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Dawn of Dragons #2
Requiem's Hope
From fire and blood, the kingdom of Requiem rises. It is a home for the lost, the exiled, the hunted--those they call weredragons. In their new kingdom, they gather--men and women who can grow wings, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons.
But there is one who would see this fledgling kingdom crushed. The tyrant Raem has opened the gates of the Abyss, summoning a demon army. His unholy host musters around him and flies across the sea . . . toward Requiem.
The demons swarm, mad with hunger. Their rot wilts forests and boils rivers. Their shrieks echo like storms. Their purpose is one: to slay dragons.
Requiem was birthed in blood and flame. Now her war for survival begins.
But there is one who would see this fledgling kingdom crushed. The tyrant Raem has opened the gates of the Abyss, summoning a demon army. His unholy host musters around him and flies across the sea . . . toward Requiem.
The demons swarm, mad with hunger. Their rot wilts forests and boils rivers. Their shrieks echo like storms. Their purpose is one: to slay dragons.
Requiem was birthed in blood and flame. Now her war for survival begins.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2014
65 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Arenson
148 books877 followersDaniel Arenson is a bookworm, proud geek, and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. His novels have sold over a million copies. The Huffington Post has called his writing "full of soul." He's written over forty novels, most of them in five series:
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 18, 2017
I don't like leaving trilogies un-read, and I often get in a trap of "First books are often weak because they are a lot of setup, let's see if book 2 is a bit better." Then, after book 2, the Sunk Cost Fallacy kicks in, and I think, "Well, I came this far. Might as well see how it ends."
There were more surprises in this book, such as While it certainly had shock value and reiterated a Song of Ice and Fire-esque "Anyone can die" atmosphere, it felt like it was only done for shock value. It didn't change the plot much. In fact, it kind of cheapened the end of the previous book to have it happen so soon. Had it happened closer to the end, it would have worked. As an event in chapter 2, not so much.
The world is never fleshed out. Countries, peoples, they just randomly seem to appear out of nowhere to make plot happen. Its impossible to know where anything is, how far away they are, how they relate to each other. Its disjointed, the worldbuilding equivalent of Calvinball.
I know this sounds silly, being that this is a series with were-dragons and demons and whatnot, but the rocs irritate me to no end. They are constantly described as greasy and smelly, to the point that they are dripping goo constantly. That fucks up feathers. Don't you see the news after an oil spill?Those birds couldn't fly.
There were more surprises in this book, such as While it certainly had shock value and reiterated a Song of Ice and Fire-esque "Anyone can die" atmosphere, it felt like it was only done for shock value. It didn't change the plot much. In fact, it kind of cheapened the end of the previous book to have it happen so soon. Had it happened closer to the end, it would have worked. As an event in chapter 2, not so much.
The world is never fleshed out. Countries, peoples, they just randomly seem to appear out of nowhere to make plot happen. Its impossible to know where anything is, how far away they are, how they relate to each other. Its disjointed, the worldbuilding equivalent of Calvinball.
I know this sounds silly, being that this is a series with were-dragons and demons and whatnot, but the rocs irritate me to no end. They are constantly described as greasy and smelly, to the point that they are dripping goo constantly. That fucks up feathers. Don't you see the news after an oil spill?Those birds couldn't fly.
January 6, 2017
Enjoyable pulp fantasy. There's a lot of good action, and if you're into dragons, you'll probably like these books quite a bit.
That being said, I felt at times like things were happening too quickly. I think this book would have benefited from slowing down at times, both in terms of plot progression and character development. I was entertained the whole way through, though, so I overlooked some of the shortcomings.
Rating: 7/10
That being said, I felt at times like things were happening too quickly. I think this book would have benefited from slowing down at times, both in terms of plot progression and character development. I was entertained the whole way through, though, so I overlooked some of the shortcomings.
Rating: 7/10
March 5, 2015
It was good but getting a little bored of the of the formula in these books. The dragons need help, they split up and seek it but first they must earn the respect of those they seek. A test of strength is needed. I saw this in Moth books too. I like Arenson's books but getting a little stale. I had stopped reading Koontz for the same reason, every book was too similar. I'll come back to Arenson after a hiatus
April 7, 2015
This series just went more downhill the more I read it. I finished the third book so I could get it out of my mind and read something good. Such an interesting idea but poor execution.
August 2, 2019
90%, up 5% compared to the first book.
One-day read.
Following the first book and the persecution of the dragons, the focus shifts to the small group of dragons trying to start their own 'kingdom'. Which also means that non-battle violence drops significantly. In its place comes a larger swath of crude humor - as other dragons learn about the existence of Requiem and seek it out, one of them challenges Maev's bluntness and desire to fight.
There are some twists, though some of them are the type that was, is, and will be used and while it's not obvious, it's not surprising - but that's the nature of politics and not the fault of writing (because these cases have only a few ways how they can play out).
What became an annoyance was the repeated description of the various demons every time the PoV shifted to Raem.
One-day read.
Following the first book and the persecution of the dragons, the focus shifts to the small group of dragons trying to start their own 'kingdom'. Which also means that non-battle violence drops significantly. In its place comes a larger swath of crude humor - as other dragons learn about the existence of Requiem and seek it out, one of them challenges Maev's bluntness and desire to fight.
There are some twists, though some of them are the type that was, is, and will be used and while it's not obvious, it's not surprising - but that's the nature of politics and not the fault of writing (because these cases have only a few ways how they can play out).
What became an annoyance was the repeated description of the various demons every time the PoV shifted to Raem.
February 21, 2023
Excellent
This story is even better than the first one. Between this story and the first one, I would rate this as one of the top ten series I have read and am looking forward to reading the next installment even more.
This story is even better than the first one. Between this story and the first one, I would rate this as one of the top ten series I have read and am looking forward to reading the next installment even more.
March 27, 2017
Excellent
July 9, 2021
I only finished this one because I was listening to it and it was so short.
October 8, 2022
Loved it
Story line was great, kept my interest, could be a little bit less gory, but couldn't but the book down and look forward to the next book.
Story line was great, kept my interest, could be a little bit less gory, but couldn't but the book down and look forward to the next book.
May 18, 2025
A lot of action, a lot of gory detail description of the enemy... Maybe overwhelmingly so. There's definitely very little downtime in between massive character interactions. I'm on the book 3 and feeling a little bit like there's no resolution in sight... The in-depths detail on Gore is a little much in my opinion, But if you like a lot of very dark content then you will love it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2014
I'm enjoying the series and the world building. It's interesting to me the "bronze age" setup currently present in the story. In the previous book, there are some descriptions of the people of Eteer that depict them with high brow ridges and inset eyes, which goes along with the setting of the world, but...
While I understand that this is a much more rough world, there is no place for peacetime here. We get pages and pages of battles/conflict with a paragraph of two of the in between.
I'm reading this chronologically story-wise, not by publication date so I can expect less development as I go along in the series and don't know where I'll be as I start on the next trilogy, but it's a good world, just wish the author would've spent more time filling in the details, and not just the broad strokes.
While I understand that this is a much more rough world, there is no place for peacetime here. We get pages and pages of battles/conflict with a paragraph of two of the in between.
I'm reading this chronologically story-wise, not by publication date so I can expect less development as I go along in the series and don't know where I'll be as I start on the next trilogy, but it's a good world, just wish the author would've spent more time filling in the details, and not just the broad strokes.
February 17, 2015
The dragons of Requiem have regrouped and are wanting to start building their kingdom. However, before that can be done, there are still enemies who seek to destroy them. Raem is on the move with an army of a thousand demons and Requiem's dragons must find allies. Seeking these allies will stretch all those involved and require that some sacrifices be made. As the group sets out in different directions, they must be strong if they wish to survive.
Daniel Arenson started weaving a tale of dragons years ago and he continues to build upon that legacy. Requiem has always struggled to maintain their kingdom and this era of a new nation is no different
Daniel Arenson started weaving a tale of dragons years ago and he continues to build upon that legacy. Requiem has always struggled to maintain their kingdom and this era of a new nation is no different
March 9, 2016
Easily the best bronze aged fantasy with dragons vs. demons I've ever read. Actually, really good overall. Not the densest of books by any means, but enjoyable. Some pretty intense parts, especially toward the end. Some very interesting world building in this, compared to the first in the series. My only complaint is that sometimes characters seem to know things that doesn't make sense that they know, such as where locations are or names of other characters they've never seen, and other similar instances. Small enough of a complaint to ignore, but irks me a bit whenever it comes up.
October 7, 2019
Weredragons Unite!
One thing that I look for in fiction is a villain(s) who's sympathetic. Requiem's Hope delivers in that department. I can understand the motives and hurt from each antagonist.
I did think this novel was somewhat predictable and still has too much repetition. There were several scenes that definitely could've been shortened.
And now, I'm off upon an adventure to finish this trilogy.
One thing that I look for in fiction is a villain(s) who's sympathetic. Requiem's Hope delivers in that department. I can understand the motives and hurt from each antagonist.
I did think this novel was somewhat predictable and still has too much repetition. There were several scenes that definitely could've been shortened.
And now, I'm off upon an adventure to finish this trilogy.
October 23, 2015
The story grows and the battle rages.
Again Arenson does a fantastic job of building characters and settings. The battles are fantastic and the demons of the abyss horrible and terrifying. I do feel that he could make some of the trials of the main characters a little less easily resolved. Some are trapped and freed within a page or two. But otherwise this is a great addition to this trilogy
Again Arenson does a fantastic job of building characters and settings. The battles are fantastic and the demons of the abyss horrible and terrifying. I do feel that he could make some of the trials of the main characters a little less easily resolved. Some are trapped and freed within a page or two. But otherwise this is a great addition to this trilogy
January 19, 2016
so I've read book two now. I haven't decided if I love these books but I seem to like them. I like the action. these aren't the sort of books I'd usually go for but I'm enjoying a new flavour. this book is packed with battles and wars and lots of death. there is some romance, romance and a whole lot of friendship.time for book.three I think
November 24, 2014
Loved this book and love the series. I am a dragon lover so this attracted me to the series. I had never read Mr. Arenson before and am sure glad I found him. The series is wonderful and something I would recommend to anyone.
July 30, 2014
Excellent!!! Read the book and journey to a whole new world!
July 24, 2015
Disappointing
I had hoped the writing would get better but it did not. Still filled with repetitive descriptions and makes for a bland story.
I had hoped the writing would get better but it did not. Still filled with repetitive descriptions and makes for a bland story.
November 3, 2015
A bit too gruesome
January 13, 2016
I'm really loving Requiem. the reading flows nicely, there's action, sorrow, love everything.
April 25, 2016
Amazing, if short
Good book right now I am just trying to fill up the 20 word minimum b huh h j j
Good book right now I am just trying to fill up the 20 word minimum b huh h j j
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews