Dragon Riders: Shadowlands 3

by R.A. Lindo

The rise of dragonsAs Tom Cassidy and his friends venture through the Shadowlands, dragons arrive to halt their progress, the crew riding the creatures intent on causing maximum damage. Tom and his teenage army go to battle once more, knowing the odds are against them to lift a generational curse.
The odds decrease as a storm of sorcery ignites and the casualties mount up, the clock ticking to locate a cursed kingdom. The stakes have never been higher, and the cost of acquiring the ultimate prize never a price only a few are willing to pay.

189 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2025

About the author

I'm the creator of the Kaira Renn fantasy series - a new urban fantasy packed with mystery, action, adventure and, above all, magic.

Set in The Society for the Preservation of Magical Artefacts, it follows the adventures of a young girl who has to learn magic and a lot of other things along the way! The series will contain five books.

I also write short thrillers under the pen name E.G. Ellory.

You can find out more and grab your FREE STARTER LIBRARY at https://ralindoauthor.com.

Reviews

[Lora Shouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragon Riders is the third book in the Shadowlands series.

Once again Tom Cassidy and his friends from the cursed town of Cliffmore return to the Shadowlands and the surrounding areas continuing their attempt to break the curse on their town.

I’ll be honest; a lot of the action in this book doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. There are random enemies and random magical effects from the magical totems the group has acquired on their previous adventures. There are also random magical creatures who occasionally appear to help them out.

In one of the previous books they were attacked by enemies riding dragons and somehow managed to take the dragons from these enemies and fly around on them for a while. But then the dragons turned on them and abandoned them to their fate. This time they befriend the dragons again. And this time they manage to work out how to secure the cooperation of the dragons for more than a short time. The dragons take them on a flight through a valley of stone monuments of some kind that shows them a vision of what is waiting for their town if they should fail in their quest. It’s something involving walls of lava. All the other participants in this conflict seem to have homes at risk of the same fate.

The young people keep working on getting along with each other. They have already decided that this must be a critical factor in the success of their mission, having seen the failures that resulted when their parents allowed themselves to succumb to minor differences during their attempt to overcome the curse years earlier.

But at some point, one of them has the idea that they might have an even better chance at success if they can persuade most or even all of their competitors to cooperate with them as they approach the final stages of the quest, battle, or whatever. I thought this would have been a very good idea, and boosted the value of the entire story. However, it seems that the aliens or whoever controls this space have made it impossible to carry out such a plan. For one thing, most of the groups do not seem to speak the same language. And any attempts they make to show friendship to the other groups seem not to be understood any better. This is disappointing.

In addition to the continuing long-winded sentences of the writing, the story is marred by too much philosophizing and reflection, mostly on Tom’s part between the brief scenes of conflict. Some of this is probably necessary, both to figure out what is going on and to explain it to us the readers. But Tom worries the same points over and over to the point where it puts me to sleep.

At any rate, the group extends their control over their magical totems and explores their connection with their magical creature friends, earns some scars, and eventually is allowed to return home for a few days of R&R – all without making discernable progress toward their ultimate goal.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book three of this incredible series and things are really heating up. Tom and his gang continue their adventure through the Shadowlands and meet resistance along the way by the way of some dragons and their riders. The world building is so beautiful and descriptive that you feel as if you are right there, battling along side these extraordinary characters who are growing and learning so much more about not only themselves but also each other. The storyline grabs you from the get go and does not let up, it’s exciting, it’s thrilling, it’s action packed and it has you in its grips and glued to the pages.

[Raeleane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in The Shadowlands series and R.A. Lindo definitely did not disappoint. This book hooked me from the first page to the very last word. He writes his world building and magical systems beautifully and creatively immersing the reader into the story. All the characters are individually well defined and their growth within the story is amazing. This book has lots of action, adventure, magic, and growing friendships. I absolutely enjoyed this book and highly recommend it and the series.

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adventure these six teenagers are on. Such a shame the reason behind it is so dire. They are learning about themselves and each other as they progress in this game against an unknown adversary that no-one has yet beaten.

I received a free Advance Reader Copy of Dragon Riders through BookFunnel and have chosen to leave a review.

[Phthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another leg of this important quest. The friends figure out more about the shadowlands and make new friends with some interesting creatures. I liked how the next meeting with the dragon riders turns out! It is impressive how these teens are maturing. I can’t wait to read the next book to find out what happens next! This series has really hooked me!

[Micki-D · Rating 4 out of 5]

You guessed right the gang is back in Shadowlands going on a thrilling adventure as they are still trying to find a way to break the curse.
Dragon riders packed with action, magic, adventure and this time dragons. Every are meet resistance along their journey by of some dragons and their riders.
Will they come out unharmed?
Will they finally be able to break the curse?

[Rowan Creech · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was superb. I love seeing the characters evolve in this series with each book and how the author just pulls you into this magical world with his words. An excellent book to read.