The Hero, The Sword and The Dragons

Chronicles of Dragon #1

by Craig Halloran

Welcome to the world of NALZAMBOR ... Nath is a special warrior. He is a man destined to be a dragon. In order to become a dragon, he must save the dragons. For countless years Nath has been on a quest to become a dragon, but his meddling with the other races tends to get in the way. The way of men is not the way of Nath Dragon his father has warned him. Yet, Nath, unable to control his fascination of the world men, elves, dwarves and even the despised orcs, tends to get caught up in their affairs. To earn his scales, there is a high road he must follow. With his close friend and ally, Brenwar the Dwarf, Nath, armed with a magic sword he calls Fang, travels to the Mountain of Doom, the Free City of Narnum and to Orcen Hold where nothing but trouble awaits. Will Nath Dragon, hero of the realm and protector of dragon kind choose the right path or wind up on a dark one?

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Amazon, Childrens, Ebooks, Young Adult

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2013

About the author

Craig Halloran grew up a role playing fiend and dungeon master's nightmare. Since, he's turned his boundless creativity into more than 80 acclaimed novels that span a wide variety of fantasy fiction sub-genres, from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery to future world apocalypse. Creator of the bestselling Darkslayer and the Chronicles of the Dragon series, he imagines unique worlds and wonders that are breathtaking in concept, and then brings them to life in stories brimming with excitement, suspense, and surprise. A former military policeman who now labors in the realm of the remarkable, Halloran has a large and loyal following of devoted fans who eagerly devour his page-turning, action-packed tales of fantastic adventure.

For more news and anecdotes you can follow him at:
Facebook: The Darkslayer Report by Craig
Twitter: Craig Halloran
www.craighalloran.com (Website and Blog)
www.thedarkslayer.com
www.dragonwarsbooks.com

Or drop him a line anytime as he loves to hear from readers: craig@thedarkslayer.com

***

#1 Bestseller of Epic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery & KDP All-Star!

Dragon Wars (20 Books) releasing 2020-21

The Darkslayer Series #1 (6 Books)

The Darkslayer Series #2 (10 books)

The Chronicles of Dragon, Series #1 (10 Books)

The Chronicles of Dragon, Series #2 (10 Books)

The Odyssey of Nath Dragon, Prequel series, (5 Books)

The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files (10 books)

The Henchmen Chronicles (5 Books)

The Red Citadel and the Sorcerer's Power (1 Stand Alone Book)

The Gamma Earth Cycle (2 Books, Work in Progress)

Zombie Impact (3 Books)

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Top 10: Dark Fantasy
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Over 4000 reviews
4-Star+ Average Rating

Reviews

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nath Dragon may look like a man, but he was born a dragon. He's a rare dragon, a great dragon, like his father and grandfather before him. His father and grandfather were born dragons, became men, and had to earn their scales to become dragons once more. Nath is trying to do just that, but has yet to earn a single scale after countless years. So Nath continues to save dragons in hopes to become a great dragon like his father.

The Hero, The Sword, and The Dragons was a really solid story. A light and easy read for sure with some complexities that were quite interesting. It's also sophomoric at times like an eye roll inducing uncle with lines like this, "Nath Dragon is my name; saving dragons (and other things) is my game." I wish I could say that was the only line like that in the book, but there are quite a few more which is shocking since the story isn't even 200 pages long.

Nath is a solid character who purely desires to help dragons and please his father. He doesn't visit home often because he's ashamed that he's still scaleless. Nath has that loveable oaf type of personality yet he's a fierce fighter. His personality is offset by his mostly serious travel companion the dwarf Brenwar. Brenwar felt similar in personality to Gimli in the Lord of the Rings films in that he's a good friend, travel companion, and warrior.

The Hero, The Sword, and The Dragons wasn't a stunning story, but it makes me want to know what happens next when it ends. Any book that leaves me feeling like that when I put it down, is a pretty solid book in my opinion.

[onceuponatimeareview · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted a quick fast read. Boy this was a quick a fast read. I tend to stay away from free books on amazon because some of them turn out to be really bad and this one to me was one of them. For me the biggest reason is the writing style was very simple and didn't drag me in at all. There was no details about anything which made 162 pages very confusing. I wanted to know this history of the story and why something is in first chapter don't tell high paced scene and leave left behind confused about everything. Maybe this book was a middle grade book even then there are some great middle grade books out there honestly. All the characters seem really flat and very simple, they weren't complex at all. None of the characters seem to developed .I however the idea of the story was great and I never seen it before other young adult books or anything I read though it could of have been done a lot better. I will not be picking up the rest of the series.

Quick mention I normally do a longer review, but I absolutely didn't like this book. The same problems kept recurring throughout the book. I know when reading a quick book I still want the same things from a longer book. I wanted to be captivate and dragged. Sadly this wasn't a case and I was hoping this will be a great book, but it wasn't. I don't think I will recommend this books to anyone really unless if you want to give it a try.

[Alida · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. I am going to find and read all the books in this set. Craig you may have written this series for kids but I love this set. Oh by the way I am an adult. Thank you for your books.

What a great story. I can not wait to read the next book. You may have written these books for the young readers, but I am an adult and I love your book. Thank you

[Catherine Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for just your basic, simple fantasy adventure that was easy to read and entertaining and I found it here. A quick read. The first book was free as an ebook and more of a novella, as the author states, to introduce the reader to the subject. I became addicted quickly and am enjoying reading the rest of the installments. Would recommend to anyone.

[Eldarwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had its moments and some of the descriptions were quite nicely written but I often felt as though far too much of the story had been omitted for this to be a well-flowing piece. Besides, the main character felt under-developed.

There could have been so much more to this story. Sadly, it felt more like a first draft than a fully-fledged novel.

1.5 stars

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Egads!"
Aimed at younger readers this novella builds the setting for a series of pieces centered around a brash young hero type named Nath Dragon.

Surprisingly the 8th published work by Halloran. This work could have used an extra pass or three of proof reading and editing, as the typographical errors and the writing style oddities are fairly consistent throughout. Overall the novella comes off feeling amateur and untouched by a professional editor.

Ideal for children who are not advanced in their reading prowess, and perhaps suitable for group reading if one can handle a bit of inflated and silly yet bloody violence. The story is written in first person perspective (mostly) and lends itself naturally to feeling like a braggart's work. I can imagine it being fun and exciting to children who enjoy action, dragons, or magic.
Most teens with any reading acumen and even adults would probably find this a little underdone.

2 Stars by way of the poor editing and composition.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice quick read while commuting for work. It's meant for a younger audience than me, and you can definitely see that, but I feel like adults can enjoy this too. The writing is easy to follow, the story not complicated and entertaining. My only concern was that there was more than a hint to the fact that the MC has bedded many women indiscriminately and I felt like that was a bit out of place considering the audience. True, there are books meant for YA that are WAY more explicit, but I still felt like it was a little weird. Plus, just because those books do it it doesn't mean it's okay. Books meant for children or young adults should be as clean as possible, because many young readers use what they read as role models.

[Zac Ori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written as if the main characters were the members of a roleplaying game, which lead to classic, hot-headed behavior which was aimed toward combat, which begs the question: if the characters have been behaving this way for any extended period of time, why are they not criminals? Why does no one seem to care that everywhere these guys have gone, they've destroyed/killed something? Where are the consequences? The end was intriguing, though I wonder what the author is going to do with a few cities, some wilderness, and a big volcano...

[Mikejonez · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot is a bit confusing at times and doesn't make much sense either. I've gotten lost a few times reading and that's saying something lol. Also, It's not the best written book either and I think that really hurts it as well.

The best way I can sum this book up in one sentence - There is a reason why it's free on Amazon.

[Conor Engelbrecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. But, unfortunately, it just was not to be. The writing was stilted and uninteresting, the characters flat and cliched, and the plot a mish-mash of overdone tropes.
On the plus side, I liked the idea of a sword that has powers but doesn't reliably let them be used.

[Maya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one, but quite frankly - I couldn't find anything about it to like. The formatting wasn't fantastic, the character was quite hate-able, and the story was just plain not interesting.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

[ to review at a later date - perhaps even re-read and review at a later date as well, though not urgent ]

[Serena · Rating 1 out of 5]

First book of free book february!

This was an amateur, unedited level introductory novella/short story to the series.

The names were ridiculous. Nash Dragon. His sword's name is Fang. The mountain of doom. There's a whole Thing(TM) of dragons having long, long names, and it's used as a funny thing many times. Someone starts saying Nash's name and they take, like, an hour or so to finish it. I get it's trying to be a fun introductory fantasy with Riordanesque humor, but it just can't live up to it.

It's also extremely misogynistic. At one point the MC said a spell "as ancient as a man, as difficult as a woman". Oh wow look, the author is edgy, he doesn't understand women bc women are so complicated am I right lolololol XDDD!!! Female dragons are also lighter-scaled than males, and they have EYELASHES. AND MALES DON'T HAVE EYELASHES. That isn't only stupid evolutionary wise, but also really basic overall? Like, it's the most basic thing to put eyelashes onto a thing and say iT's FeMaLe!¡!¡!¡! Look at funko pops. That shit is embarrassing at least.
This one I don't know for sure and a quick google search didn't teach me anything but aren't orcs based on black people bc, you know, Tolkien was racist as fuck? There were orcs here and the MC makes a joke saying that he won't kill anyone, but that orcs don't count as people so, like, he can kill as many orcs as he can. Isn't that just a bit problematic, author? You had nothing best to write?

The whole book is about the MC (human) getting his scales to appear somehow to become a Full Dragon(TM). But most, if not all, of what happens in this book just doesn't go towards that goal, even if he gets his scales in the end. It seems like the author just writes without knowing what will happen next, and he just throws in random events? Oh look, an underground dragon fighting club, a horde of orcs, a horde of trolls, some evil queen. Oh no. A spear to my back that would've at least done a little bit more damage had I done the bare minimum to research what a fucking spear to the lung does.

And overall the main character was unlikable? Obviously a white 200yo man that behaves like he's 15 because men don't emotionally grow after that age. Does what he wants, when something bad happens he cries a bit but then jokes about it, or just cries in a fake manner, or doesn't get any consequence. Every woman in earth loves him (he enters a city and gets catcalled by many women). He knows his way around many many cities. He's strong, and with his sword called Fang (I can't deal with how wolf-scene kid it sounds I'm sorry) he can kill as many orcs as he wants. He gets speared in the back, falls asleep for a few months and nothing happened. He gets a dragon hand. His dad (dragon dad) can't stand him bc he's insufferable and behaves like a 15yo soon-to-be-frat-guy teenager, but he's kind of the heir to the throne just because (he has another siblings but the book kind of writes around why they can't be the heirs) so dragon dad has to bear with him, I guess. He's called NASH. DRAGON. Sorry I can't get over the names today but JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

Bye, book. Bye, author, honestly don't even write anymore if you're going to write like this

[Dennis Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craig Halloran is a self-described family man, and a United States Air Force security police veteran who enjoys writing, working out, watching sports, and fishing. He’s a graduate of West Virginia University. He lives with his wife and son in Charleston West Virginia.

This 20,000-word novella is the first book in his The Chronicles of Dragon series. Though his directed audience is Tweens and teens, the book does contain some violence, so I would recommend that parents preview it for younger readers.

The main protagonist is a 200-year-old dragon named Nath. While the author doesn’t specify Nath’s age in human years, I would put it in the late teens to early twenties. That’s important, you see, because in the fantasy world of Nalzambor, dragons must earn their scales before taking on the dragon form. Prior to such a metamorphosis, they are human-like creatures. This presents a particular problem for Nath. His father is a dragon king, and the dragon prince likes to do things his own way, which has kept him thus far from developing any scales on his body.

His father sends him away from the home of dragons in the Mountain of Doom to prove himself. Nath Dragon borrows his father’s magic sword that he calls Fang, and begins his quest with an old friend, a dwarf named Brenwar, to earn his scales. His travels take him among the other populace of Nalzambor, man, orcs, elves, gnolls, lizard men, and ogres. Dragon accessories, teeth, skin, scales, claws, and horns are highly prized by the wealthy. Nath seeks out the sellers of those items, and becomes involved in fights to the death. Although he always seems to come out on top in those brawls, scraped and bruised but breathing, and his intentions are good, our hero finds that earning his scales is a hard road to follow.

Nath Dragon’s adventures are a delightful romp through a well-developed fantasy world. It is well written and spiced with humor. Suspension of belief is necessary to enjoy a fantasy, and I had no problem envisioning the dragon portrayed as a man. Nor the world he would someday rule over, if he could just mature enough to settle down.

I highly recommend Nath Dragon and can’t wait to travel the road with him in future adventures.

[Paige Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read more of my reviews here: https://paigeturnerreads.wordpress.com/

I honestly love novels about dragons and this book did not disappoint me, but was absolutely beautiful. So much so that I’m possibly willing to finish the series, or at least read the second book (There are ten books!). I was sucked into a story of dragons and elves and dwarves and orcs and men that grabbed me by the fingertips until I didn’t even want to pull away.

Nath is the main character with a name that takes hours to pronounce and has the desire to be a dragon, so he can make his father proud. He goes on an adventure to accomplish this quest with his loyal best friend, Brenwar, a dwarf.

Despite it being a short book, Craig Halloran made it seem like I was in a different world for hours, feeling emotions that weren’t mine. I could smell the foul stench of blood, fear, and sweat underground. I could smell the animals that Brenwar cooked over a fire and hear the fat sizzle and pop. I felt the Nath’s blind fury, annoyance, fear, agony, sorrow, and deep regret. I felt his bewilderment, his pride, and his exhaustion. I felt the strong and special bond that was filled with loyalty between him and his friend, Brenwar. I felt it all and I was fascinated, even though the characters are just developing.

The book ended with a well-done cliffhanger and I had questions that I’m excited to be answered.

[ShingetsuMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize this novella was aimed at younger readers (tweens) when I got it but keeping that I mind now I think that it would be a great fantasy book for younger teens.

This is mostly meant to start the series off so the rest of the books will be roughly twice as long according to the author.

The writing style provided more detail then I expected from a tween novel to be honest and I can definitely see someone younger being engrossed in this novella and in future books.

The plot isn't overly complicated but it's not too simplistic for the target audience either. Not in my opinion at least.

As for character depth again this is a less "mature" novel and it's not tremendously long so I wasn't expecting a whole lot. However I was honestly surprised by the twist at the end and I think it was a good way to build interest in the rest of the series even though I do feel the final page ended a bit too abruptly.

So overall while this didn't grab me I still think it was very well done and I can definitely see myself recommending it to someone in the future whether they be younger or older.

[Leah Speller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is unfortunate that Goodreads does not list the omnibus for that is how I read these as one large book. So that is how I will be offering my feelings of this series.

First of I will say that book one is obviously a novella. Having said that it does what it was intending to do and that is introduce you to this marvelous world the Craig has made and an idea of what was wrong with it.

I had read in some of the other critiques that these books were meant for young adults I honestly enjoyed them. The plot was complex. The growth of the main character could go one way or the other through then entire book and you never knew which way. The fighting was well played out with not the good guy always winning but a flicker of hope still remained. For a teen this book is an excellent coming of age book to read. And even for adults, I see no reason why we cannot not enjoy the depth and growth within, for we are always charged with this type of charge every day in our lives.

I have enjoyed each and every one of these book and glad that I got them all at once and it is my hope that for any age you will find the courage that I found through these pages.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good novella with a unique concept - a dragon species dedicated to good, looking out for mankind and dragonkind particularly and all fable creatures in general.

Nash is the son of the Master Dragon over All.

Another unique concept - he was born in human form and must earn his dragon scales. He has been on a quest to earn his scales for 200 years. So far he has ..... zero scales.

You'll not get a spoiler out of me on this one.

I'm always on the lookout for stories to encourage my grandson to read, and this one definitely qualifies. A story with dragons and swords. What more could he ask for?

I recommend this for tweens or young teens, or any young person reading above a 4.5 grade level.

[Dorothy Brandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nice Appetizer

This short novella, for lack of a better name, was just what I said, a tasty appetizer that just give the fantasy lover a delicious bite that makes one long for more, especially if you like heroes battling with orcs and other evil dwellers of fantasy realms, not to mention feisty dwarves, graceful elves and dragons with scales sparkling with all the colors of their jewelry laden lairs. This fast-moving adventures of a man-Dragon trying to earn his scales that would make him a full dragon caught my attention and kept me reading until the end of its too short pages, the only reason I could give for its rating of 4. I certainly will continue with Book 2 and more if it keeps my attention as this beginning to the series did. For older children of all ages.

[Michael Wood]

Pretty good fantasy start

In this, the first if a promised new series, author Craig Halloran introduces us to a young dragon who can transform into the appearance of a human man. Sort of a were-human, since he is, after all, really a dragon. A dragon who is often in trouble for disobeying his father. And his father is not just ANY dragon.
A few pages at the start are not so exciting, but as Halloran hits his stride, the book becomes very interesting. Characters are just a little flat, but who reads dragon fantasy for well-rounded, true to life characters? I enjoyed the book, and look forward to reading more.

[Kathy Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about a book with a flawed hero...from page 1 the protagonist is dealing with his inner demons, unsure if he really even wants to fight them, while looking for his outer dragon. The theme seems to be one cannot serve two masters. The author promises a fantasy book written in simple and direct style easy enough for a pre-teen to grab onto, but if the rest of the series follows the introduction we will actually get a stark mirror showing our very human joys and failings with no flowery language to soften the blow.

[Linda Barnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic, readable, typos might become annoying, but it does have a little bit of an interesting take on good and evil that warns our hero, Nath Dragon, not to kill the bad guys, Orks, Trolls, Gnolls, etc. unless it's absolutely necessary to protect his, or someone else's life. He is to let evil take care of it's self and only strive to protect dragons, or anyone, who can't protect themselves, only scaring the bad guys away, or wounding them if necessary.

With better writing it could make for an interesting twist on what really is right, or wrong.

[Carla J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Novella

I chose this rating because just as the story got truly interesting, wham author's note. What I thought was a full length novel turned out to be a teaser for a series of books. I liked the swashbuckling main character Nath Dragon and found his quest to grow scales interesting and humorous. It ended abruptly and left you wanting to throttle the person who failed to mention this was a novella.

[Heather Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn into the action of this story. I found myself chuckling often and absolutely enjoyed the humor incorporated into the story. I fell into the world of the story - which is vivid, fun, and exciting - quite easily. I quickly liked the main character and cared about what happened to him on his adventures.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and am definitely interested enough to read the next story. I received this at a free or discounted rate in exchange for my honest review.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty enjoyable book. The rating isn't up there because it's a very short novella and the characters and plot haven't really taken off yet. I am intrigued by the descriptions of Nath's father and the other dragons, and hopefully Nath himself will be more interesting in future books. The story leaves you with wanting to know more, so I'm hoping this above-average beginning gets better!

[Peri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. It was fast-paced, the characters were well-developed for the length of the book, and it set up some interesting story lines for future books. While it's not a highly detailed epic fantasy, it is a good introduction to a new world. I will pick up the next one to see what happens.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a small introduction to the world than an big, involved story. Liked it well enough as a free Kindle series (lending library). Was helped immensely by picturing Nath using The Hound's voice from the GoT show. That voice is perfect for this character.

[Jeff]

Not terribly well written but there is definite potential in this author. This series is geared toward tween and teens and it is almost as though the writer takes some cues from kids. More editing and a few revisions would serve him well.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good...author bills series as a series for tweens which I am always on the lookout for....actually this one is a novella to whet the reader's appetite...which worked as I had to get the next one in the series and now want to find it in hardcover to add to our school library

[Minecraftmaniac77 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome!

I love this book it was so well written and I love the plot to! It can make a connection to The Lord of the Rings.