The Dragons of Deepwood Fen

The Book of the Holt #1

by Bradley P. Beaulieu

Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. When a mysterious tip leads her to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself.

The trail leads to Rylan Holbrooke, a notorious thief posing as a dragon singer. Lorelei soon discovers there's more to Rylan than meets the eye. He came to Ancris to solve the very same mystery she stumbled onto. Knowing his incarceration could lead to the Red Knives' achieving their goals, Lorelei makes a fateful decision: she frees him.

Now branded as traitors, the two flee the city on dragonback. In the massive forest known as the Holt, they follow the trail of clues and discover something terrible. The Red Knives are planning to awaken a powerful demi-god in the holiest shrine in Ancris, and for some reason the Church is willing to allow it. It forces their return to Ancris, where the unlikely allies must rally the very people who've vowed to capture them before it's too late.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Epic Fantasy, Adult, High Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery

704 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

Bradley P. Beaulieu began writing his first fantasy novel in college, but life eventually intervened. As time went on, though, Brad realized that his love of writing and telling tales wasn't going to just slink quietly into the night. The drive to write came back full force in the early 2000s, at which point Brad dedicated himself to the craft, writing and learning under the guidance of writers like Nancy Kress, Joe Haldeman, Tim Powers, Holly Black, and many more.

Brad and his novels have garnered many accolades including two Hotties—the Debut of the Year and Best New Voice—on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, a Gemmell Morningstar Award nomination for The Winds of Khalakovo and more:

* Top Ten Book and Debut of the Year for 2011 on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist for The Winds of Khalakovo
* Best New Voice of 2011 on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
* 2011 Gemmell Morningstar Award Nomination for The Winds of Khalakovo
* Top Ten Debut for The Winds of Khalakovo on Ranting Dragon's Best of 2011
* Top Ten Debut for The Winds of Khalakovo on Mad Hatter's Best of 2011
* Top Five Book for 2012 on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist for The Straits of Galahesh
* 2012 Most Anticipated for The Straits of Galahesh on Staffer's Book Review
* 2012 Most Anticipated for The Straits of Galahesh on The Ranting Dragon
* 2013 Most Anticipated for The Flames of Shadam Khoreh on The Ranting Dragon

Brad continues to work on his next projects, including an Arabian Nights epic fantasy and a Norse-inspired middle grade series. He also runs the highly successful science fiction & fantasy podcast, Speculate, which can be found at speculatesf.com.

Novels

THE LAYS OF ANUSKAYA
* The Winds of Khalakovo
* The Straits of Galahesh
* The Flames of Shadam Khoreh

Short Story Collections
* Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories

Novellas
* Strata (with Stephen Gaskell)

Contact Information
Website: www.quillings.com
Twitter: @bbeaulieu
Facebook: facebook.com/bradley.p.beaulieu

Reviews

[Robin Hobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, the usual caveat. I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, free, and I consider Brad Beaulieu a friend. I don't think either circumstance affects my review.

And, as always, I am avoiding spoilers.

And it's book one of a trilogy.

Here's a list of things. If you like these things in a book, then Dragons of Deepwood Fen is for you!

Dragons. (what a surprise, eh?)
Dragons that are bonded to their riders, and dragons that are coerced into serving.
Dragons with distinctive personalities.
Unique magic systems.
Multiple character points of view.
Political intrigue, and wheels within wheels of motivation and outcomes.
Maps

If you would enjoy a lively mix of those ingredients, then this book is for you. Be aware that the action and characterization starts on page one; this is one of those books where you jump into the story river and go with it. (Personally, I like that.)

And this ARC weighed in at less that 500 pages, so it's not as ponderous a tome as many we've encountered lately. There is a lot of story and action packed into those pages.

There. I think that's enough for you to decide if this book is for you.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

* I got a copy of this on netgalley for free, but that doesn't affect my review *

I am a little bit sad writing this review, because I am a fan of Beaulieu's other series, and I thought this sounded exactly like my sort of thing. This is a world with magic, religion, secret groups who live in the wilds, dragons, politics, secrets and more. I thought this would be absolutely my thing, and yet I never really loved it.

I think at the end of the book I felt as though the largest issue for me was really the slow pace, this world is entirely new and so it does need explanation, but this book has so many PoVs that it feels hard to get to grips with. Personally I read lots of books with lots of PoVs and this isn't anything out of the ordinary, but the pace meant I never connected that much with any of them.

I did like the dragons, but then, I always enjoy seeing dragons. They're used as mounts for certain people, and also some people who bond with the dragons in this world are shunned or even killed. We, of course, have a secret bond character as one of our PoVs and I liked him (Rylan).

We're also following Lorelei who is investigating some tips about undercover plots. I would say that she and Rylan were by far the most interesting characters for me, the others are a little forgettable to me.

The last 15% of the book was probably the most exciting by far as the pacing really picked up and I found that I was actually excited to get back to the book and find out what was going to come next. The stakes of the book really suddenly ramped up, and I liked that a lot but I just wish it had maybe happened a little sooner. I think if there had been a little less telling and a little more doing and developing then I might have got into it. The weird thing is that the blurb of the book basically says what happens, but that all happens quite far into the book and up until that point it was a slow-moving story.

In the end, I have to give it a 2.5*s, very middle of the road as I did enjoy some of it, and it has potential and is well-written, but I just thought the pacing and the world and characters moved too slow for my liking.

[L'encre de la magie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,25
final review at the end
En français juste en dessous ⬇️ attention ceci n'est pas la chronique finale

I just finished the new Bradley P Beaulieu, sent by the author as a big preview... the book won't be released until next December 😱
In this new universe, two suns bathe the world in their magic: Lux during the day and Nox during the night.
The presence of these two stars participates in the creation of the magic system which is based on the Auric and Umbra powers of these suns. Beaulieu weaves us an incredible world where everything is in symbiosis.
Every rock, every plant, every animal including humans is bathed more or less by Lux and Nox.

Beaulieu returns to a more "Classic" Fantasy with the presence of dragons, but the form of the links between humans and creatures is very original. Dragons are at the heart of this new universe, as mounts and above all as faithful allies.
Their scales bathed by such or such stars offers them particular powers as well as to humans. There is a big Alchemists section in this first volume and I loved it!! it was so great to follow mages-scientists that we would have believed at certain times in Science Fantasy (which I love by the way!).

Political conspiracies, a despotic church, inquisitors, dragon singer (just Amazing btw), necromantic magic too and a mythology that explodes in our face! The author shines again by the quality and the very human and sensitive side of his characters, but also evokes themes such as colonialism or the wars of religion.
Everything fits together wonderfully here and offers us a rich first volume, quite dense at the beginning (but that didn't bother me, quitte the contrary) and a rhythm that increases in tension for an explosive finale worthy of an end of series... if it weren't for the pawns that are in place for the rest of the adventure!!!

thank you again Mr. Beaulieu, I am honored to have received your book and to have been able to share a bit of my adventure with you over the pages.


je viens de finir le nouveau Bradley P Beaulieu, envoyé par l'auteur en grosse avant première... le livre ne sortant qu'en décembre prochain 😱 Dans ce nouvel univers, deux soleils baignent le monde de leurs magie : Lux le soleil du jour et Nox celui de la nuit. La présence de ces deux astres participe à la création du système de magie qui repose sur les pouvoirs Auric et Umbra de ces soleils. Beaulieu nous tisse un monde incroyable où tout est en symbiose. Chaque roche, chaque plantes, chaque animal y compris les humains sont baignés plus ou moins par Lux et Nox. Beaulieu revient a une Fantasy plus "Classique" avec la présence de dragons, mais la forme des liens entre humains et créatures est très originale. Les dragons sont au coeur de ce nouvel univers, en tant que montures et surtout en tant qu' aliés fidèles. Leurs écailles baignée par tel ou tel astres leur offres des pouvoirs particulier ainsi qu'aux humains. Il y a une grosse partie Alchimistes dans ce premier volume et j'ai adoré !! c'était tellement génial de suivre des mages-scientifiques qu'on se serait limite cru a certains moment dans de la Science Fantasy (ce que j'adore au passage !). Des complots politiques, une église despotique, des inquisiteurs, des chanteurs de dragons (ce que j'ai trouvé excellent!) et de la magie necromantique et une mythologie qui nous explose en plein visage ! L'auteur brille à nouveau par la qualité et le côté très humains et sensitifs de ses personnages, mais évoque également des thématiques comme le colonialisme ou les guerres de religion. Tout s'imbrique à merveille ici et nous offre un premier tome riche, assez dense au début (mais ça ne m'a pas gêné) et un rythme qui monte en tension pour un final explosif digne d'une fin de série... si ce n'était les pions qui sont en place pour la suite de l'aventure !!! encore merci M. Beaulieu, je suis honoré d'avoir reçu votre livre et avoir pu partager un peu de mon aventure avec vous au fil des pages.

Avis Lecture "The Dragons of Deepwood Fen", The Book of the Holt tome 1, Bradley P. Beaulieu 🐉🗡️

Beaulieu demarre une nouvelle série, plus traditionnelle mais qui n'en est pas moins moderne et originale.
C'est un premier volume d'exposition, au rythme assez lent et qui prend le temps de poser son univers, ses personnages et son intrigue. C'est un volume assez dense et très riche 😍. On a beaucoup d'éléments mais le rythme donné par Beaulieu nous permet leur compréhension sans problème.
Un peu à la manière d'un Jacqueline Carey, j'ai eu l'impression d'avoir plusieurs tomes dans ce volume 1. Plusieurs histoires s'entrelacent pour nous conduire à une intrigue palpitante qui finit par diriger le récit et ses personnages. Le rythme s'accélère alors et il m'a été difficile de lâcher le livre, dévorant le dernier tiers du récit avec avidité !
Le worldbuilding est plus impressionnant qu'il n'y paraît au premier abord et promet de l'être encore plus dans les prochains volumes.
Comme toujours chez Beaulieu, ses personnages sont ce qui me plaît le plus. Toujours très humains, complexes, parfois défaillants, il est facile de s'y attacher. Je dirai que nous avons 2 voir 3 personnages principaux mais nous avons plus de personnages en point de vue. C'est un choix de l'auteur qui nous permet de mieux appréhender aussi bien protagonistes qu'antagonistes ; un choix qui peut tout de même déstabiliser au début du récit, où les 8 premiers chapitres nous permettent de découvrir 6 points de vue.
Ceci dit ça ne m'a pas empêcher de m'attacher aux personnages 🥰
Les systèmes de magie sont très originaux, basés sur l'exposition des deux soleils (un lumineux le jour, un sombre la nuit) et donnant au monde deux sources de magie : Auric et Umbra. Les écailles de dragons possèdent elles aussi leurs secrets (on est limite sur de la Science Fantasy 💗) et les liens qui se créent avec ces créatures est vraiment bien mené : mention spéciale pour Rylan, mon perso préféré et son don de Chanteur de Dragon, lui permettant de se connecter à leur esprit et voir et ressentir leurs émotions. J'ai adoré 🥹🥰

Sortie le 5 décembre prochain en VO... vous avez hâte? Des amateurs de dragons ici?

[John Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Tad Williams or Robin Hobb then I can confidently say you’ll enjoy this. I was so impressed by Bradley’s prose and rich world building that I consistently mumbled “this book is so freaking good” while reading it. The way he describes the world and characters is so well done I can put myself in his world so easily!

The amount of characters in the book is a bit overwhelming I must say and I probably will reread it when the sequel comes out because there are several side characters that I have no idea who they are. I love a large casts because it creates a feel of the book being more epic in scale however I would appreciate a glossary.

The only bad thing I can say about this book is the editing. There are about 10 very noticeable typos to the point of distracting. Whoever his editor is should be start double checking his/her work.

[Nils | nilsreviewsit · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I'm a man who stands between two worlds—one foot in the empire, the other in the Holt. I'm borne on the currents created by the empire's formation and the long, storied history of the Holt. To say I'm fascinated by their entwined tales would be to trivialize it. At times, it feels like a burning desire, impossible to ignore."

When a covert thief and a perceptive inquisitor stumble upon the same cryptic mystery, these two lives weave together to save the world from falling into unimaginable chaos.

Rylan Holbrooke is caught between two worlds, he’s the bastard son of Marstan Lyndenfell, the Imperator of the Holt, but he is also half Kin, a race of people who have been severely oppressed by the Empire’s rule. By day Rylan is a dragon singer, a healer of dragons, but by night he is a master thief. When his skills force him to reluctantly become entangled with The Red Knives, a group of violent freedom fighters, it leads him to the mountain city of Ancris where he becomes branded a traitor. In Ancris Inquisitor Lorelei Aurelius, a woman of great intelligence and skill for problem solving, has stumbled upon the same mystery as Rylan: why are the two opposing factions, The Red Knives and The Chosen—zealots of the Alran Church, holding secret meetings? The answer is not one Rylan nor Lorelei find answers too easily but when the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place, they both realise they must stop both groups before they awaken the horrors of the past.

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is the superb new high fantasy series by Bradley P Beaulieu. This is a classic tale of the thirst for power, of rising up from oppression and of a race to save the world, all done with a fantastic draconian twist.

This is a book that requires a reader’s patience as it takes almost half of the novel before the plot becomes clear and for the rather large cast of characters to fall into place. Some may struggle or become disappointed with the pacing and complexity, which I can completely understand, but I personally was captivated by the mystery. We are dropped into this world of five ruling quintarchs who are each placed in five different capitals with Ancris being the main focus of this book. Ancris is a privileged and prosperous city, a place of high fashion, leading alchemy and technological advancement. Then there is the Holt which is described as a vassal state. The Holt is close to Deepwood Fen and is built up from trees and nature, it’s a place I found so vividly described that it reminded somewhat of Rivendell. Though it has a measure of independence, the empire still keeps a tight grip upon and treats the Kin who live there as the lesser race. This has led to the formation of The Red Knives who will stop at nothing to gain full independence, regardless of the consequences, and here lies our main conflict. I found this narrative absolutely fascinating but the deeper we delved into the characters, the magic system, the religious lore and the dragon lore, I became even more immersed.

As I have mentioned this book has a large cast of characters, each of which I found addictive to follow as each served various purposes. Through Rylan we get a glimpse at the atrocities the empire had committed against the Kin throughout the years, from the executions by dragon-fire or hanging to the outlawing of the Kin’s natural ability to bond with dragons. Rylan is a character who, although defies the Empire in secret, also doesn’t wish to see innocent people from both sides get caught in a needless war. He’s not driven by revenge or hatred but is driven by the prospect of peace which made him a character I could truly care for. I also loved exploring his forbidden bond with his dragon Vedron, who wanted nothing more than to fly with Rylan and be free, in essence sharing the same goal. Yet through Rhiannon, a young Kin Druid, we see just how the empire oppresses the Kin by having their history, their magic and old ways of life erased to better control them. Rhiannon’s character was sorrowful, she’s a child of innocence, a child who doesn’t want bloodshed, but her entire life is either being manipulated by the Church or her own family. You see the Kin are used as little more than slaves and the time of revolution has come. As Rhiannon begins to explore her abilities and learns about The Book of the Holt where her grandmother recorded the old ways, it becomes clear how attuned Druids are to their natural world and just how powerful the Kin could be. Rhiannon could be the catalyst for that shift in power.

“Every moment that passed felt as if the crowd were pressing tighter, but the smell of manure from their barrel in the wagon actually calmed her, took her to quiet pastures, far from Ancris. "Nothing like a bit of shit to remind you how deep in it you are."
Rylan looked down at the muck and laughed deep from the belly. He had a good laugh, she decided.”

If that wasn’t enough to contend with, we then have the added narrative of the religious zealots, The Chosen. Through Inquisitor Lorelei’s investigations we discover how the quintarchs were in constant conflict with religious figureheads such as Azariah. Lorelei is a refreshing character, one I was taken with immediately. She gets overwhelmed and anxious in crowds yet works hard to get past this, she makes mistakes and lands herself in danger but is quick to conjure up plans of escape. Lorelei may be a tool of the empire but she’s also fair and empathetic, and is driven to save Ancris from its hidden enemies. Throughout history The Chosen made sure to place their priests in positions of power, from the Empire’s Draconae army to the councils and alchemy research schools, making it easier for them to seize control when the time arose. Azariah, was was surprisingly someone you could feel sympathy for as he was riddled with grief over the death of his son and was compelled by forces stronger than him. The Hissing Man, who was constantly in Azariah's ear, made for a great complex villain, one who shared the same religious compulsion and thirst for power, but in more violent ways. Once the novel begins to reach its climax it’s revealed that the lore surrounding the Gods, the five shrines and five paragons had been concealed and manipulated to the point where the truth is now lost and what is recorded is full of contradictions. Religious warfare is now used merely as a means to gain power and how true does that ring to today’s world? At the centre of this book is the notion of what happens when any one faction gains too much power?

The main source of alchemical power throughout the lands comes from aura and umbra, the bright and dark sun, and of course was coveted by the wealthy. The magic system works in a variety of ways and although that was fascinating to explore, it was of course the dragons which stole the show for me. I particularly found the way that the dragons were incorporated into every aspect of the worldbuilding absolutely incredible. The empire used crops and fetters to bind their radiant dragons, whereas the Kin could naturally bond with their umbral dragons providing a mental and emotional link between them. Though umbral dragons were outlawed and therefore hunted and killed, their bones and blood were used by the empire to make illicit drugs or masks or machinery from, their scales harvested to create auris and umbris powders for humans to gain abilities. Yet even the dragons themselves had an array of inherent abilities, from spraying acid to breathing out noxious myrrh, to creating blinding light, turning people into stone or the ability to trap and compel victims and bend them to their will. Honestly this made the book a real treat to read as when the dragons took the skies I could imagine their ranging colour hues as stunning and majestic, I could visualise them releasing their powers on their enemy targets, I could even imagine the sounds of their trumpets, the sound of pure feral rage or delight. This is why I love dragons, they just make everything that much better!

“Bothymus landed on a snow-covered stretch of ground. He spun about, reared, and spread his wings. Then he screeched and lit his wings, beautiful and fearsome, blazing blues, purples, and yellows expanding in bright, hypnotic swirls.
Vedron turned her head toward the big indurium and stopped beating her wings. She began falling away from the rock cluster toward the big island below.”

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is a sheer delight of complex politics, religion and intricate alchemy, and contains enough dragons to make any fantasy lover beam with glee.

ARC provided by Polly at Head of Zeus and Ad Astra Fiction in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy!

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is out now!

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen
by Bradley P. Beaulieu
The Book of the Holt #1
High Fantasy
NetGalley ARC
Publication Date: December 5, 2023
DAW
Ages: 17+

Rylan Holbrooke is a dragonsinger and a thief who because of his skills discovers the Red Knives were up to something.

Lorelei Aurelius is an inquisitor who also stumbled onto a plot that involves the Church and the Hissing Man.

Rylan and Lorelei's paths cross, and they piece together what they know and find out the Red Knives, the Church, and the Hissing Man are working together to awaken a demigod.


Rylan and Lorelei, in my opinion, are the two MCs, but they are not alone! There are at least four other characters who also have their own (short) chapters throughout the book. Yes, what they are doing has something to do with the plot, and I can see the reasoning why, but there had to be a better way to do this. Their introductory chapters were too short so there wasn't time to get to know them.

And because of their chapters, the reader pretty much knows what the plot is before the MCs, so it feels as if the story is rambling around in circles while Rylan and Lorelei figure out what is going on and then try to stop it.

It wasn't a bad story, but I don't feel there's enough world or magic building, and the dragons didn't get much spotlight even though they are in the title, so I don't think the title has much to do with the story other than there are a few dragons and Deepwood Fen is a place in this world. So if one is going to read this because of dragons, you're going to be disappointed!

While there is drug use and violence, the reason why I don't think it's for readers under 17 is because with all of the characters filling the pages with information, it's very hard to follow.

I just didn't enjoy it enough for it to reach the next star. Less rambling and a little more action and dragons would help.

Do I want to know what happens next? Eh...

2 Stars

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were things I really liked about it. The dragons would be number one on the list. I also really liked some of the characters, but I got frustrated at times with the choices a couple of them made. One of them was really just a child, but she annoyed me so much as she ignored her conscience and continued to do everything that she was told to do with little to no push back. In general, I get frustrated with fantasy books where the evil plans of certain characters come to fruition despite everything the heroes keep throwing at him, or because the would be heroes are clueless as to what is going on. This was one of those types of books. I much prefer when there are wins and setbacks on both sides throughout the story, at least until closer to the end.

Another annoying thing for me was the use of the C word a couple of times. I know some people will roll their eyes at this, but I don't care. The word bothers me. Then there is the very slow pace of the book. There are a lot of character points of view in this book. I enjoyed most of them, but I feel like it caused the pacing of the book to be rather slow. I also thought the book could have included more about the dragons and the dragon riders. We get a couple of pretty good battles between dragons and riders, but it would have loved more.

Despite some disappointments, I do really want to keep reading and see what happens with these characters, Rylan and Lorelei in particular. I liked how the book showed the relationships between the riders and the dragons and how one society bonded with them while the other tried to control them. I also enjoyed the political intrigue that went on between each faction and how they wanted to use each other to get what they wanted. I also have to add that I love that cover. I love it so much that I want a hardcover copy of this book for that reason alone.

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for providing me with an Arc of this book.


Review also posted at Writings of a Reader and on Facebook.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an eARC though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen has a great synopsis that I’m not going to rewrite here. All that matters is dragons. Title says everything you need. Dragons.

This is book 1 of a trilogy, and let me tell you that I cannot wait for book 2. There is just so much to love in this book. We start off with a bang. All sorts of mystery, little bit of murder, hints of the magic to come, and I was sold. Then we jump in with the dragons, and anyways, this book owns my heart now.

This is a typical big ol’ fantasy book, where we’re thrown a lot of characters, different chapters give different points of view, all the usual stuff most readers have seen in these types of books. Beaulieu managed something unusual though, because usually there’s a point of view the reader doesn’t care for. They read the chapters to get to the good chapters, with the characters they like. For myself at least, this book didn’t have that. I liked reading all of the perspectives, I liked reading all of the characters. That’s not to say I liked the character themselves, but I didn’t need to rush to get to my favourites because each point of view was doing something that kept me interested. I definitely still had my favourites, but there was so much political intrigue and different factors in the story that each chapter added a little more to the mystery and solving the mystery of what was going on.

This was my first read by Beaulieu, and it’s definitely made me need to read others. The writing was a great balance of straightforward while still being descriptive and beautiful without being overly flowery. It flowed really nicely, and the writing made the book feel shorter than it was because it was just so easy to fall into the story and fly through it. I also appreciated that the writing managed to have good humour peppered throughout the story and dialogue without feeling forced.

Deepwood Fen really does have a bit of something for everyone. Political intrigue, church and religious intrigue, action, unique magic systems, reincarnation, bonded dragons, dragons in servitude, murder, good banter between characters. It has everything. I can’t recommend it enough, I think all fantasy readers are going to enjoy this.

[Solseit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am even tempted to bump it up to 5. An ode to dragon tales and intrigue!

[Primo S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Thanks to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Full review here...

This book is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Many things worked well, but others really didn't. For starters. this book took a while before it really hooked me. There are a couple of reasons for this, one of them is the fact that there are so many PoV characters, and while that's not a problem in and of itself, the first eight chapters (plus prologue) contain seven different PoV characters, that is a lot, especially for such a slow-paced story.

The pacing increased a bit as the book went on, but the book still felt very long, I couldn't believe it when I checked the length of the book and said that it's only slightly less than 500 pages, because it felt like a book twice that length, for better and for worse. There's a lot going on in the book, everything is really dense, from the worldbuilding, to the characters and the dynamics between them, there's just so much, so if you're into something dense and slow, then this would be perfect for you.

Because there's just so much of everything, including the characters, it means that there are some memorable characters in the book, and even though there are a lot of perspective characters, they're all fleshed out. Of course, this comes at the cost of the glacial pacing of the book, but at least the final 10-15% of the book is a page turner, at least compared to the rest of the book.

One final thing I want to touch on is the worldbuilding, even though it is very thorough and unique, the way it's presented is a bit weird. It felt like half of it is explained in almost a textbook-y style that spoon-fed the audience in an annoying way, while the other half is not explained at all, so you have to glean information from context clues and inferences. In other words, it has both the best and worst of both worlds.

Overall, it's a good book and an intriguing series starter, but probably not one I would revisit simply due to the pacing.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book and I . . . well, we had issues.

For starters, it's a cold, sterile, matter-of-fact fantasy tale with no sense of wonder or delight. Even the dragons are as about as exciting as a mangy old dog. Maybe I expected too much from the cover blurb, or too much from Beaulieu himself, given that I enjoyed his Song of the Shattered Sands series, but this just didn't engage me.

Next, it's one of those multi-POV books where there's overlap between some narrators, but no immediate connections between others. That means the story jumps around, sacrificing whatever tension or curiosity it's nurtured to a new thread. It's just not a style I generally enjoy.

In addition, this feels like a book that doesn't know what it wants to be. It has epic fantasy roots wrapped up in low fantasy trappings, with something of a grimdark flavor, but the plot is largely centered around a police procedural involving drug trafficking. Ugh, no thank you - I read to escape that mindless drivel on TV, not to explore it in a different setting.

Finally, the pacing of this was atrociously slow, owing in large part to the multiple POVs. You'd expect the events of the cover blurb to come early, to be the tease that launches you into the story, but I DNF'd this at about the halfway mark and we still hadn't encountered those events.

All of that said, Beaulieu is a talented writer and I'm sure this will find an audience, it's just not me.


https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2023/...

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I was very excited to read Bradley P Beaulieu’s new book and it did not disappoint! This was a strong start to what I think will be a new favorite fantasy series. Not quite as good as Song of the Shattered Sand series (one of my all time favorites) but at the same time, it’s very different, so it’s probably not fair to compare the two. My one main complaint with this book is that there are so many characters the reader has to keep track off right off the bat. It takes a long time to get grounded in the story and piece everything together. I hope there’s a glossary of characters in the back of the next volume. I did enjoy the characters, the interesting world building and magic system. The plot feels wide open to go in any direction and I’m here for the ride! 4 stars! Can’t wait for the sequel!

[Nicole Te-Arani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC reader from NetGalley, and offer my honest review of it.

I loved this book. I devoured it. I 100% recommend it.

I honestly had trouble putting this book down and stepping out of the world to attend my daily obligations (children). I went to bed thinking about this book, that is how much I loved this.

The plot itself. Amazing. It was evenly paced between character and plot development, and the political scenes and actions sequences paced and pushed each other in the most perfect way.

The world building while at first intense, was absolutely stunning, and slow enough throughout the book that I wasn’t overwhelmed by information, and left me hungry for more.

The characters in this book - chefs kiss
This is a multi POV book, and I want to note, I don’t normally like multi POV. However in this case. It worked, I loved it, being able to read this story from every angle, only added to plot development and the intrigue.

This book has the potential set up for romance in following books, and 0 spice, and I do normally like my books a little spicy. But it absolutely was not missed in this book.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the characters, especially the dragons and the way each has different abilities, but overall the story seemed very chaotic. There were twists involving characters that had barely been mentioned previously and although Lorelei and Rylan were great characters they seemed to constantly switch from one thread of the story to another with slightly different goals and supporting characters. So just when you were getting involved in the thread involving Rylan being a thief he'd switch to helping his father's political career or dealing with the fact he's illegally bonded with a dragon, or finding out what the Red Knives were up to or his childhood trauma and revenge thereof or his sibling rivalry. At which point it got very hard to focus on any bit of the story. Then in contrast, there were some really interesting supporting characters that had almost no story line, appeared to do a single task then disappeared again.

[Jamedi]

Rtc

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel incredibly privileged to have been granted access to this ARC - my first ever! - because this book is absolutely awesome!

From the first few chapters I was utterly swept away on this fast-paced, action-packed adventure. There is political and religious wrangling and intrigue abound, swashbuckling and dashing heroics (along with plenty of sneakiness, thievery, and general skullduggery), a host of compelling characters and, of course, lots and lots of dragons! It has pretty much everything I love in a fantasy novel and it is written so wonderfully. Reading it was a delight!

The world building is rich, evocative and woven into the story seamlessly. I adored learning about the different cultures, factions, magic system and mythos that prevail in the world this story is set in, and then having some of those ideas turned on their hand before we reach the end.

Also, let me just say, the DRAGONS and the dragon lore in this book are superb. If you are a dragon loving fantasy reader and want a sophisticated, high stakes story with dragonriders and mental bonding, look no further because this fits the bill beautifully.

I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this beauty and the next installment in the series!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Bradley P. Beaulieu, Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the eARC! I enjoyed every page.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Source: Netgalley! Many thanks to the publisher
TL;DR: While an absolute banger of an idea (and cover), the pacing on this made it a miss for me

Plot: A complicated net of PoVs following the politics and scheming of the native folks called Kin, and the empire that rules them. Add dragons.
Characters: The most disappointing part. Because of the exceptionally slow pace and head hoping I truly didn't connect
Setting: Loved this, a big dense forest where dragons dwelled? Yes please.
Magic: Everything seemed to be either druidic or based on dragons and their parts. Fascinating ideas!


The Dragons of Deepwood Fen has one of the most striking covers I've seen in a hot minute (particularly from traditional publishers). It leads one to believe the insides to be focused on dragons and flights, maybe fights and action. That... is a little big, maybe a lot, incorrect. The story follows several point of views, 8 in total at various points in the book as we follow the politics and scheming of two groups and those caught between them.

The Empire has ruled the Holt for quite some time, using it's greater forces and it's radiant dragons and magic. The Holt is inhabited by the Kin, the native folk who bond to the umbral dragons. On and off these groups have warred and sought piece and this follows another one of these fights. We get everyone's point of view on it too. From who I would arguably call our main character and his Robin Hood style ways, to some very powerful folks in the Empire itself.

Unfortunately this means this book moves at a glacial pace. Genuinely one of the slowest books I've picked up in a hot minute. At first I was excited! I love multiple points of views and I can get behind a political read. Except here it just didn't connect. There were simply too many characters who were too widely spread. Perhaps if the chapters for each had been shorter it would have felt quicker but I was left feeling like I was watching the events through a foggy glass.

I can't say I hated the book, I really loved some of the ideas. The magic, the rendering of dragon parts for tonics and dusts to have abilities, and the dragon singing. But I was so very, very bored at times. I can say if you like very slow builds with lots of characters, this is for you. If not, maybe skip.

2.5 Flying Lynxes

[christinac_reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at Chapter 52 of 96 at 56%

If you enjoy 'traditional' European High Fantasies written by men you'd probably enjoy this.

To me, this was a whole lot of.... nothing really. The blurb claimed this was fast paced full of intrigue, But honestly the best way I could describe this is... really dull. Told in extreme detail from multiple POVs, with the slowest of slow meandering paces, and a whole lot of pinky hiding, there are dragons, dragon singers, necromancy, a drug trafficking plot, and strange Church vs. Dragon Singers intrigue. To me this read as extremely bland and sterile, as if everything that could make a fantasy interesting was washed away in favor of word count. In addition, it felt all over the place while being so incredibly slow it felt like reading a newspaper featuring dragons. Even the dragons were just..... there.

This book might honestly find its audience somewhere, especially for folk who enjoy these type of slower paced high fantasy books but I think my tastes have evolved to a point that the lack of any diverse representation at all in the entire novel just was cherry on top of an already utterly boring novel . I'm quite surprised I hit the 50% mark. That was many hours of trudging through this incredibly lengthy book.

Thank you to Netgalley and DAW for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

** I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was published on December 5th, 2023 in the US. **

Possible Triggers:
Death | Torture

Summary:
This is the first book in a new series; ‘The Book of the Holt’.

Characters:
This book is written from multiple character perspectives.

Positives:
+ Multiple awesome magic systems. All of them seem to revolve around the dragons in the book, usually in regards to using ground bits of them to activate magic. There was also this cool.. emotional/musical sort of magic that was also discussed that was fascinating as well. Epic things being done with the magic, especially in the later half of the book.
+ Lots of political maneuvering!
+ DRAGONS! I always love reading about dragons in my fantasy books. These ones had awesome abilities between the different species.

Negatives:
- Quite a slow pace. There was a lot of set up in this book in regards to history, world building, new knowledge of multiple magics, and politics. Sprinkled in amongst the mountains of information you were absorbing there were small spurts of action, but they were sparse and left me wanting more.
- I did not connect with any of the characters. Rylan and Lorelei are supposed to be characters we care about and I still care nothing for their fates. Honestly, I cared most about the dragons.

Final Thoughts:
This was such an interesting book. On the one hand, it was chock full of magic, politics, heists, magical beasties, and interesting world-building. But on the other hand, I'm not sure I can summon up enough enthusiasm to recommend it to everyone else that loves fantasy like I do. I was underwhelmed by the book. Here I was going in expecting so many impressive awesome things; all the elements were there, but it never came to fruition. I will say that I felt the book was absolutely setting the stage for some truly epic things to happen, but the sheer amount of world building and stage setting left little in the way of room for that in the first book. The last fourth of the book had a lot of action going on but all the rest was a really slow slog through mountains of information with characters that didn’t quite spark my sympathy or interest.

The writing was beautiful and the world was interesting enough for me to want to continue the series. I look forward to reading the next book in the hopes that all the info I have now absorbed will result in a faster pace and big things happening.

[Annemieke / A Dance with Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

Thank you to DAW and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.

TW/CW Murder | Blood | Torture | Violence

Beaulieu is a well known name in the fantasy genre, but I had yet to read a book by him. Starting with a book that has dragons in it, seemed like a good place to start.

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen lets us meet Rylan, the bastard son of a leader in the city that he lives in. A small time thief who gets asked to do something much bigger than he bargained for. Through Rylan we get a decent look at the world. He has one foot in the city and one foot in the Holt. We get to see both sides.

The world in this book is interesting. There are saints and legends from many generations passed that shaped the world, and also partially the current divide. These were real people with real magic. The dragons are a part of the world but just as there is a divide between the people, they divide the dragons. Some dragons are good while others get killed.

While this book nearly counts 500 pages, the story itself is very straightforward in that there really wasn't any surprise. The foreshadowing was not subtle and if you read a lot of fantasy you see most of the things coming from a mile away. My complaint is that while we spend a lot of time with Rylan, we get too little background on him. More on his interactions with his half siblings, his father, other dragons there. More about the dragon singing.

I think this book is very much a set up for the bigger plot that came forward at the end of the book. That we needed to get through this to get something much better in the next book.

That doesn't mean that this is a bad book. I enjoyed reading it for what it was. I liked Rylan and his bond with his dragon. I liked getting the bits and pieces of this world. Some of the side characters amused me. It just didn't ask a whole lot of me as reader. And sometimes that is fine too.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I really enjoyed this book, a slower paced introduction to a brand new world, the worldbuilding was well done and very detailed but revealed in a need to know basis which made things easier to follow. This book was very much a high political fantasy. Different factions, allegiances, and motivations all coming together; which faction is allying with what faction, or which ones are enemies…which characters/POVs have ulterior motives or two faces seemingly embedded in one group but are secretly allied to another or are some kind of double agent, in this respect there are quite a few threads to follow.

As for the characters we have six different POV’s in the story, and they all seem different at first. Going deeper into the story; you learn more about all of these characters, and how each of them slowly start to become enveloped in this giant insidious web that is the main event/goal of the story; that certain groups want to see come to fruition. Overall an enjoyable but slower burn but not too slow story about dragons, magic and political scheming and machinations, and shifting loyalties.

[Sofie Haller]

DNF @ 14% - multiple attempts at starting.

By this point, too many POVs were introduced and I couldn't keep track of anything to start as they only slightly overlap in the beginning, most likely intersecting later in the story. However, I was not hooked into any of the POVs to want to know more and how they connected.

The writing felt clinical and slow and I could not see myself going forward with reading the remainder of the story despite the intriguing mystery and lore about dragons given in the earlier chapters. I can tell the writer is talented, however, this just did not cut it for me.

[Viktoriiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen is slow plot wise, but it does have a lot of characters and threads to keep track of. I believe it’s a book you read twice to fully take everything in. There were about 7 POVs introduced in the first 8 chapters! It’s not as big as Malazan but I would still recommend getting a pen and notebook to make notes. I thought of that a little too late.

The fantasy was interesting, and it’s obvious from the first chapter there’s more to come. The politics were in the forefront of the novel. There’s the religious group that want to elevate themselves and control the people. There’s the gang that make everyone’s life more difficult then necessary. And of course others caught between the two with their own agendas, secrets and problems.

This book requires patience and concentration. I didn’t find it as easy or action packed as The Song of the Shattered Sands but it’s only the beginning.

eARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


P.S. Sometimes, some scenes read like a thriller and I had to make sure I was still reading the same book.

[Mili · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5☆

[Vivienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to Head of Zeus AdAstra for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Dragons of Deepwood Fen’ by Bradley P. Beaulieu. This is Book 1 in The Book of the Holt series.

I was drawn to this epic fantasy by its premise and the always welcome presence of dragons. Unfortunately, I found its plot quite confusing and the pace very, very slow.

In addition, while switching between various characters’ points of view can work well, here coupled with the slow pace, I realised that I wasn’t feeling any particular connection to any of them. I read 75% of the novel before reaching the decision to set it aside.

I can see that there are plenty of high ratings for this novel and readers who thoroughly enjoyed it but its pacing and world building just didn’t work for me even with the presence of dragons, dragon riders and dragon singers.

[Joanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I was so excited about this book so I feel incredibly disappointed. The premise was promising and I love a good in-depth fantasy, unfortunately, the book fell far short of the description, expectation and hype surrounding it - so much so that I couldn't get through it.

By the time I'd reach 10% of the way through, a total of 6 POVs had been introduced, all with a totally different story. None of these were particularly interesting and the huge number of POVs made it very difficult to care or get to grips with the characters.

There's a lot of world building, but it's very clinical. There is a lack of wonder that you want from a fantasy. Yes, there's plenty of detail but it's confusing, with a fair bit of info dumping making it hard to get a clear picture.

I'm afraid that I just didn't care about any of the characters or how the stories would all be connected. The slow pacing made it feel like I was trudging through treacle and I wasn't rewarded for the effort I put into reading it. The result is that I stopped reading less than halfway through and I have no urge at all to pick it up again.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the concept of this story and connected well with some of the characters, but I was completely put off by the number of POV’s at the start. I think they’re’ around seven? Either way, it was too much for me. It made the story drag and then by the time we got back round to the earlier POV’s, I’d forgotten everything about them! 🙈

I completely lost interest, because I just couldn’t keep up with all the characters and in the end the story was just ‘ok’ for me. I think if the beginning had more action and less POV’s to try and follow I probably would have really enjoyed the rest of the story because the plot itself was very interesting.

[Anne (eggcatsreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and DAW for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An in-depth fantasy world (with dragons!) with multiple POVs occurring on opposite ends of a conflict, and it’s not until things really kick off where we can see how everything interconnects and works together. If you like slow-building fantasy where there are both heroes and villains on every side, then you’ll like this novel. Much of the slow advance to learning how everything works together strongly reminded me of Samantha Shannon’s “Priory of the Orange Tree” - if you liked how slow and in-depth that novel is, I think you’ll find similar enjoyment from this novel as well. (And this book does start slow, but trust me it does pick up once the events start unfolding.)

This story is told through multiple POVs, but I will say that for once I didn’t have much confusion about who was who. The characters (and their names!) were unique enough that I was able to pretty early on identify who and what was going on - which is rare for me, I’m kind of stupid in this department normally. I liked how much of the worldbuilding was slowly given to us by the world and actions of each named character, and while there was a lot of information to take in it never felt info-dumpy to me. Something I really liked about the multiple POVs in this book is that many times the character we were reading about would either mention, or talk to another character - and then we would have a POV from that character. It made connecting who was who easier in my opinion, as we had essentially an introduction to that character and then a more in-depth look into them.

My only issue with this novel was that there were a few times I was kind of confused about what the conflict exactly was, or what goal the characters were working towards. It could be that I wasn’t paying as close attention as I should have, but sometimes the characters would decide on a plan that didn’t make a great deal of sense to me - nor did it fit into the urgency of what exactly was going on.

However, I found this book engaging enough that while it was personally a slower read, it was an enjoyable one. I was engaged as we were learning more about the interconnections of the politics and the church, and thought the religious twist that the characters discover was really well done.

(Also, I don’t know what it is, but it seems like every book I read with a religion has a similar twist to it - Seven Faceless Saints and The Ghost and the Fallen, are two novels with a similar religious situation going down.)

The ending was an interesting twist, and I will be reading the next in this series to see what these characters do with the events that unfolded at the end of this book.

[Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all dragons, I've been obsessed with dragons since always, and this book had a lot of dragon detail I loved

There is a LOT of information to take in early on. This world had a fully realised government and religion and military among other things, the roles and groups and hierarchies are all fairly complex. We also have magic and lore and rebellion and controversy and history.

And dragons.

But it's worth the time, the universe the author has created is absolutely stunning.

Love the concept of a dragon singer and I think Rylan is my new book boyfriend.

And dragons.

We follow various characters throughout the book, switching between their POVs and it's done so well. The story progresses at the good pace, without feeling hectic or forced. With a nice dose of plot twists to keep us guessing.

And the characters evolve through their experiences and encounters in ways that feel so natural and organic.

We touch on themes like drug use, mental health, racism and trauma.

And dragons.

The way magic works and can be used in this universe is fascinating and terrifying. The comparison of bond and bind was such an interesting concept.

I really enjoyed the way that we are left with so much story left to tell, but it wasn't a jarring cliffhanger.

I cannot wait for the next one and I desperately want a dragon bestie.

Did I mention dragons?

Happily give this 5 stars.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Nick (novelswithnick) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A colourful cover and with dragons on? Count me in

The is a story for all dragon lovers, they don’t just exist in this world but they have several uses to those around them. For example, you have the usual dragon riders and bonding but in addition to this their scales are used in various ways producing different effects which created an interesting magic system. There’s a variation of the types of dragons with distinctive personalities really giving them a belonging in this world

From the get go, you’re introduced to quite few names of not only people but also dragons and it can be a head scratcher. Taking note of who and what is who is advised but it doesn’t take long to get to grips with it all as this is an accessible high fantasy read with a great cast of characters

The pacing is consistent in this nearly 700 page story leaning more towards being character focused. There’s no epic action/battle scenes but instead aims towards more smaller events taking place throughout but they still managed to hold great significance to the plot development with character paths intertwining, political intrigue, revelations and twists which were all entertaining

This is the first for me from this author and it won’t be the last. If anyone has the Song of Shattered Sands series in hardback I will gladly take them off your hands

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