DAW publishes the best books and How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse (aside from having an amazing title) is super fun. As The Refrigerator Monolgues did for the unsung women in comics, How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse does for fairytales. It breathes new life into our favorite tropes and creates something wholly unique, feminist and badass.

Found it odd they use the word multiverse, in that they seem to be mainly just discussing...space and galaxies rather than multiple dimensions / universes. I thought we were going to see how Rory’s decisions echoed throughout reality itself, and we barely even got to see that in a super dry, attempted tongue-in-cheek epilogue where nudgenudgewinkwink this could happen but it doesn’t.

This one was a DNF for me. I was not able to get in to the storyline and the writing just didn’t do it for me. I will update my review if I revisit this one.

"How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse" is such a great book and a perfect first in a series. It is intrinsically fun and witty. Eason develops a leading lady which makes you want to scream "finally". Obviously, there is a strong feminist message with this narrative, but that doesn't take away from the pure enjoyment of this book. I am ready for book two!

This was a a cute Space Opera meets Game Of Thrones. I really enjoyed the aspects of the main character's personality. She reminded me a lot of Sansa Stark in how she manages everything thrown at her.

Honestly though, the story didn't capture my attention like I wanted it to. It kind of felt choppy,and like it was just plastered together.

Neat story with sci-fi and fantasy mixed,but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't really for me despite how much I tried to like it. It was at times very predictable and there were a lot of characters introduced in the 2nd half that made it difficult to keep track of. Which is very unfortunate since the 1st half of the book was so slow and didn't have a lot of action. I did appreciate Rory's character and that of Grytt and the fact that this book passes the Bechdel Test

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse was such a fun read. Taking on several fairytale tropes and wrapping it up in a Science Fiction novel, K. Eason's first novel in this duology tells the story of Princess Rory Thorne, gifted with thirteen fairy blessings, one of which gives her the ability to see beyond the lies and platitudes. After her father the king is assassinated, she is to marry a prince of another world for political reasons. An ambitious Regent standing in for the prince until he becomes of age is hellbent on holding onto the power for himself. Rory is no damsel in distress, and with a small group of allies, she is determined not to let the Regent have his way.

I was immediately pulled into the novel and liked Rory right away. She is a headstrong and clever young woman. Add in a well-developed cast of secondary characters who help make this novel what it is. From the writing to the characters, to the high stakes, occasional action, and carefully orchestrated political maneuvering, Eason's novel kept me entertained and has me eager to read the second book.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is the first book in the Thorne Chronicles by K. Eason. The Thorn Chronicles is a young adult science fiction series. It is a like a fairytale set in space! I loved the idea of this book, and it was a super fun first installment to the series. I am going to dive into book two immediately after I finish this review, and I can't wait to continue on and see what is in store for Rory next! The writing is witty and the characters are great, so if those are things you look for in your scifi books, then I think you will really enjoy How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse. 

As you may have guessed, our main characters in How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is Rory Thorne herself! Rory is a Princess that is set to take the throne next to govern  the interplanetary Thorne Consortium. But then her father is assassinated and she finds herself betrothed to a far away prince. When she meets her soon to be husband she discovers a plot to overthrow him. (is it just me, or does this seem to happen a lot to Rory?) Does this scare Rory off? Not a chance- she jumps right into the fray. I love how gutsy Rory is! Someone described this book as the Princess Bride meets Princess Leia and I think that is the perfect description and combination for Rory! Rory is smart and resourceful, which I greatly admired about her. Watching her think through each situation and assess her next step was something I loved to see in a heroine, and is a quality that I can really relate to.

I loved the technology that was introduced and discussed in this book, including how they used Arithmancy, which is used for all kinds of hacking. I love stories that involve hacking, but Arithmancy felt different in that it can just as easily apply to computers as it can to people, which was super cool. I really enjoyed this story and am super pumped to continue on. This book did feel a bit like a foundational novel and it included a lot of info, sometimes info dumping on the world set up, how things worked, etc. I am hoping that in the next book we have less telling and more showing since we already have a good idea of this world and the ins and outs, history, etc.  I can't wait to see what is in store for Rory in the next book. I know there are going to be plenty of twists, turns and more political intrigue and problems in store for us next, and I for one and here for it! Bring on book 2!

Rory Throne is born as the first Princess, the first daughter born in the Thorne family in ten generations. Dredging up an old tradition invitations for the naming day ceremony are issued to the fairies no one really believes in any more. Rather like Sleeping Beauty, as the fairies bestow their gifts on the infant Princess the thirteenth fairy arrives unexpectedly. Her gift, or curse, is that Rory always know the truth no matter how well-hidden and the twelfth fairy gifts Rory with the ability to always see a path through difficulties and to have the courage to take it. And those two gifts set Rory on an interesting life path.

On Rory’s birthday her life takes a radical change, she briefly meets young Prince Ivar and they both lose their fathers through an assassination plot which leads to war between their kingdoms. Nine years later Rory learns the reality that her younger brother will be King and she is to be sent to marry Prince Ivar to end the war between their kingdoms. But things don’t go the way anyone planned.

This is a strange mix of fairy tales and science fiction with enough made-up terms to describe both the magic and the science that it was, for me, a bit hard to get into to begin with. The Princess Bride type asides, wandering off into, for me, unnecessary explanations got in the way of what is, at heart, a really wonderful story of a plucky Princess who is determined to be in control of her own destiny. About halfway through I became invested in the characters, all of them, and was eager to see how Rory managed to get out of the arranged marriage without starting another war between her home world and her Prince’s kingdom. Having become invested in the future of all the characters, and of course wondering how the villain will ultimately be dealt with after his escape, I am pleased to have the second book in this series, How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge, on my to read pile so I can find out how Rory, Jaed, Thorsdotter et al continue their adventures. So, a slow start but if the reader perseveres the read is well worth it. Recommended

Disclaimer: I received the e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse

Author: K. Eason

Book Series: The Thorne Chronicles

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: sci-fi, fairytale retellings

Publication Date: October 8, 2019

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: DAW

Pages: 416

Synopsis: Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium.

Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world.

When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.

Review: Had to DNF at 73%. The book is good, it has some great plot and world building. The book also sticks to some fairytales very well, but towards the end I guessed how the book would end (I skipped ahead and was right) and I just became uninterested in it after that point. It was a bit cliché and predictable to me.

Verdict: It’s good but not for me right now.

This was very entertaining. I am a sucker for anything fairy tale related. In a world of dark and gritty retellings, Rory Thorne is a breath of fresh air, taking on familiar fairy tale tropes with the wit, whimsy, and humor of The Princess Bride…IN SPACE!

Rory Thorne uses her fairy gifts, her intelligence, her political savvy, her arithmancy, and her physical training to skillfully protect those she loves and fight for justice, threatening the status quo in the multiverse.

I was sometimes confused by the use of arithmancy, a combination of magic and technology. I didn’t fully understand its rules, applications, and limitations, so I would’ve appreciated a little more background information at the beginning. I also thought that the tone of the story didn’t always strike the right balance between satire and more serious moments, but overall I enjoyed the book.

The sequel, How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge, publishes today (October 27, 2020), and I cannot wait to see what adventures Rory and company embark on next!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted eARCs in exchange for an honest review.

“Better to say sorry than may I.”


HOW RORY THORNE DESTROYED THE MULTIVERSE is very much The Princess Bride meets Princess Leia, and is also very much Princess Aurora meets a comedy of manners. When you add all of that together it sounds like it should be a big old mess, but what you actually get is a fun feminist space opera tale of revolution. Confused yet? Don’t be! Simply put: this book is loads of fun and filled with characters you can’t help but love.

Very rarely do I ever love every single character in a book, but I certainly had a hard time disliking any in this one, aside from the ones I was supposed to. Rory was a phenomenal young woman who was smart, capable, intelligent, and can make a mean curry. She also unwittingly started a revolution and by tale’s end, the revolution is just taking form. I’m super interested to see how that’s going to play out in the sequel, and to see who’s pushing back against it. Because everyone knows there’s always pushback with revolutions and I have a feeling Rory will probably find herself in it front and center once again.

The world Eason created was both super interesting and super fun, and I love that she chose to set her tale in space while still holding on to many of the fairytale elements that uh, don’t happen in space (my words fail me). I did find much of the universe a little confusing though, but not enough to distract me or take me out of the story.

Bottom line — this first book in the Rory Thorne duology was such a fun escape, and I’ve already moved on to book 2 which releases TODAY! I highly recommend this duology and I’ll definitely be checking out more of Eason’s works in the future. 4.5/5

*review copy received courtesy of NetGalley.

Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen magical blessings, and the oldest child in her family. She figures she will inherit and rule her parents' interplanetary corporation, but this is upended when her father is assassinated, a baby brother is born, and she's betrothed to the prince of another planet. Once there, she discovers a plot to usurp his throne, so Rory and her newly made allies have to defeat the Regent and save the prince.

This is a feminist reimagining of fairy tale tropes mixed with space opera, compared to Princess Leia entering the Princess Bride. We begin with Rory's christening, fairies giving her gifts and the thirteenth uninvited one giving her a gift that nearly amounts to a curse. From there, Rory's impetuous and truthful nature is what allows her and Ivar to avoid the bomb that the Minister of Energy uses to maneuver his way into Regency and power of the Free Worlds of Tadesh. The magic in this multiverse is arithmancy, hexes and computer languages all a function of mathematics. In this manner, anyone can learn it, and it's a question of skill and practice to get good enough to delve deep into databases and find hidden information, or plant it.

Rory is caught in political gambits; the Regent certainly doesn't want to give up power he so artfully gathered, and her presence in his orbit keeps her from being used as a political football to perpetuate a war but keeps threats around her at all times. She is following the classic hero's journey, so she has those teachers she learns from, the losses she has to find vengeance for, and the person she has to rescue. She's sixteen, still a child for all of her royal presence, and wasn't gifted with preternatural wisdom. This means she can make mistakes, get hurt, and lose gambits she tries so hard to make.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers

-To give away further plot would be to lessen the pleasure for readers

#HowRoryThorneDestroyedTheMultiverse

A first installment in a series, that will ultimately captive you. This tongue-in-check mash up is awesome coming of age story with vivid characters.
Rory Thorne a princess with fairy blessing, her life takes an incredible turn when a series of events causes her adventures to begin.
There are villains and a not so smart prince, that Rory and help of some friends, will change the course of history.

DNF @50

Really liked the start, but this book got way too weird and confusing for me. I also didn't invest in the characters, so there was nothing holding me to push through the tough parts of the book.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse was a fantastic surprise read.
This was unlike anything I’d read before but also had a familiarity to it that made it very easy to read. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I took a chance on an author I hadn't heard of, the storyline sounded like it could be interesting. There was a lot of political stuff that I always enjoy but go into wary of because I'm unsure how the author will handle it and to my surprise the context created around it made it enjoyable. The characters were fantastic and the world building was fantastic. I'd forgotten how novels written without the exclusive YA audience believe in their readers a bit more; giving them just enough information with the assumption that they can figure things out with their own intelligence and critical thinking skills. It definitely makes for a better reading experience as it makes you really get invested in the story as you try to piece together the tiny threads offered to you.

That was sort of off topic, but it still stands. This world is vast and complicated and complex and has a vast number of characters I desperately want to know more about. Eason's writing reminds me of another favorite author -Megan Whelan Turner. Smart writing, terrific turns of phrase, clever plotting and the same subtle sly sense of humor that says so much by what is unsaid!

I'm expecting the next book to be just as well written and engaging as this first one!

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is the first installment in author K. Eason's The Thorne Chronicles duology. Let's call this Princess Leia meets The Princess Bride meets Sleeping Beauty. The book combines the best of sci-fi and fantasy with a snarky heroine, fairy blessings, a galaxy-spanning adventure, and political intrigue. The tone and storytelling style (omnipresent narrator), takes a bit getting used to, but the story is worth the time it takes to read.

There had not been a daughter born in the Thorne Consortium line for ten generations, not since that first princess Talia. Curiously, since Rory is the first female born in generations, the law stipulates that the fairies should be invited to bless the child with beauty, kindness, a pure heart, quick wits, etc. This includes inviting the thirteenth fairy who cursed Rory's descendant, Talia to die on her 16th birthday. Think back to the scene in Maleficent when she showed up uninvited and cursed the baby to die on her 16th birthday. Welp, a similar thing happens here.

Except there's a twist. For the first time in 200 years, 13 fairies show up to bless baby Rory. One by one 12 fairies bestowed gifts on the Princess until we get to the 13th fairy.

"I curse you, Rory Thorne: to find no comfort in illusion or platitude, and to know truth when you hear it, no matter how well concealed by flattery, custom, or mendacity."

Not sure if that's really a curse! After all, wouldn't you love to have the ability to just know when someone is lying to your face? But then the surprise happens when the 12th, and smallest fairy of them all offers her gift:

"Here is my gift, little princess: that you will always see a path through difficulties, and that you will always find the courage to take it."

This blessing guides Rory from young princess to young woman. Rory grows from a little Princess who taught herself all about politics, tactics, and strategy, to having her world upended by the birth of her brother Jacen who suddenly becomes heir to the Consortium. At Rory's seventh birthday party, a suicide bomber kills hundreds including the visiting King Sergei Valenko of the Free Worlds of Tadesh, while also severely injuring Rory's father. Rory and the King’s son Ivar are unhurt, but the incident sends the multiverse spinning into war. After an awfully long, and drawn out war, Vernor Moss, the newly appointed Regent of the Free Worlds, and Rory’s mother, the Regent Consort, agree to marry.

They also agree, in principle, that Rory and Ivar will marry when they come of age. When she turns sixteen, Rory dutifully agrees to relocate to the space station Urse to be closer to Ivar, but Ivar is nowhere to be found. There is something very wrong going on here, and Rory isn't going to allow herself to be played like a violin. Teaming up with Moss’ younger son Jaed who isn’t anything like his father; her loyal, snarky, clever, and part cyborg body-maid Grytt, Messer Rupert aka the Vizier, and two guards, Thorsdittor and Zhang, assigned to protect her, Rory sets out to discover the truth about Ivar's absence and Vernor Moss's nefarious plans.

The villain of the story really is a cardboard cutout figure of other politically motivated characters who put their own needs ahead of the well being above those he's supposed to lead. He has ideas for Rory, and Rory must find her own path with a little help from her friends. When Rory upends the world and destroys all preconceived notions at how a Princes is supposed to act and behave, readers will enjoy the show. Rory is a self-determined heroine who uses small acts of rebellion to resist oppression, topple a government, and change the course of history. The story takes a classic fairy tale trope; fairy blessings, betrothals, warring kingdoms; and turns them on their heads.

The story also is unique in that it features mathematical formulation to get around obstacles, something all girls who are in science programs should pay attention to. I'm grateful that the publisher released both parts of this duology to me so that I can read them and review them. I look forward to seeing what happens next with Rory and her friends. I noticed a trend in this book. Both Rory's brother and Jaed's absolute deserve each other at how awful they treat their siblings.

This is big, wonderful space opera with realistic, complex characters. A fun fast-paced read that does not disappoint

This was a very interesting take on the sleeping beauty story and I liked the futuristic take with the magic. I also really enjoyed the storytelling aspect of the book.

This was really fun and the characters were like able. It brought back some nostalgic feelings to sci-fi/fantasy books I’ve read in the past. It did feel a bit too YA at times, but didn’t ruin the story for me. It was unique and intriguing.