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A review by sipping_tea_with_ghosts
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
5.0
"Game of Thrones meets Gladiator" is a very fitting description for this book, an extremely promising and impressive debut from a new author. A well paced tale of revenge with enough context through political divide and extensive background lore to make a fully realized setting with the possibility for expansion in later books. The numerous fights, battles and descriptions of war tactics are all fleshed out without being overly indulgent in gory details or coming across as the sword and shield's equivalent to "gun porn".
The most satisfying part of this whole story was seeing the development of the main character, and if you're a sucker for protagonists who can beat the odds through witty tactics but also be a master of the sword, then you will love Tau as a main character. Even if there might be an occasion or two of you not agreeing with how he's handling things, you'll understand his struggle enough to at least still want to be along for the ride.
The ending is suspenseful and intriguing, leaving off on a grand note for the sequel coming out later this year. The story is self contained enough that you won't be asking where 17 different plot lines are going, but there are one or two elements left unresolved for the sequel, which is fine.
Only possible negatives to highlight is that this book has a LOT of fighting in it, practically a fight scene every other chapter, which might get exhausting to read for some. Like mentioned before, they're not poorly written so I didn't mind them (in fact, most of them are very well done), but it can be a pace breaker for some when they don't feel the plot is progressing enough.
The other negative is the abundance of terms you might need to consult the glossary for. Though compared to some other authors like James Islington, you won't have to jump into this section too often, the terms and lore words are used often enough to get the reader immersed and used to them fairly quickly.
Overall, a great debut with an interesting world inspired by atypical sources in the crowded fantasy genre with enough humor, valor and tragedy to keep one engaged.
Blood will show.
The most satisfying part of this whole story was seeing the development of the main character, and if you're a sucker for protagonists who can beat the odds through witty tactics but also be a master of the sword, then you will love Tau as a main character. Even if there might be an occasion or two of you not agreeing with how he's handling things, you'll understand his struggle enough to at least still want to be along for the ride.
The ending is suspenseful and intriguing, leaving off on a grand note for the sequel coming out later this year. The story is self contained enough that you won't be asking where 17 different plot lines are going, but there are one or two elements left unresolved for the sequel, which is fine.
Only possible negatives to highlight is that this book has a LOT of fighting in it, practically a fight scene every other chapter, which might get exhausting to read for some. Like mentioned before, they're not poorly written so I didn't mind them (in fact, most of them are very well done), but it can be a pace breaker for some when they don't feel the plot is progressing enough.
The other negative is the abundance of terms you might need to consult the glossary for. Though compared to some other authors like James Islington, you won't have to jump into this section too often, the terms and lore words are used often enough to get the reader immersed and used to them fairly quickly.
Overall, a great debut with an interesting world inspired by atypical sources in the crowded fantasy genre with enough humor, valor and tragedy to keep one engaged.
Blood will show.