Some books explode onto the scene with splashy campaigns, viral quotes, and thousands of ratings in a matter of days. Others move in quietly without fanfare or buzz and still end up topping the bestseller lists.
Every so often, a book manages to break the mold. It doesn’t flood your feed. It doesn’t dominate the book club chatter or ride a wave of influencers on BookTok and Bookstagram. Instead, it quietly collects readers out of sight, until the science fiction community all knows about it.
This is one of those books.
A genre-bending novel with a title too clever to ignore and a rating count that makes you question things… How does a book rack up the bestselling status on Amazon with barely a few hundred ratings online?
What happens when a story’s success isn’t driven by algorithm-friendly buzz, but by something stranger, quieter, and more powerful?
In a publishing industry obsessed with visibility, this book reminds us that sometimes the best stories are the ones we discover by accident.
Note
At the time of publishing of this article, the Amazon science fiction bestsellers list contains How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse at number 4. The list is updated frequently, therefore, it is possible that it is not on the bestseller list when you are reading it.
The Bestseller That Slipped Through The Cracks
At a glance, the title sounds like a cosmic disaster movie: How Rory Thorn Destroyed The Multiverse…
But this novel is something much more than that. It is sharp, witty, and a space-fantasy that reads like a fairy tale with political sabotage. Think of Princess Leia meets Princess Bride. How can it get any better than that?
The story centers around Rory Thorn, a royal heir born into privilege and gifted with magical insight. She is destined for a life of royalty that usually ends in marriage of alliances and diplomatic handshakes.
However, when her father is assassinated, she is betrothed to a prince in a distant star system as part of a political pact… Rory quickly discovers that there is a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne!
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The best part of this book is that Rory has an inconvenient gift. She quickly discovers that behind every throne is a tangle of power, lies, and ambition. However, her greatest weapon is not magic or might, it’s her gift of always knowing when someone is lying.
Blending the royal court drama with high-tech intrigue, the novel explores empires spanning across galaxies full of corrupt ministers, shadowy intentions, and witty dry narration.
What sets Rory Thorn apart is not just a mashup of sci-fi and fantasy elements, it’s the tone of the book. It’s both light and heavy with consequence, full of characters who surprise you and stakes that escalate faster than Rory can blink.
This is a story of maneuvering, political manipulation, and fantasy elements that blend perfectly with the science fiction genre.
K. Eason Writes At The Edge Of The Genre
She is among a list of female science fiction authors whom you just need to discover. K. Eason has a background in medieval literature and a career that delves into science fiction’s most ambitious subgenres.
It’s her academic insight and storytelling that bring something fun and gripping to every book she writes. Her background is what makes her stories so rich. She draws from myths, legends, and history, but can blend them with a modern view.
Best known for her Thorne Chronicles, which begins with this book, as well as a darker Weep series, a blend of space opera and noir. Across all of her work, Eason is able to balance humor, intelligence, and heart, which makes her work stand apart from others.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletterWhy The Low Number Of Ratings?
By most modern standards, success in publishing often comes with thousands of ratings on GoodReads and other platforms, trending hashtags, BookTok challenges, and more. However, How Rory Thorn Destroyed The Multiverse does not follow that script.
Despite its clever premise, polished writing, and an interesting blend of genres, the book has a surprisingly modest number of ratings compared to other bestsellers. So why the disconnect?
It might be hard to explain without taking a peek bending the publishing curtain, but there are a few reasons that I can think of.
The book’s positioning might be one of those factors. Rory Thorne is not easy to fully classify into a genre: It’s not fully sci-fi, it’s not fully fantasy, not entirely a political thriller, and not quite space opera. It kind of lives in the space between all of these subgenres. Books that bend genre boundaries might often struggle to find a home in bookstores and online recommendation algorithms alike.
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There is also the marketing landscape to consider. The book was released by DAW Books. DAW Books is a respected publisher in the sci-fi and fantasy genres, but it may not have received the kind of splashy rollout that drives immediate buzz. Books like these often gather an audience through a slower word of mouth. Recommendation from readers who recognize the book’s potential and just need to share it with others.
Maybe it’s time for the science fiction book community to push this book again on BookTok?
Yet, despite the lower count of ratings, Rory Thorn has found its audience nonetheless. Maybe not overnight, and maybe not by shouting from the digital rooftops, but steadily and surely across enough readers to climb the bestsellers list on Amazon.
This is a great reminder that the number of stars or ratings on a book on any major platform is not a reflection of the quality of the story and novel.
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Is It Worth Reading?
If you are drawn to stories that subvert expectations, How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse deserves a spot on your TBR list.
This novel is not about epic battles or the usual tropes. It’s a story where diplomacy is dangerous, where the truth is both a weapon and a curse, and where the heroine wins not with brute force, but with strategy and wit.
Smart, funny, and original, it’s a perfect story for readers who like their sci-fi with a side of fairy tale.
