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adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was not ready. This is truly a masterful story with an ending I could not have guessed when while knowing how it was likely to end. I am a mess and will need some time to recover.
“Where we fight! The world burns!”
“Where we fight! The world burns!”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, War
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, War
Minor: Rape, Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
At first I didn't agree with the writing style, but the pace and the story got me going. By the end of it, I was entranced by the story, by Tau's story, by everything happening in Xiddeea. What a magnificent book! If you like fantasy books and want to read something rooted in Africanisms, go for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, War
Minor: Rape
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, War
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Colonisation, War
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked it.
This was...an interesting book. I think the first and last third were solid. I think there were way too many training sequences. But I enjoyed watching Tau's character development (if not slow and frustrating at times) and his relationships with his sword brothers grow. I loved how he was eventually able to alter the power dynamic. That was fascinating to see. Often in these epics, the main character will just be good because they were born for it. This is where Winter excels. Tau was never a great fighter, he had no passion for it, and no talent. But by pushing himself as far as he possibly could, going to new heights (and depths), he crafted and molded himself into it. That was probably the best part of this book.
I still think at least 100 pages could be cut for the training scenes.
This was...an interesting book. I think the first and last third were solid. I think there were way too many training sequences. But I enjoyed watching Tau's character development (if not slow and frustrating at times) and his relationships with his sword brothers grow. I loved how he was eventually able to alter the power dynamic. That was fascinating to see. Often in these epics, the main character will just be good because they were born for it. This is where Winter excels. Tau was never a great fighter, he had no passion for it, and no talent. But by pushing himself as far as he possibly could, going to new heights (and depths), he crafted and molded himself into it. That was probably the best part of this book.
I still think at least 100 pages could be cut for the training scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Rage of Dragons is incredible. From the first page to the last I found myself wanting to come back to this world and find out what's going to happen next. The world building is incredible. You understand the stakes of what's going on in this world and regardless of what's going on in the story, the looming threat is always a factor. The battles...the way Evan puts words together to describe the battles is surreal. There's one passage where he describes the sound of a weapon hitting a helmet and I could imagine it allas if I was right there. The main character, Tau, a beast. Every battle he gets in is as engaging as the next. Around Chapter 6 and 7, the book hits another gear and I was unable to stop reading. I finished the second half of the book in a few short hours. The chapters are broken down into smaller digestible chunks which made it easier to get through the longer chapters, especially in the beginning. There 's twists, betrayals, demons, dragons and so much more all set in a South African inspired fantasy world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, War, Classism
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Rape
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Death-begets-death again. I'm just burnt out on it. Neither the story nor characters were compelling to me. And I'm not a fan of action. This book just wasn't for me.
A particularly annoying thing with the author. He advertised his book on GoodReads as having action akin to Pierce Brown, a broad, expansive world similar to Wheel of Time, and a magic system in the vein of Sanderson. Maybe the action part is fair, but the world-building and magic here are nothing close to WoT or Sanderson for me. Maybe he's referring to later books? Whatever the case is, I think the readers should be left to make those kinds of comparisons.
A particularly annoying thing with the author. He advertised his book on GoodReads as having action akin to Pierce Brown, a broad, expansive world similar to Wheel of Time, and a magic system in the vein of Sanderson. Maybe the action part is fair, but the world-building and magic here are nothing close to WoT or Sanderson for me. Maybe he's referring to later books? Whatever the case is, I think the readers should be left to make those kinds of comparisons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
only 4 stars bc it was difficult to continue at certain points since the story is told from the POV of colonizers. i really hope that later in the series there will be some sort of acknowledgement of that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Genocide
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Epic quotes from this book:
Life is nothing more than moments in time. To achieve greatness, you have to give up those moments. You have to give your life to your goal.
The wars you'll wage, aren't decided when you fight them. They're decided before that, by the extent of your efforts, and the substance of your sacrifices.
Evan Winter might be my new favorite author! The Rage of Dragons has set a new bar, it redefines what a 5 star rating is for me. I might just go back and lower the score on my other 5 star reads.
This book is a surprising source of inspiration.It was shockingly emotional for me when Tao realized that no amount of training would bring him to his goal. That his trainer lied when he said anything was possible. Tao's response, both in words and in action, showed a level of determination I'd never before seen. When working on a challenging task, pushing myself on a hard run, or lifting heavy weights in the gym, I find myself thinking, "Would Tao quit?"
Evan Winter might be my new favorite author! The Rage of Dragons has set a new bar, it redefines what a 5 star rating is for me. I might just go back and lower the score on my other 5 star reads.
This book is a surprising source of inspiration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, War