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In the House of Five Dragons
He is not the hero they remember. This is not the world he knew. Thirty years have passed since the bloody battle of Njorn Pass, since Rikard Mazrem traded his life away to the Alterra to save his dying men. Defeat became victory and an empire was born. For decades, the people of Carce have revered Rikard as a hero. But now Rikard has returned to find the world changed. Or perhaps he is the one who has changed...
571 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 27, 2010
56 people are currently reading
540 people want to read
About the author
Erica Lindquist
37 books22 followersI never had any intention of writing. I loved reading, but had no ambition to write myself. But then, in college, the fever hit. I started writing and haven't stopped.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 3, 2015
Two Worlds, Blood Pacts, VEIL Knights and Honor
This book is mystical and otherworldly, being reminiscent of ancient cultures in culture conceding life, love, war and honor. The story is an epic novel covering many characters and two worlds. If you are a reader open to fantasy and mythology this book is it.
The linchpin character of story is the great Rikard Mazrem, who sacrificed himself in a blood pact with the Alterra's in exchange for his army to live. Fast forward 30 later Rikard stumbles into Terren, aka his world, as Rikard apparently had not died but instead had been fighting in the Alterra's civil war in there world for the past 30 years. He comes back not a day older and in the same condition. The story then ensue with Rikard trying to piece back his memory, life and purpose.
However, while poor Rikard is just trying to adjust to life again, readers through the other characters that life in Terren is full of deceit and not as great as the people try to paint it for Rikard. Even those Rikard believes he loves are not to be trusted, and those who should be his enemies turn out to be his best allies and friends in the end.
Overall, the story was good and I enjoyed it. The story actual reminded me of a couple of movies like the Immortals, Troy, and Wrath of the Titans. There's this whole Terren and Alterra dependent relationship that mirrors some situations in those movies. I must note that the book did take me a while to get into it, but by the end I was rather hooked and rooting for Rikard to win by reconciling the worlds and get a HEA. Now it is a long book, but if your into Homer or Clash of the Titans type era then this book will be a good read to try out.
------Read more of my reviews at: http://heyitwasfree.blogspot.com/------
This book is mystical and otherworldly, being reminiscent of ancient cultures in culture conceding life, love, war and honor. The story is an epic novel covering many characters and two worlds. If you are a reader open to fantasy and mythology this book is it.
The linchpin character of story is the great Rikard Mazrem, who sacrificed himself in a blood pact with the Alterra's in exchange for his army to live. Fast forward 30 later Rikard stumbles into Terren, aka his world, as Rikard apparently had not died but instead had been fighting in the Alterra's civil war in there world for the past 30 years. He comes back not a day older and in the same condition. The story then ensue with Rikard trying to piece back his memory, life and purpose.
However, while poor Rikard is just trying to adjust to life again, readers through the other characters that life in Terren is full of deceit and not as great as the people try to paint it for Rikard. Even those Rikard believes he loves are not to be trusted, and those who should be his enemies turn out to be his best allies and friends in the end.
Overall, the story was good and I enjoyed it. The story actual reminded me of a couple of movies like the Immortals, Troy, and Wrath of the Titans. There's this whole Terren and Alterra dependent relationship that mirrors some situations in those movies. I must note that the book did take me a while to get into it, but by the end I was rather hooked and rooting for Rikard to win by reconciling the worlds and get a HEA. Now it is a long book, but if your into Homer or Clash of the Titans type era then this book will be a good read to try out.
------Read more of my reviews at: http://heyitwasfree.blogspot.com/------
November 19, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. It was such a delight to read! Don't get me wrong, I had predicted the big twist long before I could prove it, but I was still so drawn into this book, it's world and characters, that I almost cried while reading it. It may be a little simplistic, the good characters are good, the bad characters are bad, etc. but sometimes you really need a story like that. And the mechanics of the world this book takes place in are fascinating!
The VEIL Knights have a kind of blood magic that they can use to call upon the Alterrans to help them. The Alterrans live in a world without physical form; it's all emotions, memories and other thoughts. They literally use fear as a weapon, and a painful one at that. So when the VEIL Knights set up these deals using their blood, the Alterrans generally take emotion filled memories that they can use to fight off their enemies or create new forms. When Rikard, 30 years ago, agreed to whatever the Alterrans wanted in exchange for saving his men, he became the first Terran (physical) person to be taken into the Alterran realm.
I love the authors' attention to the problems Rikard had coming back to the world of the physical after 30 years. He'd forgotten how to eat and drink. He'd forgotten what sleep was. He didn't know no one else could read thoughts like him. Thainna has to explain things to him like he was a child because he simply forgot, after three decades, some things that are so basic we don't even think about them anymore.
I'm not a fan of political maneuvering and whatnot, but I do like how the authors handle it. When Rikard, who has been celebrated as a self-sacrificing hero for 30 years suddenly shows up, he stirs up the muddy waters that has become the Empire. The Emperor dare not make him mad for the people love Rikard more than him. The House of Five Dragons needs to try to get him under control or risk their hold on so many political and military officials. The VEIL Knights themselves, whom he leads, need to purge themselves of their bad element and show the people of the empire they are there to protect them.
That being said, I really don't blame Rikard's wife, Laurael, for putting their son's political status above her husband. She, herself, said that the first day she met Rikard was their wedding day and were only together two years before he disappeared. I'm actually quite understanding of her desire to kill her husband to assure her son, Gaius, his spot as the Emperor's heir. The only thing I do fault her for is having an affair with the Emperor in the first place. The rest of the "bad guy" characters, though, they had it coming.
To reiterate, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were enjoyable (I absolutely loved Stumble). The world has some very interesting mechanics that I'd love to see more of. Ultimately, this was a very good read.
The VEIL Knights have a kind of blood magic that they can use to call upon the Alterrans to help them. The Alterrans live in a world without physical form; it's all emotions, memories and other thoughts. They literally use fear as a weapon, and a painful one at that. So when the VEIL Knights set up these deals using their blood, the Alterrans generally take emotion filled memories that they can use to fight off their enemies or create new forms. When Rikard, 30 years ago, agreed to whatever the Alterrans wanted in exchange for saving his men, he became the first Terran (physical) person to be taken into the Alterran realm.
I love the authors' attention to the problems Rikard had coming back to the world of the physical after 30 years. He'd forgotten how to eat and drink. He'd forgotten what sleep was. He didn't know no one else could read thoughts like him. Thainna has to explain things to him like he was a child because he simply forgot, after three decades, some things that are so basic we don't even think about them anymore.
I'm not a fan of political maneuvering and whatnot, but I do like how the authors handle it. When Rikard, who has been celebrated as a self-sacrificing hero for 30 years suddenly shows up, he stirs up the muddy waters that has become the Empire. The Emperor dare not make him mad for the people love Rikard more than him. The House of Five Dragons needs to try to get him under control or risk their hold on so many political and military officials. The VEIL Knights themselves, whom he leads, need to purge themselves of their bad element and show the people of the empire they are there to protect them.
That being said, I really don't blame Rikard's wife, Laurael, for putting their son's political status above her husband. She, herself, said that the first day she met Rikard was their wedding day and were only together two years before he disappeared. I'm actually quite understanding of her desire to kill her husband to assure her son, Gaius, his spot as the Emperor's heir. The only thing I do fault her for is having an affair with the Emperor in the first place. The rest of the "bad guy" characters, though, they had it coming.
To reiterate, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were enjoyable (I absolutely loved Stumble). The world has some very interesting mechanics that I'd love to see more of. Ultimately, this was a very good read.
July 17, 2018
The first quarter of this book absolutely crawled for me, and I considered more than once just giving up. In the end I'm glad I didn't.
This is more fantasy than scifi in case that's important to you.
Things I loved:
the twin worlds concept, and the fact that what is matter of fact in one world is magic in the other; the understated romance over the last three-quarters of the book; character growth for multiple characters; a couple of twists I wasn't expecting; the way the girl learned to understand what Rikard was saying, and used that knowledge to help him appear less "mad" during public appearances; who the Crest turned out to be; the odd mishmash of modern and medieval sensibilities; Rikard's journey to make his society honorable again, the way nothing was easy for Rikard, especially when I expected it to be; the action sequences.
Things I didn't love:
the first quarter of the book; the weird ways names changed depending on whether one was talking about a place, a nation, or a person from that nation; the ending (not that it was a bad ending, just that I wanted a bit more about the main characters and how their lives had changed rather than about the son) - I understood it was written that way to create a bookend feeling with the opening, but though it was a perfectly good sequence, it didn't tell me what I wanted to know about how the part of the story I cared about ended; the unveiling of the Crest's identity; that we only got to know two characters from Alterra.
When I read some of the stuff in the last few pages of the book, it became clearer to me why the first quarter of the book was so boring to me: it was setting up a roleplaying universe. For some people all that information would be fascinating. For me, it was as boring as D&D is in person. Yes. I'd rather play solitaire in the dark with actual cards.
And on a personal note, I was predisposed to dislike the son, named Gaius, because that character on BSG is far from my favorite. James Callis is a superb actor, and it's a testament to his acting that I dislike Gaius Baltar so thoroughly. Some names are just ruined forever, though. lol
This is more fantasy than scifi in case that's important to you.
Things I loved:
the twin worlds concept, and the fact that what is matter of fact in one world is magic in the other; the understated romance over the last three-quarters of the book; character growth for multiple characters; a couple of twists I wasn't expecting; the way the girl learned to understand what Rikard was saying, and used that knowledge to help him appear less "mad" during public appearances; who the Crest turned out to be; the odd mishmash of modern and medieval sensibilities; Rikard's journey to make his society honorable again, the way nothing was easy for Rikard, especially when I expected it to be; the action sequences.
Things I didn't love:
the first quarter of the book; the weird ways names changed depending on whether one was talking about a place, a nation, or a person from that nation; the ending (not that it was a bad ending, just that I wanted a bit more about the main characters and how their lives had changed rather than about the son) - I understood it was written that way to create a bookend feeling with the opening, but though it was a perfectly good sequence, it didn't tell me what I wanted to know about how the part of the story I cared about ended; the unveiling of the Crest's identity; that we only got to know two characters from Alterra.
When I read some of the stuff in the last few pages of the book, it became clearer to me why the first quarter of the book was so boring to me: it was setting up a roleplaying universe. For some people all that information would be fascinating. For me, it was as boring as D&D is in person. Yes. I'd rather play solitaire in the dark with actual cards.
And on a personal note, I was predisposed to dislike the son, named Gaius, because that character on BSG is far from my favorite. James Callis is a superb actor, and it's a testament to his acting that I dislike Gaius Baltar so thoroughly. Some names are just ruined forever, though. lol
October 14, 2025
Author: Erica Lindquist
Title: In the House of Five Dragons
Series:
Cover Rating:
Gold Star
Book Rating:
3 stars
About the Book:
He is not the hero they remember. This is not the world he knew.
Thirty years have passed since the bloody battle of Njorn Pass, since Rikard Mazrem traded his life away to the Alterra to save his dying men. Defeat became victory and an empire was born. For decades, the people of Carce have revered Rikard as a hero.
But now Rikard has returned to find the world changed. Or perhaps he is the one who has changed.
My Thoughts:
Well I spent the largest amount of time while reading this book being confused and despite getting a slight? explanation and resolution. I was actually kind of disappointed in the anti climatic ending since it just seemed too simple and too easy to an issue I felt could have been so much more as part of the story without the issue that could have been easily known from the beginning. I think? As I said, I was left mostly confused for most of this one. Although I have to admit it was a good read.
Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from the publisher. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
Note:
If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!
Title: In the House of Five Dragons
Series:
Cover Rating:
Gold Star
Book Rating:
3 stars
About the Book:
He is not the hero they remember. This is not the world he knew.
Thirty years have passed since the bloody battle of Njorn Pass, since Rikard Mazrem traded his life away to the Alterra to save his dying men. Defeat became victory and an empire was born. For decades, the people of Carce have revered Rikard as a hero.
But now Rikard has returned to find the world changed. Or perhaps he is the one who has changed.
My Thoughts:
Well I spent the largest amount of time while reading this book being confused and despite getting a slight? explanation and resolution. I was actually kind of disappointed in the anti climatic ending since it just seemed too simple and too easy to an issue I felt could have been so much more as part of the story without the issue that could have been easily known from the beginning. I think? As I said, I was left mostly confused for most of this one. Although I have to admit it was a good read.
Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from the publisher. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
Note:
If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!
January 6, 2018
One of the better fantasy books I've read lately. The characters are well rounded, you see actual character growth, and finding out who the main bad guy is? That was a twist I didn't see coming!
The magic system was unique; I can't recall seeing something like it before. I loved the world building, especially the glimpses we get of Alterra.
The fact that the hero of the story isn't a Mary Sue was quite refreshing; especially when she didn't even have any powers. And the fact that her foil wasn't arrogant? Almost unheard of!
My only complaint with the book was that we didn't get to see more of what happens in Alterra. Hopefully we'll get a book set there some day.
The magic system was unique; I can't recall seeing something like it before. I loved the world building, especially the glimpses we get of Alterra.
The fact that the hero of the story isn't a Mary Sue was quite refreshing; especially when she didn't even have any powers. And the fact that her foil wasn't arrogant? Almost unheard of!
My only complaint with the book was that we didn't get to see more of what happens in Alterra. Hopefully we'll get a book set there some day.
January 28, 2020
A very amazing fantasy story of surviving and breathtaking descriptions !
Here is a wonderful book and great written fantasy.The characters are interesting and it is so exciting of an amazing adventure!😍BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
Here is a wonderful book and great written fantasy.The characters are interesting and it is so exciting of an amazing adventure!😍BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
September 29, 2019
Great world building
Loved the characters and the twinned worlds.
Did a great job of mixing in believable politics of an empire that didn't actually bed its hero to return
Loved the characters and the twinned worlds.
Did a great job of mixing in believable politics of an empire that didn't actually bed its hero to return
November 1, 2019
Interesting
Good twists and turns. Good character development. Fun read. I think it would make a fantastic movie with many possibilities for computer generated work.
Good twists and turns. Good character development. Fun read. I think it would make a fantastic movie with many possibilities for computer generated work.
July 5, 2012
I have very mixed feelings about this book.
The world that is (eventually) built is very neat and I feel like it could have been used in a much better way, but the author took a very long time to introduce what was going on and actually start with some sort of direction for the story. However, there were hints and such as to what the conflict was going to be and I felt like I knew what the biggest problem was going to be long before the characters figured it out. I'm not really sure how I feel about that, I guess it just made it seem like the beginning dragged out much longer than it needed to.
Though it took a long time to build the world, though, it was a neat one. And all during that time the characters were being fleshed out and interacting and the politics and such laid out. So all through the first half of the book, a lot of story was told, it just didn't feel like it was going anywhere because the plot was not well developed yet.
And then stuff finally did start happening and for the third quartile of the book it was fantastic and I was thinking I might have to move my rating up to a four. Conflicts were established, characters dealt with them in reasonable ways (unfortunately reasonable doesn't always mean it's not exasperating for an outside perspective, but nothing stuck out as being unjustified), I felt engaged and really wanted to keep reading.
Unfortunately, which was somewhat expected but still uck; I didn't want it to happen. So I was thinking to myself that I probably shouldn't lower the rating in my head (yes, I think of how I'll review books even as I read them; it's annoying) even though I wanted to. So I trudged on when the story immediately followed that with and I nearly threw my Kindle down in disgust. Worst plot twist ever. Not only is it not at all what I expected/wanted to happen, it didn't make sense with the rest of the story. It's against everything was the entire book, it doesn't make sense with what . There is no way that it could have stayed hidden . Even though it does explain it doesn't at all explain why. Ultimately, it just seemed super out of place for me and contrived and made me pretty much done with the book.
Except that I wanted to see what happened to Stumble and Flickerdim, so I read on. Once I ignored the previous faults and got back into other parts of the story it was wonderful again for the little bit that was left in the book. Until it suddenly ended. Really suddenly. It's almost like they missed a chapter between the last two to explain how everything suddenly just fixed itself after the penultimate chapter.
So, yeah; mixed feelings. I feel like given another chance and removing just a couple mostly unnecessary bits from the plot this story could have been really fantastic. I loved the idea of the interaction between Terra and Alterra along with the plot of Rikard not being everything the myth built him up to be. Despite Laurael's and Gaius' incredible Cersei-Joffrey relationship, them and most of the characters were likable enough that I enjoyed reading about them. This book did a lot right, but the stupidest twist I can currently think of and very odd pacing were big issues.
The world that is (eventually) built is very neat and I feel like it could have been used in a much better way, but the author took a very long time to introduce what was going on and actually start with some sort of direction for the story. However, there were hints and such as to what the conflict was going to be and I felt like I knew what the biggest problem was going to be long before the characters figured it out. I'm not really sure how I feel about that, I guess it just made it seem like the beginning dragged out much longer than it needed to.
Though it took a long time to build the world, though, it was a neat one. And all during that time the characters were being fleshed out and interacting and the politics and such laid out. So all through the first half of the book, a lot of story was told, it just didn't feel like it was going anywhere because the plot was not well developed yet.
And then stuff finally did start happening and for the third quartile of the book it was fantastic and I was thinking I might have to move my rating up to a four. Conflicts were established, characters dealt with them in reasonable ways (unfortunately reasonable doesn't always mean it's not exasperating for an outside perspective, but nothing stuck out as being unjustified), I felt engaged and really wanted to keep reading.
Unfortunately, which was somewhat expected but still uck; I didn't want it to happen. So I was thinking to myself that I probably shouldn't lower the rating in my head (yes, I think of how I'll review books even as I read them; it's annoying) even though I wanted to. So I trudged on when the story immediately followed that with and I nearly threw my Kindle down in disgust. Worst plot twist ever. Not only is it not at all what I expected/wanted to happen, it didn't make sense with the rest of the story. It's against everything was the entire book, it doesn't make sense with what . There is no way that it could have stayed hidden . Even though it does explain it doesn't at all explain why. Ultimately, it just seemed super out of place for me and contrived and made me pretty much done with the book.
Except that I wanted to see what happened to Stumble and Flickerdim, so I read on. Once I ignored the previous faults and got back into other parts of the story it was wonderful again for the little bit that was left in the book. Until it suddenly ended. Really suddenly. It's almost like they missed a chapter between the last two to explain how everything suddenly just fixed itself after the penultimate chapter.
So, yeah; mixed feelings. I feel like given another chance and removing just a couple mostly unnecessary bits from the plot this story could have been really fantastic. I loved the idea of the interaction between Terra and Alterra along with the plot of Rikard not being everything the myth built him up to be. Despite Laurael's and Gaius' incredible Cersei-Joffrey relationship, them and most of the characters were likable enough that I enjoyed reading about them. This book did a lot right, but the stupidest twist I can currently think of and very odd pacing were big issues.
April 7, 2012
I really enjoyed much of this book. I thought the characters were believable and I felt drawn in by their individual plights. It was easy to love the heroes and hate the antagonists. The story is of another world where there are knights that protect the emperor and the empire (recently they fought for their country, but all countries joined the empire). These particular knights have a blood pact with another world's inhabitants, the Alterra. Alterra and its inhabitants are not made of form as the world we are reading primarily about, but rather are made of thoughts ideas, dreams, wishes and memories. The knights share memories with the Alterra in exchange for help on Terra, the planet that the knights live on. A thief from another country within the empire is asked to get close to and bring the knight that is returned from Alterra after thirty years (thought dead by Terra all these years) so that the House of Five Dragons may have control of this knight and hero. Their story of getting to know one another and care for one another is the center of the book,but the House of Five Dragons is a kind of shadow organized crime where many powerful people owe their allegiance for various forms of misbehavior (often drugs, but not always).
I really enjoyed the story, but there is a twist at the end that really bothered me that lowers my opinion of the book. I got this story for free on my Kindle and my version had a few noticeable, but forgivable typos and other editing error of the sort.
I really enjoyed the story, but there is a twist at the end that really bothered me that lowers my opinion of the book. I got this story for free on my Kindle and my version had a few noticeable, but forgivable typos and other editing error of the sort.
January 27, 2015
This is a fantastic book! I absolutely loved it. I sometimes feel like I slog through fifty mediocre books before stumbling across one as terrific as this one, and I'm so delighted that I did. I have no idea why it has such tepid reviews, the highly original storyline is tight and interesting with a great ending, the characters are authentic and well developed, and the writing is smooth and professional. The viewpoint bounces around a bit between the main characters, but in a way that enhances understanding. The premise of this soldier having to reintegrate into human society and his family after 30 years fighting a war with otherworldly allies who are constructed of ideas and can read thoughts and emotions is so refreshingly original and fascinating. The only drawback of this book, and it's a very minor one, is that the title doesn't tie in all that well. It sounds martial artsy, and is actually the name of a crime syndicate that is only indirectly related to the story. In the very end it's tied in briefly with mention of the fifth dragon. But anyway, it's no matter, whatever this book is called it's a wonderful read and I highly recommend it!
March 15, 2014
This was slow going and confusing at first. I was worried that I had started on book 2 of a series or something and had to check multiple times that this definitely was the starting point. I had started to read it and then stopped because of my confusion, but picked it back up again out of desperation for something to read. I'm overall glad I did. I enjoyed all of the characters.... The likable ones were not TOO perfect (Enders Game- ugh. He could do no wrong) and the villains were evil, but the writing and description of their cruel deeds didn't make me squirm with anger and disgust to the point of almost putting the book down (Robin Hobb does this to me). However the ending seems a bit rushed and too cheesily happy ever after. The twist could have been dealt with a bit more in depth, so that I could really emotionally feel it. The characters didn't even seem to care.
I enjoyed this enough that I definitely plan to try another of the author's books.
I enjoyed this enough that I definitely plan to try another of the author's books.
January 18, 2016
Good. Solid. Can't wait for more.
I would call this a solid fantasy novel. Not 5-star excellent. But certainly not terrible. Right smack in the "well-developed, original concept of a world I never imagined but am thankful the authors crafted for me" novel section of your neighborhood bookstore. I enjoyed reading it and felt satisfied at the conclusion, almost sad it was over. I especially appreciated the idea of twin worlds and the development of the relationship between them. What would have taken it from good to great for me would have been more of a picture of what was going on in the alternate world, more explanation and exploration of that theme. However, that also means there's a lot of room here for prequels, sequels, trilogies, etc. Solid idea. Solid book. Can't wait to explore these authors further.
I would call this a solid fantasy novel. Not 5-star excellent. But certainly not terrible. Right smack in the "well-developed, original concept of a world I never imagined but am thankful the authors crafted for me" novel section of your neighborhood bookstore. I enjoyed reading it and felt satisfied at the conclusion, almost sad it was over. I especially appreciated the idea of twin worlds and the development of the relationship between them. What would have taken it from good to great for me would have been more of a picture of what was going on in the alternate world, more explanation and exploration of that theme. However, that also means there's a lot of room here for prequels, sequels, trilogies, etc. Solid idea. Solid book. Can't wait to explore these authors further.
July 7, 2011
I had a hard time deciding between three or four stars for this one. I'm going with four for a couple of reasons: the story and the world in which it takes place is pretty original, I couldn't predict it, and it held my interest throughout. There are some problems, though. The characters are flat - either good or bad - and in the two instances the authors tried to add some gray areas they failed to do so subtly. I love free books for the iPad because I am finding ones like this, that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise. If you like stories that take place in other worlds with a magical element you will probably enjoy this one.
April 30, 2012
My 12 year old brother recommended this free e-book, and I actually thought it was really good. It had elements of Mistborn (and if you liked Mistborn, I think you'll like this book), but it also had a lot of original ideas and a plot line that kept me interested throughout. I liked this book a lot better than many other books I've read at a higher price. The characters are believable and well developed, as is the world they are placed in. There were a few spelling and grammar errors, but not enough that I found myself stumbling. Overall a surprisingly good read, if you're looking for some original "bubble-gum" fantasy.
May 8, 2012
I am going to have to be completely honest... the beginning was really slow and I wasn't sure I would even finish this book. BUT, by the end I was fully invested in this world that was trying to regain its morals and revive all the good things that made Rikard's sacrifice equal to what he sought.
September 3, 2015
A rich lore, a diverse cast of characters, an exciting writing style, and a world I'd like to read more of; House of Five Dragons delivers well on a range of writing that I haven't seen for a long time. One man fighting several wars on the ethereal and corporeal, his son struggling to find his own identity, his wife and his lover both playing two sides of different coins, and tales of armies in two different worlds. It's as exciting as it sounds and most definitely worth reading. The writing of the detail will draw you in and you'll find yourself staying for the characters.
September 10, 2015
It was a long read for me. I was chaperoning a week long field trip at the same time and found myself anxious to get back to the hotel to read another chapter before passing out and feeling elated when I had enough energy for two. I am upset to have finished reading the story but I found I had an active problem with the timeline of the story. The development loses credibility as the whole story appears to take place over the course of about a week.
April 7, 2012
I really enjoyed the story and the universe the story takes place in. There were unfortunately some grammatical errors, places that seemed to be missing words, and a bit of inconsistency when it came to describing certain characters. Overall I am glad to have read it, especially since it was free for my Kindle.
November 24, 2013
This would be a 4.5 star review if I could give it.
I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. I found the world(s) to be fascinating and the characters were generally well written. It's kind of a slow starter and you're not entirely sure what's going on for the first few chapters, but if you stick with it, it's a really intriguing story.
I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. I found the world(s) to be fascinating and the characters were generally well written. It's kind of a slow starter and you're not entirely sure what's going on for the first few chapters, but if you stick with it, it's a really intriguing story.
May 29, 2012
I was pleasantly surprised by how very good this book was. Definitely in the vein of Guy Gavriel Kay's pseudo-historical-fantasy fiction, though rather more clearly fantasy than history. Will try to provide a more thorough review later.
May 27, 2015
Delightful character growth, original "magic" system and highly entertaining! I really liked how Rikard, Thainna and Gaius progressed throughout the story- I was really pleased with the ending because I didn't see it coming at all.
May 6, 2012
I just couldn't wrap myself around this one. I was lost from the start and had no clue at times what was going on that i gave up on the book entirely
April 23, 2012
Not bad. Really slow to start, but once you get into it, worth the read.
May 11, 2012
Starts out slow, but it eventually gets pretty good. It's a rather different take on fantasy (nothing defined as "magic" in this) but I would still suggest it to fantasy fans.
December 31, 2012
This book starts off slow and I had almost given up on it, but when it took off... It soared. I actually stayed up until 3 am to finish it. It's THAT good!
March 14, 2013
Couldn't finish, though not badly written...
August 16, 2013
Highly recommended! I would love to see a follow up book.
January 12, 2014
I could not put this darn thing down...I was up until 4:30 in the morning, biting my nails and flipping through pages like a madwoman.
April 23, 2016
Excellent
Begins slowly, but stick with it, you will find the journey well worth the effort , just wish there had been more ... The true sign of a good book.
Begins slowly, but stick with it, you will find the journey well worth the effort , just wish there had been more ... The true sign of a good book.
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