict simply for the fact that they were heroes and villains. There was a lot of tell not show.
As a novel I think it was competently written. The ideas behind it, especially at the beginning, were interesting in concept and they were executed without leaving anything out or any plotholes. The latter half of the book was what didn't pull through as well as I'd liked, which left me a bit disappointed. That being said, I look forward to reading more about the League universe.
If you like Arcane, played the Riot Forge games particularly Ruined King, or play League of Legends you will enjoy this book. If you are a younger fantasy reader you will enjoy it too.
As a novel I think it was competently written. The ideas behind it, especially at the beginning, were interesting in concept and they were executed without leaving anything out or any plotholes. The latter half of the book was what didn't pull through as well as I'd liked, which left me a bit disappointed. That being said, I look forward to reading more about the League universe.
If you like Arcane, played the Riot Forge games particularly Ruined King, or play League of Legends you will enjoy this book. If you are a younger fantasy reader you will enjoy it too.
championeal's review against another edition
3.0
It is ironic that the fan service that League of Legends team probably thought was essential honestly ruined the novel for me. The development in the first two-thirds of the story added true depth to the characters that fans of LoL already knew on the surface. Unfortunate then that the end of the novel is filled with forced champion quotes and abilities with no regard for the true motivation or feelings of the characters.
justkrissy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
jakefromst8frm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tylergates's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
While I enjoyed being taken along for the ride of the story overall, I ultimately found the characters frustratingly flat. Many characters chose actions that felt unbelievable to the reader, they had strangely-timed moments of dialogue that felt strictly included for necessary plot explanation, and many untied loose ends in the story. (Looking at you Camavor! Those poor citizens, I assume they all died of starvation and riot?)
That being said, I appreciated the world building, and was impressed at the intricate weaving of character actions that led to the story’s climax.
While I imagine I would have enjoyed the story more if I was a player of the game (my only familiarity with League of Legends is with Netflix show Arcane), I still felt Ruination was a fun-enough tale of adventure to enjoy on its own.
That being said, I appreciated the world building, and was impressed at the intricate weaving of character actions that led to the story’s climax.
While I imagine I would have enjoyed the story more if I was a player of the game (my only familiarity with League of Legends is with Netflix show Arcane), I still felt Ruination was a fun-enough tale of adventure to enjoy on its own.