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betharanova's review against another edition
2.0
This had such a strong start. For the first two thirds, I just knew I was going to give this a higher rating and go buy the sequels. I was having fun! Heartbreaking.
The premise goes like this: dragons have built a civilization on the ancient ruins of ours. Humans live under their rule as second class citizens. A man named Bant Bitterwood, a legend among humans and a ghost story among dragons, picks too lofty a target for his vengeance, sparking a chain of events that shakes the entire kingdom. I was sold on this because I was assured it was messy. Not a clean divide of good and evil, but a collection of characters with their own motives and morals. And that is the TOP thing the author delivered on. This was an ensemble cast, and everyone wanted something different; alliances changed with circumstances; and the larger society made everything far more complicated than just 'kill evil villain.'
(To be honest, even given the rating for this particular book, I may stick with James Maxey just for that. It's so hard to find a good messy ensemble plot anymore.)
Usually, when I pick up an indie book from a con, the problem is either lack of skill or misogyny. The only thing wrong with the writing in this case was that it really could have used some breathing room: for descriptions (I still couldn't say for sure whether the dragons' wings were their arms), for dramatic moments, for character depth. And there was misogyny, but not an unbearable amount, and the main heroine largely made up for it.
No, here the problem was that there was just too much going on by the end. I knew going in that it was post-apocalyptic. But for two thirds of the book, that didn't matter! Recognizable history only existed as myths and ruins. I was just vibing with a fun fantasy book that had occasional weird interludes. When the post-apocalyptic angle finally kicked in, it did so in full science fiction swing with jarringly modern references. We pulled out ALL the stops. And... I'm not saying every part of it was objectively wrong. But having nanobots that basically worked like magic made the wizard's shenanigans less interesting, not more. Adding in Puritan androids, immortality based on limitless, kind of senseless tech, someone saying "oh, we're still in Atlanta"--it just took me out of it. Right when we were getting to the good part, too. And WHAT was with the Christianity in this book?
I was so impressed with the fact this book didn't revolve entirely around an angsty vengeance hero guy, and just how quickly I got invested in the various characters. But by the end, it felt so jumbled up that all my reactions were basically "Oh......... okay"
The premise goes like this: dragons have built a civilization on the ancient ruins of ours. Humans live under their rule as second class citizens. A man named Bant Bitterwood, a legend among humans and a ghost story among dragons, picks too lofty a target for his vengeance, sparking a chain of events that shakes the entire kingdom. I was sold on this because I was assured it was messy. Not a clean divide of good and evil, but a collection of characters with their own motives and morals. And that is the TOP thing the author delivered on. This was an ensemble cast, and everyone wanted something different; alliances changed with circumstances; and the larger society made everything far more complicated than just 'kill evil villain.'
(To be honest, even given the rating for this particular book, I may stick with James Maxey just for that. It's so hard to find a good messy ensemble plot anymore.)
Usually, when I pick up an indie book from a con, the problem is either lack of skill or misogyny. The only thing wrong with the writing in this case was that it really could have used some breathing room: for descriptions (I still couldn't say for sure whether the dragons' wings were their arms), for dramatic moments, for character depth. And there was misogyny, but not an unbearable amount, and the main heroine largely made up for it.
No, here the problem was that there was just too much going on by the end. I knew going in that it was post-apocalyptic. But for two thirds of the book, that didn't matter! Recognizable history only existed as myths and ruins. I was just vibing with a fun fantasy book that had occasional weird interludes. When the post-apocalyptic angle finally kicked in, it did so in full science fiction swing with jarringly modern references. We pulled out ALL the stops. And... I'm not saying every part of it was objectively wrong. But having nanobots that basically worked like magic made the wizard's shenanigans less interesting, not more. Adding in Puritan androids, immortality based on limitless, kind of senseless tech, someone saying "oh, we're still in Atlanta"--it just took me out of it. Right when we were getting to the good part, too. And WHAT was with the Christianity in this book?
I was so impressed with the fact this book didn't revolve entirely around an angsty vengeance hero guy, and just how quickly I got invested in the various characters. But by the end, it felt so jumbled up that all my reactions were basically "Oh......... okay"
mamap's review against another edition
2.0
an unbelievable blending of medieval style fantasy with futuristic sci-fi with just an added touch of cruelty. not bad, but not in a style of writing that i prefer.
themorrigan333's review against another edition
2.0
I think I had very high expectation of the book, I was quite curious on how the story will develop. I liked that for a change the people are not the ones pulling the strings, the dragons are. But then the whole story took a drastic turn, mixing it with SF. From that moment on, I couldn't wait to just finish the book, since I don't want to leave any book I have already started. I was quite disapointed and I doubt I will read the other books of the sequel.
dea080020's review against another edition
3.0
Delightfully odd! I appreciated the scientific backdrop because I'm a huge nerd. The heroine annoyed the crap out of me as did her pretty boy sidekick, but I enjoyed Bant Bitterwood who incidentally experienced the most development. The action was fairly well written, who doesn't love dragons?! There was only the occasional line that made me cringe. For the cost of free, this book was great. Just picked up the next book because I want to to find out what happens next (which is a rarity).
ljstrain28's review against another edition
2.0
The writing style is not for me. I don't think I'll read the next one.
availle's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly good, if you like stories with weird plot twists. This is not a standard high-fantasy world novel, do not expect one of those.
jcooper221's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning was interesting, thrust into a medieval type world, but by the end it just ruined it for me. The plot was bad, ruined even more when you realize just what's going on behind everything.
duchessnikki's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it! Dragons with brains. They sounded so beautiful. There is so much crazy stuff packed into this book that I don't even know what to say about it. I really enjoy books packed full of random, so this was right up my alley. There is plenty of action and adventure as well. Time hops around a bit. Because this whole book takes place in some kind of pretend future time I wasn't always sure when things were happening. I needed it to say "four weeks later" or "twenty years ago". The dragons seem so cool. I want a TV series made by HBO and Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
jdewar's review against another edition
5.0
What a captivating book. Really had me engrossed. Loved the writing although the violence and gore was excessive in places. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.