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Dragonmaster #1-3
Dragonmaster: The Omnibus Edition
STORM OF WINGS: When the uneasy peace of the three kingdoms is threatened by war, Hal's dream of riding dragons becomes reality. For this is a conflict like no other. For the first time, wild dragons have become living weapons, ridden by men of cold daring and ruthless ambition. And the greatest of them is Hal Kailas. Dragonmaster. KNIGHTHOOD OF THE DRAGON: When he first dreamed of riding a dragon to war, Hal Keilas was laughed at. Then the war between the kingdoms of Deraine, Sagene and Roche compelled a solution daring beyond their people's wildest dreams. But Hal, Dragonmaster, knows that the war and the killing have only begun. THE LAST BATTLE: As predicted, with the end of the war both dragon fliers and dragons have been cast aside. However, what or who is savaging the dragons in their native lands? Hal embarks on a new crusade, and discovers a threat, not just to the dragons but to man himself.
864 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2007
22 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Chris Bunch
86 books130 followersChristopher R. "Chris" Bunch was an American science fiction, fantasy and television writer, who wrote and co-wrote about thirty novels.
Born in Fresno, California, he collaborated with Allan Cole on a series of books involving a hero named Sten in a galactic empire. (Cole married Bunch's sister, Kathryn.) He served in Vietnam as a patrol leader. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He died in his hometown of Ilwaco, Washington, after a long battle with a lung ailment.
Born in Fresno, California, he collaborated with Allan Cole on a series of books involving a hero named Sten in a galactic empire. (Cole married Bunch's sister, Kathryn.) He served in Vietnam as a patrol leader. He also wrote for Rolling Stone and was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He died in his hometown of Ilwaco, Washington, after a long battle with a lung ailment.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 16, 2024
All time favorite! A lot of military stuff and operations, relatable charakters, nice plot. Love it!
July 4, 2009
As the stars say - it was ok. The first book had to be plodded through, the second was better than the first, and the third is the only book that has at least 50% of it on dragons. Also, there was too much war in it to my taste.
June 13, 2012
By far my favorite book. Is the only book I've ever read at least 3 times through. I love the way it follows Hal from before the war straight through it and even after. The fact that the Dragons are terrifing beasts that don't talk but are tamed at the owners own risk. Brilliant.
May 27, 2024
If you are looking for a military story set in what feels like WW1 from the perspective of a fighter plane pilot, but with crossbows, mages and dragons instead of guns, artillery (and poison gas) and planes this might be for you. It comes with many of the tropes that I have seen in more Napoleonic war stories such as the incompetent officers, brutal sergeants, and rising through the ranks. Or at least, that is the case for the first two parts of the trilogy. The third is set after the war and has a more original plot in its second half when the main character starts investigating where the dragons are coming from and why they have left their homeland.
Within its genre it is a decent enough story. It is just that I am not that a fan of these kind of military stories. If you want world building, developed characters and dragons that feel central to the story (there is a reason why I compare them to fighter planes) then you likely will be disappointed. Little is told about the reason of the war, and a war on the scale of WW1 in a mostly late medieval setting can feel a bit off. The third volume also leaves a lot of plot threads open (not exactly a cliffhanger, but not a finished story either), which is a shame, and leaves me wondering what is going on.
O well, it was a decent enough read for its genre. It might just not be the book for me.
Within its genre it is a decent enough story. It is just that I am not that a fan of these kind of military stories. If you want world building, developed characters and dragons that feel central to the story (there is a reason why I compare them to fighter planes) then you likely will be disappointed. Little is told about the reason of the war, and a war on the scale of WW1 in a mostly late medieval setting can feel a bit off. The third volume also leaves a lot of plot threads open (not exactly a cliffhanger, but not a finished story either), which is a shame, and leaves me wondering what is going on.
O well, it was a decent enough read for its genre. It might just not be the book for me.
May 20, 2019
Before you read this go understand that it is not high fantasy and follows only one PoV.
This is a book about war, that happens to have dragons and wizards in it rather than the other way around.
It's certainly not the most beautifully written book i've read and the characters (even the main pov) don't carry much depth but the overall idea of the story for the first 2 books was interesting once i stopped looking for high fantasy.
The third book was just poor imho and could (as other reviews mention) have been great if the plot threads had been concluded and would have led nicely into another storyline.
Maybe there is another book out there which follows up the origin of the red/black dragons but I wont be looking for it.
This is a book about war, that happens to have dragons and wizards in it rather than the other way around.
It's certainly not the most beautifully written book i've read and the characters (even the main pov) don't carry much depth but the overall idea of the story for the first 2 books was interesting once i stopped looking for high fantasy.
The third book was just poor imho and could (as other reviews mention) have been great if the plot threads had been concluded and would have led nicely into another storyline.
Maybe there is another book out there which follows up the origin of the red/black dragons but I wont be looking for it.
September 21, 2020
This read a bit like a game of 'Age of Empires' where you tactically deploy various troops and develop new weapons and loads of people die. I found some of the affected speech a bit irritating, such as "I like that but little" or "The city was aflame" and frequent references to "the morrow". Also on the back of this it states that 'all three volumes of Chris Bunch's acclaimed dragonmaster trilogy in one fire-breathing volume!'- not once in any of these books does a dragon breath fire. Still, it was OK and I did read the whole thing, wanting to know what happened in the end.
April 1, 2024
The story is not bad,but the writing really did not work for me. All through the story i kept thinking i would have liked to see this as a tv series. Checking out the author i saw he has written lots of tv episodes. I feel like this might have been intended for tv, but then made into a book. I simply could not get engaged by the story in this format. But if it is ever made into a tv series, i would definately watch it.
February 1, 2018
Third time reading this book.. always loved the first two, didn't really like the third. Until now.. now I like all three - weird.
January 19, 2024
Absolutely amazing trilogy! So much action and adventure throughout the author really has you feeling so much for the characters and their lives! I couldn’t recommend this any more
October 30, 2024
It took a while to read but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story. I didn't expect to like it but I found the descriptions captured the imagination, could literally see the action.
July 31, 2025
at first i like this book but after a while the story is keep dragging till i feel really of this book.
September 11, 2025
Classic adventure style fantasy with dragons that can’t breathe fire. Perfect escapism.
January 16, 2022
A solid story, quite a pleasant read throughout. As Goodreads puts it at four stars - "I really liked it", even though it wasn't amazing.
I found the lack of focus on dragons a bit disappointing, as even though dragons play a very central role regarding the events in the story, the story isn't about them - it is about a human protagonist who just happens to be riding dragons, but does not show any more than a superficial interest in them as creatures and neither does the author. I've also spotted a few issues with the way magic has been used in the story - at times it challenges suspension of disbelief in describing incredibly powerful spells being discovered/used but only at a fraction of their (rather obvious) potential and then all but forgotten about.
However, the aforementioned issues do not detract from the story too much and it's a good book.
I found the lack of focus on dragons a bit disappointing, as even though dragons play a very central role regarding the events in the story, the story isn't about them - it is about a human protagonist who just happens to be riding dragons, but does not show any more than a superficial interest in them as creatures and neither does the author. I've also spotted a few issues with the way magic has been used in the story - at times it challenges suspension of disbelief in describing incredibly powerful spells being discovered/used but only at a fraction of their (rather obvious) potential and then all but forgotten about.
However, the aforementioned issues do not detract from the story too much and it's a good book.
October 31, 2025
A really fantastic trilogy. It has everything. A strong main character, an interesting and well-developed world. War, loyalty, betrayal, love, loss and, of course, dragons. I was thoroughly hooked throughout.
Book 1 starts off slowly with the 1st half focused on establishing the world and our main character Hal's backstory and motivations, along with a truly impressively large cast of supporting characters that rotate and stay relevant throughout the story. The narrative doesn't really pick up until the midway point of the book when Hal and his fellow dragon fliers truly join the war effort, but once it gets going, it doesn't stop until the literal last word. It's a dense opening book but a great introduction to the world and story.
Book 2 picks up almost immediately from where the 1st ended and is by far my favorite in the trilogy. It's full to the brim with deadly battles, daring escapes, raids, victories and losses. It never stops from the opening page to the ending sentence. And I loved every second of it.
Book3 is the odd one out. While it's still very good, I don't think it's quite on the same level as the first two. I found its lack of direction compared to the others weakened the narrative even if it was a purposeful choice meant to mirror Hal's own mindset of feeling adrift now the war has ended. The story jumps through a few plot threads that aren't very connected and while I think the individual events are strong on their own, I feel the story as a whole was disjointed and never reached the highs of book 1 and 2. It's still a worthwhile conclusion to Hal's journey.
Overall, Dragonmaster is a series that respects the readers' time and investment. The constant references to prior events and rotating cast of characters makes the world feel real and very grounded despite the fantastical elements like dragons and magic. I really get the impression the Bunch was either a military man himself or did a massive amount of research for the battle scenes. The gritty realness adds to the stakes and, if you let yourself get into it, a real sense of immersion that can be difficult to achieve.
I really can't recommend Dragonmaster enough. It's really worth your time.
Book 1 starts off slowly with the 1st half focused on establishing the world and our main character Hal's backstory and motivations, along with a truly impressively large cast of supporting characters that rotate and stay relevant throughout the story. The narrative doesn't really pick up until the midway point of the book when Hal and his fellow dragon fliers truly join the war effort, but once it gets going, it doesn't stop until the literal last word. It's a dense opening book but a great introduction to the world and story.
Book 2 picks up almost immediately from where the 1st ended and is by far my favorite in the trilogy. It's full to the brim with deadly battles, daring escapes, raids, victories and losses. It never stops from the opening page to the ending sentence. And I loved every second of it.
Book3 is the odd one out. While it's still very good, I don't think it's quite on the same level as the first two. I found its lack of direction compared to the others weakened the narrative even if it was a purposeful choice meant to mirror Hal's own mindset of feeling adrift now the war has ended. The story jumps through a few plot threads that aren't very connected and while I think the individual events are strong on their own, I feel the story as a whole was disjointed and never reached the highs of book 1 and 2. It's still a worthwhile conclusion to Hal's journey.
Overall, Dragonmaster is a series that respects the readers' time and investment. The constant references to prior events and rotating cast of characters makes the world feel real and very grounded despite the fantastical elements like dragons and magic. I really get the impression the Bunch was either a military man himself or did a massive amount of research for the battle scenes. The gritty realness adds to the stakes and, if you let yourself get into it, a real sense of immersion that can be difficult to achieve.
I really can't recommend Dragonmaster enough. It's really worth your time.
June 19, 2011
I don't know if the Omnibus edition was re-edited, but I won't be spending the money on the separate editions to find out. Very thinly sketched characters - only Hal has any real background outlined at the beginning.
Later, a lot of unexplained inspirations occur to Hal, but it takes hundreds of pages before he thinks to travel West (or wait, was that East, or North, or South? The compass points seem to vary with each paragraph, as if Mr Bunch was feeling a bit dizzy) and follow the trail of wounded dragons.
Several plot opportunities (that were not followed up, just fizzled out) later and you get a pretty flat termination to a fairly hefty tome. (Telepathy with dragons, potential parallel worlds, completely unexplained giant demon seemingly easily dispatched.)
It was almost as if it is a huge set of almost-complete notes, the story outline if you will, rather than a finished story with added depth.
Or maybe it is just me not getting the point. I did wonder if it was meant as a bleak discourse on the pointlessness of most wars, or the continual expansion of the human species, but it lacked depth of comment on this angle as well - if it was even meant to be there.
Despite these fairly negative thoughts, I still found enough energy to finish it, so it can't have been all bad.
Later, a lot of unexplained inspirations occur to Hal, but it takes hundreds of pages before he thinks to travel West (or wait, was that East, or North, or South? The compass points seem to vary with each paragraph, as if Mr Bunch was feeling a bit dizzy) and follow the trail of wounded dragons.
Several plot opportunities (that were not followed up, just fizzled out) later and you get a pretty flat termination to a fairly hefty tome. (Telepathy with dragons, potential parallel worlds, completely unexplained giant demon seemingly easily dispatched.)
It was almost as if it is a huge set of almost-complete notes, the story outline if you will, rather than a finished story with added depth.
Or maybe it is just me not getting the point. I did wonder if it was meant as a bleak discourse on the pointlessness of most wars, or the continual expansion of the human species, but it lacked depth of comment on this angle as well - if it was even meant to be there.
Despite these fairly negative thoughts, I still found enough energy to finish it, so it can't have been all bad.
October 23, 2008
This isn't completely bad but quite bad & in parts it was SO bad I really can't enjoy the better parts of it.
The protagonist is AWFUL. Quite often his actions & motivations are not comprehensible & he somehow remains boring throughout the whole trilogy. Overall, the characters lack depth & are often unconvincingly described or built up. The last book of the trilogy seems completely random to me & as if he just wrote it so it would be 3 & not 2 books. His particular style, meaning often concatenating several sentences by putting commas, put me off a LOT.
On the other hand, the battles are done in a solid enough fashion & some of the characters are kind of likeable - the wizards & the king I found rather interesting.
The protagonist is AWFUL. Quite often his actions & motivations are not comprehensible & he somehow remains boring throughout the whole trilogy. Overall, the characters lack depth & are often unconvincingly described or built up. The last book of the trilogy seems completely random to me & as if he just wrote it so it would be 3 & not 2 books. His particular style, meaning often concatenating several sentences by putting commas, put me off a LOT.
On the other hand, the battles are done in a solid enough fashion & some of the characters are kind of likeable - the wizards & the king I found rather interesting.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews