Na Utraconych Ziemiach Ferocji rozbrzmiewa krzyk, który nigdy nie ustaje. Demon zrodzony z najgłębszych czeluści piekła przybył, by skazić ludzką duszę i ją posiąść.
Aquila Dantè i jego smok – Tañ od lat stanowią zaporę, której legiony piekła nie potrafiły przebić. Wszystko zmienia się, gdy na ich drodze staje demon zwany Kosiarzem Dusz. Podczas gdy Aquila toczy z nim morderczy pojedynek, a w domowym zaciszu rodzi się jego syn Falko – los szykuje dla wojownika okrutny cios. Zmagając się z żałobą i intrygami magów, Aquila musi zmierzyć się z najgorszym: łuski jego smoka zaczynają ciemnieć. A jak powszechnie wiadomo, czarne smoki to odwieczni wrogowie ludzkości. Czas lojalności nieubłaganie dobiega końca.
Jedni bohaterowie upadają, nowi powstają do walki z piekielną siłą. A Aquila musi zwyciężyć, choćby jego własny los miał zostać przypieczętowany.
And done! Emotionally draining and a dark story to read. Though the ending was known, it’s the journal and dread of choices made which leaves a lingering effect for what is to come. Only a master storyteller could have written this. Cheers!
In the midst of demon war the greatest of Battle Mages will uncover the most vile of secrets. Madness, death & dragon doom surround …& a friendship tested.
Absolutely adored this prequel to Battle Mage. At once dark & foreboding it is also a story of love & honour.
This one is not the coming of age story found in Battle Mage. This instalment instead throws you right into the battle of knights, demons, magic and dragons.
Definitely dark and dreary but leaves room for triumph in the next book. The scenes and characters continue to evoke emotion. Can’t wait for the next one.
I approached this book with a bit of trepidation as we already knew what the end result was from reading Battlemage. I was wrong!
The book opens so many new avenues and answered questions I didn't even know I had. The two books together build an incredible story that I can't wait to see brought to a conclusion in book three.
I've got to say this book exceeded all my expectations on what I expect not only in a book in this genre but on the next book in a series. I couldn't put it down. We knew some of the story in Falco's family history in battle mage but this gave me everything I wanted. All the twists and turns and suspense. Can't wait for the next one. Thank you.
Loved it. Picked out all of the key themes from the first book and set us up for a belter of a third. Wonderful to see subtle references to what is to come, and to live the heartbreaking story of Aquila and Simeon’s friendship. I loved it and will read it again several times, as I have done with Battle Mage.
Peter describes this book best in his address to his readers - it was a dark and heartbreaking tale.
I wanted so badly to learn of the history of Battle Mage; one of my few 5 star rated books. While I enjoyed learning the back stories of many different characters, it was a difficult read. The tales told in this book were, as expected, quite sombre. Despite my yearning for more information after every chapter, I dreaded the inevitable sorrows that were to follow.
I love Peter Flannery's writing style, his world building and his ability to grasp the reader by the heart strings. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoyed Battle Mage. It's a daunting experience but, definitely worthwhile.
Obawiałam się, że skoro znam wydarzenia, bo przecież to prequel, to będę się nudziła i niezbyt mi się spodoba, ALE OJ NIE NIE. Bawiłam się super i z wielkim zainteresowaniem śledziłam przebieg wydarzeń i to wcale nie tak, że czytając Maga bitewnego wiemy wszystko! Wiele rzeczy się wyjaśniło i okazało się, że czeka nas też drugi tom 🤭
Battlemage has always stood out from the books I read. When I came across this I couldn't believe my eyes, what a story. Brilliant author please don't stop writing these.
Nicht so gut wie der erste Band, der allerdings auch einen Standard gesetzt hat, der kaum erreichbar ist. Trotzdem hatte ich auch Schwierigkeiten, Verbindungen zu den Charakteren aufzubauen. Die einzige, die ich wirklich mochte, war Tilly. Alle anderen waren mir eher gleichgültig.
Phenomenal, tense from the beginning and doesn't stop. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Yeah you know how it ends if you've read the first book but this tugs at your heart strings nether the less. Amazing. Can't wait for book 3!
Battle Mage Aquila echoes all the beauty and badassery of its first. It is beautiful and brutal and unforgettable. If you loved Battle Mage, just wait till you can feel every line again, but with this prequel leaving us the reader setting the pyre for the events of Falco and his story. Once you start, no going back!
ill write a longer review soon for this continued Amazing standard.
Not sure where to start with this one. I will be honest and say the first Battle Mage blew me away, and I could not out it down and have read it more than once. So as you can imagine I was super excited to read this one. First off, the concept of Battle mages fighting with their partner dragons is always a great concept and I was looking forwards to hearing about Aquila and he back story. This is where I found the book didn't live up to the first, it was still a good read, but it was hard to feel anything for the characters. The book goes at a good pace, however I felt the story of Ana and her husband and brother did not excite me at all, and I kept thinking all the way through where their story was going to go and that it was not really something I cared about. Over all I gave the book a 3 out of 5, worth a read for sure, but I won't be going back for another read like the first one.
I still really love this author’s writing style - a mixture of multiple POVs to paint a complete picture of the plot and aid in such creative, expansive world building. I do think this book is going to be a great precursor to Book #3 but didn’t really see it as a prequel to Battle Mage. I felt like I didn’t get any additional information about Aquila that I didn’t already know and was more captivated by other new characters who survived to the end and who I think will be part of Book 3’s plot. I’m glad he wrote this! But I’m more impatient for Book 3 now! Give me more dragons and more magic!
Wow. Loved this book. Could of finished in a week, but since I read the original already, knew what to expect so I was hesitant to finish it because I just love this world so much. 10 out of 10 would recommend, love the back story and information about certain characters. Just a really good prequel.
Prequels rarely work, and this book is no exception. The author spends hundreds of pages building up to a revelation we already knew from Book 1, so there’s no real suspense. It adds nothing substantial to the story that would justify its length. Honestly, this could have worked as a short novella—but not as a 600-page novel. Skip it and hope Book 3 delivers something better.
The book began with energy in the first 200 pages, but the following 500 pages were awfully written garbage. Where is the great prose that this author showed he was capable of in book 1? This is awful.
Solid story and great writing, just nowhere near as good as the first book. I feel this could have been longer, showing a lot more of the world and political machinations that drive the story.