In the world of Fantasy books and publishing, this book is being seen as “an event”. With such a big occasion (and the fact that we were both reading it at the same time!), we thought that we would review the novel at SFFWorld by combining our collective thoughts on it. So, here’s what Rob Bedford, reading from the USA, and Mark Yon, reading from England, thought.
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League of Legends is one of the most popular and profitable franchises in the world. Many of you will know that it is a best-selling multiplayer game that was first produced in 2009 and is now one of the most popular computer games of all time. It has even created its own online League of Legends World Championship event, which registered over 100 million viewers in 2019.
Others may know of the franchise from a different place. One of the biggest hits most recently on Netflix has been the animated series based on the game, Arcane. We both watched and thoroughly enjoyed the Netflix show so we were quite curious about the first novel set in the world.
In terms of a plot, we’ve got a very young king (Viego), a hopeful queen to whom he is married (Isolde), the king’s niece (Kalista) who is actually older than him, and the requisite knights and mages one would expect to encounter in a fantasy world and novel. As happens in these kinds of novels, an assassination attempt is made on Viego’s life, and while he survives unharmed, his wife, Queen Isolde is grievously injured. A sliver of hope exists in the fabled Blessed Isles, so Kalista undertakes the journey to find the isles and hopefully a cure for Isolde’s condition.
What surprised you the most about Ruination?
Rob: What I didn’t expect was just how critical a story this novel is to the world of League of Legends and as that realization began to sink in, I was even more impressed with how well Reynolds balanced the intimate elements of his characters with the epic and far-reaching effects of their actions are for the world. That’s where “veterans” of League of Legends may find great things to enjoy in this novel. A great peek into how certain events “actually” happened in this vast, magical world. Since Reynolds is intimately involved with Riot Games and League of Legends, he’s got the weight of authority in this tale.
Mark: I think the thing that surprised and pleased me most was that the plot’s refreshingly direct. Things are not overly complex. There’s no protracted side stories and subplots, no extensive history – just a good story, told for the sake of entertainment. The characters are fairly traditional, but in my opinion that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We have heroes and villains, traitors and loyalists each with enough detail to make them recognisable – but not too much!
Have you read any other books by Anthony Reynolds?
Rob: I may have read one of his Warhammer 40K novels in the past and a short story in anthology. I know him more by reputation than content as he has quite a few WH40K novels under his belt.
Mark: Here’s where I’m honest and say that I had no idea that Anthony had written other books. Rob mentioned the Warhammer 40K connection, which is a bit of a surprise to me as I don’t live far from the Warhammer HQ and I have 2 in the Hobbit household who play…. but they don’t read the books, I guess. It makes a lot of sense, though. You can tell with the writing, which means that I’m not too shocked by that.
What element of the novel worked best for you?
Rob: Reynolds has a great deal of experience in writing these kinds of books and he’s quite adept at relaying a lore-heavy world while also maintaining a well-paced story with developed characters. The primary characters manage to breath uniquely beyond the tropes in which they fit and the plot is fairly straight-forward. The details of the world relayed in the novel are just enough to keep the plot going for a relatively un-experienced League of Legends person like myself.
Mark: It’s all about character, I think. The world of Camavor is fairly vague, being mainly based in the city of Alovedra or the Blessed Isles. Little detail is given about the world outside the city or the countries surrounding it, although there’s some lovely details of some of the cities the story visits, but this allows the focus of the novel to be on characters. The characters are engaging, there’s some surprising twists and an interesting backstory, although fans of the game may know more about what is going to happen than I did. I also liked the fact that, unlike many books of this nature, there is a conclusion of sorts, with an Epilogue set thirty years later that briefly outlines what happens next as the consequences of what happens in this novel. I suspect some of this will be seen in later books or connects to the game.
How does this rank as a “tie-in” novel? Does that label (with all of its connotations) even apply here?
Rob: I think “tie-in” novel is a term that brings a lot of baggage with it, unfortunately. I’ve read my fair share of Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer and other novels set in franchise/existing IP and have found some true gems in there. Books that really elevate the form. I think Ruination is not just a great “tie-in” novel, but a fun and entertaining novel, period. It is a well-constructed, entertaining fantasy novel and quite successful novel at that.
Mark: Yes, it’s a tie in novel. The UK cover has the game logo emblazoned on the cover! But you can read this with little or no knowledge of the game, as I did. The book can stand alone as an exciting read, with enough information given for you to understand the story. You don’t have to have seen the Netflix series to understand it, nor have played the computer game, although there are possible links should you wish to pursue them. So, the book does that clever thing of being accessible to non-gamers (me!) but may also entice those millions of players and viewers who want to know the background to the story they’ve played or watched online to read this. I mentioned I was reading the novel to a couple of gamer friends whose response was, “Ah, Viego.” It’s clearly resonant with their experiences. Ruination is a wonderful start to a series for anyone who likes traditional Fantasy. I also think that it would be a great book for those wanting to start to read Fantasy but not knowing what to start with.
Summary
We both think that Ruination is a wonderful introduction to the League of Legends world. It is a deceptively epic story that should find wide appeal. We think it succeeds at what Reynolds and the people behind Riot Games set out to do remarkably well. It is a fun, brisk read that we both found was hard to set aside.
Lastly, it would be amiss of us if we didn’t mention the work that has gone into the look of this novel. It is quite the tome, an eye-poppingly gorgeous looking thing – Orbit really have pushed the boat out with some of its more recent publications, and this is lovely – great artwork, nice endpapers, has lovely art on the interior of the dust jacket – there’s even some character portraits at the back of the book. It all sets the book up nicely.
Ruination by Anthony Reynolds
A League of Legends novel
Published by Orbit, September 2022
428 pages
ISBN: 978 0 356 51976 0
