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The Balance of Power #1
Regent
Regent, book one of The Balance of Power trilogy, is the much anticipated continuation of the World of Godsland fantasy series, which began with The Dawning of Power trilogy.
In the years since the end of The Herald War, the world has become complacent despite Catrin Volker's warnings. When the darkness of her visions comes to pass, no one is prepared, and the fate of humanity will rest in her hands.
In the years since the end of The Herald War, the world has become complacent despite Catrin Volker's warnings. When the darkness of her visions comes to pass, no one is prepared, and the fate of humanity will rest in her hands.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2011
128 people are currently reading
1094 people want to read
About the author
Brian Rathbone
44 books1,592 followers
A former horse trainer and computer programmer, Brian Rathbone used his old world knowledge and love of fantasy fiction to create The World of Godsland fantasy series, which begins with The Dawning of Power trilogy.
The World of Godsland fantasy series includes:
Call of the Herald
Inherited Danger
Dragon Ore
Regent
Feral
Regal
The Fifth Magic
Dragonhold
The Seventh Magic
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 26, 2021
“Perhaps in that the old prophecies had been right. Perhaps she had no choice but to become an avatar of death. Is a sword only used to kill?”
Dragons and magic, what can go wrong? Lots. Both in the plot and in the storytelling. Lots of emoting and adults acting like teens.
“Forgotten are those who fail to achieve. Doomed are those afraid to fail.”
Though the first of a new series, Regent assumes readers have read the previous series. Late in the second half, “new” characters appear from previous books. Doesn’t end with a cliffhanger; ends falling off the cliff. Not ending, per se.
“I cannot kill you because I have seen that future as well, and the only thing worse than a future without dragons is a future without dragons and humans. Now there is no other way. You must choose.”
Quibble: “Piling the dark-shelled muscles onto the indented slab…” Eating muscles? No, mussels.
"Not that one.” Durin's sick feeling intensified as a low grinding noise filled the halls and the stone beneath their feet trembled.
Dragons and magic, what can go wrong? Lots. Both in the plot and in the storytelling. Lots of emoting and adults acting like teens.
“Forgotten are those who fail to achieve. Doomed are those afraid to fail.”
Though the first of a new series, Regent assumes readers have read the previous series. Late in the second half, “new” characters appear from previous books. Doesn’t end with a cliffhanger; ends falling off the cliff. Not ending, per se.
“I cannot kill you because I have seen that future as well, and the only thing worse than a future without dragons is a future without dragons and humans. Now there is no other way. You must choose.”
Quibble: “Piling the dark-shelled muscles onto the indented slab…” Eating muscles? No, mussels.
"Not that one.” Durin's sick feeling intensified as a low grinding noise filled the halls and the stone beneath their feet trembled.
October 4, 2022
To be fair to the author, I am giving it a 3 star because I couldn't handle the poor audiobook narration. It was bad. Very. So, the story may be great, but I can't be sure.
July 6, 2016
There was a lot about this book I really liked, but unfortunately also a lot I didn't like.
The main character, Catrin, is a strong female mage who communes with dragons and in a lot of ways is excellent - innovative, brave, fiercely protective of those she loves. But she is far too often portrayed as crippled by pointless guilt and indecision that clashes with the rest of her personality.
The plot is good - it keeps moving, no stagnation, and while nothing was 'GASP' surprising there were plenty of twists. The problem is the excessive cliffhanger. The ebook of this is a mere 264 pages including the Epilogue so it's hard to imagine why the story had to stop in what was essentially the climax of act 3. WORST OF ALL, when I click the provided link to the "next" book in the series to see the price/synopsis, I find it's not a continuation of the highly exciting adventure of Catrin back to her awakening and her quest to save dragon and man alike, but instead about the whiny son! Throughout the book her son has been bland to say the least - I wanted to know more about her husband, but instead was constantly thrust into the son's POV where he is likewise guilty about everything without ever developing as a person.
The dragons are well portrayed, including their relations with each other. I would have liked more description about the ferals instead of just 'OMG so scary' over and over, though. All in all, I would pick up another Rathbone dragon book if one came across my lap, but I won't be paying $6 to hear the story of whiny Catrin Jr.
The main character, Catrin, is a strong female mage who communes with dragons and in a lot of ways is excellent - innovative, brave, fiercely protective of those she loves. But she is far too often portrayed as crippled by pointless guilt and indecision that clashes with the rest of her personality.
The plot is good - it keeps moving, no stagnation, and while nothing was 'GASP' surprising there were plenty of twists. The problem is the excessive cliffhanger. The ebook of this is a mere 264 pages including the Epilogue so it's hard to imagine why the story had to stop in what was essentially the climax of act 3. WORST OF ALL, when I click the provided link to the "next" book in the series to see the price/synopsis, I find it's not a continuation of the highly exciting adventure of Catrin back to her awakening and her quest to save dragon and man alike, but instead about the whiny son! Throughout the book her son has been bland to say the least - I wanted to know more about her husband, but instead was constantly thrust into the son's POV where he is likewise guilty about everything without ever developing as a person.
The dragons are well portrayed, including their relations with each other. I would have liked more description about the ferals instead of just 'OMG so scary' over and over, though. All in all, I would pick up another Rathbone dragon book if one came across my lap, but I won't be paying $6 to hear the story of whiny Catrin Jr.
August 14, 2019
I'm safe! I told myself. This is the first book of its series, so I can't get confused because I haven't read the previous books.
Wrong. The series is a sequel to another series, and the book, while full of fascinating world details and wonderful action scenes, was so confusing as to be almost unreadable. Catrin, the main character, had apparently at one point discovered how to do some forgotten magic. She'd also made friends with a dragon, and somehow the crew of a ship were involved. Another species of dragons and some humans of ill will are attacking her people.
There are a couple of really good characters in the book, notably Trinda and the dragon queen, but the rest are forgettable in the extreme. The plot, as I've mentioned, was full of action, but much of it seemed futile.
All in all, this book reminds me in an unpleasant way of The Empire Strikes Back. If that film hadn't been the sequel to the original Star Wars, we would never have bothered with the third movie.
Sadly, I won't be bothering with any more of this series, either. Obviously someone likes these, or the author and publisher wouldn't have bothered with so many books. However, I am not that someone.
Wrong. The series is a sequel to another series, and the book, while full of fascinating world details and wonderful action scenes, was so confusing as to be almost unreadable. Catrin, the main character, had apparently at one point discovered how to do some forgotten magic. She'd also made friends with a dragon, and somehow the crew of a ship were involved. Another species of dragons and some humans of ill will are attacking her people.
There are a couple of really good characters in the book, notably Trinda and the dragon queen, but the rest are forgettable in the extreme. The plot, as I've mentioned, was full of action, but much of it seemed futile.
All in all, this book reminds me in an unpleasant way of The Empire Strikes Back. If that film hadn't been the sequel to the original Star Wars, we would never have bothered with the third movie.
Sadly, I won't be bothering with any more of this series, either. Obviously someone likes these, or the author and publisher wouldn't have bothered with so many books. However, I am not that someone.
January 12, 2020
Frustrating, while this is the first book in this trilogy, you need to have read the previous trilogy to understand what is happening. Too often, I was at a loss and had to struggle through. A shame as I suspect it would have been an enjoyable adventure if I knew what was happening.
The other problem with this is that the ending was very abrupt.
The other problem with this is that the ending was very abrupt.
January 23, 2026
I pushed myself to finish the book. I did enjoy the exciting ending but found the start slow and difficult to follow. When I grabbed this as the first of a trilogy, I never anticipated I was supposed to have read a trilogy prior to this. In my mind, that would make this book #4. Perhaps if I'd read the others beforehand my views would be different, perhaps.
There were bonds that were forged obviously that I had no understanding about, deep set hate toward others, creatures, and other things which appear where background would have been very helpful.
Other than the action, it was frustrating to read.
Pass on the read unless perhaps you've read the other trilogy would be my recommendation.
There were bonds that were forged obviously that I had no understanding about, deep set hate toward others, creatures, and other things which appear where background would have been very helpful.
Other than the action, it was frustrating to read.
Pass on the read unless perhaps you've read the other trilogy would be my recommendation.
July 24, 2017
I don't know if it was the story, the fact I had an audio book this time and somehow felt I missed bits or that it was so long since I read The Dawning Of Power trilogy, but I felt disappointed by this. I loved the first trilogy within the world of the Godsland and high hopes that I would enjoy the next. But this time I felt disconnected from the story and did not follow it well. The audible version I had was however well narrated and enjoyable for that at least. I hope that maybe a second reading one day will prove me wrong that this book is better than I have experienced this time round.
November 22, 2024
I enjoyed the first trilogy but this book.... eh. I struggled to get thru it. I am really not sure I will continue with the series. The jump in time from the last book was jarring and honestly I just didnt care about her kid. The author did nothing to give me enough background or pull me in to really care. And its getting repetitive. Massive battle, go back and regroup, massive battle, rinse repeat. Also I dont know how some characters developed the power they did between the last book and this book. Just meh.
June 11, 2020
The trilogy had real potential to be entertaining. The world building was fairly well done. But too much is left unsaid. And there were too many disappointments in the character of the main characters Eventually they just became annoying.
December 5, 2020
A captivating story. Catrin and her regent dragon, are forced to fight dark powers held within the largest of the feral dragons and its army of demons and giants. All the while she is also desperate to fin her husband, Prios, and son, Sinjin, still at Dragonhold castle somewhere.
May 4, 2017
Jump in from page one, never stops through the whole book.
June 25, 2017
Cliffhanger ending! Aargh. Also left out of a lot as I only read 1 of previous series. I know author can do better than this! 2*
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October 14, 2019Futuresque and interesting.. will have to read it twice..
November 9, 2019
Probably would be better if I had started the Godsland series with book one instead of book 4. I'm not sure if I want to continue the balance of power series
Read
February 5, 2021Really enjoy Brian Rathbone and his story telling
April 16, 2022
A great book and series
A will written science fiction book and series with well developed interesting characters, a very believable story line, lots of action, and a great ending. Enjoy 2013
A will written science fiction book and series with well developed interesting characters, a very believable story line, lots of action, and a great ending. Enjoy 2013
February 16, 2015
The action doesn't stop. With the new trilogy in his Godsland series, Brian once again takes you on a gripping adventure through new areas of his world, introduces new characters, and reveals more of the horror that lies at the center of the evil investing the world.
This tightly woven tale continues the saga without a break. The new characters show all the typical pre-teen issues you could expect. Especially for boys living in the shadow of an icon. Yes, most of us will want to take those same boys and dip them in buckets of ice water in the middle of a snow storm. I haven't met many pre-teens this doesn't apply to.
Some of the original cast are shuffled off to the sidelines, others become more prominent. All of them continue to grow and add depth to their personalities. While I love to post fully glowing reviews, there are a few downsides to this installment.
Some of the plot twists are extremely predictable. They should be, they've been forecast in detail through the previous books. However, even the results aren't always what you expect. So, despite the few (extremely minor) flaws, this is definitely another solid addition to his growing body of work that gripped me from the first line until I slammed through the last demanding more.
This tightly woven tale continues the saga without a break. The new characters show all the typical pre-teen issues you could expect. Especially for boys living in the shadow of an icon. Yes, most of us will want to take those same boys and dip them in buckets of ice water in the middle of a snow storm. I haven't met many pre-teens this doesn't apply to.
Some of the original cast are shuffled off to the sidelines, others become more prominent. All of them continue to grow and add depth to their personalities. While I love to post fully glowing reviews, there are a few downsides to this installment.
Some of the plot twists are extremely predictable. They should be, they've been forecast in detail through the previous books. However, even the results aren't always what you expect. So, despite the few (extremely minor) flaws, this is definitely another solid addition to his growing body of work that gripped me from the first line until I slammed through the last demanding more.
January 10, 2013
I honestly have to say I was very disappointed in this book. It starts by jumping an unknown number of years (we knew Catrin WAS 15 and now suddenly she has a teenage-sounding son). The drama is overly drawn out and weighs the whole book, practically drowning the story underneath. Every battle (and there's plenty of them) is Catrin experiencing "more power than ever before" and each strike against her is "feeling like her soul was being torn apart". And the use of power has become unrealistic. The powers of the world are described well enough but are far outstripping the rate foreseeable, even with the jump in the timeline. So many suddenly have the "gift" of the power if Istra. If using that gift made Catrin so special as a heroine, Mr. Rathbone strips her of the very thing that made her special by handing it out all loosy-goosy. I can't remember the last time I rolled my eyes at a book. I was loathe to finish this book and then to find out there's more books to this series? I'm honestly not sure I won't pass it up. The first 3 are worth the read, it's just a shame it felt the need to keep going like THIS.
August 10, 2014
I had the feeling I should have read a book before this, even though it is called Book One. There were lots of places where they talked about what happened before, and gave you some idea, but not details. This is a fantasy with telepathic dragons and people able to pull energy from the air and comets and spirit travel (though there aren't many of these people. Lots of dragons some good, a lot very evil) There are also demons and black hordes. There was almost always 2 separate story lines and sometimes you spent so long in one story, you forgot what was happening in the other. (Or maybe it's just that I'm getting old and forgetful and was falling asleep)
My biggest complaint was that it was 550 pages long and TOTALLY left you hanging. There was an epilogue, that wasn't an epilogue at all! It should have been called a "shameless chapter meant to get you to buy the next book because we left you with not even a vague ending place"
My biggest complaint was that it was 550 pages long and TOTALLY left you hanging. There was an epilogue, that wasn't an epilogue at all! It should have been called a "shameless chapter meant to get you to buy the next book because we left you with not even a vague ending place"
January 12, 2014
I like this series but I am constantly wondering how Cat is supposed to be the most powerful but is constantly coming up against a super power that thwarts her at every turn. This book is full of fighting....demons, dragons, giants, inner turmoil within the hold, and with each other. I'd like a bit more story line and Cat actually learning about her power instead of just trying things out and finding, hey, I can do that!!! I realize that if it was easy for her there wouldn't be much suspense but I'd like to see her become more of a master by this stage of the game. I thought she would learn something from Dragonhold in those deep caves with the strange, magical aura, but so far nothing! I hope the last book will answer some of the questions from deep in those caves.
July 27, 2014
Continuing the tale started in the first trilogy, but picking up more than a decade later. While jumping from persona to person, to see what is happening with each character when they are separated, can be a useful tool, it can be a nuisance and distraction when it is over used. At times this book felt like a soap opera, in the sense that most of the 'scene changes' were cliffhangers. It started to become more annoying than exciting.
Aside from that, I enjoyed the book and am continuing the series. It's not something I find myself emotionally or even intellectually drawn into, but it is a good read.
Aside from that, I enjoyed the book and am continuing the series. It's not something I find myself emotionally or even intellectually drawn into, but it is a good read.
September 2, 2015
I really wanted to like this book, I liked the entire prior trilogy. The story line was pretty good, but the writing reached a new level of annoyance. At least every other page there was a "never before" "guilt" "never seen"....or can't do, impossible, blah, blah blah and this was for most of the characters.
How can something be the worst/most dangerous/never seen again and Again and AGAIN?
It was so annoying I had to put it down every few pages. The only reason I finished it is because I kept hoping it would get better.
I feel sorry for anyone who purchased this, especially due to the cliffhanger ending.
How can something be the worst/most dangerous/never seen again and Again and AGAIN?
It was so annoying I had to put it down every few pages. The only reason I finished it is because I kept hoping it would get better.
I feel sorry for anyone who purchased this, especially due to the cliffhanger ending.
January 18, 2015
I felt as though I was missing valuable information about the main character, as I did not know there were books before this series that would have been important to read. While I love action packed books, it seemed as though the author didn't give the readers time to breathe from the constant struggle of an impossible battle. The battles left me feeling as though I was drowning because of the lack of hope that the author fails to create for the readers.
March 29, 2015
Great adventure
Regent has a lot of action in it. Getting all the characters down is a little difficult being that there's so many and it is skipped around a bit. Overall though it is a good story line which is the most important thing. I will read the next one the hook was set late in the book but it was set.
Regent has a lot of action in it. Getting all the characters down is a little difficult being that there's so many and it is skipped around a bit. Overall though it is a good story line which is the most important thing. I will read the next one the hook was set late in the book but it was set.
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October 21, 2015I'm torn on my review (2.5 stars)
I enjoyed but also disliked the book. The plot was great the characters were great, but I just could not stay in the book. Maybe I will need to read it again at another time but then maybe the book really is boring. Not sure. I won't recommend the book to friends at this point but don't let my review stop you from reading the book either.
I enjoyed but also disliked the book. The plot was great the characters were great, but I just could not stay in the book. Maybe I will need to read it again at another time but then maybe the book really is boring. Not sure. I won't recommend the book to friends at this point but don't let my review stop you from reading the book either.
January 12, 2016
Vague, lost,
Throughout the entire book I kept wondering if I had missed the books previously published. References to previous events that weren't part of the current situations or storyline.
Constant fighting in the "spirit realm" seemed monotonous and added to the lost feeling throughout the book. Storyline is muddled and surrounding descriptions vague
Throughout the entire book I kept wondering if I had missed the books previously published. References to previous events that weren't part of the current situations or storyline.
Constant fighting in the "spirit realm" seemed monotonous and added to the lost feeling throughout the book. Storyline is muddled and surrounding descriptions vague
Read
April 1, 2016Wow. So action packed, I had a hard time putting it down. Catrin, with her dragon, Kyrien, faces as enemy unlike anything she has seen before, and she is the only one standing between her loved ones and total destruction.
Brian crafts some really intense battle scenes for this one. My mind is still buzzing. I can't wait to see what he has in store for Feral.
Brian crafts some really intense battle scenes for this one. My mind is still buzzing. I can't wait to see what he has in store for Feral.
December 11, 2012
I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy a while back. If you love hardcore fantasy, Brian Rathbone is the writer for you. He's vivid, his characters are alive, and I couldn't put this book down. Five stars.
Jairus Reddy
http://www.HobbesEndPublishing.com
Jairus Reddy
http://www.HobbesEndPublishing.com
October 22, 2013
This is the fist book after the trilogy, and about 10 or so years has passed. The book started out way to slow for my liking. Then an explosion of activity occurred and the book kept up the pace for the rest of the book.
March 10, 2014
Another great book in the series
Series don't always live up to the first book but this series keeps delivering and leaving you wanting more. There a lot of action and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait to read the next and I know I will be sad when it is over.
Series don't always live up to the first book but this series keeps delivering and leaving you wanting more. There a lot of action and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait to read the next and I know I will be sad when it is over.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews