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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I feel like I didn't read the same book as everyone else. It was GOOD, but it wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever read. I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the beginning of the book...like, a full 25% at the start. And even after I started to finally figure things out, it still wasn't all that easy to understand. I didn't fully connect with any one character. I don't know that I'll even bother with the second one because I just don't care what happens.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
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
The style of writing is great and it’s definitely an engaging story for the right person. Unfortunately, I am not that person. But if you’re interested in this story definitely give it a try!!
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Fun, Overpowered OP from a weak guy. Liked it
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Classism
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.75 stars
Firstly I want to thank @ebnovels for this book as I won my copy in a giveaway on her channel! I was happy to take on the challenge of reading this highly contested fantasy novel to see if our opinions differed.
And you know what... They didn't haha!
In The Rage of Dragons we follow Tau a boy becoming a man in a cruel war filled and socially divided world. With warriors, demons, and dragons a plenty, this world captivated me. If only the character did too.
On a mission for revenge, Tau's story takes us through a military school, battles and brings us close to death and (hesitantly I write) love. But Tau himself is a character of little growth, while his friends seems to have some depth and interest, we see little of them as Tau is painfully single minded.
And while this is inspiring in the first half of this book, I found it frustrating that even in the last lines of this book Tau refused growth. Perhaps there were moments of will power displayed but I was disappointed that after 500 pages, he was still a single minded man. This juxtaposed in his world of war, politics and death, made him feel one dimensional.
And a quick note on female characters because I found this book suffered until the last section from traditional fantasy writing, where the only female character was constantly info dumping and barely using her voice. While women are magical "leaders" in this world I got the sense from the author they did not wish to full committ to that notion. Our love interest was boring, flat and "all powerful" but with little follow through. It was disappointing.
And while I rated this book lower, I didn't hate the experience, I think it's good to read things that reach outside of your comfortzone to learn more about your taste.
So perhaps come this time next year I'll be ready to pick up the sequel as I have been told it shows growth and depth and develops the side characters I was interested in.
As this is my first book finished of 2021 I wanted to say happy reading friends, may this year be one of many 5 stars!!
Firstly I want to thank @ebnovels for this book as I won my copy in a giveaway on her channel! I was happy to take on the challenge of reading this highly contested fantasy novel to see if our opinions differed.
And you know what... They didn't haha!
In The Rage of Dragons we follow Tau a boy becoming a man in a cruel war filled and socially divided world. With warriors, demons, and dragons a plenty, this world captivated me. If only the character did too.
On a mission for revenge, Tau's story takes us through a military school, battles and brings us close to death and (hesitantly I write) love. But Tau himself is a character of little growth, while his friends seems to have some depth and interest, we see little of them as Tau is painfully single minded.
And while this is inspiring in the first half of this book, I found it frustrating that even in the last lines of this book Tau refused growth. Perhaps there were moments of will power displayed but I was disappointed that after 500 pages, he was still a single minded man. This juxtaposed in his world of war, politics and death, made him feel one dimensional.
And a quick note on female characters because I found this book suffered until the last section from traditional fantasy writing, where the only female character was constantly info dumping and barely using her voice. While women are magical "leaders" in this world I got the sense from the author they did not wish to full committ to that notion. Our love interest was boring, flat and "all powerful" but with little follow through. It was disappointing.
And while I rated this book lower, I didn't hate the experience, I think it's good to read things that reach outside of your comfortzone to learn more about your taste.
So perhaps come this time next year I'll be ready to pick up the sequel as I have been told it shows growth and depth and develops the side characters I was interested in.
As this is my first book finished of 2021 I wanted to say happy reading friends, may this year be one of many 5 stars!!
This book really deserves 2.5 stars, but since Goodreads only gives me the option of giving it 2 or 3 stars, I'll be nice and say 3.
I had a lot of high expectations going into this book, which is honestly something I should stop doing—things tend to let me down when I get high hopes for them, with only a few rare exceptions (looking at you, Leigh Bardugo). Needless to say, those expectations were not met. At all. It is unusual for a book with so many 5 star reviews on Goodreads to disappoint me this badly, but I guess there is a first time for everything.
THE RAGE OF DRAGONS is advertised as a cross between GAME OF THRONES and THE GLADIATOR. The GoT comparison certainly holds; but not the books—the show, and if I had to compare it to seasons, I'd say the latter 2-3 seasons. So, in other words, not good. RAGE lacks anything of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE's political intrigue, opting instead for the senseless battles and dragon fire that dominated the television adaptation's final episodes. One can almost imagine the CGI when reading the book. There is also (and I never thought I would say this) simply too much action. It's excessive to the point that I could only read this book in small sessions because it was exhausting keeping up with all of the fighting.
RAGE is also told in multiple POVs like ICE AND FIRE, but while George R. R. Martin knows how to give his characters a considerable amount of depth through an even blend of action, dialogue, and world-building, Evan Winter instead falls back on tired old tropes and really cheesy, almost anime-like dialogue. And when I say tired old tropes, I mean that this story is basically your standard "farm boy goes on a quest to get revenge for his murdered mother and father" type of tired. It also features "the Chosen One" quite literally in the form of The Chosen, outcasts from their homeland with insanely broken and OP magic (and dragons!) who make up the core of this book's cast. This overpowered nature extends to the book's protagonist, who was so ridiculously OP by the end of the book, I found myself laughing through parts of the end.
I think the biggest disappointment for me, though, was the worldbuilding. This book is supposed to be an African-inspired fantasy, which is a breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by fantasy reimaginings of medieval England. The problem? When Winter remembers he's writing African-inspired fantasy, he really lays it on thick, beating the reader over the head with a variety of languages and terms inspired by those spoken on the African continent, but without providing context or meaning to what these words are in his world. This can be real headscratching for the uninitiated. Compounding the problem is the fact that Winter frequently forgets he is writing IN an African-inspired fantasy world. RAGE is full of your standard tropy medieval English fantasy, right down to the dragons, which are clearly of the European variety. This crisis of identity makes it really hard to immerse yourself in Winter's world.
So, what good can I say about it? The writing is pretty. In fact, I dare say, if Winter cleaned up his dialogue a bit (that is to say, make his characters sound and talk like actual people instead of DRAGON BALL Z characters), his writing would be some of the best I've seen. But that's about it. It was a real struggle to get through this book the further I went in, and I nearly DNF'd it about three times. Glad for it to be over.
I had a lot of high expectations going into this book, which is honestly something I should stop doing—things tend to let me down when I get high hopes for them, with only a few rare exceptions (looking at you, Leigh Bardugo). Needless to say, those expectations were not met. At all. It is unusual for a book with so many 5 star reviews on Goodreads to disappoint me this badly, but I guess there is a first time for everything.
THE RAGE OF DRAGONS is advertised as a cross between GAME OF THRONES and THE GLADIATOR. The GoT comparison certainly holds; but not the books—the show, and if I had to compare it to seasons, I'd say the latter 2-3 seasons. So, in other words, not good. RAGE lacks anything of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE's political intrigue, opting instead for the senseless battles and dragon fire that dominated the television adaptation's final episodes. One can almost imagine the CGI when reading the book. There is also (and I never thought I would say this) simply too much action. It's excessive to the point that I could only read this book in small sessions because it was exhausting keeping up with all of the fighting.
RAGE is also told in multiple POVs like ICE AND FIRE, but while George R. R. Martin knows how to give his characters a considerable amount of depth through an even blend of action, dialogue, and world-building, Evan Winter instead falls back on tired old tropes and really cheesy, almost anime-like dialogue. And when I say tired old tropes, I mean that this story is basically your standard "farm boy goes on a quest to get revenge for his murdered mother and father" type of tired. It also features "the Chosen One" quite literally in the form of The Chosen, outcasts from their homeland with insanely broken and OP magic (and dragons!) who make up the core of this book's cast. This overpowered nature extends to the book's protagonist, who was so ridiculously OP by the end of the book, I found myself laughing through parts of the end.
I think the biggest disappointment for me, though, was the worldbuilding. This book is supposed to be an African-inspired fantasy, which is a breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by fantasy reimaginings of medieval England. The problem? When Winter remembers he's writing African-inspired fantasy, he really lays it on thick, beating the reader over the head with a variety of languages and terms inspired by those spoken on the African continent, but without providing context or meaning to what these words are in his world. This can be real headscratching for the uninitiated. Compounding the problem is the fact that Winter frequently forgets he is writing IN an African-inspired fantasy world. RAGE is full of your standard tropy medieval English fantasy, right down to the dragons, which are clearly of the European variety. This crisis of identity makes it really hard to immerse yourself in Winter's world.
So, what good can I say about it? The writing is pretty. In fact, I dare say, if Winter cleaned up his dialogue a bit (that is to say, make his characters sound and talk like actual people instead of DRAGON BALL Z characters), his writing would be some of the best I've seen. But that's about it. It was a real struggle to get through this book the further I went in, and I nearly DNF'd it about three times. Glad for it to be over.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced