The power of the Realms depends on its dragons. With their terrifying natures tempered by a mysterious liquid, they are ridden by the aristocracy and bred for hunting and war. But as dangerous political maneuverings threaten the empire, a single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon-returned to its full intelligence and fury-could spell disaster for the Realms...
Fantasy readers can be a bit, well, snooty about how they take their dragons (fans are rarely ambivalent about the works of George R. R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, and Naomi Novik, for instance), and Stephen Deas takes a chance by making those most misunderstood of fantasy elements the focus of his debut novel. Although Deas gives his imagination free rein in The Adamantine Palace and his short chapters (70 in a relatively brief book) keep things moving, critics call into question his world-building skills, as well as the SF/F penchant these days for trilogies, which only guarantees that nothing much will get resolved in the first installment. Still, there’s enough here to whet a fantasy reader’s appetite (the sequel, King of the Crags, is due in 2010), and we hope that experience will only make Deas stronger. Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC
Description:
The power of the Realms depends on its dragons. With their terrifying natures tempered by a mysterious liquid, they are ridden by the aristocracy and bred for hunting and war. But as dangerous political maneuverings threaten the empire, a single dragon has gone missing. And even one dragon-returned to its full intelligence and fury-could spell disaster for the Realms...
From Publishers Weekly
Deas's dragon-riding fantasy debut lumbers along as sinister Prince Jehal, called the Viper, connives, seduces, poisons, and murders his way to the throne of the Kingdom of the Endless Sea. The story only leaves well-trodden fictional ground when unique white dragon Snow begins to communicate telepathically with her handler, Kailin. Neither cuddly or companionable, dragons in this world are violent fire-breathers who have been tranquilized by alchemists and forced to serve aristocrats for war and hunting. Snow's dreams of freedom ignite her urge to incinerate humans and all their works, and she brings other dragons into her quest to destroy the alchemists forever. Played off against villainous Jehal and repetitive palace intrigues, Deas's dragons provide fitful shuddery glimpses into alien minds, a few brief fireworks in an otherwise commonplace performance. (Feb.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
Fantasy readers can be a bit, well, snooty about how they take their dragons (fans are rarely ambivalent about the works of George R. R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, and Naomi Novik, for instance), and Stephen Deas takes a chance by making those most misunderstood of fantasy elements the focus of his debut novel. Although Deas gives his imagination free rein in The Adamantine Palace and his short chapters (70 in a relatively brief book) keep things moving, critics call into question his world-building skills, as well as the SF/F penchant these days for trilogies, which only guarantees that nothing much will get resolved in the first installment. Still, there’s enough here to whet a fantasy reader’s appetite (the sequel, King of the Crags, is due in 2010), and we hope that experience will only make Deas stronger.
Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC