The Calling

Dragon Horse War trilogy #1

by D. Jackson Leigh

When is war justified to preserve peace?

Society has evolved into one collective belief that celebrates diversity. Luxury credits are earned and spent only after the world population is fed and educated. But when catastrophic weather kills thousands and destroys crops, people begin to look for answers among ancient legends of guilt, retribution, and a vengeful deity.

Jael, seasoned commander of a latent cell of dragon horse warriors, understands what Alyssa, an alluring young priestess, doesn’t—words won’t be enough to quell the violent sect preying on the population’s fear and hunger. As their conflicting ideologies threaten to jeopardize their mission, Alyssa and Jael realize their growing attraction and entwined destiny might be more formidable than the enemy they have been called upon to defeat.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance, Lesbian, Military Fiction, Horses, Erotica

264 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2015

About the author

D. Jackson Leigh grew up barefoot and happy, swimming in farm ponds and riding rude ponies in rural south Georgia. Her love of reading was nurtured early on by her grandmother, an English teacher who patiently taught her to work New York Times crossword puzzles in the daily paper, and by her mother who stretched the slim family budget to bring home grocery store copies of Trixie Belden mysteries and Bobbsey Twins adventures that Jackson would sit up all night reading.

It was her passion for writing led her quite accidentally to a career in journalism and, ultimately, North Carolina where she lives with her small pack of three terror, uh, terriers.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure how to rate this. The story is set in a futuristic world, where we have learn to share everything (and didn’t end like Cuba). There’s no division based on sex, religion, color, or whatever, we are just humans. We have medical, communications and some transportation advances (but I’m not sure about space travel) BUT after thousands of years without problems when some natural disasters kill some people and decrease the harvest and the grains a prophet emerges and claims that the solution is to steal, hoard, segregate and all the things that make a cult and of course he gets a fallowing right away, see the world leaders of today, most are charismatic messiahs promising the impossible and causing division, right, left and moderates, doesn’t matter, we humans love to hate.

Obviously our MCs have to save the world, armed with empaths, telepaths, dragons, fire, past lives, ego and a strong sense of duty. But fear not, because we humans weren’t bellicose for many many years and those rudimentary and non technological “weapons” are enough to save the world.

It was a well written book. An interesting story. Just not for me (in case you couldn’t discern my sarcasm on the paragraph above). And that’s why I don’t know how to rate this. I’m giving it 3.5 stars, but towards a 3 instead of 4 because it took me so long to get exited about the trama and when it finally happened the book was over.

[P. Industry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting.

It's the distant future; a time where reincarnation is real and accepted, where older souls remember their past lives and are honoured for their wisdom. It is a time of peace. Jael is a warrior in this time, her soul echoing with all the death and destruction she has witnessed and caused. Alyssa is her counter-point; a powerful empathic healer in her first life, she must take on faith what the older souls tell her is the truth - that souls reincarnate, that bodies must be burned to ensure this is so cleanly, and that the strong and the weak can coexist to the mutual benefit of everyone.

Unfortunately not everyone believes that is so; another first-lifer, an academic of history, is crippled by grief and angered by the benefits he could have had if born in a different time. His rage and spite prompt him to form a religion, demanding a return to the racism and sexism which would place him above his fellows. Jael is being called on to gather, train, and lead an army to stop these heretics and burn their corpses for the good of everyone else. Alyssa is being called on to keep her sane.

Confession; I thought the title was going to be some cool metaphor. "Dragon horse war?" I thought "Cool - emotion interplaying with conflict and the archaic nature of warfare in a situation of longevity." But I was wrong about that; so, so wrong. Instead, this book actually just has a dragon horse war in it. As in; there are horses in this novel that casually turn into winged fire-breathing horses at night. Jael uses them to fight her enemies. Huh.

And that should set the tone of this review; this book is stupid. Gloriously stupid. It was stupid in the way that something like "He-Man Prince of Power" is stupid - it's big and campy and everything about it is for some reason appealing. It's written well (albeit the romance was the standard pull-push-angst claptrap that makes you want to scream and slap everyone). The violence is visceral, and the effects of suddenly introduced racism and sexism are well discussed in the text. There is a man/woman/person in the text who is both genders and neither (although it was a bit awkward to parse the implications that people are inherently gendered in their soul). It was nice how seriously all the themes were taken, anyway - violence, the implications of reincarnation, etc - and how amazingly straight everything was played, even as it was impossible to take seriously. Honestly, there is literally a line in this book which runs; "the night was cold and barren, like the state of Jael's soul." And that is completely fine - I smirked a little and then kept reading. There are actual "soul mates" in this book played straight. There are psychic powers. Hell, the horses that turn into dragons can be bonded. The whole effect is like some sort of weird Valdamar/Night-World lesbian fanfic. It's a hot mess and I love it.

I understand from the author's endnote that this is going to be a trilogy. That news is like hearing your favourite soap opera is getting renewed for two more seasons; you are thrilled to pieces but are vaguely embarrassed about it even within your own mind. Whatever - bring it on, Dragon Horse War Two. Hopefully we get new lesbians to watch be clearly each other's true soul mate love while utterly failing to recognise it.

Three well deserved stars.

[Char Dafoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trilogy that took my breath away as my imagination soared high and wide.

This was far out of my reading comfort level because I'm not a big fan of fantasies. I had decided to step out of my comfort zone, and I'm glad I did. I honestly don't have the intelligent words to describe what I read. All I'll say is you will feel a plethora of emotions reading all three stories in this beaustiful trilogy featuring dragon warriors riding dragon horses, empaths, pyros, magic, sex, reincarnation, bonded soulmates, and so much more. I vote to make this into a full-length feature film.

My absolute favourite character is Tan. She was rough around the edges, handsome, intelligent, and sexy as all Hell. Leigh did an amazing job with her character and I can't gush enough (no pun) over Tan's sex scenes.

[Flowerscat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole idea of only 'purebreeds' and people of a certain genetic make-up being able to become warriors, whereas the rest of the population being pretty much useless in the defence of the collective, just did not sit well with me. It actually made me really angry as the book went on. So much for cultural diversity and everyone being on equal footing. I wasn't convinced by the whole insta-attraction thing between Jael and Alyssa. I'm glad I read book 2 before book 1, because that's a much better storyline - and that's the reason this book is getting two stars instead of one.

[Joelenne]

Great first book

I'm not usually drawn to fantasy type books but I've loved everything written by D. Jackson Leigh so I gave this book a try. I loved it. The world she creates, the characters, the story, it all was very well written and I was hooked at the very beginning. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

[Mitya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything about this book was ham-fisted and awkward. The villain was such an over the top, not even trying stereotype I cringed. And I was never really sold on the world building, everything was just too clunky and contrived.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love fantasy, dragons, mythical creatures and great stories. This book had it all. It definitely had a fan fic feel to it for those of us who loved Xena. I was completely caught up in this world that D. Jackson Leigh created and it offered a wonderful distraction from the current state of affairs going on today. I am glad it is a trilogy because I am starting the second book right now and can't wait for more of the story to unwind.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well written, but the development felt stunted to me. I know it is a Trilogy and this is just the first book, but I felt it moved too fast to settle the characters in their roles with the reader. I'll probably spoil a bit here so don't read on if that bothers you. I felt the Prophet was particularly affected by this swiftness. A history professor who, due to a natural disaster loses his son, swiftly turns his historical belief in old religions into a new patriarchal cult and turns his wrath on the current status quo. Sure, those things happen, but I did not feel we had enough time to fully explore how he got to where he was such a threat. The author told us he was, and he seemed to miraculously gather hundreds of followers everywhere he stopped causing people to abandon their fundamental beliefs for a loaf of bread and a sob story about his son. The fact he did it so quickly and easily did not ring true. It takes months, even years of misinformation and propaganda to sway masses of people, even if they are vulnerable. Hitler didn't pop up over night, and that's what this felt like I was being asked to believe. It might have read better to have opened the novel with the cult already in existence and well established and flash back a few times to show us how it formed rather than trying to do it in real time.

I liked the character of Jael. She was intense and strong. There was a bit of insta attraction with Alyssa but I guess that was supposed to happen the way it did. What I didn't like was for all her loyalty to the Collective and talk of honour, bond, duty etc, she runs off in the middle of the biggest and only battle in the last 100 years (her life's purpose), to go after Alyssa, leaving everyone else to it. Fair enough, she thought she was rescuing her bond mate Alyssa, but it really jarred with me based on everything we had learned about her so far as a character. The Jael we got to know through the novel would have suffered lifetimes of torture and absence of love if it meant the Collective was safe.

Alyssa... what can I say? I did not like this girl. From the moment she managed to give herself a concussion by thunking her head on a door to the moment she runs off to be alone because you can't just kill people no matter the justification, and then does a 'kill them all!' backflip when someone she's known for a few hours is shot by the bad guy. She was whiny, attention seeking, annoying... Yes, she was a new soul so was supposed to be pure and naive, but you can be those things without being dense. As an empath, she is supposed to be able to feel other's emotions and you'd think with that would come a greater understanding of motivation, especially considering all the meditation she does.

My favourite character was Kyle. She only has a small role to play in this novel, but she is strong, adaptable, smart, devious, patient, and cool, especially considering she is the daughter of the bad guy. It looks like she is set up to play a key role in the next book in the series as in Jael's eyes she suddenly goes from the guard trying to kill Alyssa to Alyssa's protector in the flash of a blue fireball - another rather fast plot development.

So while this was well written and had an interesting premise, it was the pacing and the characters I mostly had a problem with. That might just be my personal taste and others may love it, but I'm not sure at this point if I'll read the next book. I'll have to see how interested I am in finding out more about Kyle.

[Marthese Formosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cross posted at thelesbrary: http://lesbrary.com/2018/03/09/marthe...

‘’I am this animal because they need me and my warriors to protect their reign of peace’’

I made a yearly resolution to read more fantasy, especially series since those are the kind of books that I end up enjoying the most. I did some research and found this series which is centered around queer women (after I got the third book as an ARC on Netgalley…I thought it better to start from the first!). Happy Woman’s day (for yesterday!) this book series does contain some kickass and imperfect women.

The story is set in the future. After religious wars, people have recognized the Collective and most people are enlightened on the fact that they had past lives. The story follows Jael and Alyssa, however, there are some parts told from other characters’ point of view. In fact, the story starts from the antagonist’s Cyrus’ point of views and there are some parts from his views, but only a little. Most of the chapters follow Jael and Alyssa. Jael has been a warrior for the Collective in all her lives. She burns the bodies of those that die alone in order to release their soul; she also kills those that are badly-born in one life in order to have peace in another. Alyssa is a healer type and an Advocate for the Collective. Jael has some interesting abilities and Alyssa also. They are the ultimate power couple…only they do not always agree on the methods to use. This is very much a plot where one character finds light and the other darkness, in order to form gray together.

As I mentioned, some parts are told from other characters’ points of views. One of them follows Kyle, Cyrus’ daughter. Cyrus became a prophet for the One – a monotheistic god from ancient religions. He also became a preacher for capitalism in a world that distributes fairly and treats everyone equally. Kyle is very much not like him but for a while, she does not know what to do.

The main plot point is that the Natural Order formed by Cyrus is becoming too dangerous. Food and medicine is being stolen and redistributed by them in a world which is facing many natural disasters in all of its borderless territories. The Guard, which Jael is the leader on, are assessing people that have heard the Collective’s calling and training them…to become Dragon Horse warriors. Yes, the Guard have a bond with horses that come darkness, sprout wings.

This book is part of a trilogy – both the name and the plot itself show this. This is only the beginning. It does not start too fast but the end has some interesting action. I have to admit that it took until almost the end for me to become interested in what would happen.

I have been researching and discovering what makes good plots and characters and this book had all the right things in place. However, one thing really bothered me, enough for me considering quitting. This book was published in 2015, so not that long ago. To me, there were two main problems. The first is that the Guard are pureblood descendants. The Natural Order is also preaching pureblood-ness (and are racist, unlike the Guard). At least, the Guard have a reason for this, although it confused me why they should keep to ethnic couples if they all had the gene. Perhaps that will be explained later on. I admit to not knowing a lot of biology. This factor bothered me a bit but I could understand that it was a plot point not ideology pushing as the people of this Collective world, do not care much for ethnicity.

The second factor that bothered me was that the author, in my opinion, confused gender and sex. A person that is intersex but identifies more towards being male, is said to be a third gender. There was also the phrase ‘same-sex oriented’ being used which is used in today’s reality but it would be more accurate to say, especially towards one particular character, that it was same-gender oriented. I have to admit that I cringed a bit with all these happenings in the book. At one point, ‘gendered’ is used. It’s also a very binary world still…you would think that it being set in such a fair and enlightened future, that it would be otherwise.

Despite this, the world building was okay. It was interesting to see what things from today would be called then. The horses were interested and the powers as well. It was interesting to see how Jael and Alyssa changed each other. Jael is a realist and Alyssa is an idealist but they both question what needs to be done. Jael at times was a bit too aggressive and at the beginning to sexually driven (she saw Alyssa as a sort of spoil of war! That changed quick however). Alyssa was very interesting. Although she’s a first life-er and Jael has so much experience, she isn’t pushed around. Even during sex, she doesn’t just sit there but she initiates as well and is active. There isn’t a lot of sex scenes although there are a few. There was one however, where even I (somewhat asexual and I tend to skim them) thought it was very hot and different from how they are usually written.

The fact that they like each other, doesn’t resolve their problems and their incompatibility. The characters are realistic, not always likable and that’s ok. Their relationship has chemistry but I found it a bit squeaky that they had sex before discussing and that one is super-protective even though Second, another character, said that Alyssa is a grown adult who makes her own decisions. Jael especially is ethically dubious, not in the fact that she must kill people but in the way she acts.

Overall, I’m intrigued enough to continue reading the series. I would give this book 3 stars. The ending was better than the start or the middle. I want to see the characters evolve. Whoever is interested in reading the series should proceed with caution on the topics mentioned above.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I so wanted to like this. Lesbian romance + dragon fantasy? Sign me up. Unfortunately though, I couldn’t get past the first chapter. I’m not sure why so many people have said the writing is good. The main character is literally talking out loud to herself about details of her life that no normal person would say while walking alone in the woods. Show, don’t tell! DNF.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

This is a very good book, and it took me a while to finally read it. I liked the story and the characters.

[Gail Dodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Fantasy is not bad. D Jackson Leigh made it a good read. Tan s my favorite won't be disappointed. Fantastic on to book 2

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this one was a great start to a trilogy and couldn't wait to go to book 2

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
The world building in this series is amazing. This is the first book in the series but I actually read the second book first. I liked it so much that I absolutely had to go back and pick this one up. This one was a little harder for me to get into; the leader, Jael, seemed very hardened and jaded, not open at all to finding a soul mate. Alyssa, on the other hand, came across as extremely naive and her inability to understand Jael's nature and mission led her to become obstructionist and put herself in grave danger. The fact that they both overcome their objections and misunderstandings in a way that seems totally true to each of them is a feat of skill Jackson shows as a writer. I was disappointed to read that this is only supposed to be a trilogy because that means I only have one more awesome book to read in this universe and I don't want it to end. I can't wait for the third book.

[Sascha Broich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it disconcerting that the only answer to religious fanaticism and discord seems to be violence and death.
In regards to the projected society of the book I find the disaster relief system as lacking as the food creation and distribution industry.
While proclaiming to be enlightened they aren't even able to achieve a stable worldwide nutrition. There don't exist food reserves. And a fistful of people can easily starve thousands by highjacking some supply centers.
In the end anger and ire rule even Alyssa and the thin paint of humanity is peeled away to show the true nature of mankind.

[Nolly Frances Sepulveda · Rating 5 out of 5]

She has done it again! a very well written and wonderful book. I really enjoyed this new venture into the fantasy genre, the Dragon Horses are a nice change from her other books and I can't wait to learn more about her main characters and their abilities. I recommend this book to fantasy and non-fantasy readers alike.

[Joelenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not usually drawn to fantasy type books but I've loved everything written by D. Jackson Leigh so I gave this book a try. I loved it. The world she creates, the characters, the story, it all was very well written and I was hooked at the very beginning. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. I love the world that D Jackson Leigh has created - a mix between the future world and the ancient times with a splash of magic.

I cannot wait to see what happens next!!
Highly recommended if you like fantasy and magic and romance.

[Shiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sebenarnya bisa tiga bintang kalau saja...

1. Antagonis nggak terlalu steretype
2. Uke-nya nggak GOBLOK

Yah, mudah-mudahan buku dua bisa lebih oke.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragon Horse War: The Calling by D. Jackson Leigh: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwid... 2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)

[Heather Henkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I really enjoyed reading this book. I haven't read a story with a premise quite like it before. I can't wait to read the next one.