The Wall of Storms

By Ken Liu

The second book in The Dandelion Dynasty, the epic fantasy trilogy by Ken Liu.

Dara is united under the Emperor Ragin, once known as Kuni Garu, the bandit king. There has been peace for six years, but the Dandelion Throne rests on bloody foundations – Kuni's betrayal of his friend, Mata Zyndu, the Hegemon. The Hegemon's rule was brutal and unbending – but he died well, creating a legend that haunts the new emperor, no matter what good he strives to do.

Where war once forged unbreakable bonds between Kuni's inner circle, peace now gnaws at their loyalties. Where ancient wisdoms once held sway, a brilliant scholar promises a philosophical revolution. And from the far north, over the horizon, comes a terrible new threat... The scent of blood is in the water.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Oct 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781784973247

Ken Liu

Ken Liu is the author of the epic fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, as well as short story collections The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. He has won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and other top genre awards around the world for his fiction. A programmer and lawyer, he speaks and consults on futurism, technology history, and sustainable storytelling. www.kenliu.name @kyliu99

Reviews for The Wall of Storms

[sussura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am loving this. The detail and the politics especially.

[quickmind · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book made me have all the feelings. I was a big fan of Luan Zya in the first book, and this book, well, it shook me, is all I'll say about that. Ken Liu created a huge, vivid world here, one that is very complex, with a multitude of problems, and no easy answers. I wasn't happy with how a few characters changed (looking at you Empress Jia), but there were other surprises that I enjoyed very much. I can't wait for book 3.

[carl_alves_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Wall of Storms is the follow up to The Grace of Kings. I started reading this immediately after I finished reading the last novel. I absolutely loved the first book in the series, so the bar was high for this novel. Perhaps, the bar was set to high, because I was a little disappointed in this novel. It’s not that it was bad, but it clearly does not measure up to the first novel in the series.The novel takes place about ten years after The Grace of Kings. Kuni Garu is now the emperor trying to keep his kingdom together with duct tape and cult of personality. He faces treachery from within his own house, disgruntled nobles in the various kingdoms, and followers of the deceased hegemon. This is all the prelude to an upcoming invasion by a group of people who seem kind of like Vikings, but instead of longships they have flying beasts that breathe fire and are capable of all sorts of destruction.There is a lot of intrigue in this novel. There are also all sorts of technological innovations, which set this series apart from any epic fantasy series I have ever read, where magic is replaced by primitive (by our standards) technological innovation. There are, however, two big problems in this novel. One is that it is overwritten. It doesn’t have to be nearly as long as it is. I think if about 200 pages or so were chopped off, it would have been a better read. There are entire passages and flashbacks that contribute little to the story. The second point is that the characters in the first novel were terrific. They were phased out or killed off in this novel, for the most part, and the next generation of characters replacing them, which were more in focus here, were not nearly as compelling. In any story, but especially a series, the characters are the lifeblood of the story.The ending of the novel sets up for a third in the series, and I will be interested in reading it, but my enthusiasm for it has waned a bit.Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Much better than the first in the trilogy. This one held my attention a lot more, and I quite liked the deep discussions of technologies and political machinations. Made me look forward to the third volume with much more anticipation than I had after the earlier book.