I didn’t finish Eyes of Kings, Eyes of Kings finished me. This has been one of my most anticipated sequels of this year and wow. I am really enjoying being emotionally wrecked. Keep reading this book review of Eyes of Kings for my full thoughts.
Summary
War beckons in the kingdom of Talin. On one side sits Calla Tuoleimi and Anton Makusa, and on the other, the recently dethroned August Shenzhi and Calla’s own predecessor Sinoa Tuoleimi. Neither will rest until the opposition is buried.
Calla assumed victory would be easy. She wears the divine crown after a violent coup, wielding the most powerful weapon in the kingdom. Then the provinces start to whisper of the old gods returning to earth, and suddenly the game board is flipped upside-down.
Anton thought he aligned himself with victory. When he swore to serve as Calla’s general, he understood the battle they were waging. But he fears Calla is no longer herself with the crown. Rather, he fears that Calla is returning to who she once was.
August would sacrifice anything for victory. He has waited his entire life for the throne, and surrender is not an option. In the face of age-old immortals challenging his terrain and the possibility of betrayal from his closest and most cherished guard, he must be careful who he trusts.
Because when the war ends, there can only be one king.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
What else could I expect from Eyes of Kings except emotional destruction? Not only because it’s Chloe Gong, but because this story was always going to be turbulent, bloody, and everyone couldn’t make it out because that’s not how power goes. In the struggle for power, does anyone even really win at the end of the day? We know the source material, we’ve seen the signs on the wall, and when we can’t trust anyone, when we can’t see the twist of the knife, what future can there be for us? There’s only ever one king, one power, one throne. Eyes of Kings is full of backhanded power plays, loyalty which switches in the breeze, and the pieces slowly unfolding.
Some of these decisions cut deep as Gong creates a politically charged world where survival is at stake, where legends are made, and alliances made. It’s the creation of empire. Of villains and victims, enemies and common denominators, and sides in a war. Eyes of Kings is, after all, about false, flesh, and old gods. It’s about the battles of the old crashing headfirst into the new struggling and visceral conflicts. The gaping maw of ambition. And even if we survive with our breath, can we ever really say that the essence of who we are has? Eyes of Kings has always asked us about what really stays the same, what evolves, and what illusions we draw.
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Because when we’re fighting the powers at be, the forces we cannot imagine, the power of a god, how does one live forever? Eyes of Kings was fabulous and ends such a gorgeous and gruesome trilogy about power, self hood, and legends. Find Eyes of Kings on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.