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A review by rahul_pati
The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Legion of Flame is the second book in the Draconis Memoria trilogy. Although enjoyable, this book, I felt, suffered from being a typical middle book of a trilogy.
What's this about -
Without getting into spoilers, the future of the world is at stake. The entire human population is in danger of getting wiped out by the drakes. Our protagonists, Lizanne, Clay and Hilemore set out on different journeys to find answers to the central problem of defeating the big bad that was introduced in the first book.
What worked for me -
1) The mystery, journey, exploration and adventure that was the highlight of the first novel is once again prominent here. Although a bit tedious at times, I loved the exploratory and adventurous aspect of the story.
2) We get an additional POV character this time to show what the drakes are up to. I loved those chapters and that character's arc, showing us a glimpse of the mindset of the drakes and their powers.
3) Lizanne still remains my favourite character in the series. Her chapters and journey in this book, along with world building in those chapters were very engaging.
4) I loved the world building for the most part as it was expanded to show the inner workings, political conflicts and various factions within different places.
What didn't -
1) I felt, the book suffered from not having enough material for a trilogy. It felt stretched and deliberately holding off answers to forcefully insert a middle book.
2) Characters went on long, meandering journeys and performing one task after another only to get no definitive answers at the end of the book. The entire story here felt mostly as a set-up for the third book, which is fine, but it could've been shorter.
3) There were certain futuristic (for lack of a better word) elements introduced which felt slightly jarring to me within the original set-up of this world.
4) Developed secondary characters from the last book were mostly relegated to the background while new secondary characters were introduced who felt bland and not that fleshed out to me.
5) Once again I loved Mr. Ryan's writing style. It was an engaging read, although I wasn't too fond of the cliffhangers at the end of every other chapter.
Final thoughts -
Despite all the flaws, the book did feel like an interesting read to me and I've jumped straight into the third book.
What's this about -
Without getting into spoilers, the future of the world is at stake. The entire human population is in danger of getting wiped out by the drakes. Our protagonists, Lizanne, Clay and Hilemore set out on different journeys to find answers to the central problem of defeating the big bad that was introduced in the first book.
What worked for me -
1) The mystery, journey, exploration and adventure that was the highlight of the first novel is once again prominent here. Although a bit tedious at times, I loved the exploratory and adventurous aspect of the story.
2) We get an additional POV character this time to show what the drakes are up to. I loved those chapters and that character's arc, showing us a glimpse of the mindset of the drakes and their powers.
3) Lizanne still remains my favourite character in the series. Her chapters and journey in this book, along with world building in those chapters were very engaging.
4) I loved the world building for the most part as it was expanded to show the inner workings, political conflicts and various factions within different places.
What didn't -
1) I felt, the book suffered from not having enough material for a trilogy. It felt stretched and deliberately holding off answers to forcefully insert a middle book.
2) Characters went on long, meandering journeys and performing one task after another only to get no definitive answers at the end of the book. The entire story here felt mostly as a set-up for the third book, which is fine, but it could've been shorter.
3) There were certain futuristic (for lack of a better word) elements introduced which felt slightly jarring to me within the original set-up of this world.
4) Developed secondary characters from the last book were mostly relegated to the background while new secondary characters were introduced who felt bland and not that fleshed out to me.
5) Once again I loved Mr. Ryan's writing style. It was an engaging read, although I wasn't too fond of the cliffhangers at the end of every other chapter.
Final thoughts -
Despite all the flaws, the book did feel like an interesting read to me and I've jumped straight into the third book.