SolarFlame

by Dan Rice

357 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2026

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I liked this book better. I love stories with dragons and magic, but this one fell flat for me. I'm willing to forgive the multiple typos and weird sentences because it was an advance copy and I can hope they'll be fixed (though there were more than I would have expected at this stage in the publishing process). But they did make reading it more of a struggle. It's hard to stay immersed in a book when characters are saying things that don't make sense or include really weird typos/artifacts of speech to text. But more than that, I found most of the characters unlikeable. The first chapter is from a character's point of view who I started to like. Then she was basically put into a magical coma and didn't show up again for 8 chapters. When she did show up again, she had no dialogue and very little action until near the end of the book. Then she was given one more short POV chapter and as far as you know at the end of the book, she may be dead. The character whose death sets off the plot seems to be a terrible person, but everyone in the book is devastated by his death. While the male main character seemed to be more devastated by the fact that now he had to take on the Overlord's duties, he didn't seem to have any sort of conflicted emotions about the fact that his abusive father was now dead. The female main character was better. I almost liked her. But her insistence on being included in missions that required mobility while suffering from an injury just made me roll my eyes. This girl was willing to cripple herself rather than let someone more capable handle the work. And it doesn't really make it much better just because she seemed to pull it all off. Some of the side characters were interesting, but for the first book in a series, there was a LOT of death. Almost everyone cool was killed off, and hardly any of them got cool or heroic deaths. And on top of all that, I really really did not like the scenes from the villain's POV. He was not a complicated villain. He was not morally gray. He enjoyed torturing people for fun. So no thanks, i don't want to be privy to his thoughts.

There were a lot of seeds of cool things in this book. The world was very reminiscent of Terry Brooks' Shannara, a fantasy world with magic layered over a post-cataclysmic tech world. Ruins of automobiles and skyscrapers mixed with dragons was kind of cool. I never quite understood what the Hallowed Hall was that they kept referencing, but perhaps that was left purposely vague for some plot point in a future book. I don't know if the book was purposely anti-monotheistic, or if that's just the world he created. But the "good guys" follow multiple gods and the villain follows a One True God. So as a Christian, I wasn't much of a fan of that tone, but that is more about me than the novel, so that's not going to bother everyone.

If you like dragons and magic, and you're maybe a fan of Terry Brooks' Shannara books, you might like this. I didn't. But I saw decent bones in there. So someone who is less annoyed by a smart and strong woman making stupid decisions might love this. Someone less bothered by scenes from the villain's POV might love this. Someone less bothered by a child being wholly devastated by the loss of an abusive parent might love this. Someone less bothered by the Kill Your Gays trope and Fridging, might love this. It just seemed to contain all the little things that annoy me.

[Ellie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(3.5/5)

Thank you to Dan Rice and LibraryThing.com for providing me with an ARC copy of Solarflame in exchange for an honest review.

Solarflame is a fantasy adventure filled with dragons, magic, and plenty of intrigue. The story follows characters caught up in a world where powerful forces are at work, leading them on a dangerous journey filled with discoveries, challenges, and mysteries.

This was an enjoyable read and, honestly, when a book contains dragons and magic, it’s already ticking a lot of the right boxes for me! The world was interesting, and I enjoyed uncovering its secrets alongside the characters. There was enough action and fantasy adventure to keep me engaged throughout.

That said, I finished the book with quite a few unanswered questions. While some mysteries can be intriguing, I was left wondering whether this is intended to be the first book in a series, as several plot threads felt unresolved by the end.

Overall, Solarflame was an entertaining fantasy read with dragons, magic, and enough mystery to keep me turning the pages, even if I was left wanting a few more answers by the final chapter.

[Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't quite to my taste but I think a lot of people will enjoy it more than I did!
The first part is slow but it does pick up after that. Amber is definitely the best character. It did a lot of telling and not showing. Reminded me of fantasy from the 90s. If you're an Anne McCaffery fan you'll probably love it!
Thank you Cloaked Press for the free copy. This review is given of my own free will and is my honest opinion.

[Nicole Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story and the characters but it was a bit drawn out. There are some questions I had at the end but I guess this is just the first book. I did like the exploration of characters and what drives them but it ended up being repetitive.

[S.V. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent from start to finish! No spoilers, but highly recommend!!