MY REVIEW
I love to read books that I can relate to real current events and An End To Kings by Ryan Schuette does that in a fantastical way. He includes things like political upheaval, civil liberty and climate change. Ryan Schuette’s master storytelling makes this an epic fantasy you won’t want to miss and I am excited to pick up where we left off in A Seat For The Rabble.
I love the illustrations. Illustrations always add something extra for me.
Political intrigue arises around every turn. No one can be trusted and some of the betrayals broke my heart for the characters that it happened to. One sticks out in a big way…
Sara is one of my favorite characters and her tragic life breaks my heart. She is a good person and too young for the horrors brought to her life. She is a child, struggling, facing things beyond her years. I have feared for her since I met her, especially when she lost the one person she could count on.
Zur had been kidnapped and Lorana was determined to find him. I thought there might be more to him than we see in the beginning. The same goes for Sara and the Mad Lady. I feel they will play a prominent role in what is to come for the Kingdom. What that role will be is yet to be determined.
Eden, what the hell?
Anyway, let’s get into the conflict that rages, as the rebels unite to get their Seat, but how can you band together when you can’t get along? When people are pushed into a corner with nothing to lose, they will fight back.
Because the king died without naming his successor.Jason must prove his right to wear the crown for the Kingdom of Loran and will have to face the Kingstrials. I love that the king’s daughter, Lorana was ruling the kingdom, though no one ever acknowledged it. After all, they cannot have a Queen as a leader…can they? For now, she is tasked with keeping the wolves at bay until a king is crowned.
The battles are savage, a brutal and bloody slaughter. The betrayals and cowardice allow tragic injustices to occur and more than one leaves me speechless. Ryan Schuette’s ability to pump up my emotions to a point where I want to throw my ereader against the wall makes me hesitate, putting the book down to pull myself together, then picking it up again….because I HAVE to know what happens next. On and on I read, wondering who will live and who will die.
An End To Kings by Ryan Schuette is intense. It has everything you can possibly want in an epic fantasy. And that ending, I can hardly wait to see what will become of my favorite characters in the next book. It is sure to be an amazing adventure.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of An End To Kings by Ryan Schuette.
GOODREADS BLURB
In the highly anticipated conclusion to A Seat for the Rabble, former NPR reporter Ryan Schuette returns to Odma, a richly detailed world not unlike our own. Riven by social injustice, wealth inequality, and ancient magic, the Kingdom of Loran stands on the brink of war . . . and the bastard prince, Jason Warchild, means to save it.
With an army of Cloudlanders at his back, Jason marches to the Kingstrials, where he must kill his rivals—including his zealot uncle, Shaddon—to claim his father’s crown and return peasants to power. But winning this deadly game will take more than martial skill and an army. If he fails to win all three Trials, he’ll need the fractious Worthy Assembly to crown him directly—or he’ll lose the kingdom, along with his head.
As class anger festers, Jason’s allies find themselves embattled. At the capital, Princess Lorana Eddenhold navigates her realm’s troubled politics to stamp out plots against her half-brother, even as she dreads Prieslenne Edenia’s return. In the west, Rathos Robswell risks his life to persuade the Loyal Company’s firebrands to cease their infighting and see the bastard prince—along with the dream of a just realm—through a crucible of swords, dragons, and griffons.
Only supernatural forces seem to see all ends. Accompanied by a sorcerer, Zuran races against time to confront the real evil . . . the one exploiting chaos in a kingless land.
Praise for A Seat for the Rabble and An End to Kings
“From its electric first pages, Schuette’s epic adult fantasy debut grips with a rich, tense, multi-perspective story of a kingdom in unrest. . . . A journalist, [he] writes crisp, compelling scenes that demonstrate an understanding of power, conflicted loyalties, and the ways that history—both ancient and recent, true and made up—powers contemporary conflicts.” —BookLife by Publishers Weekly (Grade: A)
“Schuette’s extensive world is an enticing one. Religion, class systems, and past events play large parts in the conflict. . . . Griffins fly; swords cleave; and the unsuspecting are sometimes slaughtered. . . . Yet the fighting and feuding are matched in such a way to keep the intriguing plot moving swiftly. The competing interests make for a curious, highly detailed, engrossing fantasy.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Masterful storytelling and epic worldbuilding make this a must-read for fans of political fantasy. Ryan Schuette weaves a complex world of political intrigue, class conflict, and the pursuit of power in this enthralling epic fantasy.” —ALEXANDRIA DUCKSWORTH, Independent Book Review
“If you like getting marooned in a book, so far removed from real life that there’s no need for rescue, then A Seat for the Rabble was made for you! . . . [It’s] a sumptuous feast for the mind.” —NICKY FLOWERS, Indies Today (Rating: ★★★★★)
“[A]n unputdownable story. . . .” —SHERRY FUNDIN, fundinmental.com
- Genre: Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, Mythical Creatures, Sword and Sorcery
- 554 pages, Kindle Edition
- Published June 9, 2024
- Series: A King Without A Crown, Book II
ABOUT RYAN SHUETTE (from his website)
Schuette: Pronounced SHOO-tee
Hi there. I’m a writer, editor, illustrator, and resume consultant with past lives in politics, foreign aid, nonprofit management, and the lingerie industry. I’m also a reporter who’s written for National Public Radio, Al Jazeera America, and numerous other media outlets. In 2015, PBS’s NOVA recognized a feature of mine for NPR as one of its top 10 stories in science education that year.
Fun facts about me: I’ve met three presidents (including the one in the photo), written a novel, and lived and worked for a year in Uganda as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. While in Uganda, I freelanced as a reporter, bounced around several countries, and got malaria a few times (wouldn’t recommend it). I also took a short course in international law at the University of Oxford.
I’ve started and run both a nonprofit and company, and just recently decided to make good on a few life goals by writing an original fantasy fiction novel and drawing cartoons professionally. I’ve lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and hold a master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University.
Life is short, so make sure you spend it doing something you love. Bonus points if it improves our species.
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Threads: schuette.ryan
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