Sample
  • The Grace of Kings

  • The Dandelion Dynasty
  • By: Ken Liu
  • Narrated by: Michael Kramer
  • Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,751 ratings)

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The Grace of Kings

By: Ken Liu
Narrated by: Michael Kramer
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Interview: Ken Liu on The Dandelion Dynasty series

'I have the theory that good stories are more important than good institutions.'
-0.00
  • The Grace of Kings
  • 'I have the theory that good stories are more important than good institutions.'

Publisher's summary

Two men rebel together against tyranny - and then become rivals - in this first sweeping book of an epic fantasy series from Ken Liu, recipient of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.

Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods. Once the emperor has been overthrown, however, they both find themselves the leaders of separate factions - two sides with very different ideas about how the world should be run and the meaning of justice.

Fans of intrigue, intimate plots, and action will find a new series to embrace in the Dandelion Dynasty.

©2015 Kenneth Yukun Liu. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Creator

Ken 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.
He’s often involved in media adaptations of his work. Recent projects include The Message, under development by 21 Laps and Film Nation Entertainment; 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.
Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Featured Article: The top 100 fantasy listens of all time


When compiling our list of the best fantasy listening out there, we immediately came up against the age-old question: Is this fantasy or science fiction? The distinction is not as clear as you may think. Dragons, elves, and wizards are definitely fantasy, but what about wizards that also fly space ships? (Looking at you, Star Wars.) For the sake of fantasy purity, the top 100 fantasy listens include the best audio works in all manner of fantasy subgenres.

What listeners say about The Grace of Kings

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

meh

only listened because I'm a fan of kramer. books okay I couldn't really get into it till the last nit, so I'm going to give the 2nd book a try.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Should have been several books

Wonderful story. Left me wanting more. Some books are 800 pages and should have been 300. This book was 800 pages and should have been three or four books of 800 pages. If they were I would have listened to them all.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story telling

The structure and flow of this book is a treat to immerse yourself in. I listened to the entire book while working on my embroidery and it kept me inspired and working for the entire length. I broke my heart when the story ended even though the story had run it’s full corse. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

...

Painful middle. Kramer couldn't save this one. Would not rec. war descriptions were the best part.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I’m at war with myself over this book.

Though I was not a huge fan of the story telling style at times I will have to admit that there is beauty in the way this story is told. It does jump around and sometimes I did have to go back because I simply missed a large battle that was only a paragraph long but at other times the story was so heartbreaking and beautiful.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Beautiful and elegant

I would have rated it 5stars but the ending was sub par to the entire story :(

Reading this brought out the hidden emotions in me, making me laugh at times and cry at other time. I hope that there will be a sequel to this.

For those who enjoyed listening/reading this epic novel, I will recommend Guy Gavriel Kay's Tiganna.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Way better than I expected

I didn't really have any expectations for this book. I picked it up just because I heard about it on a "best of" list or something. Once I got started I was immediately taken in to the world and the good and bad of the people on pool sides of the various conflicts in the book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed it

I thought the story was intriguing and enjoyed the allusions to Chinese mythology without the obligation to be accurate getting in the way if the story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good read!

I've been looking for a new series to dig into and this was recommended. I'm glad I checked it out; good story and excellent narration!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Change of flavor

Most fantasy settings I’ve read are of Euro-style flavor. This is the first I’ve read that has a Han Dynasty flair. I like it alot! Actually loved it. Low magic & technology driven. Gods influence via proxy. It’s really awesome! Though I’m a fan of high magic, Tech development in a low magic setting is good too.

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