League of Legends is one of the most popular esports games in the world. A few years ago, Riot Games, the game’s developers, successfully expanded the universe of their creation with the Netflix series «Arkane». And then there was the underrated «Players» about the life of the League of Legends esports team. It seems that the work is in full swing, as the second season of Arcane will be released this November, and the first full-length novel in the game’s universe — «Destruction is now available in Ukrainian. League of Legends» by «Laboratory» publishing house. It was written by Australian writer Anthony Reynolds, who previously worked with the Warhammer universe and has been part of the Riot Games team since 2014. I’ve already read it and share my impressions, tell you whether it’s worth buying and reading, who it will suit, and whether fans will be delighted.
Pluses:
excellent quality of the publication with a super-cover, lace, and colored cuts; a bright fantasy story with steampunk and dark fantasy; three-dimensional characters you believe in; familiar champions, references, and Easter eggs for League of Legends players; ability to interest non-players; a solo novel, which is rare for the fantasy genre nowadays
Minuses:
non-gamers will not understand the references and Easter eggs, which means that they will not perceive the whole charm of the book; for some, 400 pages of the book will not be enough to reveal such a large universe
«Ruination: A League of Legends»
Author Anthony Reynolds
Translator Elizaveta Bolotova
Publisher Laboratory
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 416
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2024
Size 145×215 mm
Website laboratoria.pro
The Camavore Empire has a new ruler, the young and unbalanced King Viego. His aunt, General Calista, plans to help her nephew rule and gradually bring the ruler to peace. The king’s new young wife, Isolde, will definitely help her with this. But during an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Viego, his queen is wounded with a poisonous blade. The ruler is on the verge of madness and despair because even powerful artifacts do not help the imperial healers, so Isolde is slowly dying.
Without the queen, Viego will become unpredictable, and his natural cruelty will be revealed to the fullest. That is, if he doesn’t really go crazy. To save Camavore, Isolde, and her nephew, Calista sets out to find the mysterious Blessed Isles. According to legend, there is a cure for the poison there. Perhaps Calista would not have done this if she had known what a large-scale disaster her journey would lead to. But the countdown to the inevitable tragedy has begun.
«Ruination: A League of Legends» — classic fantasy with a touch of dark fantasy. There are also steampunk vibes here, as the game’s universe has many different mechanisms in addition to magic. Therefore, fans of this genre will also be interested.
However, this is not high fantasy with pure Good and Evil. In the «Destruction» universe, these two forces are also present, but for the most part, the humans and other races of Runterra are full of different feelings and philosophies. Sometimes they are good, and often they are evil. Sometimes words and promises are worthless, but it happens that some are ready to die for their honor.
«Ruination: A League of Legends» — is a book about the universe of a MOBA game, so there are a lot of battle scenes and action. A bit of politics was also added, as well as the psychological experiences of the characters. The latter works great for character development, which means it makes them three-dimensional and creates empathy between them and the reader. The author has managed to write well not only Calista, but also other characters. For example, the disgusting Trash is memorable, and the story of his formation is told.
In addition to fights, magic, and political games, «Destruction» is full of classic adventures and dosed humor. Take a look for yourself. We have mysterious islands, magical creatures, several typical but no less interesting villains, mysterious artifacts, a mad king, bright secondary characters who often joke and turn on the sarcasm. And a heroine who must save the world but inevitably brings its destruction closer. Isn’t this a very interesting show?
«Ruination: A League of Legends» is sure to appeal to anyone who has played or is playing this game. The book shows the rise of various popular champions (Hecarim, Calista, Rise, Trash, Viego, etc.), and many other champions are mentioned or appear here, including Soraka.
«Ruination» tells the story of what happened 1000 years before the main events in the game. It’s a kind of superprequel that puts certain well-known elements in their places, explains how and why it happened, where it appeared, and where it came from. Anyone who is more or less familiar with the League of Legends lore will definitely understand the various references, easter eggs, and hints about champions, events, etc.
However, the novel can be recommended to everyone else. Yes, of course, the average fantasy reader doesn’t know the characters or the world of Runterra and won’t understand some references. But they will still enjoy reading it because the book is written in a bright and interesting way, with lots of events and powerful action, three-dimensional characters and a huge living universe full of magic and steampunk technology. This will definitely interest any sane fan of such genres.
«Ruination: A League of Legends» is primarily intended for fans of this LANGUAGE. But the book also has another important mission — to popularize the game among readers who have not played it but may start because they will like the world, story, and characters. And with this, the novel copes with at least «Good».
Yes, it’s not the coolest fantasy you’ll ever read, but it’s definitely interesting, easy to get into, and encourages you to play League of Legends. For example, I periodically broke away from reading and went to Wild Rift. And on weekends, I would also play the main game on my PC, which I hadn’t done for a long time.
I also like the fact that this is not a series, at least for now, but just a single novel. So there is no need to wait or look for a sequel, collect other books, etc. Because in the fantasy genre, things are generally very bad with single novels because it’s usually at least a trilogy. Yes, I hope that there will be sequels, but judging by the ending, it will be a different story about different times and with different characters. So we should just wait for new books on the world of League of Legends.
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