The Year of the Dragon Omnibus Edition

The Year of the Dragon #1–4

by James Calbraith

alternate cover edition is here

The deluxe first four books of the "Year of the Dragon" best-selling historical fantasy saga, containing the entire Crimson Robe arc:

Book 1: The Shadow of Black Wings
Book 2: The Warrior's Soul
Book 3: The Islands in the Mist
Book 4: The Rising Tide

The deluxe edition contains also a short story "Birkenhead Drill", a full glossary of foreign words, list of characters, and a chronology of the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Young Adult

820 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2013

About the author

James Calbraith is a Poland-born British writer, foodie and traveller.

Growing up in communist Poland on a diet of powdered milk, Lord of the Rings and soviet science-fiction, he had his first story published at the ripe age of eight. After years of bouncing around Polish universities, he moved to London in 2007 and started writing in English. His debut historical fantasy novel, "The Shadow of Black Wings", has reached ABNA semi-finals. It was published in July 2012 and hit the Historical Fantasy and Alternate History bestseller lists on Amazon US & UK.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 The complete Year of the Dragon (The Year of the Dragon box set, #1-4 & #5-8) is FREE on Amazon today (2/24/2020)! 🎁

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this a hearty 5 stars!! At first it seemed like it was going to be just another story about a boy & his dragon but it is oh so much more!!! I was amazed at the different cultures, intrigues & the different types of magic & magical monsters & creatures. Descriptions of the different types of energies & the way they were used was well thought out. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy fiction or science fiction as there are machines also & scientists are some of the important characters. It`s a bit long but i enjoyed every word.

[William Breen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very entertaining epic adventure. The story takes place on an alternate steampunk touched earth with dragons and magic. What really set it apart for me was the meshing of history from our universe into the authors creation. Looking forward to reading more.

[Christa Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered the first book in the series "The Shadow of Black Wings" on podiobooks.com and I fell in love.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

First 4 books in a series of 7 that chronicles a parallel universe where much is the same but much is different. Accidentally cast by magic into a land hidden from most Occidentals, a young mage is befriended by a young priestess & a young female mage & martial artist. They share many adventures & it will be obvious to most readers which country & era the book parallels in our own world. Once I got done with the first 4 books in this set, I bought the rest of the series & enjoyed it thoroughly. Adventure, magic, romance, even a bit of politics, & intrigue.

[Keith Bonner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read in a multi faceted story. I did find it difficult to follow the many characters and regions with to many oriental names throughout the book. I've downloaded the fifth book in the series looking forward to continuing the saga. Very different from many other dragon fantasy books I've read but definitely very enjoyable and worth a read.

[Michele Marcotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first discovered this series when I listened to the podcast of The Shadow of Black Wings (which is available from Podiobooks.com). I wanted more, so eventually I purchased the full ebook set. I found the alternate world that the books were set in to be very fully formed. It was a little confusing that the books began in an alternate Wales (Prydain) and traveled across the globe to an alternate Japan (Yamato), where the majority of the books' action takes place, but this does serve to introduce the main character and several others who play a part in the action.

Set against the background of political intrigue in Japan and China, the main characters set out on a journey of recovery. I found the main characters to be interesting and well-developed, and the plot (or plots) satisfying.

The novels can be confusing as they introduce all kinds of alternate history, and often don't explain it very well. There is also an extensive use of Japanese and other foreign words, and Japanese people naturally populate the book. After a while I had trouble remembering who was who.

The author deals with all of these problems in the appendices. Since I didn't discover them until after I reached the end of the book, they were useless to me. But I would suggest to the new reader that you will find them very helpful. My only complaint there is that the characters are listed by location or household, instead of in simple alphabetical order.

All in all, a fun series. It ends with the possibility that there might be more, and I would certainly read them.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I was bored and leaning toward a good dragon story. I found parts of the story to be captivating and kept me reading. Other sections, however, were less enjoyable and I really had to push myself to finish the work. It just seemed like there were too many sections which didn't seem to be advancing the story line and detracted from the tale. All that being said, I will be reading part 5 when it gets to my local library.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to follow in some areas; very broken up and poor flow. Actually a very good story and plot, could use some better introductions or changes to the scene locations that would assist the reader in following the story better. Well developed characters. Biggest issue is how the scenes jump all over the place with no timeline or geographical location to differentiate from one scene to another.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting storyline with a strange mixture of magic and alternate history. The main characters are interesting and well drawn. The environmental descriptions leave a little to be desired but the story moves fairly rapidly. There is also a good balance of straight forward action and the cloak and dagger manipulation of a good mystery novel. Some of the character's emotional transitions are little jarring as well, but all in all a entertaining series.

[James Hutcheson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope......not for me.....got through book one and honestly wish I hadn't. I've read a few other dragon/fantasy series and this one didn't deliver. Dragged on and I really couldn't see a story forming. Then suddenly book one finished.......no real ending or cliffhanger or setup for the rest of the series.
Gave up, but you never know, I might try it again......

[Ralph Trickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story of a western in an eastern culture

It was an interesting sorry about a western Dragon rider trapped in an eastern alternate world in the late 1800s.

[James M. Barkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ride!

Even though I sometimes found the books confusing because of so many characters, it was still awesome read. I would highly recommend this series.

[Kean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable. Solid characters, except for the male protagonist, who switches between competent and goofy.

[John Haslam · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little hard to get into. but 7 books in all (kindle only)

[Gwennie]

excellent, on to books 5-7

[Kate]

This book is VERY young in writing style - not what I was hoping for. At least I got it for like $1.