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Song of Dragons #1
Blood of Requiem
A new epic fantasy series begins. Song of Dragons tells a story of blood, steel, and dragonfire.
BOOK ONE: BLOOD OF REQUIEM
Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky.
But Dies Irae, a tyrant leading an army of griffins, hunted Requiem's people, burned their forests, and shattered their temples. Requiem fell. This ancient land now lies in ruin, its halls crumbled, its cries silenced, its skeletons littering the burned earth.
In the wilderness, a scattering of survivors lives in hiding. The griffins still hunt them, and every day promises death. Will Requiem's last children perish in exile... or once more become dragons and fly to war?
BOOK ONE: BLOOD OF REQUIEM
Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky.
But Dies Irae, a tyrant leading an army of griffins, hunted Requiem's people, burned their forests, and shattered their temples. Requiem fell. This ancient land now lies in ruin, its halls crumbled, its cries silenced, its skeletons littering the burned earth.
In the wilderness, a scattering of survivors lives in hiding. The griffins still hunt them, and every day promises death. Will Requiem's last children perish in exile... or once more become dragons and fly to war?
312 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2011
525 people are currently reading
3501 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Arenson
148 books877 followersDaniel Arenson is a bookworm, proud geek, and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. His novels have sold over a million copies. The Huffington Post has called his writing "full of soul." He's written over forty novels, most of them in five series:
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews
October 29, 2011
I really, really wanted to like Blood of Requiem. Really. I respect Daniel Arenson and sort of know him through different online indie writer communities. His books have gorgeous cover art, and from his comments, I know he's a consummate professional.
Burt, beyond that, Blood of Requiem has weredragons. Seriously, how cool is that?
So, I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it really wasn't my cup of tea. I prefer character driven novels with a certain realism to them. That wasn't Blood of Requiem.
There's a lot of action in Blood of Requiem. I got about sixty percent of the way through it, and I'm going to guess seventy percent of that is a battle, a chase, or the lead bad guy remembering raping/torturing or actually raping/torturing someone. Character and plot development are rather thin on the ground.
The lead bad guy, Dies Irae, is EVIL! And in case we didn't get the idea when we found out he's personally responsible for the almost eradication of an entire species, he's also a serial raping sadist. And we get to spend some time in his head, enjoying the rape and torture of innocents. They are distinctly uncomfortable scenes. Very well written scenes, evocative of pure evil, but not exactly comfortable reading. Not to say that they are especially graphic, this isn't The Human Centipede, but it's still a lot more rape than I want to deal with in my fiction.
I like my bad guys at least vaguely realistic. In the case of evil overlords, that means the evil overlord has to provide some level of value to his people, or else he doesn't get to be the evil overlord for very long. Absolute psychopaths can only rule by fear alone for so long (history seems to indicate this is about three years) before someone kills them. Dies Irae has been ruling for ten years, and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere anytime soon.
Put more plainly: if you want to maintain control, you've got to keep the nobles happy. Keeping them so afraid that they won't look you in the eye for fear of being eaten alive by baby griffins (No, that's not hyperbole; that scene is in the book.) is unlikely to produce happy nobles. What it's likely to produce is poison in your cup, a troop of 'loyal' soldiers who put blades in your back, and if that doesn't work, outright insurrection.
Irae came to power through a civil war, which begs another question: how bad were things before? The 'good guys' were the previous rulers. They, for obvious reasons, have a very romantic view of their past life, but still, part of running a successful coup involves making sure that your nobles are better off now than they were before. With constant rape, indiscriminate torture, and years of bloody war, unless things were really bad before, I'm not seeing the nobles going along with this.
I also like it when the characters don't heal up like Wile E. Coyote. With all the action in this book, obviously people get hurt: often and badly. But, within a matter of minutes (occasionally hours) they're back up and fighting. And while I can understand that once or twice in extreme circumstances, this happens over and over. Maybe, at some point in the book after I stopped reading, we learn that there's a horde of clerics casting healing spells, but as of the point where I stopped, I had to assume that everyone involved had Wolverine-level healing powers, but no one mentions it as out of the ordinary. The main characters are all Vir Requis (weredragons) so maybe the super healing speed is part of that, but since all but these six Vir Requis were slaughtered in combat, apparently super speedy healing is not a race trait.
So, Blood of Requiem didn't do it for me. It's well written in a visual sense. If you want to know what everything looks like, this is a great book. If you love action-packed books with absolutely despicable villains, this one might be for you. But by half-way in, I had to give up. I didn't want to spend anymore time in Dies Irae's head. It's too dark, too painful a place. I didn't want to go on another chase. I'd already been on more than I could count. I didn't want to watch another rape. One would have been more than enough, and I was way past one by sixty percent in. I skimmed ahead to the end, reading bits and pieces, and saw that the book wasn't going to change. It wasn't suddenly going to become character driven or realistic. So, I put it aside.
Burt, beyond that, Blood of Requiem has weredragons. Seriously, how cool is that?
So, I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it really wasn't my cup of tea. I prefer character driven novels with a certain realism to them. That wasn't Blood of Requiem.
There's a lot of action in Blood of Requiem. I got about sixty percent of the way through it, and I'm going to guess seventy percent of that is a battle, a chase, or the lead bad guy remembering raping/torturing or actually raping/torturing someone. Character and plot development are rather thin on the ground.
The lead bad guy, Dies Irae, is EVIL! And in case we didn't get the idea when we found out he's personally responsible for the almost eradication of an entire species, he's also a serial raping sadist. And we get to spend some time in his head, enjoying the rape and torture of innocents. They are distinctly uncomfortable scenes. Very well written scenes, evocative of pure evil, but not exactly comfortable reading. Not to say that they are especially graphic, this isn't The Human Centipede, but it's still a lot more rape than I want to deal with in my fiction.
I like my bad guys at least vaguely realistic. In the case of evil overlords, that means the evil overlord has to provide some level of value to his people, or else he doesn't get to be the evil overlord for very long. Absolute psychopaths can only rule by fear alone for so long (history seems to indicate this is about three years) before someone kills them. Dies Irae has been ruling for ten years, and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere anytime soon.
Put more plainly: if you want to maintain control, you've got to keep the nobles happy. Keeping them so afraid that they won't look you in the eye for fear of being eaten alive by baby griffins (No, that's not hyperbole; that scene is in the book.) is unlikely to produce happy nobles. What it's likely to produce is poison in your cup, a troop of 'loyal' soldiers who put blades in your back, and if that doesn't work, outright insurrection.
Irae came to power through a civil war, which begs another question: how bad were things before? The 'good guys' were the previous rulers. They, for obvious reasons, have a very romantic view of their past life, but still, part of running a successful coup involves making sure that your nobles are better off now than they were before. With constant rape, indiscriminate torture, and years of bloody war, unless things were really bad before, I'm not seeing the nobles going along with this.
I also like it when the characters don't heal up like Wile E. Coyote. With all the action in this book, obviously people get hurt: often and badly. But, within a matter of minutes (occasionally hours) they're back up and fighting. And while I can understand that once or twice in extreme circumstances, this happens over and over. Maybe, at some point in the book after I stopped reading, we learn that there's a horde of clerics casting healing spells, but as of the point where I stopped, I had to assume that everyone involved had Wolverine-level healing powers, but no one mentions it as out of the ordinary. The main characters are all Vir Requis (weredragons) so maybe the super healing speed is part of that, but since all but these six Vir Requis were slaughtered in combat, apparently super speedy healing is not a race trait.
So, Blood of Requiem didn't do it for me. It's well written in a visual sense. If you want to know what everything looks like, this is a great book. If you love action-packed books with absolutely despicable villains, this one might be for you. But by half-way in, I had to give up. I didn't want to spend anymore time in Dies Irae's head. It's too dark, too painful a place. I didn't want to go on another chase. I'd already been on more than I could count. I didn't want to watch another rape. One would have been more than enough, and I was way past one by sixty percent in. I skimmed ahead to the end, reading bits and pieces, and saw that the book wasn't going to change. It wasn't suddenly going to become character driven or realistic. So, I put it aside.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2012
This is a very tedious read with no real character development and very poor dialogue. The main characters are magically fine hours after intense battles and although the plot moves quickly, the characters are one-note. I don't understand the character names either - as a theologian I get what the names actually mean, but they are oddly used as character names and make the book feel forced in any message the author is trying to convey.
March 25, 2017
Read a trilogy (part 1 of 3)
3 stars.
This novel started out strong but began to fizzle a bit toward the middle. Despite that fact, however, I own the rest of the series and will be continuing on soon. I'd definitely like to see how the series ends and am invested enough that I am excited about it. There are a lot of unique, interesting, and good things to say about this novel, but there are also a lot of things I didn't care for so much. In terms of high fantasy, this book has been recommended for lovers of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Game of Thrones series. Now, I have never read GoT nor have I watched the show, but a lot of friends of mine have, and from what I've gathered from their reviews, this book is not at all comparable to that series, nor is it (IMO) to LotR. There are so many entanglements in both series, so much deep characterization, different and interesting plotlines, war strategies, alliances and political intrigue, missteps and mistrust, shaky agreements, personal conflicts. Both those series are deeply rendered, carefully constructed, and very well thought out.
This is not.
In fact, there were times when this read like a YA novel, and times when it didn't. There were much heftier themes present here than in the typical YA fare, but it was simplistic, characters were for the most part only one or two sided, and the whole thing was kind of predictable. The good guys were always good, the bad guys were always evil. There were no shades of grey. And in my opinion, that's why this book fizzled for me. Because in the best fantasy, all characters falter on that line between light and dark. Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars. Even Voldemort in the Harry Potter series who pretty much epitomizes pure evil is so multifaceted. Even though he is wicked, repugnant, sadistic, there were moments in that series when the reader felt sorry for him. He had raw moments, horrific memories, and there were so many dimensions to him that at the very least, you could understand why he became that way. The antagonist in this series is just bad. And really only one reason is given for why. It is my opinion that people are more complicated than that.
The premise of the novel is very interesting. The people of Requiem are shifters, an ancient people who call themselves Vir Requis. They shift into dragons. Each dragon has its own weapons, strengths, weaknesses, colors, and size. A lot of it has to do with genetics and whatever clan the dragon belongs. Royalty are usually black, large, and dominant, while the queen's lineage shifts into silvery, lithe, and quick beasts. I thought a lot of time and care was taken to create a very successful world. In fact, world building is one of this book's biggest strengths. If only characterization was as well-rendered.
The Vir Requis are a dying race and only a handful remain after a ruthless tyrant named Dies Irae wiped them out. Dies Irae is the firstborn son of Requiem's king but lacks the ability to shift. This has turned him evil and he vows to wipe the race off the map. He finds a way to control the griffin race, powerful creatures which have the body of a lion but the face and claws of eagles. They bend to Dies Irae's command and do their part in wiping out the dragons. Ten years after the war, the remaining Vir Requis come out of hiding to try and reclaim their fallen kingdom of Requiem.
The whole thing reminded me a little of this
Especially since Dies Irae's brother, King Benedictus definitely reminds me of Leonidas and Dies Irae really reminded me of Xerxes. Benedictus was probably the most dynamic character of the bunch and he was by far my favorite. Benedictus's wife Lacrimosa was second, though she could stand to have a little more growth potential. His daughter Agnus Dei and his adopted son Kyrie Eleison were not nearly as well-rounded or deep and I am hoping that changes in future books. Benedictus's other daughter Gloriae was kidnapped by Dies Irae when she was three years old and raised as his own. She has become a powerful shield maiden and has the same hate as Dies Irae running through her veins. Gloriae was by far my least favorite character as she was completely one-sided, uninteresting, and underdeveloped. I really hope this author does more to fix that in the next installment, particularly because she will become a more central figure in book 2.
This author does write well and his voice is almost lyrical. I appreciated his words, and only hoped that more depth was given to the story. A lot of it became redundant, and though there was a lot of action, it got boring because ultimately nothing happened. The protagonists are on their way to becoming dynamic, but I don't think they are quite there yet. I love the idea of were dragons and as I haven't seen them before in anything I've read, I give this author a lot of kudos for creativity.
This book is definitely a solid three stars, sitting right in the middle of the pack for me. I think there is a ton of potential here and a lot of great ideas, but unfortunately for me, the book read as a little pedestrian. Here's to hoping book 2 improves.
November 10, 2014
This book looked promising, really. The whole idea of shape-shifting were-dragons was, I admit, quite tantalizing to me. Alas, poor execution drove it into the ground.
Two of the biggest problems with this book is that the plot often seems to lack direction, and is very repetitive. I mean our main characters (without giving too much away for anybody who hasn't read it) simply spend most of their time doing nothing other than running away from their enemies in an aimless manner. There's no goal or point to their actions and no real meaning to many of their decisions. The book has moments where it almost felt as though the author had lost his heading for a bit.
The characters are... I'm not quite sure how to describe them really. The main character is an idiot boy without a thimble-full of sense between his ears, one of the other mains (again trying to withhold spoilers) is a sour, old idiot who acts in such a manner simply for the sake of it. Another one of the supporting lead characters who is female (she comes in a little later) does nothing more than weep in almost EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER for some reason or other. The villain is too unrealistic, always telling the reader about the history of what's passed by having cruel flashbacks that are told in a very unrealistic way. And by unrealistic I mean the way in which the author makes his characters talk to themselves in their minds is not how people (ancient or otherwise) talk to themselves. It sounds something like this:
As she flew over lakes and mountains, she couldn't shake the memories that haunted her: "He raped me all those years ago," she thought. "He forced me in the halls of the dragons... in the Halls of Requiem. I will have my vengeance upon him. I will have my vengeance on Mo'Kahl! He will feel my claws. He will learn to fear my teeth. I am a Vir-Requis, a noble beast of old. He will feel my fury. He will pay."
And this is how they ALL talk to themselves, heroes and villains alike. But hey, I could just be being stingy as far as that goes.
This, coupled with the times when the characters (good or evil) made some foolish decision for no other reason than to prolong the book or to try and make something that made no sense make sense, forced me to rate this book in such a manner. I actually would give it one and a half stars (for the sake of the overall idea of shape-shifting human-dragons) but Goodreads won't let me. Hmph.
Two of the biggest problems with this book is that the plot often seems to lack direction, and is very repetitive. I mean our main characters (without giving too much away for anybody who hasn't read it) simply spend most of their time doing nothing other than running away from their enemies in an aimless manner. There's no goal or point to their actions and no real meaning to many of their decisions. The book has moments where it almost felt as though the author had lost his heading for a bit.
The characters are... I'm not quite sure how to describe them really. The main character is an idiot boy without a thimble-full of sense between his ears, one of the other mains (again trying to withhold spoilers) is a sour, old idiot who acts in such a manner simply for the sake of it. Another one of the supporting lead characters who is female (she comes in a little later) does nothing more than weep in almost EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER for some reason or other. The villain is too unrealistic, always telling the reader about the history of what's passed by having cruel flashbacks that are told in a very unrealistic way. And by unrealistic I mean the way in which the author makes his characters talk to themselves in their minds is not how people (ancient or otherwise) talk to themselves. It sounds something like this:
As she flew over lakes and mountains, she couldn't shake the memories that haunted her: "He raped me all those years ago," she thought. "He forced me in the halls of the dragons... in the Halls of Requiem. I will have my vengeance upon him. I will have my vengeance on Mo'Kahl! He will feel my claws. He will learn to fear my teeth. I am a Vir-Requis, a noble beast of old. He will feel my fury. He will pay."
And this is how they ALL talk to themselves, heroes and villains alike. But hey, I could just be being stingy as far as that goes.
This, coupled with the times when the characters (good or evil) made some foolish decision for no other reason than to prolong the book or to try and make something that made no sense make sense, forced me to rate this book in such a manner. I actually would give it one and a half stars (for the sake of the overall idea of shape-shifting human-dragons) but Goodreads won't let me. Hmph.
May 9, 2012
I wasn't going to write a review because I dont really like leaving bad ones... but the reviews here on GoodReads totally led me astray this time and I want to help prevent somebody else from doing the same as me! The product description on Amazon invites comparison to GRR Martin's A Game of Thrones, so I will a little too.
The only similarities I could see: both fantasy novels, both have dragons, and both have multiple perspectives on the story. The similarities, for me, end there.
What delights me about the Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones series is the complexity of characters. Even the bad guys (usually) have some sort of redeeming quality. Some reason for them to rule. In this book, the main bad guy is just horrible. The story tells us that he was made horrible by his abandonment as a kid, which is beaten into your head again and again. But it is never explained why others follow the big bad.
The Song of Ice and Fire series also has more nuance in family secrets. Do I know who GRR Martin's Jon Snow's parents really are, 5 books in? No. Do I delight in trying to figure it out? Yes! Was I a little disappointed when this story revealed the big secrets in the first 10%. Yes!
Beyond the Game of Thrones comparisons, this story had potential but the prose was somewhat disappointing. I don't see myself reading any other books in this series or by this author.
The only similarities I could see: both fantasy novels, both have dragons, and both have multiple perspectives on the story. The similarities, for me, end there.
What delights me about the Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones series is the complexity of characters. Even the bad guys (usually) have some sort of redeeming quality. Some reason for them to rule. In this book, the main bad guy is just horrible. The story tells us that he was made horrible by his abandonment as a kid, which is beaten into your head again and again. But it is never explained why others follow the big bad.
The Song of Ice and Fire series also has more nuance in family secrets. Do I know who GRR Martin's Jon Snow's parents really are, 5 books in? No. Do I delight in trying to figure it out? Yes! Was I a little disappointed when this story revealed the big secrets in the first 10%. Yes!
Beyond the Game of Thrones comparisons, this story had potential but the prose was somewhat disappointing. I don't see myself reading any other books in this series or by this author.
August 22, 2021
Flat: that's the word that comes to mind.
EDIT: No, I didn't finish it.
EDIT: No, I didn't finish it.
January 12, 2021
Content: Extreme
Adult Series
Adult Series
May 29, 2011
Lyrical but tedious
The first thing that struck me about Blood of Requiem was the majestic prose. It catches you right from the start and grabs your attention. There’s some powerful wordcraft at work here. Unfortunately the characters and story don’t fulfill the promise made by the strong prologue. The flow of Daniel Arenson’s writing is wonderful, and his descriptions are solid, but most of the characters in Blood of Requiem cling to a single defining idea and don’t show the range of emotion or nuance you’d expect from a real personality. There are a few exceptions; the young Vir Requis (weredragons) Kyrie Eleison and Agnus Dei have a bit more depth to them. For the rest, a word or two is sufficient to encapsulate the whole of the character. Dies Irae lives up to his name: angry. Benedictus is gruff and noble. Gloriae is arrogant and cruel. Lacrimosa is pretty and weak.
This brings me to another point: the distracting nature of the nomenclature in this novel. All the main characters are named after phrases from Christian rites or hymns – or maybe just cribbed from Mozart’s Requiem mass, I’m not sure. Even the place names are derived from Latin or Greek. Requiem – mass for the dead – is the destroyed realm of the Vir Requis. Fort Sanctus – holy – is the destroyed seaside tower where Kyrie grew up. Confutatis – silence (of the damned) – is the capital city of the cruel leader Dies Irae – day of wrath. Dies Irae’s griffin mount is Volucris – Latin for flying creature. The leader of the “real” dragons is Nehushtan – a term for a sacred Hebrew relic in the form of a snake. These are interesting choices, and they provide shades of meaning for readers in the know. The problem I have with it is that these are powerful words and phrases in themselves, drawn from the history of Christendom, and they impart more than just shades of meaning. I found it a huge distraction to be thinking about the parts of a Requiem mass, or the prayers of an ancient Christian liturgy while trying to read a fantasy work. I would have been a lot more comfortable with less impactful character and place names.
The world of Blood of Requiem is broad and imaginative. Arenson’s biggest strength is the power of his descriptions, and he uses that to good effect describing the various lands and settings through which his characters move. The seaside tower of Fort Sanctus, early in the novel, is particularly vivid. The descriptions of combat are intense. The physical descriptions of characters are detailed. But… (you knew there was going to be a but here, didn’t you) that’s really all there is to the novel. The plot is weak, involving nothing much more gripping than a long, long, long long long chase around the world. The descriptions of dragons soaring over seas and mountains and meadows and forests are gorgeous, but eventually they get repetitive. There is very little tension or layered conflict built in to the story.
This lack of rising and falling in the plot leads to another weakness of the novel, and that is the repetitive internal monologue and reactions of characters to each other. Because there is nothing much really going on, there’s a lot of space to fill, and when Arenson isn’t filling it with his outstanding descriptions, he fills it with characters pondering about one thing or another. After a while, I grew very weary of the mooning of the Vir Requis and their yearning for the majesty of their splendorous past. I wanted to strangle Lacrimosa after the tenth or twelfth time she broke into tears over some minor setback. And I really got the fact that Dies Irae’s childhood trauma turned him into a monster, after the first couple times I read it – the continuous reminders were unnecessary.
Overall, the novel is a good read, but the lack of variety in the characters and the aimless narrative prevent me from giving it a very hearty recommendation. The book’s redemption is its outstanding description and strong action sequences. The book is very strong technically as well: it’s one of the cleanest indie novels I’ve read, in terms of layout and editing. Anne Victory (credited as copy editor in the acknowledgements) is a huge reason for why the book is as good as it is. I salute Arenson for taking the time and effort to polish Blood of Requiem, and I am curious to see what he does with the rest of the series, because there’s a lot of potential here.
The first thing that struck me about Blood of Requiem was the majestic prose. It catches you right from the start and grabs your attention. There’s some powerful wordcraft at work here. Unfortunately the characters and story don’t fulfill the promise made by the strong prologue. The flow of Daniel Arenson’s writing is wonderful, and his descriptions are solid, but most of the characters in Blood of Requiem cling to a single defining idea and don’t show the range of emotion or nuance you’d expect from a real personality. There are a few exceptions; the young Vir Requis (weredragons) Kyrie Eleison and Agnus Dei have a bit more depth to them. For the rest, a word or two is sufficient to encapsulate the whole of the character. Dies Irae lives up to his name: angry. Benedictus is gruff and noble. Gloriae is arrogant and cruel. Lacrimosa is pretty and weak.
This brings me to another point: the distracting nature of the nomenclature in this novel. All the main characters are named after phrases from Christian rites or hymns – or maybe just cribbed from Mozart’s Requiem mass, I’m not sure. Even the place names are derived from Latin or Greek. Requiem – mass for the dead – is the destroyed realm of the Vir Requis. Fort Sanctus – holy – is the destroyed seaside tower where Kyrie grew up. Confutatis – silence (of the damned) – is the capital city of the cruel leader Dies Irae – day of wrath. Dies Irae’s griffin mount is Volucris – Latin for flying creature. The leader of the “real” dragons is Nehushtan – a term for a sacred Hebrew relic in the form of a snake. These are interesting choices, and they provide shades of meaning for readers in the know. The problem I have with it is that these are powerful words and phrases in themselves, drawn from the history of Christendom, and they impart more than just shades of meaning. I found it a huge distraction to be thinking about the parts of a Requiem mass, or the prayers of an ancient Christian liturgy while trying to read a fantasy work. I would have been a lot more comfortable with less impactful character and place names.
The world of Blood of Requiem is broad and imaginative. Arenson’s biggest strength is the power of his descriptions, and he uses that to good effect describing the various lands and settings through which his characters move. The seaside tower of Fort Sanctus, early in the novel, is particularly vivid. The descriptions of combat are intense. The physical descriptions of characters are detailed. But… (you knew there was going to be a but here, didn’t you) that’s really all there is to the novel. The plot is weak, involving nothing much more gripping than a long, long, long long long chase around the world. The descriptions of dragons soaring over seas and mountains and meadows and forests are gorgeous, but eventually they get repetitive. There is very little tension or layered conflict built in to the story.
This lack of rising and falling in the plot leads to another weakness of the novel, and that is the repetitive internal monologue and reactions of characters to each other. Because there is nothing much really going on, there’s a lot of space to fill, and when Arenson isn’t filling it with his outstanding descriptions, he fills it with characters pondering about one thing or another. After a while, I grew very weary of the mooning of the Vir Requis and their yearning for the majesty of their splendorous past. I wanted to strangle Lacrimosa after the tenth or twelfth time she broke into tears over some minor setback. And I really got the fact that Dies Irae’s childhood trauma turned him into a monster, after the first couple times I read it – the continuous reminders were unnecessary.
Overall, the novel is a good read, but the lack of variety in the characters and the aimless narrative prevent me from giving it a very hearty recommendation. The book’s redemption is its outstanding description and strong action sequences. The book is very strong technically as well: it’s one of the cleanest indie novels I’ve read, in terms of layout and editing. Anne Victory (credited as copy editor in the acknowledgements) is a huge reason for why the book is as good as it is. I salute Arenson for taking the time and effort to polish Blood of Requiem, and I am curious to see what he does with the rest of the series, because there’s a lot of potential here.
April 30, 2014
Honestly, I felt like I was reading New Moon all over again. I'm easy to please. As long as I get a few laughs and don't leave my reading chair (by my own choice), I will normally give 4 stars minimum. The fact that I baked a cake, cleaned the bathroom, and watched Buck Rodgers (...think that's what it was called...fell asleep watching it with my mom)just proves how absolutely rapt I was in this book. It was a lot of running and moping just like Bella Swan times four and only this time "weredragons" instead of werewolves.
As many have pointed out, this book is highly repetitive. It was also unbelievable in the negative sense of the term. Just how many times does Ben need to have his shoulders damaged in order to render his arms and wings useless? They also must always be fighting in space because the only time they fall while fighting in after taking damage or have been "shoved" in that direction. Aerial battle is not so simple (I watch hawks over the field behind my house battle for dominance, and if Arenson had captured even a bit of that majesty, I would've given 3 stars).
However bad the rest of the book, I could've still forgiven all of if not for one thing: the names. Being a BIG fan of Mozart, I wanted to go into a fangirl rage at the pathetic--not to mention extremely cheesy--use of Latin/Greek names that were all names of Mozart's masterpieces. Dies Irae--Day of Wrath ( see here for more info )--didn't even suit the character. Dawn of Perverse Spite...maybe. But seriously, the characters were clearly based on the basic idea behind each name. Lacrimosa--Tears--and, yes, she was crying in almost every scene. Made the characters predictable and flat.
Yeah, so, grand total even I won't read the rest of his books unless I am insanely bored.
As many have pointed out, this book is highly repetitive. It was also unbelievable in the negative sense of the term. Just how many times does Ben need to have his shoulders damaged in order to render his arms and wings useless? They also must always be fighting in space because the only time they fall while fighting in after taking damage or have been "shoved" in that direction. Aerial battle is not so simple (I watch hawks over the field behind my house battle for dominance, and if Arenson had captured even a bit of that majesty, I would've given 3 stars).
However bad the rest of the book, I could've still forgiven all of if not for one thing: the names. Being a BIG fan of Mozart, I wanted to go into a fangirl rage at the pathetic--not to mention extremely cheesy--use of Latin/Greek names that were all names of Mozart's masterpieces. Dies Irae--Day of Wrath ( see here for more info )--didn't even suit the character. Dawn of Perverse Spite...maybe. But seriously, the characters were clearly based on the basic idea behind each name. Lacrimosa--Tears--and, yes, she was crying in almost every scene. Made the characters predictable and flat.
Yeah, so, grand total even I won't read the rest of his books unless I am insanely bored.
Read
May 16, 2011My new fantasy novel.
June 4, 2011
The vivid image on the cover drew me to this novel, and I am happy I have read it.
Blood of Requiem is a well-crafted novel, with strong, flowing prose, well-developed characters and a fast moving plot that keeps the reader engaged. The story follows the struggles of a few survivors of the Vis Requis to evade the evil King Dies Irae, who hunts these dragon people he calls weredragons mercilessly, aided by a host of griffins.
The plot is quite straightforward, with a few minor subplots. It allows for less intrigue than I usually like in my fantasy, but the storytelling and pace made up for it with ease. The worldbuilding is not earth-shattering, but well-developed and interesting enough, and there are some intriguing characters, most notably those of Benedictus, his daughter Agnus Dei and his estranged daughter and enemy Gloriae and young Kyrie.
My main gripe is with the character of Dies Irae, who is just your average, cruel, sadistic and bitter villain. I know that the black-and-white struggle of good against evil is still a strong theme, but I would have preferred to see a bit more grey. Despite this minor complaint, this was a fast and furious read, just like one of the many battles between Kyrie and the griffins.
Blood of Requiem is a well-crafted novel, with strong, flowing prose, well-developed characters and a fast moving plot that keeps the reader engaged. The story follows the struggles of a few survivors of the Vis Requis to evade the evil King Dies Irae, who hunts these dragon people he calls weredragons mercilessly, aided by a host of griffins.
The plot is quite straightforward, with a few minor subplots. It allows for less intrigue than I usually like in my fantasy, but the storytelling and pace made up for it with ease. The worldbuilding is not earth-shattering, but well-developed and interesting enough, and there are some intriguing characters, most notably those of Benedictus, his daughter Agnus Dei and his estranged daughter and enemy Gloriae and young Kyrie.
My main gripe is with the character of Dies Irae, who is just your average, cruel, sadistic and bitter villain. I know that the black-and-white struggle of good against evil is still a strong theme, but I would have preferred to see a bit more grey. Despite this minor complaint, this was a fast and furious read, just like one of the many battles between Kyrie and the griffins.
April 10, 2014
One star for two reasons: Firsty for the bribing people to write good reviews by promising them the second volume for free at the end of the Kindle version of the book.
Secondly only one star due to content: The author has managed to employ all classic cliches and Mary Sues available. Flat characters in predictable roles, adorned with imposing Latin names plucked from the order of service for mass. Fight scenes on repeat - how many times can a weredragon be chased by a griffin? No physical consequences from exhaustion at all.
What really riled me, though, is the gratuitous use of rape as a tool to make the evil overlord look more evil. Most of it is not necessary for the story and where it is it is dealt with badly. Not only the archaic language of "he knew her" used for such occasions, which is pretty tasteless, but also the fact that is just fine? Or at least this is how it looks given that there is no deeper development of the characters nor a detailed look at how such experiences might impact a human being.
All in all, better read something else, it might have a storyline!
Secondly only one star due to content: The author has managed to employ all classic cliches and Mary Sues available. Flat characters in predictable roles, adorned with imposing Latin names plucked from the order of service for mass. Fight scenes on repeat - how many times can a weredragon be chased by a griffin? No physical consequences from exhaustion at all.
What really riled me, though, is the gratuitous use of rape as a tool to make the evil overlord look more evil. Most of it is not necessary for the story and where it is it is dealt with badly. Not only the archaic language of "he knew her" used for such occasions, which is pretty tasteless, but also the fact that is just fine? Or at least this is how it looks given that there is no deeper development of the characters nor a detailed look at how such experiences might impact a human being.
All in all, better read something else, it might have a storyline!
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March 3, 2018
Another book with relatively good imagination but pathetically bad execution.
Weredragons as an idea isn't wholly unique, but is a great starting point. The rest, however, fails to support it at all. There is over-dramatic hyperbole and the characters are far over the top without layers. The dialogue, like in most books I've read lately, was pitiful.
My main gripe was the actual dragons. From the way it was described, it seems as if these Weredragons are not much bigger than the people they transform from. If that's so, it's really no surprise they lost a war.
Clichés and the rest. Unfortunate that the idea of Weredragons couldn't be imagined fully.
Weredragons as an idea isn't wholly unique, but is a great starting point. The rest, however, fails to support it at all. There is over-dramatic hyperbole and the characters are far over the top without layers. The dialogue, like in most books I've read lately, was pitiful.
My main gripe was the actual dragons. From the way it was described, it seems as if these Weredragons are not much bigger than the people they transform from. If that's so, it's really no surprise they lost a war.
Clichés and the rest. Unfortunate that the idea of Weredragons couldn't be imagined fully.
October 13, 2012
Bought the ebook trilogy because of good reviews, but was barely able to make it through the first book. I will not read the final two. This is one of those poorly written fantasies where everything comes easy to the hero. Poorly developed and barely edited. Only bother with these books if you get them for free - I really wish that I could get my money back.
May 27, 2011
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
When I like an author, I read books by that author. Sound like a simple statement? Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially when you have a review blog to run. There are many books out there, by many different talented (and some not-so talented) writers, and you want to believe that, as a reader, they each deserve equal time under your eyes.
Well, the truth is, I have my favorite authors, but sometimes I feel the need to push aside the books these fine scribes send me in order to give everyone a fair shake. Yet there are also instances when doing so is a detriment to the book I choose to read, because from the moment of that decision onward, that book will be compared – perhaps unfairly – to the one I postponed.
This is why when Daniel Arenson, one of those aforementioned “favorite authors”, asked me to beta read his new book, Blood of Requiem, I gladly set everything else down and picked it up. He needed it finished by a certain date, you see, which took the decision of what to read next completely out of my hands.
I’m SO glad I did.
Blood of Requiem is the sad tale of the Vir Requis, a race of humans with the magical ability to become dragons. Sounds interesting already, right? And it is. At the very start of the book, we’re introduced to the fact that the Vir Requis are on their last legs. They’ve been hunted to virtual extinction, and they make one final stand against an army that far outnumbers them. The Requis are killed off, one-by-one, leaving seemingly only one survivor – Benedictus, the king of his people. Their home, the land of Requiem, is left in ashes.
From there, the story jumps into the future, where Dies Irae, the leader of the army of griffin-riders who destroyed the dragons, continues his reign of terror. It seems that there is another survivor of the Vir Requis genocide – a boy named Kyrie, now a teenager, who was rescued from the battlefield, injured and dying, by Mirum, a kind woman whose family was slaughtered by Irae and their land taken. Kyrie has grown up living in fear while locked away in a tower, hidden from sight. On only rare occasions does he brave the world and spread his wings, but it is because of one of these voyages outside that his reality – and safety – is shattered.
Dies Irae discovers him and seeks him out, and Kyrie is forced to flee. He traipses across the land in search of Benedictus, who most have written off as dead.
Kyrie eventually finds Benedictus, finds out that the old king’s wife and daughter are still alive, and together the four of them flee the searching Griffin hoard. There is great tension here, including a kidnapping and a search for the “true dragons” embarked upon by Kyrie and Benedictus’s daughter, Agnus Dei. The imagery is fantastic, the world the author built is wonderful and full of strange, dark forces, and the Salvanae, the “true dragons”, are a wondrous sight to behold. It all adds up to become a magnificently subtle world, with shades of Martin’s bleakness and Pratchett’s ingenuity.
But once more, with Arenson’s work (and the work of the other authors I admire), it is the premise that quivers just beneath the surface of the tale that brings it to life, battle scenes and melodrama be damned, and it all centers around the principal villain of the story, one Dies Irae.
You see, it turns out that Irae was born into Vir Requis royalty. He was Benedictus’s older brother, the rightful heir of their father the king’s throne. Yet the unfortunate Irae was born at a disadvantage – the magics that allowed the Vir Requis to take wing and fly were absent in him. He was abandoned by his father, left to live his life as a joke passed down upon their family. Stripped of his birthright and constantly told how worthless he was, of course Irae grew up to be a damaged person. Even the only one who loved him – Benedictus, his younger brother – treats him with a certain amount of pity rather than true love, as if he’s a charity case, not blood. He sees everything his brother has been handed, from the throne to his future wife, and despises the “Poor guy” attitude his admittedly supercilious brother displays.
Taking this into account, is it any wonder that Irae turned out to be such an asshole?
In other words, even though this novel does have a hero, in a twist that I appreciated greatly, there are really no true heroes to be found. All are tainted, either by pain or anger or despair. The great enemy that Kyrie, Benedictus, Lacrimosa (Ben’s wife), and Agnus Dei are fleeing from is a monster of their own creation, or at least the creation of their people. This is a pertinent aspect of storytelling for today’s world, especially those in the States, what with virtually every enemy the U.S. now faces being individuals who we nurtured and helped bring to power. Now, I’m not saying the author is making any judgments on this particular facet, just saying that he recognizes it exists. And that makes what the story brings to the table that much more important.
But even greater than this is the theme of hate spread through lies and fear. It’s everywhere in the book – the people of the land hate the Vir Requis because of the lies they’ve been told, just as Gloriae (the daughter of Benedictus, kidnapped by Dies Irae as a young child and raised as his own) is. This is such a heartbreaking development, and one that Arenson milks for all it’s worth from all angles, from the parents to the kidnapper to the child, herself, who has grown up with this hate imprinted on her soul and wears it like a badge of honor. And then there is Dies Irae, who honestly believes that his quest is justified and good because he’s convinced himself, through his own lies and deceit, that it is so. I’d go on about how much this line of thinking means in modern society, but I don’t think you have to look too far to see examples sprout up all around us. They’re everywhere, from the Middle East to fundamentalist churches to backwater towns and so many other places. It’s frightening, it’s disheartening, and it’s real, which gives the book that much more potency.
Blood of Requiem is an outstanding first book in a series, and by the end, when both the heroes and villains have been put through the absolute ringer, we see how much farther this story has to go to reach its conclusion. Sure, there is a major victory won, but that victory does not come without a dire price.
In all, this is a fantastic book that I couldn’t put down, and I can’t wait for the second volume to be released, because with all the loose threads, both emotional and dealing with the plot, that Arenson has left hanging, I know the intensity of the tale will only heighten. This is a special book with an original premise and a dark and gritty storyline, a book that will excite you and make you feel something.
And that, folks, is what it’s all about.
(Note to say that as a beta reader, I find it unfair to post my usual rating breakdown, so I’m simply going to give Blood of Requiem 4.5 stars. And it deserves it.)
When I like an author, I read books by that author. Sound like a simple statement? Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially when you have a review blog to run. There are many books out there, by many different talented (and some not-so talented) writers, and you want to believe that, as a reader, they each deserve equal time under your eyes.
Well, the truth is, I have my favorite authors, but sometimes I feel the need to push aside the books these fine scribes send me in order to give everyone a fair shake. Yet there are also instances when doing so is a detriment to the book I choose to read, because from the moment of that decision onward, that book will be compared – perhaps unfairly – to the one I postponed.
This is why when Daniel Arenson, one of those aforementioned “favorite authors”, asked me to beta read his new book, Blood of Requiem, I gladly set everything else down and picked it up. He needed it finished by a certain date, you see, which took the decision of what to read next completely out of my hands.
I’m SO glad I did.
Blood of Requiem is the sad tale of the Vir Requis, a race of humans with the magical ability to become dragons. Sounds interesting already, right? And it is. At the very start of the book, we’re introduced to the fact that the Vir Requis are on their last legs. They’ve been hunted to virtual extinction, and they make one final stand against an army that far outnumbers them. The Requis are killed off, one-by-one, leaving seemingly only one survivor – Benedictus, the king of his people. Their home, the land of Requiem, is left in ashes.
From there, the story jumps into the future, where Dies Irae, the leader of the army of griffin-riders who destroyed the dragons, continues his reign of terror. It seems that there is another survivor of the Vir Requis genocide – a boy named Kyrie, now a teenager, who was rescued from the battlefield, injured and dying, by Mirum, a kind woman whose family was slaughtered by Irae and their land taken. Kyrie has grown up living in fear while locked away in a tower, hidden from sight. On only rare occasions does he brave the world and spread his wings, but it is because of one of these voyages outside that his reality – and safety – is shattered.
Dies Irae discovers him and seeks him out, and Kyrie is forced to flee. He traipses across the land in search of Benedictus, who most have written off as dead.
Kyrie eventually finds Benedictus, finds out that the old king’s wife and daughter are still alive, and together the four of them flee the searching Griffin hoard. There is great tension here, including a kidnapping and a search for the “true dragons” embarked upon by Kyrie and Benedictus’s daughter, Agnus Dei. The imagery is fantastic, the world the author built is wonderful and full of strange, dark forces, and the Salvanae, the “true dragons”, are a wondrous sight to behold. It all adds up to become a magnificently subtle world, with shades of Martin’s bleakness and Pratchett’s ingenuity.
But once more, with Arenson’s work (and the work of the other authors I admire), it is the premise that quivers just beneath the surface of the tale that brings it to life, battle scenes and melodrama be damned, and it all centers around the principal villain of the story, one Dies Irae.
You see, it turns out that Irae was born into Vir Requis royalty. He was Benedictus’s older brother, the rightful heir of their father the king’s throne. Yet the unfortunate Irae was born at a disadvantage – the magics that allowed the Vir Requis to take wing and fly were absent in him. He was abandoned by his father, left to live his life as a joke passed down upon their family. Stripped of his birthright and constantly told how worthless he was, of course Irae grew up to be a damaged person. Even the only one who loved him – Benedictus, his younger brother – treats him with a certain amount of pity rather than true love, as if he’s a charity case, not blood. He sees everything his brother has been handed, from the throne to his future wife, and despises the “Poor guy” attitude his admittedly supercilious brother displays.
Taking this into account, is it any wonder that Irae turned out to be such an asshole?
In other words, even though this novel does have a hero, in a twist that I appreciated greatly, there are really no true heroes to be found. All are tainted, either by pain or anger or despair. The great enemy that Kyrie, Benedictus, Lacrimosa (Ben’s wife), and Agnus Dei are fleeing from is a monster of their own creation, or at least the creation of their people. This is a pertinent aspect of storytelling for today’s world, especially those in the States, what with virtually every enemy the U.S. now faces being individuals who we nurtured and helped bring to power. Now, I’m not saying the author is making any judgments on this particular facet, just saying that he recognizes it exists. And that makes what the story brings to the table that much more important.
But even greater than this is the theme of hate spread through lies and fear. It’s everywhere in the book – the people of the land hate the Vir Requis because of the lies they’ve been told, just as Gloriae (the daughter of Benedictus, kidnapped by Dies Irae as a young child and raised as his own) is. This is such a heartbreaking development, and one that Arenson milks for all it’s worth from all angles, from the parents to the kidnapper to the child, herself, who has grown up with this hate imprinted on her soul and wears it like a badge of honor. And then there is Dies Irae, who honestly believes that his quest is justified and good because he’s convinced himself, through his own lies and deceit, that it is so. I’d go on about how much this line of thinking means in modern society, but I don’t think you have to look too far to see examples sprout up all around us. They’re everywhere, from the Middle East to fundamentalist churches to backwater towns and so many other places. It’s frightening, it’s disheartening, and it’s real, which gives the book that much more potency.
Blood of Requiem is an outstanding first book in a series, and by the end, when both the heroes and villains have been put through the absolute ringer, we see how much farther this story has to go to reach its conclusion. Sure, there is a major victory won, but that victory does not come without a dire price.
In all, this is a fantastic book that I couldn’t put down, and I can’t wait for the second volume to be released, because with all the loose threads, both emotional and dealing with the plot, that Arenson has left hanging, I know the intensity of the tale will only heighten. This is a special book with an original premise and a dark and gritty storyline, a book that will excite you and make you feel something.
And that, folks, is what it’s all about.
(Note to say that as a beta reader, I find it unfair to post my usual rating breakdown, so I’m simply going to give Blood of Requiem 4.5 stars. And it deserves it.)
Read
October 24, 2019I loive books about dragons and I immensely enjoyed this one.
May 24, 2011
My thoughts:
I do not read e-books that often since I only have my borrowed reader from the library. But when I got an email from Arenson I knew I had to read this book. Because I got a taste of his writing in the anthology Kiss Me, Kill Me and it was good.
This is the first book in a planned trilogy and I like the world building. The Reqiem were humans who could transform into dragons, but then they were killed and hunted to extinction. It was bloody and it was horrible. The man who did it was a prince who was meant to rule the land but he could not shift so he grew angry. This book then takes place 10 years later and there are survivors, but the future is bleak.
First I must say that this book has a bad guy that I just wanted to strangle. She was so evil! I have not read about such an evil character in quite some time. Her name is Gloriae and she is the daughter of Dies Irae (who in his turn is an evil bastard too), but I was mostly angry with Gloriae. Because she was actually good and was kidnapped by him. She was the daughter of the Requiem King Benedictus and his wife (bit does not know it). Sure if a person is raised evil she can turn evil but I wished she had seen the error of her way. Her father rapes a women, kills a peasant and she laughs? She should think for herself and see it's wrong. There you have it, the evil duo. Remarkable done since it was those two that had me wanting to read more and more, wishing they would die.
I spent enough time talking about the bad guys, but they just brought forward a lot of emotions. The good guys are Benedictus, poor man and Kyrie who is a young reqiuem and…, oh I will save some secrets. I liked Kyrie, he really wanted to fight back even though they had no force at all. But he was angry and who could blame him.
One more thing. People are blind and stupid. The dragons never did any harm, but Dies came with his lies and people believed and now the dragons are thought of as monsters. That is what one wicked cruel man can do with words. And those that spoke down were hunted down. I still hope they will see right from wrong.
The book isn't that dark, but at the same time it is very bleak, because how can I have hope when there is no way they can survive or fight back? I really need to know what happens next.
Conclusion:
This book had me turning page after page to see what happens. It's exciting and good with fleshed out characters that will make you scream. I want to read more of this series and I would recommend this fantasy author to others.
Rating:
Page-turner
I do not read e-books that often since I only have my borrowed reader from the library. But when I got an email from Arenson I knew I had to read this book. Because I got a taste of his writing in the anthology Kiss Me, Kill Me and it was good.
This is the first book in a planned trilogy and I like the world building. The Reqiem were humans who could transform into dragons, but then they were killed and hunted to extinction. It was bloody and it was horrible. The man who did it was a prince who was meant to rule the land but he could not shift so he grew angry. This book then takes place 10 years later and there are survivors, but the future is bleak.
First I must say that this book has a bad guy that I just wanted to strangle. She was so evil! I have not read about such an evil character in quite some time. Her name is Gloriae and she is the daughter of Dies Irae (who in his turn is an evil bastard too), but I was mostly angry with Gloriae. Because she was actually good and was kidnapped by him. She was the daughter of the Requiem King Benedictus and his wife (bit does not know it). Sure if a person is raised evil she can turn evil but I wished she had seen the error of her way. Her father rapes a women, kills a peasant and she laughs? She should think for herself and see it's wrong. There you have it, the evil duo. Remarkable done since it was those two that had me wanting to read more and more, wishing they would die.
I spent enough time talking about the bad guys, but they just brought forward a lot of emotions. The good guys are Benedictus, poor man and Kyrie who is a young reqiuem and…, oh I will save some secrets. I liked Kyrie, he really wanted to fight back even though they had no force at all. But he was angry and who could blame him.
One more thing. People are blind and stupid. The dragons never did any harm, but Dies came with his lies and people believed and now the dragons are thought of as monsters. That is what one wicked cruel man can do with words. And those that spoke down were hunted down. I still hope they will see right from wrong.
The book isn't that dark, but at the same time it is very bleak, because how can I have hope when there is no way they can survive or fight back? I really need to know what happens next.
Conclusion:
This book had me turning page after page to see what happens. It's exciting and good with fleshed out characters that will make you scream. I want to read more of this series and I would recommend this fantasy author to others.
Rating:
Page-turner
February 25, 2014
Requiem. What was once a kingdom filled of Vir Requis, men with both human and dragon forms, is now ash and desolation. An entire species has been wiped out by a man bent on revenge. Only Kyrie, a young Vir Requis and Benedictus’ family can hope to save the realm from this tyrant... although it seems impossible. There are few places to hide and only one source of hope: the true dragons of Salvandos.
Arenson’s prose, for the most part, is pretty on the eyes. There are some repetitive stylistic touches that became a bit much, but aside from that the writing was eloquent and on par with the demands of this type of fantasy. Although we jump right into the action, which is good, I feel difficult to connect with this world and bring it to life in my mind.
Character development: Villains, heroes—it didn’t matter, but they felt two-dimensional and black and white. I didn’t see Kyrie struggle, and the villains came across as corny. Their motivations felt shallow, contrived for the purpose of serving the plot.
Plot: I felt that everything was predictable: There were no surprises for me. Everything was neat and—again, I shall use this word—contrived.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but it wasn’t up to par with my standards for fantasy. That being said, the manuscript was clean, and as a whole it was probably one of the best indie books I have read.
Arenson’s prose, for the most part, is pretty on the eyes. There are some repetitive stylistic touches that became a bit much, but aside from that the writing was eloquent and on par with the demands of this type of fantasy. Although we jump right into the action, which is good, I feel difficult to connect with this world and bring it to life in my mind.
Character development: Villains, heroes—it didn’t matter, but they felt two-dimensional and black and white. I didn’t see Kyrie struggle, and the villains came across as corny. Their motivations felt shallow, contrived for the purpose of serving the plot.
Plot: I felt that everything was predictable: There were no surprises for me. Everything was neat and—again, I shall use this word—contrived.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but it wasn’t up to par with my standards for fantasy. That being said, the manuscript was clean, and as a whole it was probably one of the best indie books I have read.
February 8, 2017
The first quarter of this was very enjoyable. The idea of weredragons is just great in itself. The characters you're introduced to are nicely described and I got a good image of them in my head and thoughts started swirling around of what each one would do as the story progressed.
The main antagonist is ruthless, despicable, and really just a great antagonist, though kinda shallow...and could be a little less rapey...dude is extremely rapey.
After about a quarter way through, after you're used to all the characters and the overall premise, things start to get repetitious. Not just the storyline, but the writing as well -- you're constantly reminded of little details to a point where it becomes exhausting. With some strong editing this would be a very good book -- the overall story is enjoyable and entertaining, it's just too repetitive.
The main antagonist is ruthless, despicable, and really just a great antagonist, though kinda shallow...and could be a little less rapey...dude is extremely rapey.
After about a quarter way through, after you're used to all the characters and the overall premise, things start to get repetitious. Not just the storyline, but the writing as well -- you're constantly reminded of little details to a point where it becomes exhausting. With some strong editing this would be a very good book -- the overall story is enjoyable and entertaining, it's just too repetitive.
December 24, 2013
Blood Of Requiem is a dazzling tale of shape-shifting dragons, evil kings, and vicious griffins. This novel is an action-packed, thrill a minute ride full of danger, despair, hope, and love.
Dies Irae is a truly vile villain and yet he's no cardboard caricature, but a real person with qualities which, while not necessarily redeemable, make him a truly three dimensional character. The reasons for why he is the person he is do not justify his evil deeds but they do explain them. He is not evil simply for the sake of being evil.
The heroes of the story, the shape-shifting dragons, are each unique individuals you can't help but root for as they struggle simply to survive. Most of their kind were wiped out in a devastating war and they spend each day like fugitives on the run, their lives threatened for the crime of having been born.
Aside from the epic battles and intense personal struggles, there are truly wondrous moments which will dazzle your mind. If you love dragons, you must read this book.
Dies Irae is a truly vile villain and yet he's no cardboard caricature, but a real person with qualities which, while not necessarily redeemable, make him a truly three dimensional character. The reasons for why he is the person he is do not justify his evil deeds but they do explain them. He is not evil simply for the sake of being evil.
The heroes of the story, the shape-shifting dragons, are each unique individuals you can't help but root for as they struggle simply to survive. Most of their kind were wiped out in a devastating war and they spend each day like fugitives on the run, their lives threatened for the crime of having been born.
Aside from the epic battles and intense personal struggles, there are truly wondrous moments which will dazzle your mind. If you love dragons, you must read this book.
September 26, 2017
This may be the most melodramatic and overwrought work of fantasy I've ever read. It's actually pretty remarkable how much of this novel is cranked to 11, but not in a fun, intentionally over-the-top sort of way, just as if the author only has one writing mode. It's like an action movie where every single fight scene is entirely in slow motion with the same soundtrack.
Also, not a fan of villain POVs that serve no purpose except for mustache-twirling, and a large percentage of this book is that. The Chinese dragons were a nice surprise, but like everything else in the book, they felt insubstantial and rushed.
Also, not a fan of villain POVs that serve no purpose except for mustache-twirling, and a large percentage of this book is that. The Chinese dragons were a nice surprise, but like everything else in the book, they felt insubstantial and rushed.
April 8, 2012
I hate to say anything bad about a book because everyone's tastes vary a little, but this was bad. Very poorly written ( I could have written this) with a mundane story line and very flat characters. Do not pick up if you like good writing.
November 22, 2012
Horrible book. Dialogue was messy, anachronistic, and cliched, fight scenes were tedious, and the author's use of Latin for people amd place names was extremely distracting. I will not be reading any of his other works
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September 30, 2018I do enjoy the books by Daniel Arenson
August 2, 2017
An interesting story about weredragons. I really enjoyed the plot as well as the writing style, but I wish there was a bit more character development, as well as more consequences to actions. Getting hurt didn't seem to have much impact on the characters.
June 9, 2016
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
It took me a long time to read this book and, at one point, I even contemplated giving up on it, which is something I very rarely do with a book. Unfortunately, it was a major disappointment to me because I love dragons in fantasy and the concept of weredragons was even more intriguing. But, the execution of this particular novel failed to wow me.
It seemed to be one continuous battle between one or two Vir Requis and hundreds of griffins. Even though the weredragons faced insurmountable odds and were seriously injured in each battle, they always managed to survive and miraculously healed in a very short time. Basically, that was the whole plot—there was very little other action or purpose to the story.
Characterization was also rather one-dimensional and poorly developed. I found that I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters, nor feel much empathy or sympathy for them. Kyrie was a hot-headed young idiot who only wanted to fight and acted recklessly without thinking of the consequences. Benedictus was a sour, bitter old man who was unceasingly annoying in that persona. Lacrimosa did very little but weep copiously throughout the whole book. Agneus Dei was another hot-headed youngster who used her teeth and claws and fire more than she did her brains or common sense. As for the villains, Dies Irae and Gloriae, they were totally and unrelentingly cruel, sadistic and evil with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They would have seemed more realistic to me if they had been at least a little more multifaceted, particularly Dies Irae.
And, the so-called romance between Kyrie and Agneus Dei….nope, didn’t work for me. It happened way too fast and seemed way too implausible. I just did not feel the connection at all despite their declarations of love for each other.
On the plus side, Mr. Arenson’s descriptions of the world of Requiem were quite vivid and interesting, albeit rather repetitive.
I’m not sure I really care enough about the Vir Requis and their battle to bring back the glory days of their people to read the next book in the series. It might happen, just not any time soon.
It took me a long time to read this book and, at one point, I even contemplated giving up on it, which is something I very rarely do with a book. Unfortunately, it was a major disappointment to me because I love dragons in fantasy and the concept of weredragons was even more intriguing. But, the execution of this particular novel failed to wow me.
It seemed to be one continuous battle between one or two Vir Requis and hundreds of griffins. Even though the weredragons faced insurmountable odds and were seriously injured in each battle, they always managed to survive and miraculously healed in a very short time. Basically, that was the whole plot—there was very little other action or purpose to the story.
Characterization was also rather one-dimensional and poorly developed. I found that I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters, nor feel much empathy or sympathy for them. Kyrie was a hot-headed young idiot who only wanted to fight and acted recklessly without thinking of the consequences. Benedictus was a sour, bitter old man who was unceasingly annoying in that persona. Lacrimosa did very little but weep copiously throughout the whole book. Agneus Dei was another hot-headed youngster who used her teeth and claws and fire more than she did her brains or common sense. As for the villains, Dies Irae and Gloriae, they were totally and unrelentingly cruel, sadistic and evil with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They would have seemed more realistic to me if they had been at least a little more multifaceted, particularly Dies Irae.
And, the so-called romance between Kyrie and Agneus Dei….nope, didn’t work for me. It happened way too fast and seemed way too implausible. I just did not feel the connection at all despite their declarations of love for each other.
On the plus side, Mr. Arenson’s descriptions of the world of Requiem were quite vivid and interesting, albeit rather repetitive.
I’m not sure I really care enough about the Vir Requis and their battle to bring back the glory days of their people to read the next book in the series. It might happen, just not any time soon.
January 5, 2013
I read Blood of Requiem by Daniel Arenson for this week’s review. It is about a race, the Vir Requis, of humans who have the magic to transform into dragons at will. Their prince, who did not possess the magic, destroyed almost the entire race of Vir Requis. His jealousy and shame drove him to unspeakable acts of cruelty as he usurped the power of the Kings and the land and turned his hometown to ruin.
Honestly, I’m not really sure how I feel about this novel. I want to really like it because the writing is absolutely beautiful. The style and usage of wording is something that should be studied by aspiring writers. I also want to like this novel because the plot, the settings, the suspense at times and the overall theme of the story were also very well done and highly thought out. I can appreciate the amount of work that went into writing a book like this.
However, I do not, by any means, recommend this book for anyone of young age nor do I recommend this book for feminists or men with strong views about violence against women. The acts of cruelty can be very graphic and, to be frank, unnecessary at times when it came to timing within the book. The women, if they weren’t weak were portrayed reckless or naïve. If they were weak, which all of them were except for two characters in which one was reckless and the other was naïve, they were all sexually assaulted at some point or another. Some women even died in the process.
The ending was a little disappointing to me. Not because the problems were not resolved leaving room for a new book. But because it was painfully obvious that the author wrote the characters to do very stupid things, which were completely out of their normal characteristics, in order to make way for a second book. After experiencing such beautiful and thought out writing in the whole book to end with a flurry of clichés and thoughtless plot twists just left me feeling extremely annoyed when I put the book down for the last time. I may read the next two books just to see how the story ends, but it’s not high on my personal list.
I give this book a 3.75/5 for the beautiful writing and overall plot.
Honestly, I’m not really sure how I feel about this novel. I want to really like it because the writing is absolutely beautiful. The style and usage of wording is something that should be studied by aspiring writers. I also want to like this novel because the plot, the settings, the suspense at times and the overall theme of the story were also very well done and highly thought out. I can appreciate the amount of work that went into writing a book like this.
However, I do not, by any means, recommend this book for anyone of young age nor do I recommend this book for feminists or men with strong views about violence against women. The acts of cruelty can be very graphic and, to be frank, unnecessary at times when it came to timing within the book. The women, if they weren’t weak were portrayed reckless or naïve. If they were weak, which all of them were except for two characters in which one was reckless and the other was naïve, they were all sexually assaulted at some point or another. Some women even died in the process.
The ending was a little disappointing to me. Not because the problems were not resolved leaving room for a new book. But because it was painfully obvious that the author wrote the characters to do very stupid things, which were completely out of their normal characteristics, in order to make way for a second book. After experiencing such beautiful and thought out writing in the whole book to end with a flurry of clichés and thoughtless plot twists just left me feeling extremely annoyed when I put the book down for the last time. I may read the next two books just to see how the story ends, but it’s not high on my personal list.
I give this book a 3.75/5 for the beautiful writing and overall plot.
January 6, 2016
TLDR a well written book with issues in terms of plot building and character development.
While the book summary is exciting and the dragons are cool there really isn't much character development. Opportunities to make characters more nuanced or deep are generally passed over or steered aside.
Dies Irae is unequivocally evil. You find that out quickly. But while he may ooze the essence of pure wickedness there isn't a whole lot of depth to this other then the reminder of how mic of an outcast he was as a child due to his inability to change into a dragon.
There is little left to the imagination as most of the details that could have been hidden or left as ms attested hints throughout the book are brought up plainly rather quickly. There just isn't a whole lot of mystery here.
What shifts do come in terms of the character's personalities isn't exactly explained very well and the "insta-love" between Agnis Dei and Kyrie seriously made me roll my eyes. One minute they are growing friends and the next she all but pounces on him and then BAM! Out come the "I love you's"
I still enjoyed the book but it does have some pretty big issues.
While the book summary is exciting and the dragons are cool there really isn't much character development. Opportunities to make characters more nuanced or deep are generally passed over or steered aside.
Dies Irae is unequivocally evil. You find that out quickly. But while he may ooze the essence of pure wickedness there isn't a whole lot of depth to this other then the reminder of how mic of an outcast he was as a child due to his inability to change into a dragon.
There is little left to the imagination as most of the details that could have been hidden or left as ms attested hints throughout the book are brought up plainly rather quickly. There just isn't a whole lot of mystery here.
What shifts do come in terms of the character's personalities isn't exactly explained very well and the "insta-love" between Agnis Dei and Kyrie seriously made me roll my eyes. One minute they are growing friends and the next she all but pounces on him and then BAM! Out come the "I love you's"
I still enjoyed the book but it does have some pretty big issues.
August 13, 2012
I was drawn to thjs book by the cover art at first, what an amazing looking dragon!
What I didn't expect was a world where a human could turn into a dragon! And griffins fly in the sky as well.
What Daniel Arenson has done is recreate a genre of books for me to read. The way he tells the story is amazing, not long winded paragraphs about the land and such. Butwhathe does describe, he describes in a way that makes you feel as if you are in the story with the dragons.
As a very new twist in boomsfor me is the fact that the heroes suffer in this book, thereis no pity shown just because they are a human!?
I have read many fantasy books through the years and this book had me hooked from the first few pages! Daniel Arenson has become to me the most wonderful author coming onto the writing scene of recent times! And he is right up there with R.A. Salvatore!
If you like dragons or haven't decided yet...read this book and you will fall in love!
What I didn't expect was a world where a human could turn into a dragon! And griffins fly in the sky as well.
What Daniel Arenson has done is recreate a genre of books for me to read. The way he tells the story is amazing, not long winded paragraphs about the land and such. Butwhathe does describe, he describes in a way that makes you feel as if you are in the story with the dragons.
As a very new twist in boomsfor me is the fact that the heroes suffer in this book, thereis no pity shown just because they are a human!?
I have read many fantasy books through the years and this book had me hooked from the first few pages! Daniel Arenson has become to me the most wonderful author coming onto the writing scene of recent times! And he is right up there with R.A. Salvatore!
If you like dragons or haven't decided yet...read this book and you will fall in love!
November 4, 2016
Oh no, this was so horrible. Let me never encounter something so awful again.
-A character called Lacrimosa that just cried CONSTANTLY. Oh my lawd, she was the worst.
-The stock villain archetype and his beautiful "daughter" who had to shake out her golden locks every time she took her helmet off. Just stab them and be done with it, it's so much easier.
-Character development=zero
-I think this book was just one long scene of dragons fleeing griffins. Which apparently were big enough to carry a 30ft dragon in their claws?
-LACRIMOSA OH MY GOD STOP CRYING
-Seriously it was the worst
-All the plot "twists" explained within the first 30 pages, and then literally that was it.
-Did I mention the villain was just like, really awful. And awful. Yep.
-Don't do this to yourself like I did.
-A character called Lacrimosa that just cried CONSTANTLY. Oh my lawd, she was the worst.
-The stock villain archetype and his beautiful "daughter" who had to shake out her golden locks every time she took her helmet off. Just stab them and be done with it, it's so much easier.
-Character development=zero
-I think this book was just one long scene of dragons fleeing griffins. Which apparently were big enough to carry a 30ft dragon in their claws?
-LACRIMOSA OH MY GOD STOP CRYING
-Seriously it was the worst
-All the plot "twists" explained within the first 30 pages, and then literally that was it.
-Did I mention the villain was just like, really awful. And awful. Yep.
-Don't do this to yourself like I did.
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