Book Review: Ruins of Greatness by Ethan Summers (Dogs of the Spires Special Editions #1)

 

This took a while to get to but I still plan on reading all of Dogs of the Spires, so here we go! Today's installment is a special edition prequel book. Spoilers ahead!

A hundred-plus years before the events of the first arc, a dog named Maggie leaves her Master's bunker and ends up entangled in a war between a dog pack, a wolfdog pack and a clan of hyenas in possession of a powerful magical artifact. It explains some of the lore and background to events and aspects in the first Dogs of the Spires arc.

I just really enjoy each installment in the Spires series so far. I'm not even that big into post-apocalyptic animal stories anymore these days, I got over that kick a while ago, but this series just really handles it in a neat way. I also definitely like that it has some fantasy aspects as well, and isn't 100% rooted in reality. There are supernatural and magical aspects to the stories, and that's honestly great.

This book had pretty much everything I liked: a strong story, fantastical elements (as mentioned above), a serious war story, setup for the lore in the series future, etc.

If I do have a problem with this book (aside from the typos, which I spotted more of than the average Spires book), it's that I just didn't connect to the characters as well. Maggie wasn't a very strong protagonist to me (I wasn't that invested in her, more in the story itself) and I didn't care all that much for the other side characters like I did with those in the first arc. That said, this is only a standalone and it's very well possible that I'd have grown more attached to these characters if I'd gotten to spend more time with them and gotten to know them better.

I also just want to say how much I love the introduction of hyenas (excuse me, "ferals") in the story. I love hyenas so seeing them here made me very happy, even if they were the villains. They had their neat own culture and ways that differed from the dogs. Also, I didn't expect zombie hyenas to become a thing, but they are. As well as the hyena King practically becoming a god before being defeated. 

Another interesting aspect: there is still at least one Master around at this point. Are there more? That's left unanswered, but at least know that Maggie's one is still alive. Obviously he's long dead by the time the first arc comes around, but it still was interesting to see at least one human play a part in these events, albeit brief.

Overall, this is just another really strong installment in the Spires series! Heck, you could probably even pick it up if you don't feel like reading arc 1 since it's a standalone and it sets up the lore pretty well.

Rating: 4.5/5