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beckylbrydon's review against another edition
4.0
A dragon is hidden as a man for thousands of years, when suddenly something changes in the law that binds him and other Remenants leading to an earthquake of chaos in the mythical world around us....
It brilliantly interweves history, myth and the modern day leaving you wanting to know what happens next. The only thing I'd say against it is that it can get a bit hung up on the details, with long pages of exposition about a characters feelings or what they see around them. So at times I got a bit distracted when reading these parts, but the wording is very eloquent at the same time and really sweeps you into the story.
It brilliantly interweves history, myth and the modern day leaving you wanting to know what happens next. The only thing I'd say against it is that it can get a bit hung up on the details, with long pages of exposition about a characters feelings or what they see around them. So at times I got a bit distracted when reading these parts, but the wording is very eloquent at the same time and really sweeps you into the story.
carolyn0613's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. The story was funny and fast. It's not great literature but very enjoyable and entertaining. I would recommend it for fans of light fantasy.
tamcait's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
fantasyfunk's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars for Chasing Embers. Maybe 2.5 for the ending.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I ended up actually liking it. The premise seemed so interesting and I loved the idea of a shape-shifting dragon-man as the main character. Unfortunately it never lived up to everything I wanted for it.
As much as I liked the idea for Ben Garston, I never really connected with the character. I never felt his emotions. I didn't gasp when he was put in danger or worry about what was going to happen next. His motivations just seemed pretty shallow, and I don't mean in a "save the pretty girl" way, but just without depth and nuance. I can understand them but they didn't come alive for me.
The thing I struggled with most, however, was all the info-dumping. This world is complex and layered but almost too much so, or at least too much for the first book. There's all kinds of magical creatures, a backstory history with the Fae, a Pact, a Guild, witches, lots of British and dragon history... honestly the list could go on and on. While I love a good complex world, I love to explore it. I love all of these things unfolding as we go. I love to learn what I need to know, guess at the connections and depth to everything, and enjoy the reveals. I don't love pages and pages of worldbuilding vomit. I found myself skimming these a lot which is unfortunate. I don't think they're bad ideas even but it was just too much for a fairly short book. A 1000 pages of epic fantasy, sure. 300 pages of urban fantasy? Probably not.
Plus to top this all off, the main plotline deals heavily with Egyptian mythology. My mind was just blown trying to keep everything straight. I would have loved a book dealing with just understanding this world. An intro book almost before getting more complex and adding more layers to what there already was. Again, not that the Egyptian plot wasn't interesting, but there was just too much. It almost felt like the meat of the story was lost because of the time and space given to telling about everything.
The ending did pick up for me as everything really started to come to a head. There was more action and less reveal-dumps as we'd finally gotten through everything the author wanted to tell. I might look into the next books, because I do like the world; I just didn't like how revealing it was handled.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I ended up actually liking it. The premise seemed so interesting and I loved the idea of a shape-shifting dragon-man as the main character. Unfortunately it never lived up to everything I wanted for it.
As much as I liked the idea for Ben Garston, I never really connected with the character. I never felt his emotions. I didn't gasp when he was put in danger or worry about what was going to happen next. His motivations just seemed pretty shallow, and I don't mean in a "save the pretty girl" way, but just without depth and nuance. I can understand them but they didn't come alive for me.
The thing I struggled with most, however, was all the info-dumping. This world is complex and layered but almost too much so, or at least too much for the first book. There's all kinds of magical creatures, a backstory history with the Fae, a Pact, a Guild, witches, lots of British and dragon history... honestly the list could go on and on. While I love a good complex world, I love to explore it. I love all of these things unfolding as we go. I love to learn what I need to know, guess at the connections and depth to everything, and enjoy the reveals. I don't love pages and pages of worldbuilding vomit. I found myself skimming these a lot which is unfortunate. I don't think they're bad ideas even but it was just too much for a fairly short book. A 1000 pages of epic fantasy, sure. 300 pages of urban fantasy? Probably not.
Plus to top this all off, the main plotline deals heavily with Egyptian mythology. My mind was just blown trying to keep everything straight. I would have loved a book dealing with just understanding this world. An intro book almost before getting more complex and adding more layers to what there already was. Again, not that the Egyptian plot wasn't interesting, but there was just too much. It almost felt like the meat of the story was lost because of the time and space given to telling about everything.
The ending did pick up for me as everything really started to come to a head. There was more action and less reveal-dumps as we'd finally gotten through everything the author wanted to tell. I might look into the next books, because I do like the world; I just didn't like how revealing it was handled.
raeanne's review against another edition
3.0
Before I get into the meat of the story, let me address the gristle writing style. It will either be hated or tolerated. The low star/DNF reviews I've seen are due to this issue. For me, it made the book slow, especially to start.
Then it either fades into the background like static or I start sliding over the abundance of wordy descriptions. Especially when it starts repeating phenomena...Although it can be beautiful when talking about dragons, IMHO.
So, first recommendation: preview it online or in the store before buying to test out the writing. For some egregious examples, you can and should check out other reviews but seeing it in context is always best.
Secondly, Ben is not a hero. Hell, he's not even pleasant most of the time. Part of it is the typical alpha dude and the other is the older than dirt aspect. He's also pathetic in the beginning, moping about, dragging his wings around.
Ben also likes to think he looks like a movie star, is a possessive sexist pig, and has psychological scars deeper than the Mariana Trench. What makes all that work is unraveling the mystery behind his past mistakes he's lamenting while trying to unfuck his present relationship as the magical world starts revolting against humans.
He's got quite a human fetish, which makes a lot more sense when you find out his origins. Despite all these problems, I kept reading because holy shit is there a lot of players and unique worldbuilding and plotting.
He's not my favorite dragon ever, but he's well-done, flawed, and gets better.
I love all the mythology from around the world included, especially the non-Eurocentric. I adore the Land of Punt mythology and how current events were evoked. It takes “the past was literally magical” head on instead of ignoring big problems often overlooked.
Instead of just ignoring it or "no one knows at all" kind of BS, we learn from Ben eventually how the world was before humans, who made it that way, what happened to make it change, how they survived and why it's changing again now.
It of course takes a long damn time to get there and Ben can be obtuse. However, with the different parties, action, and pacing of bread crumbs, I was hooked. I will be continuing the series and am hoping the next one won't feel so slow since the foundation has been laid, the ramp to follow for some sick turns is ready to go.
FYI: I've never read any of the authors mentioned in the blurb or back of the book, though several I plan on reading so no comment on that score.
Then it either fades into the background like static or I start sliding over the abundance of wordy descriptions. Especially when it starts repeating phenomena...Although it can be beautiful when talking about dragons, IMHO.
So, first recommendation: preview it online or in the store before buying to test out the writing. For some egregious examples, you can and should check out other reviews but seeing it in context is always best.
Secondly, Ben is not a hero. Hell, he's not even pleasant most of the time. Part of it is the typical alpha dude and the other is the older than dirt aspect. He's also pathetic in the beginning, moping about, dragging his wings around.
Ben also likes to think he looks like a movie star, is a possessive sexist pig, and has psychological scars deeper than the Mariana Trench. What makes all that work is unraveling the mystery behind his past mistakes he's lamenting while trying to unfuck his present relationship as the magical world starts revolting against humans.
He's got quite a human fetish, which makes a lot more sense when you find out his origins. Despite all these problems, I kept reading because holy shit is there a lot of players and unique worldbuilding and plotting.
He's not my favorite dragon ever, but he's well-done, flawed, and gets better.
I love all the mythology from around the world included, especially the non-Eurocentric. I adore the Land of Punt mythology and how current events were evoked. It takes “the past was literally magical” head on instead of ignoring big problems often overlooked.
Instead of just ignoring it or "no one knows at all" kind of BS, we learn from Ben eventually how the world was before humans, who made it that way, what happened to make it change, how they survived and why it's changing again now.
It of course takes a long damn time to get there and Ben can be obtuse. However, with the different parties, action, and pacing of bread crumbs, I was hooked. I will be continuing the series and am hoping the next one won't feel so slow since the foundation has been laid, the ramp to follow for some sick turns is ready to go.
FYI: I've never read any of the authors mentioned in the blurb or back of the book, though several I plan on reading so no comment on that score.
themadnessofsam's review against another edition
3.0
I'll probably read the next book. but not right now
shelbymarie32's review against another edition
4.0
I disagree with my review from 2016. I liked this a lot more than I did six years ago. And even though I criticized the writing this book has popped in and out of my head over the years and after rereading it I really like the writing. This is an interesting and fun book.
driedfrogpills's review against another edition
3.0
Chasing Embers feels like reading three different books in one: you've got the urban fantasy angle, with legendary creatures living alongside an ignorant humanity; you've got the magical past backstory complete with centuries-old grudge match; and you've got the Egyptian/North African history, now with more dragons.
The thing is, just one of these stories would have been cool, and I know this is the first book in a series so there's a lot of world-building that has to go into it. But at times I felt like I was getting whiplash from all the different plot lines and elements. There's a way to do it cleanly in fantasy fiction - I'm just not sure Bennett quite hit the mark.
That said, I liked our mainman dragon Ben. He had a noir detective air to him that for me made me feel his age. Which I can appreciate, dealing with a character that is supposed to be centuries old. A lot of the supporting cast are also equally awesome and complex, and the ending did have some very satisfying parts to it. Though I could have done without the Rose romantic subplot, because their relationship just felt so fake.
The writing could be a little less purple-prosy, but after a while I kind of started ignoring it. And to be honest, I'll probably try to pick up the second book whenever it gets published, because I'm a sucker for dragons.
The thing is, just one of these stories would have been cool, and I know this is the first book in a series so there's a lot of world-building that has to go into it. But at times I felt like I was getting whiplash from all the different plot lines and elements. There's a way to do it cleanly in fantasy fiction - I'm just not sure Bennett quite hit the mark.
That said, I liked our main
The writing could be a little less purple-prosy, but after a while I kind of started ignoring it. And to be honest, I'll probably try to pick up the second book whenever it gets published, because I'm a sucker for dragons.
csdaley's review against another edition
2.0
I honestly wanted to like this book but it really ultimately didn't work for me. The writing was fine but I just didn't care. Maybe my urban fantasy cup has filled up. I will not be reading the next one.