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Ballad of Sir Benfro #1
Dreamwalker
The dragons of Glwad are dying. Persecuted for over two millennia, they're a shrunken echo of the proud creatures they once were. And yet in new life springs hope: Benfro, son of Morgwm the Green, is the first male kitling in a thousand years, and he is marked for great things. Long ago, dragons wrought a terrible wrong to the land, and now is the time for redemption.
Every young boy in the Twin Kingdoms dreams of being chosen for one of the great orders, and Errol Ramsbottom is no different. He longs to be a Warrior Priest of the High Ffrydd, riding to glorious victory in battle. But you should be careful what you wish for; it might just come to pass.
For almost a century there has been an uneasy truce between the Twin Kingdoms and the godless Llanwennogs to the north, but as King Diseverin descends ever further into drunken madness, his ruthless daughter Beulah takes up the reins of power. A time of war looks set to descend upon Gwlad, and it will surely draw everyone, man and dragon both, into its cruel game.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2012
105 people are currently reading
2220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
December 13, 2015
I absolutely loved this book and can't believe it isn't more widely talked about on Bookstagram! I am so annoyed with myself for not picking this book up months ago because it is a brilliant fantasy.
It is set in a unique world, that I think was inspired by Wales and the Welsh language, where both humans and dragons exist. I loved that the dragons in this book are intelligent and live in villages and can read and write, rather than simply being winged fire breathing animals.
I enjoyed each of the multiple POV in this book and it was great to see the story from the view of both humans and dragons. I am so excited to follow Benfro and Errol as they grow up.
The magic system is very interesting and unlike anything I have read about before, the idea of the Grym Lines is very clever and I can't wait to continue this series, learning more about magic as our young characters do.
This book was so clever and at times brilliantly frustrating, the multiple plots end up intertwining and it's always great to see that written well.
I think it's best to go into this book not knowing too much about the world so I don't want to give anything away, I highly recommend this book but unfortunately can't write a review good enough to do it justice. Just trust me, you need to read it.
It is set in a unique world, that I think was inspired by Wales and the Welsh language, where both humans and dragons exist. I loved that the dragons in this book are intelligent and live in villages and can read and write, rather than simply being winged fire breathing animals.
I enjoyed each of the multiple POV in this book and it was great to see the story from the view of both humans and dragons. I am so excited to follow Benfro and Errol as they grow up.
The magic system is very interesting and unlike anything I have read about before, the idea of the Grym Lines is very clever and I can't wait to continue this series, learning more about magic as our young characters do.
This book was so clever and at times brilliantly frustrating, the multiple plots end up intertwining and it's always great to see that written well.
I think it's best to go into this book not knowing too much about the world so I don't want to give anything away, I highly recommend this book but unfortunately can't write a review good enough to do it justice. Just trust me, you need to read it.
September 14, 2014
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book because I bought this without ever hearing anything about it and not knowing that there were very mixed reviews on Goodreads and Amazon about it. I purchased this 100% for the cover design which I adore on this edition and I think it's so beautiful and fits very well with the story so for the cover it's a 5* book. Moving onto the plot etc...
This is a story which focuses around 2 central characters, the first is Benfro a young Dragon Kitling who has been born outside of the law and lives in a magically-protected village with the other Dragons hiding away from people. Benfro is a young Dragon in the grand scheme of things and he's very naive about the ways of men and the world which his Mother has tried her best to protect him from. He's a caring and honest character with a good heart and I enjoyed his storyline a lot because it developed well and it was exciting to read about Dragons (although they're not as well described as they could have been).
The other major character whose story we follow is Errol who is Heir to the Obsidian Throne (not that he knows that) and a young boy who has the same birthday as Benfro. They met on the day they were born but do not meet one another in this book after that. However, even though they do not meet their storylines do overlap and things we learn from one POV also affect the other character which I enjoyed a lot. Errol is a sweet-natured and very intelligent boy who grew up in a small village far away from the Kingdom. He doesn't know of his birthright and he just dreams of joining the Order of the High Ffrydd until they actually arrive to take him and his mind is changed...
This is a very cool kids story which combines the world of Man and Dragon in a conflicted and harmonious way. Some men like Dragons and want to protect them whilst others hunt them and wish for their extinction. I have no doubt that the conflict which is brewing throughout all of this is certainly going to take centre stage in book 2 and 3 and I look forward to seeing what happens for our two characters.
Although the Dragons are not as developed as I would like and this book seems much more like a set-up book than a fully realised story I really enjoyed the Politics and magic in this world and although it was slow to start off the action increased the further you got through. I would say that the last third of the book was by far the best and made me want to pick up book 2 very soon!
I very much enjoyed the idea of Grym lines and the magic which is included in this world because the idea of a tangible line of magic that you can train to see and use was a very cool one. I also like that both men and Dragons can use this magic and that they both use it in their own ways. I feel that the Men are made out to be the enemy in this book a lot more than the Dragons, but I m interested to see who will win in the later books.
I liked the use of Welsh (or Welsh-sounding) words as they seem to work well with Dragons and the words sounded much more genuine and immersive with the Welsh connotations :)
On the whole if you like Dragons and tales which are quite charming and entertaining if a little slow to build then this one is a good read. I would rate this as a YA book as the main characters are 13/14 and the writing is fairly easy to understand although some passages are more complex. I think it's a great start to the series and it promises a lot more to come so I will be picking up book 2 soonish and I hope to enjoy that one too!
This is a story which focuses around 2 central characters, the first is Benfro a young Dragon Kitling who has been born outside of the law and lives in a magically-protected village with the other Dragons hiding away from people. Benfro is a young Dragon in the grand scheme of things and he's very naive about the ways of men and the world which his Mother has tried her best to protect him from. He's a caring and honest character with a good heart and I enjoyed his storyline a lot because it developed well and it was exciting to read about Dragons (although they're not as well described as they could have been).
The other major character whose story we follow is Errol who is Heir to the Obsidian Throne (not that he knows that) and a young boy who has the same birthday as Benfro. They met on the day they were born but do not meet one another in this book after that. However, even though they do not meet their storylines do overlap and things we learn from one POV also affect the other character which I enjoyed a lot. Errol is a sweet-natured and very intelligent boy who grew up in a small village far away from the Kingdom. He doesn't know of his birthright and he just dreams of joining the Order of the High Ffrydd until they actually arrive to take him and his mind is changed...
This is a very cool kids story which combines the world of Man and Dragon in a conflicted and harmonious way. Some men like Dragons and want to protect them whilst others hunt them and wish for their extinction. I have no doubt that the conflict which is brewing throughout all of this is certainly going to take centre stage in book 2 and 3 and I look forward to seeing what happens for our two characters.
Although the Dragons are not as developed as I would like and this book seems much more like a set-up book than a fully realised story I really enjoyed the Politics and magic in this world and although it was slow to start off the action increased the further you got through. I would say that the last third of the book was by far the best and made me want to pick up book 2 very soon!
I very much enjoyed the idea of Grym lines and the magic which is included in this world because the idea of a tangible line of magic that you can train to see and use was a very cool one. I also like that both men and Dragons can use this magic and that they both use it in their own ways. I feel that the Men are made out to be the enemy in this book a lot more than the Dragons, but I m interested to see who will win in the later books.
I liked the use of Welsh (or Welsh-sounding) words as they seem to work well with Dragons and the words sounded much more genuine and immersive with the Welsh connotations :)
On the whole if you like Dragons and tales which are quite charming and entertaining if a little slow to build then this one is a good read. I would rate this as a YA book as the main characters are 13/14 and the writing is fairly easy to understand although some passages are more complex. I think it's a great start to the series and it promises a lot more to come so I will be picking up book 2 soonish and I hope to enjoy that one too!
April 13, 2017
2.5 stars
Review to come
Review to come
March 24, 2017
An OK read, the characters were interesting, but somehow, it never really drew me in. I took 12 days to finish this book, but I did enjoy it a bit. ***I decided, based on the characters, to try the next book in the series, in 2 days, I am about half-way through it. Much better!***
March 24, 2025
According to the pencil writing on the first page, I purchased this book in October 2015. I don't grab fantasy books often these days, as I feel like I can spend my time better on non-fiction. But that's nonsense, I should also read to relax. So I packed this in my book crate for the Spitsbergen fieldwork. Finally got around to starting it, and what an enjoyable read this was for me! The two storylines are both interesting, and they come close to each other, but never really merge. That will probably happen in part two.. the worldbuilding picks up slowly, it took me a while to figure out how the magic worked. But I like this more than when the first few chapters are only explanations of the world and the magic, which can really bore the reader. Time to find the ebook version of part two..
May 20, 2020
Such an enjoyable read - that ending blew my mind I kinda need book 2??? and I'm mad at myself for not anticipating it and not buying it straight away
March 13, 2016
In three words: intriguing, enjoyable, slow.
"'Time has a habit of making chaos from the most perfect order.'"
I was thrilled to win this book from my friend Christine (@weereader on Instagram). First, I loved the fact that it was a fantasy world inspired by Wales - it's not something I'd come across in a fantasy book before and I thought it was really interesting. However, I struggled a bit with the names of people and places because I'm unfamiliar with Welsh pronunciation.
Although the world itself was a bit different to a 'standard' fantasy setting because of the Welsh influence, I did think that other than that the book was quite stereotypical and the human characters were a bit cliché and flat. I was intrigued by the dragons though, but they seemed to be quite 'anthropomorphised' and that did confuse me a little.
Another thing I didn't really like was the fact that the story seemed quite drawn-out. I feel like it could have been shorter, but the multiple POVs and the fact that the viewpoint switched quite frequently did keep things interesting. I enjoyed hearing from both the protagonists and the antagonists, and also both humans and dragons.
The magic system was something that I liked, as well as the world-building. Each chapter started with an excerpt of history, which I thought was an effective tool for giving the reader information without dumping everything on them at once.
Despite finding it a bit slow and having to spend so long reading it because I just didn't have time to pick it up while I was so busy with work, I did enjoy this book overall. After -that- ending, I'm interested to read the next book at some point to see what happens next!
Recommended for: people looking for a YA fantasy with an intriguing world and magic system.
~~~~~
Review also posted here.
"'Time has a habit of making chaos from the most perfect order.'"
I was thrilled to win this book from my friend Christine (@weereader on Instagram). First, I loved the fact that it was a fantasy world inspired by Wales - it's not something I'd come across in a fantasy book before and I thought it was really interesting. However, I struggled a bit with the names of people and places because I'm unfamiliar with Welsh pronunciation.
Although the world itself was a bit different to a 'standard' fantasy setting because of the Welsh influence, I did think that other than that the book was quite stereotypical and the human characters were a bit cliché and flat. I was intrigued by the dragons though, but they seemed to be quite 'anthropomorphised' and that did confuse me a little.
Another thing I didn't really like was the fact that the story seemed quite drawn-out. I feel like it could have been shorter, but the multiple POVs and the fact that the viewpoint switched quite frequently did keep things interesting. I enjoyed hearing from both the protagonists and the antagonists, and also both humans and dragons.
The magic system was something that I liked, as well as the world-building. Each chapter started with an excerpt of history, which I thought was an effective tool for giving the reader information without dumping everything on them at once.
Despite finding it a bit slow and having to spend so long reading it because I just didn't have time to pick it up while I was so busy with work, I did enjoy this book overall. After -that- ending, I'm interested to read the next book at some point to see what happens next!
Recommended for: people looking for a YA fantasy with an intriguing world and magic system.
~~~~~
Review also posted here.
March 6, 2017
This book is a classic fantasy, and tells of a secretive dragon society, with a parallel story of an adopted royal orphan who is integrated into a priestly order against his will.
I was going to give this four stars. It's well written and enjoyable to read. The characters are painted well and the magic system is interesting.
The dragon society didn't quite work for me because the dragons came across as seemingly very human. They spoke and ate and drank and lived in villages and houses - just like a tribe of humans. I know they were meant to be a shadow of their former glory, but even so, I struggled to picture them as being very dragonish as first.
My other issue was the pace. It started off well, but the pace became slower. By the end I felt the story hadn't really got very far. Clearly it's setting up for a series, and I'm fine with that idea. But then it ended on an out-and-out cliffhanger and I'm afraid I can't be doing with that. No plot resolution at all. I don't feel satisfied. So I'm afraid that pulls it down to a three star.
However, if you don't mind cliffhangers, it's a good intro to what sounds like a more exciting second book!
I was going to give this four stars. It's well written and enjoyable to read. The characters are painted well and the magic system is interesting.
The dragon society didn't quite work for me because the dragons came across as seemingly very human. They spoke and ate and drank and lived in villages and houses - just like a tribe of humans. I know they were meant to be a shadow of their former glory, but even so, I struggled to picture them as being very dragonish as first.
My other issue was the pace. It started off well, but the pace became slower. By the end I felt the story hadn't really got very far. Clearly it's setting up for a series, and I'm fine with that idea. But then it ended on an out-and-out cliffhanger and I'm afraid I can't be doing with that. No plot resolution at all. I don't feel satisfied. So I'm afraid that pulls it down to a three star.
However, if you don't mind cliffhangers, it's a good intro to what sounds like a more exciting second book!
April 25, 2016
This book for me was extremely frustrating. It had so much potential and this was only seen in the last hundred pages.
So much scene setting and unneeded added extras, I found the characters taking to long to come into themselves and rather predicable. Also I thought the two main characters although apart in the story should be more entwined in their paths.
However, the last 100 hundred pages really started to shape the characters and the plot started to come together. It really took a turn and I had no idea what was going to happen from one chapter to the next. The ending was a complete cliffhanger which leaves me wanting to read the next book in the series.
So overall I suggest if you do decide to read this book to bear with it.
So much scene setting and unneeded added extras, I found the characters taking to long to come into themselves and rather predicable. Also I thought the two main characters although apart in the story should be more entwined in their paths.
However, the last 100 hundred pages really started to shape the characters and the plot started to come together. It really took a turn and I had no idea what was going to happen from one chapter to the next. The ending was a complete cliffhanger which leaves me wanting to read the next book in the series.
So overall I suggest if you do decide to read this book to bear with it.
did-not-finish
July 16, 2015DNF at 8% - I'm just not in the right place for this book right now.
I'll give it a go some other time, when I can wrap my head around how to pronounce all those weird freaking names. I found I was spending an age going over each name and all of the different ways it could possibly be pronounced and so it took me a long while to read as far as I did and made me a little reluctant to pick it back up when I put it down.
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
I'll give it a go some other time, when I can wrap my head around how to pronounce all those weird freaking names. I found I was spending an age going over each name and all of the different ways it could possibly be pronounced and so it took me a long while to read as far as I did and made me a little reluctant to pick it back up when I put it down.
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
October 18, 2019
Inhalt:
An einem schicksalshaften Tag erblicken zwei Jungen Seite an Seite das Licht der Welt. Der eine ist Benfro, der erste Drachenjunge seit Jahrhunderten, der andere ist Errol, der Sohn der vergifteten Kronprinzessin und damit der rechtmäßige Erbe des Zwillingskönigreichs. Doch gleich nach der Geburt werden sie getrennt.
Ohne von ihrer Verbindung zu ahnen, wachsen sie in zwei verschiedenen Dörfern heran, bedroht von einem gemeinsamen Feind: Inquisitor Melyn möchte alle Drachen vernichten und dabei kann er junge, beeinflussbare Novizen mit der magischen Gabe gut gebrauchen. Und einer, für den er dieses Schicksal ausersehen hat, ist der junge Errol ...
Meine Meinung:
Ich muss gestehen, ich habe mich mit dem Buch schwer getan. Es ist nicht so, wie ich es erwartet hatte. Angepriesen als Jugendbuch hatte ich teilweise das Gefühl, ein Kinderbuch zu lesen, an anderen Stellen jedoch einen Erwachsenen-Fantasyroman, jedoch kein Jugendbuch.
Ein wenig lag es daran, dass sich das Jugendbuch eher nach oben orientiert, dass die Helden immer etwas älter sind als die Leser. Genau das ist hier jedoch nicht der Fall. Der Roman beginnt mit Benfros und Errols Geburt, erst auf den letzten hundert Seiten oder so, sind die beiden 14 Jahre alt. Daher verhalten sie sich stellenweise doch sehr kindlich.
Andere Passagen hingegen lesen sich, als wären sie für ein älteres Publikum geschrieben. Besonders die Kapiteleinführungen empfand ich in dieser Hinsicht störend für den Gesamteindruck. Das Ganze las sich nicht wie ein stimmiges Ganzes für mich. Auch tat ich mich sehr schwer, mit den Jungen mitzufiebern. Die Handlung hat mich wenig berührt, ich konnte daher nicht tief in den Roman eintauchen und ich weiß, dass dies auch der Grund war, warum mich einige Stellen verwirrt waren - vermutlich habe ich wichtige Infos überlesen oder sie sind nicht bei mir hängengeblieben.
Schade, aber das war leider nicht mein Buch. :(
An einem schicksalshaften Tag erblicken zwei Jungen Seite an Seite das Licht der Welt. Der eine ist Benfro, der erste Drachenjunge seit Jahrhunderten, der andere ist Errol, der Sohn der vergifteten Kronprinzessin und damit der rechtmäßige Erbe des Zwillingskönigreichs. Doch gleich nach der Geburt werden sie getrennt.
Ohne von ihrer Verbindung zu ahnen, wachsen sie in zwei verschiedenen Dörfern heran, bedroht von einem gemeinsamen Feind: Inquisitor Melyn möchte alle Drachen vernichten und dabei kann er junge, beeinflussbare Novizen mit der magischen Gabe gut gebrauchen. Und einer, für den er dieses Schicksal ausersehen hat, ist der junge Errol ...
Meine Meinung:
Ich muss gestehen, ich habe mich mit dem Buch schwer getan. Es ist nicht so, wie ich es erwartet hatte. Angepriesen als Jugendbuch hatte ich teilweise das Gefühl, ein Kinderbuch zu lesen, an anderen Stellen jedoch einen Erwachsenen-Fantasyroman, jedoch kein Jugendbuch.
Ein wenig lag es daran, dass sich das Jugendbuch eher nach oben orientiert, dass die Helden immer etwas älter sind als die Leser. Genau das ist hier jedoch nicht der Fall. Der Roman beginnt mit Benfros und Errols Geburt, erst auf den letzten hundert Seiten oder so, sind die beiden 14 Jahre alt. Daher verhalten sie sich stellenweise doch sehr kindlich.
Andere Passagen hingegen lesen sich, als wären sie für ein älteres Publikum geschrieben. Besonders die Kapiteleinführungen empfand ich in dieser Hinsicht störend für den Gesamteindruck. Das Ganze las sich nicht wie ein stimmiges Ganzes für mich. Auch tat ich mich sehr schwer, mit den Jungen mitzufiebern. Die Handlung hat mich wenig berührt, ich konnte daher nicht tief in den Roman eintauchen und ich weiß, dass dies auch der Grund war, warum mich einige Stellen verwirrt waren - vermutlich habe ich wichtige Infos überlesen oder sie sind nicht bei mir hängengeblieben.
Schade, aber das war leider nicht mein Buch. :(
September 11, 2014
[This book was provided to me gratis by the publisher, Penguin, and for that I thank them. I also thank NetGalley, for existing. Without them, I'd have fewer than 80 books in my Kindle's TBR folder. The paperback edition of Dreamwalker is out August 14th 2014, but the ebooks are available now.]
J D Oswald is the evil doppelgänger of crime writer James Oswald, author of the Inspector Tony McClean novels of which I've read the first and don't rule out continuing with. Dreamwalker is the first of his epic fantasy series, The Ballad of Sir Benfro; as with his others, Oswald self-published the series and was picked up by a trade publisher following much solo success.
I'm not a big fantasy reader but I've always suspected that's because I haven't been matched with the right author - I don't care for the po-faced pseudo-mythology of Tolkien, and Game of Thrones' endless chair-wrangling didn't capture me enough to have taken the second one for a whirl yet. Dreamwalker, though, is great.
It opens on a dark and stormy night (yes, I know, it doesn't sound great on paper) with a priest, Father Gideon, hustling an unconscious (and fairly pregnant) princess to a trustworthy healing woman. Who is a dragon. With an egg.
A few pages later and we're one fulfilled prophecy closer to a tale of an Heir Who Doesn't Know It. It's okay though, because while we have that, we mainly have the story of Benfro, occupier of the aforementioned egg.
Initially it's a bit confusing - Benfro is a dragon, he lives with his mother close to a dragon village. He learns to hunt, has a bow, and lives in a house. My logistics circuits struggled. It's only when Benfro meets his first human - in what was one of the best bits of the book for me - that we get any idea of how things work. It's not much of an idea, but once I'd got used to Benfro the character I didn't actually care about being pedantic. Next week, tune in for a wolf eating the sun.
I *loved* Benfro. I don't know why, but I found him tremendously endearing. He's 13 years old (which is *nothing* in dragon years), has magical talents he doesn't understand, and is constantly frustrated that his desire to learn is tempered by his mother's (and the other dragon's) caution. Unlike most books with child-age heroes - for instance, Harry Potter - there's no pantomime emotion from the supporting cast.
The narrative also follows Errol, that human heir who doesn't know it, growing up in a small and rural town thinking himself the son of the village healer. He was only intermittently interesting to me as a character, and I didn't care for his friend Martha, the Girl Who Knows More Than You Do And Calls You By Both Names, Jon Snow. However, what happens *to* Errol *is* interesting thanks to the third storyline, that of Inquisitor Melyn and the heir to the throne Errol doesn't know he's entitled to, Princess Beulah
In Gwlad, men have hunted dragons to the point of extinction. Inquisitor Melyn is the head of the High Frydd, an order of warrior priests whose task it once was to complete this mission. Once Beulah reaches the age of majority, she'll stop keeping her father alive and under her authority, the task can be completed. Melyn and Beulah's story is a mix of intrigue and power games, of magic and gods and a hefty dislike of dragons. I *liked* it.
Something else I like is the Welsh flavour. As Tolkien drew on Norse mythology for his world building, Oswald uses Wales - from using place names for his dragon characters (Sir Benfro is the proper name for Pembroke, Ynys Mon is Anglesey, etc) to appropriating legends like those of Gog and Magog. There are lots of things to spot, and it's slyly clever, nudging you in the ribs to see if you get it.
However, Dreamwalker suffers one great weakness: it's not really a book. It's the first 400-odd pages of a book. There's no particular story for any of the characters - they're all just doing their thing to a greater or lesser degree of interesting until the narrative reaches an excellent point for a cliffhanger. Although Books Two and Three in the series are already available (and, like the first, are in the Amazon UK Kindle Summer Sale until September 1st) and I have seen mention of Book Four as being written, it would be tremendously damaging to Dreamwalker if they weren't. Don't let it put you off, but go into it prepared to get the next one immediately.
For me, Dreamwalker worked. Great characters, great world-building, great details in that world building, and some lovely touches of humour. I'm already 20% into the second and will very likely be buying the third before the Kindle sale is over. I'm quite tempted to knock half a star off for that cliffhanger, but I'm also Welsh so am hopelessly biased: 4 stars.
J D Oswald is the evil doppelgänger of crime writer James Oswald, author of the Inspector Tony McClean novels of which I've read the first and don't rule out continuing with. Dreamwalker is the first of his epic fantasy series, The Ballad of Sir Benfro; as with his others, Oswald self-published the series and was picked up by a trade publisher following much solo success.
I'm not a big fantasy reader but I've always suspected that's because I haven't been matched with the right author - I don't care for the po-faced pseudo-mythology of Tolkien, and Game of Thrones' endless chair-wrangling didn't capture me enough to have taken the second one for a whirl yet. Dreamwalker, though, is great.
It opens on a dark and stormy night (yes, I know, it doesn't sound great on paper) with a priest, Father Gideon, hustling an unconscious (and fairly pregnant) princess to a trustworthy healing woman. Who is a dragon. With an egg.
A few pages later and we're one fulfilled prophecy closer to a tale of an Heir Who Doesn't Know It. It's okay though, because while we have that, we mainly have the story of Benfro, occupier of the aforementioned egg.
Initially it's a bit confusing - Benfro is a dragon, he lives with his mother close to a dragon village. He learns to hunt, has a bow, and lives in a house. My logistics circuits struggled. It's only when Benfro meets his first human - in what was one of the best bits of the book for me - that we get any idea of how things work. It's not much of an idea, but once I'd got used to Benfro the character I didn't actually care about being pedantic. Next week, tune in for a wolf eating the sun.
I *loved* Benfro. I don't know why, but I found him tremendously endearing. He's 13 years old (which is *nothing* in dragon years), has magical talents he doesn't understand, and is constantly frustrated that his desire to learn is tempered by his mother's (and the other dragon's) caution. Unlike most books with child-age heroes - for instance, Harry Potter - there's no pantomime emotion from the supporting cast.
The narrative also follows Errol, that human heir who doesn't know it, growing up in a small and rural town thinking himself the son of the village healer. He was only intermittently interesting to me as a character, and I didn't care for his friend Martha, the Girl Who Knows More Than You Do And Calls You By Both Names, Jon Snow. However, what happens *to* Errol *is* interesting thanks to the third storyline, that of Inquisitor Melyn and the heir to the throne Errol doesn't know he's entitled to, Princess Beulah
In Gwlad, men have hunted dragons to the point of extinction. Inquisitor Melyn is the head of the High Frydd, an order of warrior priests whose task it once was to complete this mission. Once Beulah reaches the age of majority, she'll stop keeping her father alive and under her authority, the task can be completed. Melyn and Beulah's story is a mix of intrigue and power games, of magic and gods and a hefty dislike of dragons. I *liked* it.
Something else I like is the Welsh flavour. As Tolkien drew on Norse mythology for his world building, Oswald uses Wales - from using place names for his dragon characters (Sir Benfro is the proper name for Pembroke, Ynys Mon is Anglesey, etc) to appropriating legends like those of Gog and Magog. There are lots of things to spot, and it's slyly clever, nudging you in the ribs to see if you get it.
However, Dreamwalker suffers one great weakness: it's not really a book. It's the first 400-odd pages of a book. There's no particular story for any of the characters - they're all just doing their thing to a greater or lesser degree of interesting until the narrative reaches an excellent point for a cliffhanger. Although Books Two and Three in the series are already available (and, like the first, are in the Amazon UK Kindle Summer Sale until September 1st) and I have seen mention of Book Four as being written, it would be tremendously damaging to Dreamwalker if they weren't. Don't let it put you off, but go into it prepared to get the next one immediately.
For me, Dreamwalker worked. Great characters, great world-building, great details in that world building, and some lovely touches of humour. I'm already 20% into the second and will very likely be buying the third before the Kindle sale is over. I'm quite tempted to knock half a star off for that cliffhanger, but I'm also Welsh so am hopelessly biased: 4 stars.
October 21, 2020
After devouring all of James Oswald's Inspector McLean and Constance Fairchild thrillers, I was surprised to discover his fantasy series. I wish I'd found it earlier! 'Dreamwalker' is a superb 'epic fantasy of dragons and men, magic and mystery'. I couldn't put it down. As ever with this author the prose is beautiful, weaving the exciting plot through Welsh countryside and mountains, and teasing out characters: both people and dragons.
I read the book far too fast, finishing in the middle of the night and being forced to buy the next in the series via my Kindle so that I wouldn't lose a moment of the suspense on which it ends.
Five stars, and outstanding read and added immediately to my 'best in year' shelf.
Would I read it again? Over and over, I expect!
I read the book far too fast, finishing in the middle of the night and being forced to buy the next in the series via my Kindle so that I wouldn't lose a moment of the suspense on which it ends.
Five stars, and outstanding read and added immediately to my 'best in year' shelf.
Would I read it again? Over and over, I expect!
November 22, 2015
joined my local library (finally, albeit I visit every week as I always talk my daughter) and I picked out this book as the first "real" book I've read in years as I always read on my Kindle. Loved this book although obviously very different to his detective novels. Can't wait to get the next book in the series
May 30, 2012
Taken from looneylunaravenreviews.blogspot.com:
Dreamwalker is a fantasy novel that chronicles the lives of three different people who share not only a birthday but also intertwining destinies. One is a power hungry princess who will stop at nothing to gain the throne going so far as to even kill family members. One is a royal son born in secret and hidden away in a remote village on the edge of the forest. Finally, one is a young dragon—the first male dragon to be born in one thousand years. Using these three characters, Oswald concocts an impressive tale of magic, suspense, and intrigue.
Those who know me know that I’m apt to read any book dealing with dragons. Ever since I discovered Tolkien’s The Hobbit in my youth I’ve been infatuated with them. The ways in which dragons have been portrayed in both fantasy and science fiction are too numerous to count. Some are menacing and animalistic, others are cunning and intelligent, and some authors even combine these two traits in order to make both ferocious and lovable characters. Initially, I was a little disappointed by the dragons in Dreamwalker. They aren’t cunning like Smaug, nor are they incredibly magical nor large in size. However, clues throughout the story hint at a reason for the dragon’s diminished stature and the dragons themselves are interesting characters. The story begins with a prophecy and while I’m personally a little tired of prophecies in books, I found the main plot of Dreamwalker to be rather interesting. True, many aspects of the plot are not uncommon in the fantasy genre. In fact, some have become a little tired over the years. Prophecies, lost heirs to the throne, power hungry person who will stop at nothing to keep that heir from achieving the throne etc. Frankly, the basic plot of this book held no surprised for me. This may or may not be a bad thing, depending upon the reader. Some readers like to see familiar formulas reused over and over again, while others are always looking for something new to pique their interests. I would categorize myself as being somewhere in the middle of these two preferences. While I like to see familiar plots reinvigorated, I also like to read stories that take me place I’ve never gone before. So while I feel like I’ve been told stories with plots very similar to Dreamwalker, I appreciated Oswald’s attempt at making what could be a very boring repeat of dozens of Epic Fantasy novels’ plots into something a little bit more inspired. But I’m rambling.
Specifically, I really liked the way this story was handled. I always enjoy reading both the antagonists’ and protagonists’ perspectives. This type of narrative prevents readers from growing bored with just one person’s perspective and it’s the type of storytelling I generally prefer. The characters of this story were fairly well written, though most of them read like stock characters (especially the antagonists). Being the first book in a series, the author still has plenty of time with which to further develop his characters past their stereotypical roles. I also found Oswald’s take on magic to be very intriguing. In fact, it was probably the most interesting aspect of this story. Like many ardent fans of the fantasy genre I’ve always been fond of magic in stories. I love to see how authors handle magic because I feel as though this—more than anything else—reveals the author’s mentality regarding the world. I have a few minor issues with the book, including a confusing editing error. One of the characters, Beulah, is supposed to come into power by her upcoming birthday. However, the book actually gives conflicting accounts regarding the age she’s turning. Sometimes it’s twenty-one while other times it’s twenty-five. I assume this error probably came from a last minute change in which the writer decided to alter the characters age but neglected to re-edit certain areas of the book. In addition to this minor yet annoying error I felt as though the story needed more exposition. The world Oswald has dreamt up is fairly complex and includes it’s own histories, legends, and famous figures. There were times during the story where I felt as if I had missed some vital piece of information only to discover upon backtracking that said information was never provided.
None the less this was an enjoyable book. It was a tad formulaic and some of the characters seemed a little cliché but overall it’s a promising start to a series and I fully expect the next book to improve upon the first. If I had to classify this book I would say that it is a High Fantasy story which stradles the line of adult fiction and young adult fiction (though the upper edge of YA as this story does deal with some mature and delicate issues). It’s enjoyable, it’s free, it has DRAGONS—what more motivation do you need?
Give a fledgling blogger your support and read more reviews at looneylunaravenreviews.blogspot.com
Dreamwalker is a fantasy novel that chronicles the lives of three different people who share not only a birthday but also intertwining destinies. One is a power hungry princess who will stop at nothing to gain the throne going so far as to even kill family members. One is a royal son born in secret and hidden away in a remote village on the edge of the forest. Finally, one is a young dragon—the first male dragon to be born in one thousand years. Using these three characters, Oswald concocts an impressive tale of magic, suspense, and intrigue.
Those who know me know that I’m apt to read any book dealing with dragons. Ever since I discovered Tolkien’s The Hobbit in my youth I’ve been infatuated with them. The ways in which dragons have been portrayed in both fantasy and science fiction are too numerous to count. Some are menacing and animalistic, others are cunning and intelligent, and some authors even combine these two traits in order to make both ferocious and lovable characters. Initially, I was a little disappointed by the dragons in Dreamwalker. They aren’t cunning like Smaug, nor are they incredibly magical nor large in size. However, clues throughout the story hint at a reason for the dragon’s diminished stature and the dragons themselves are interesting characters. The story begins with a prophecy and while I’m personally a little tired of prophecies in books, I found the main plot of Dreamwalker to be rather interesting. True, many aspects of the plot are not uncommon in the fantasy genre. In fact, some have become a little tired over the years. Prophecies, lost heirs to the throne, power hungry person who will stop at nothing to keep that heir from achieving the throne etc. Frankly, the basic plot of this book held no surprised for me. This may or may not be a bad thing, depending upon the reader. Some readers like to see familiar formulas reused over and over again, while others are always looking for something new to pique their interests. I would categorize myself as being somewhere in the middle of these two preferences. While I like to see familiar plots reinvigorated, I also like to read stories that take me place I’ve never gone before. So while I feel like I’ve been told stories with plots very similar to Dreamwalker, I appreciated Oswald’s attempt at making what could be a very boring repeat of dozens of Epic Fantasy novels’ plots into something a little bit more inspired. But I’m rambling.
Specifically, I really liked the way this story was handled. I always enjoy reading both the antagonists’ and protagonists’ perspectives. This type of narrative prevents readers from growing bored with just one person’s perspective and it’s the type of storytelling I generally prefer. The characters of this story were fairly well written, though most of them read like stock characters (especially the antagonists). Being the first book in a series, the author still has plenty of time with which to further develop his characters past their stereotypical roles. I also found Oswald’s take on magic to be very intriguing. In fact, it was probably the most interesting aspect of this story. Like many ardent fans of the fantasy genre I’ve always been fond of magic in stories. I love to see how authors handle magic because I feel as though this—more than anything else—reveals the author’s mentality regarding the world. I have a few minor issues with the book, including a confusing editing error. One of the characters, Beulah, is supposed to come into power by her upcoming birthday. However, the book actually gives conflicting accounts regarding the age she’s turning. Sometimes it’s twenty-one while other times it’s twenty-five. I assume this error probably came from a last minute change in which the writer decided to alter the characters age but neglected to re-edit certain areas of the book. In addition to this minor yet annoying error I felt as though the story needed more exposition. The world Oswald has dreamt up is fairly complex and includes it’s own histories, legends, and famous figures. There were times during the story where I felt as if I had missed some vital piece of information only to discover upon backtracking that said information was never provided.
None the less this was an enjoyable book. It was a tad formulaic and some of the characters seemed a little cliché but overall it’s a promising start to a series and I fully expect the next book to improve upon the first. If I had to classify this book I would say that it is a High Fantasy story which stradles the line of adult fiction and young adult fiction (though the upper edge of YA as this story does deal with some mature and delicate issues). It’s enjoyable, it’s free, it has DRAGONS—what more motivation do you need?
Give a fledgling blogger your support and read more reviews at looneylunaravenreviews.blogspot.com
May 15, 2015
This book is by no means original and in fact conforms to all the 'standard' fantasy stereotypes - an evil queen in her castle, the free folk living in the woods, dragons and magic, and a young boy with a mysterious noble background. But that said, on the whole it's an enjoyable read for fans of the genre. The characters are interesting and the story has potential to become engaging, however this first volume of the trilogy does feel very much like it is just preparing the way for the next book and not much really happens; we are introduced to the characters and their relationships and it is quite clear where the story is likely to go but it never really gets anywhere.
I did enjoy this book but one thing I really struggled with was the way in which the dragons were described. Although they live in houses in a village, speak in a human-like language and conduct themselves like a human society, they are described as having wings (although they can't fly) and scales and claws. So although their physical description fits with what I expect a dragon to be, their behavoiur is just, well, not that 'dragony', which I found quite confusing and left me wondering why they had to be dragons at all and not just another village of people, or elves, or trolls, or some other human-like creature.
I did enjoy this book but one thing I really struggled with was the way in which the dragons were described. Although they live in houses in a village, speak in a human-like language and conduct themselves like a human society, they are described as having wings (although they can't fly) and scales and claws. So although their physical description fits with what I expect a dragon to be, their behavoiur is just, well, not that 'dragony', which I found quite confusing and left me wondering why they had to be dragons at all and not just another village of people, or elves, or trolls, or some other human-like creature.
April 30, 2018
I was after a book with dragons , that was my only requirement when I started reading this book.
What I got was a wonderfully complex world of magic, intrigue and adventure. As well as great dragons.
I love the use of Welsh elements, especially the little bits of Welsh language dotted through the novel. I adored that the dragons have their own culture and customs, that they are fully rounded characters and not just knight fodder.
I am very excited to read the next book in this series.
What I got was a wonderfully complex world of magic, intrigue and adventure. As well as great dragons.
I love the use of Welsh elements, especially the little bits of Welsh language dotted through the novel. I adored that the dragons have their own culture and customs, that they are fully rounded characters and not just knight fodder.
I am very excited to read the next book in this series.
June 9, 2015
Some good ideas in this book but the writing is very poor. I was looking forward to reading it but really struggled through and was left very disappointed.
April 30, 2018
I was after a book with dragons , that was my only requirement when I started reading this book.
What I got was a wonderfully complex world of magic, intrigue and adventure. As well as great dragons.
I love the use of Welsh elements, especially the little bits of Welsh language dotted through the novel. I adored that the dragons have their own culture and customs, that they are fully rounded characters and not just knight fodder.
I am very excited to read the next book in this series.
Grace
What I got was a wonderfully complex world of magic, intrigue and adventure. As well as great dragons.
I love the use of Welsh elements, especially the little bits of Welsh language dotted through the novel. I adored that the dragons have their own culture and customs, that they are fully rounded characters and not just knight fodder.
I am very excited to read the next book in this series.
Grace
October 5, 2019
No idea why it took me so long to finish this. Flew through the second half, but the first 200 pages took a week to get through, and I can't put my finger on why - the Welsh names took me out of the story at the start, and meeting all the characters at once through different perspectives was a bit tiring to keep up with when reading at night alongside keeping up with how long had passed, since it skips forward weeks/months at a time. It's quite world-building (which after finding out it was written because the second book needed more explanation of the world/story makes a lot of sense) vs plot or development. It's basically a set-up for the series, and I'm looking forward to getting round to the rest of it.
3.5 - 4 stars.
3.5 - 4 stars.
March 12, 2020
I enjoyed Dreamwalker a lot, I like the magic system and the dark and dangerous history of the world. I enjoyed the characters and the Dragons were really interesting, they weren’t the big and powerful dragons we are used too, these dragons don’t fly, anymore at least. One interesting thing is their jewels which hold all there memories.
February 9, 2018
Easy to read yet intoxicating, It rekindled my pleasure in reading.
August 14, 2022
Honestly pretty fun for an opening to a fantasy series, some full sections and some that were a little brutal considering the target audience I had assumed it had, but entertaining enough all the same
December 4, 2020
Een boek met een redelijk zware start, de eerste honderd pagina’s zijn moeilijk om in te komen doordat je gewoon de wereld ingegooid wordt, ook zijn zowat alle namen en is de spraak beïnvloed door Welsh. Na de eerste honderd wordt het boek beter en wordt de stijl ook makkelijker te lezen.
August 22, 2016
Oh sweet baby jesus, this book took FOREVER to read. So much so, I don't even remotely remember when I started reading it. Two, three months ago, maybe? I've read stuff in between which is the only thing that made me read again. This book is way too long and could've been reduced to at least half its size. The characters are horribly cliché and lack character or any kind of depth. That being said, the book picks up considerable after you reach it's half point, when I was starting to enjoy reading it. I was mostly enticed by the beautiful cover and the fact that it has dragons - especially not stereotypically evil ones, that I felt like this could be a fantastic read. Alas, I was wrong.
However, some details: We have two main characters here, one more stereotypical than the other and, other than their race, pretty much interchangeable (even the author typed Errol instead of Benfro once). Errol, the human and Benfro, the dragon are born on the same fateful day (dam dam daaam!) and both need to be hidden from the authorities (dam dam daaam!) . So already they have a lot in common. They do, however, not grow up together. Instead they will grow up in small villages and be antagonized for their uniqueness .
They both get to tap into the magic that apparently can be used by anyone as long they know it exists and just accept that it works (as magic goes, it had a pretty flimsy framework).
Basically the book is about Errol and Benfro being forced to be on opposite sides of a battle, which increasingly is just kingdom A versus the world and the dragons. Which brings me to world build: It's about as generic as it can get. Medieval villages and castles and even though some were built by dragons and repurposed for men, they fall short in terms of imagination. As there is no map with the book, the only concept of geography are two kingdoms and the hidden dragon village somewhere in between.
As lackluster as the world are the characters. They're one dimensional and boring, especially at the beginning. The introductory passages that you can see at the beginning of every chapter do not help to make those characters or the story as a whole any more interesting.
All in all, I can just hope that the continuation of the series is better than it's very, VERY slow start. It took me sooo long to just get used to the slow pace and the stilted writing style (note, that even though the Welsh (?) names didn't bother me much, it's the writing style that somehow was just...boring). It felt like ages to get to the next paragraph, even though the pages weren't particularly thin, the font not particularly small and the book not particularly long. The ending does provide a good enough, if predictable, cliffhanger . It is therefore hard for me to really root for any of the characters or get too excited about the next books. As much as the story progressed by the end and as much as I want to know what will happen next, there's just too little here to really get invested in (certainly the main characters, who somehow can do things that they're not supposed to be able to which they probably got from their father's innate abilities, are no reason to keep on reading). I will say that there are some interesting characters, such as Maggs who introduces Errol to the subtle arts or even Melyn, as unlikable as he is, where you'd really want to know what their back story is. Even so, I am not sure I'm gonna pick up the following book. For now, I'll leave this one as a potential read to continue sometime when I run out of books (which won't be anytime soon).
My final verdict therefore comes to 2.5 stars which I round up to three.
However, some details: We have two main characters here, one more stereotypical than the other and, other than their race, pretty much interchangeable (even the author typed Errol instead of Benfro once). Errol, the human and Benfro, the dragon are born on the same fateful day (dam dam daaam!) and both need to be hidden from the authorities (dam dam daaam!) . So already they have a lot in common. They do, however, not grow up together. Instead they will grow up in small villages and be antagonized for their uniqueness .
They both get to tap into the magic that apparently can be used by anyone as long they know it exists and just accept that it works (as magic goes, it had a pretty flimsy framework).
Basically the book is about Errol and Benfro being forced to be on opposite sides of a battle, which increasingly is just kingdom A versus the world and the dragons. Which brings me to world build: It's about as generic as it can get. Medieval villages and castles and even though some were built by dragons and repurposed for men, they fall short in terms of imagination. As there is no map with the book, the only concept of geography are two kingdoms and the hidden dragon village somewhere in between.
As lackluster as the world are the characters. They're one dimensional and boring, especially at the beginning. The introductory passages that you can see at the beginning of every chapter do not help to make those characters or the story as a whole any more interesting.
All in all, I can just hope that the continuation of the series is better than it's very, VERY slow start. It took me sooo long to just get used to the slow pace and the stilted writing style (note, that even though the Welsh (?) names didn't bother me much, it's the writing style that somehow was just...boring). It felt like ages to get to the next paragraph, even though the pages weren't particularly thin, the font not particularly small and the book not particularly long. The ending does provide a good enough, if predictable, cliffhanger . It is therefore hard for me to really root for any of the characters or get too excited about the next books. As much as the story progressed by the end and as much as I want to know what will happen next, there's just too little here to really get invested in (certainly the main characters, who somehow can do things that they're not supposed to be able to which they probably got from their father's innate abilities, are no reason to keep on reading). I will say that there are some interesting characters, such as Maggs who introduces Errol to the subtle arts or even Melyn, as unlikable as he is, where you'd really want to know what their back story is. Even so, I am not sure I'm gonna pick up the following book. For now, I'll leave this one as a potential read to continue sometime when I run out of books (which won't be anytime soon).
My final verdict therefore comes to 2.5 stars which I round up to three.
March 6, 2025
intriguing but slow
June 11, 2019
Overall an entertaining and easy read, I've recently bought book two to continue on the adventures. The characters are interesting but the plot can feel a little rushed/predictable at times hence 3/5.
January 13, 2018
Received as a Xmas present!
Love it! Dragons & Wales...sort of!
What's not to like!
Good writing with a palpable sense of menace from the human kind in this tale.
Situations brought to life so much that I wanted to scream at one Dragon not to be so dim!!
Beautifully written descriptions of places which brought them to life.
Methinks my book tokens will be buying the next ones in this series!
Love it! Dragons & Wales...sort of!
What's not to like!
Good writing with a palpable sense of menace from the human kind in this tale.
Situations brought to life so much that I wanted to scream at one Dragon not to be so dim!!
Beautifully written descriptions of places which brought them to life.
Methinks my book tokens will be buying the next ones in this series!
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