The Reborn King

The Dragon's Blade #1

by Michael R. Miller

Arrogant. Scornful. Full of pride. Darnuir, Prince of Dragons, cares nothing for the damage he's doing to the faltering alliance against the demonic forces of the Shadow. He thinks himself invincible - right up till a mortal wound forces him to undergo a dangerous rebirthing spell, leaving him a helpless babe in human hands.

Twenty years pass and demonic forces are once again poised to sweep across the land. With the alliance between humanity, dragons, and fairies fracturing, Darnuir will have to uncover the secrets of his past, seek redemption for his sins, and rally the disparate races if they are to survive.

Only Darnuir can do this. For he’s the last member of the royal bloodline and only he can wield the Dragon’s Blade...

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, High Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Audiobook, Adult

407 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2015

About the author

Two free novellas in ebook AND audiobook for all who sign up to my mailing list. https://www.michaelrmiller.co.uk/signup

Those who use Discord can also join my server by following this link https://discord.gg/C7zEJXgFSc

Redditors can join the community here - https://www.reddit.com/r/MichaelRMiller/

Michael is ‘that guy’ who enjoys - well, enjoyed... - discussing the mad fan theories of Game of Thrones even more than the books or show, and knows more about World of Warcraft than is probably healthy.

You can contact him at michael@michaelrmiller.co.uk
www.michaelrmiller.co.uk

Reviews

[Petros Triantafyllou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arriving on my doorstep after Lawrence's Red Sister and Skovron's Hope & Red (arguably the 2 greatest reads of 2016), The Reborn King had a difficult path ahead. Fortunately, it more than delivered.

The three races of Earth (Humans, Fairies and Dragons) are united against a common enemy. Rectar; a powerful mage with countless demons in his command is set to dominate the land, and only Darnuir, the Prince of Dragons, can stand in his way. But when left mortally wounded, Darnuir is forced to endure the effects of a powerful spell resulting in his rebirth (with complete memory loss) among humans, who he once considered inferior. Twenty years later, he comes of age to wield the Dragon's Blade; a powerful weapon with unique abilities that only the King of Dragons can have in his possession. With his true identity revealed (along with some memories of his previous life), Darnuir is called to unite the three races once more, and defeat Rectar, to save the land. But among traitors, broken friendships and un-responding love interests, things are not as simple as one could imagine...

"Oh but Darnuir, memory is the heaviest of all things," Blaine began solemnly. "Even the strongest shoulders will be hunched by it in time. Nothing weighs upon us more, nor for longer, than memory."

Miller's debut is one of sheer creativity. You don't get to see a lot of battles or action in general, but that's because the author is planning ahead. Instead of creating an action-packed book, he optioned instead to sculpt his world. From historical journeys to conventional myths, from conflicts between factions to courtly politicking, and from moral dilemmas to sociological perspectives, The Reborn King is the foundation stone to a fantasy world that can support at least half a dozen novels if Miller chooses so.

The magic system is simple yet effective, relying on Newton's Third Law. The characters are skilfully developed and well crafted, but the real gem is Darnuir's personalities (yes, two of them, coming to conflict with each other). This feels like a weird cinematic treatment, where you and the protagonist both can't feel strongly connected with the various events taking place, yet you are truly affected. Finally, you are in a for a treat of plenty plot twists, some of them foreseen from miles ahead, and some others unexpected and shocking to the core.

All in all, The Dragon's Blade: The Reborn King is a solid debut from a promising author, and a relaxing read worthy of your attention.

You can find more of my reviews over at http://BookNest.eu/

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin]

Free on Kindle US today 8-8-17

[Bookwraiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King is the debut from author Michael R. Miller. A sweeping epic fantasy focusing on a world terrorized by hordes of demons; it is a place torn by continual warfare. An alliance between all the races (dragons, humans, and fairies) the only defense to the limitless hordes of their otherworldly foes. But now one of the alliance’s most powerful wizards has turned traitor and a new enemy leader has arisen, even the mighty dragons forced to give ground before their hated foes. A state of affairs which the Crown Prince of the Dragons cannot accept . . . will not accept!

As heir to the dragon peoples (In this world, dragons do not soar the skies in bestial form anymore, but have slowly transformed into earthbound humanoids.), Prince Darnuir is the second most influential individual in the kingdom; his opinion openly voiced in all high council matters. And with his frustration about the war and especially the leadership of his father mounting, he believes (as most youth’s do) that his ideas are superior to his father’s, that his leadership would be better than his father’s. But when the demons launch their attack on the dragon capital, the prince’s plans turn to dust, leaving him on the edge of death. The only way to save his life to perform the dangerous rebirthing spell, which will leave Darnuir as a mere babe in human hands!

In my opinion, fantasy books can be categorized according to their main focus. Some are action and adventure tales, where the thrills and chills come often and the characters are only developed enough to give you someone to rout for and against. Other novels are serious books with real life issues developed and dealt with in a fairy tale setting; the action and adventure only enough to enliven the serious narrative. And then there are character driven stories, where one person is carefully crafted, molded from inexperienced youth to good or evil adult; the numerous events and plots revolving around this character’s life like a hurricane around its eye. And The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King is definitely the latter type of novel.

Here the story is Darnuir’s tale. He is the fallen heir of the dragons, reborn and reared by surrogate parents; the narrative tied to his journey from prince to unknowing child then back again; his destiny to someday take up the Dragon’s Blade, magical sword of the Dragon Kings, and drive back the demons. Along his path, many people walk with him at different points, helping to mold him into the dragon he becomes, but he is the eye of this hurricane; all others drawn to him, responding to his irresistible pull.

As for the world around Darnuir, Mr. Miller has put together a fairly standard fantasy setting with familiar faces: humans, demons, dragons, trolls, fairies, and wizards, to name a few. All these races are well developed, lovingly created by an author who definitely puts his own twists on each. (Dragons are humanoids with magical powers; fairies are not tiny Tinker Bells.) The magic filling the world is well thought out, as there is a price for it and its use; magic swords, magical jewels and other magical artifacts being tools to allow the use of more magic or to store memories or for other tasks. And this place is vast with an ancient history, mysterious lore, and engaging mythology.

My favorite part of the book was seeing the proud, self-assured Darnuir reduced to a babe then grow up in another setting. Guess I’m just a sucker for this type of story, but it was interesting to witness how a different environment, different parents, and different upbringing could change so many things about the Dragon Prince yet not affect other qualities at all.

As for my least favorite element of the story, it would be the romantic plots. As a grumpy, old man (Not really, I’m only around forty-years-old and still have small kids who keep me young at heart!), all the YA romance can get fairly eye-rolling at times. Sure, I remember falling madly in love with someone whom I had seen only once, but I also recall how every one of those love-at-first-sight romances turned out. So whenever that sort of thing happens in novels, I tend to start skimming pages, not because the writing is poor but because I just do not wish to go there again. And in The Dragon’s Blade, we have several romantic interludes for old Darnuir which I personally could have done without. Not saying others might not enjoy them however.

Quick paced, surprise packed, and filled with fantasy goodness, this debut by Michael R. Miller showcases his talent for crafting a candy-coated, page turner. It really is just good, old-fashioned fun, which mixes in enough mysteries and unresolved plots to beg the question: “When does the next book come out?”

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

[James Tivendale]

Mr. Miller kindly sent me the audiobook version of this book to review. Should hopefully have the finished review on here shortly :)

[Chris Haught · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ebook copy of this title from the author via his website.

And that said, it was definitely worth the time investment. I really enjoyed this story and the characters. The worldbuilding is pretty good too and some of the concepts behind the "dragons" is definitely intriguing.

I stumbled across this book and author while looking around for some new grimdark. After reading it I probably wouldn't classify it in that subgenre, but it does share some things that any reader of epic fantasy will love. Think of some early Terry Brooks for comparison to the magic and depth of the world.

It's definitely a setup for future books in the series, and I'm sure I'll be looking into continuing.

[Samir · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong debut and a well crafted story with great potential which makes me looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I was sent this free by the author in exchange for an honest review **

With that said, I genuinely found this a pleasure to read and many of the traps which I see some indie authors fall into were avoided within this book. This is a fantasy book which is really fun. Although it draws on various classical creatures of fantasy such as Dragons, Fairies, Humans, Trolls, Wizards and more, it does so in a fresh way and with a story that was fast-paced and original.

I felt that the story pulled me in from page 1 and I was really loving the book for the first section. I do think that the central section of the book suffered a little from overly descriptive sections, but it was still good and there was still a lot happening so this is more of a niggle than a full complaint. I really liked the revelations and speeding up of pacing for the ending though so not bad overall!

This is a story about a Dragon (although in this world the Dragons have transformed so that the don't have a bestial form but rather a human form with dragon abilities such as extra stamina/strength etc.) called Darnuir and the challenges he faces as the heir to a kingdom filled with battles and strife. His role within the Dragon community is important, being the heir, but he is frustrated with his father and the way the Dragons are being led in their war. Darnuir believes, as many young creatures/people do, that he would be better for the job than his father, and when the time comes for an all-out battle he gets the chance to prove himself... but the plan doesn't quite work out...

The story had a fair amount of surprises which I didn't see coming and this is something which I always enjoy, when a book has the ability to entertain me and interest me. I found the relationship between all the characters, races and magics of the world to be well thought-out too and I think the power struggles were handled well. Basically I just found this a really fun and interesting read for the majority of the book and would say that if you want a good fantasy, this is a good fantasy!

In the end I settled on a 4*s as I really liked this and I do want to see where the story ends up going whenever the next book comes out. It's a fun story with some great character moments, and I look forward to seeing more from Michael R. Miller in the future, recommended :)

[David Estes]

The first book in The Dragon's Blade epic fantasy series is a ton of fun. The worldbuilding is unique and well developed, the characters are three-dimensional and complex, and the story moves at a nice pace that never feels too slow or too rushed. I must also say that the author's imagination and creativity was a breath of fresh air in a genre that seems to repeat itself more often than most. I highly recommend this book!

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

So first off, I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but in no way does that affect the opinions stated herein.

[4.25 Stars]

So dang, I was really surprised with how much I liked this book! It's mainly about a dragon named Darnuil who has to deal with the responsibilities of being the prince of the dragons during a huge war with demons (by the way, dragons have lost their winged form and are now more humanoid). But you also follow a couple of other characters as well, so you get more of a wide view. There are fairies, humans, trolls, dragons, and wizards, but they all have their own unique twists that I found really interesting. I think that is one of the things I loved the most was how compelling this novel was. I wouldn't say its a quick read because I did spend a lot of time reading it, but I couldn't put it down. I finished it in three days or so.

Darnuir as a main character definitely started off on the more annoying side, but after he gets reset (which is in the blurb so not a spoiler), he gets so much better and grows and changes so much. I really liked the side characters as well, and I think the author did a good job of making me feel particular ways toward each of them without being blatant about whether they were good or evil characters.

In terms of plot, the first 2/3rds was pretty predictable in a good way. I felt good about how well I was making my "guesses," but then toward the end I started getting more shocked by the things that were happening making me really excited to see what comes next.

I think a thing I found weird was the love development between Darnuir and his interest. It seemed to be pretty instant, and I thought it a bit unrealistic to be so totally head over heels for someone so quickly. Thankfully this plot line wasn't a focus of the story, so it didn't bother me too much. Also with most self-published works, there were some little errors mostly in the second half. Like, a character's thoughts wouldn't be italicized or a word would say form when it was supposed to be from, but I've read so many traditionally published works that have waaay more mistake than this.

Overall, very fun to read about such a fascinating world. Will certainly be continuing on with the series whenever the second book comes out.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and am looking forward to reading the next in the trilogy. I'd like to thank the author of Black Cross, J.P. Ashman for recommending this book, it is one of the best I have read in recent times.

This book has humans, spectres, demons, fairies, trolls and dragons, though, not in the form of the monsters that some are perceived to be. They are all in humanoid form but show certain characteristics and powers unique to their race.

There is a magic system that revolves mainly around The Dragon's Blade and the staffs that are cut from the branches or hearts of magical trees. The main character of this book is, Darnuir, a Dragon-kin who is raised as a human after being mortally wounded while trying to save the life of the human King's daughter. He is raised and guided by, Cosmo, a human who the Archmage, Brakendon chooses for the task.

Darnuir's early years in his new guise pass quickly and without incident in a well written few chapters that skip past childhood and adolescence and get straight to the important point of the whole tale, The Dragon's Blade.

When he comes of age, Darnuir is shocked when the blade suddenly returns to him from his past life. His relationship with those around him quickly changes as he begins to realise that certain truths have been hidden from him. Bad dreams, headaches and doubts plague him and he soon works out that the blade is responsible and that it is slowly unlocking his past exploits.

The story takes us through, Darnuir's experiences and difficulties with his human friends and his Dragon-kin.

Plenty of action to get one's teeth into with this tale, I would thoroughly recommend this to all those of you who love heroic fantasy.

I can't wait to get stuck into the 2nd instalment, The Dragon's Blade Veiled Intentions.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent start to this new series by this author, it started very clunky in style at the start but when the action and the storyline starts to reveals the authors twist and turns, the pace really picks up.

An author to watch out for for years to come.

[Aoife · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Darnuir, the Prince of Dragons is gravely injured when his castle is stormed. To save his life, the wizard Brackendon must cast a special kind of spell, reversing Darnuir's life, essentially rebirthing him. Growing up with humans, the new Darnuir is different to the old and now must learn how to be King of the dragons in the face of a hoard of demons and a terrifying enemy.

This was actually a much more solid fantasy book than I had expected and i ended up really enjoying most of it. The fantasy setting has enough world building that I could understand where the characters were, what they were doing and where they were heading. The characters were also intriguing, particularly Darnuir as I often felt i couldn't quite get a grasp on him - my opinion of him kept changing. His battle with the flashes of his old self were very enjoyable to see though I think maybe I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development in this sense and see him battle his old self and impulses a bit more. A lot of characters are a little bit grey like Darnuir, not all good but not all bad either. Blaine always seemed like he had an ulterior motive but then he did really seem to believe in Darnuir at other times and followed the dragon's religion closely. Dakoona was another interesting character, particularly because of what happened with the spectres at the end - I can only assume that was on his orders and I'm interested to see what happens with that.

It could be a bot description heavy at times and the action took a while to really get going but I enjoyed this a lot and will definitely continue on.

[Chelsies Reading Escape · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some reviews gave me the impression this was an urban fantasy set in our world but Im really happy this wasnt the case. Dragons Blade is set in a high fantasy world with dragons, fairies and demons. Dragons, like the main character Darnuir, are human in apperance but have increased strength and better senses. When demons attack the Dragon city and Darnuir is gravely injured a wizard does the only thing he can to reverse the fatal damage. Needing the last royal to survive to weild the powerful Dragons Blade, the wizard returns Darnuir to infancy with no memories of his previous life and leaves him to be raised by humans.

Some people like descriptive scenes but Im not one of them. I like leaving things to my imagination and Id rather focus more time on the plot and the characters. I didnt feel like the details added as much to the world as the information on magic and the different races. The world was still interesting despite specific descriptions not captivating me. Maybe I wasnt focused enough but I only pictured the details vaguely. It just slowed things down and I didnt really care about the details of the king or the guardians chair, even less the second time around when Dukoona was describing them. I know these details can add to the atmosphere, if nothing else. Its simply a matter of personal preference.

This is a slower paced book but it does have a good amount of action and the writing was easy to follow. I know a lot of denser fantasy books that are well loved. It just took me longer to get through. The skip in years while the main character was growing up helped moved things along but it still gave us a chance to get to know his backstory. I liked how we get to see his life before he was reborn and before he finds out he's a dragon. This was unique since a lot of books start off when the main character discovers they're different or have powers. Darnuir split personality was a little weird but was explained later on. I also thought the kissing scene was really uncomfortable.

The reborn Darnuir was a bit more likeable but I still had a difficult time connecting to him and some of the other characters. Despite that, this book had many interesting side characters. I was a little disapointed that Eve was mainly a plot device but the other main female character Cassandra was more fleshed out and complexe. I really enjoyed her perspective. The Queen of Fairies Kasselle was another strong female character. I appreciated how all the characters had realistic flaws. I really didnt like how Blaine kept thinking of ways to control the King. I thought his ego was really annoying and I didnt trust him but he did add some entertaining tension to the story.

I enjoyed reading Dukoonas perspective. Seeing his side of things and his doubt made him more realistic. As uncommon as it is, I think a well developped antagonist is important. Though not all antagonists were as well developped as Dukoona. I wish Castallan and Rectar would have been a bit more developped but from what I read of Castallan I think he was an intriguing character. I was able to predict many parts of the plot but overall it was still an engaging book. I loved how the magic system worked. Plus, I thought the cover was really stunning. I think the sequel has a lot of potential now that Im invested in the characters and the world has been laid out.

*Received in exchange for an honest review*

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragons, Fairies, and Humans face a dire threat in Rectar and his demon forces. They move to extinguish the three races. The Dragons are no longer flying fire breathing beasts. There was a transformation and they now resemble humans albeit faster and stronger. Unfortunately they've scattered as their royalty appeared to be destroyed. A chance remains as the Wizard Brackendon has used a spell to save the life of the dragon prince Darnuir. Brackendon was forced to destroy Darnuir as the world knew him in order to remake him as a baby. He was reborn with no knowledge of his past self. All this was done because the dragons will only follow their king and only the king can use the Dragon's Blade. 20 years later a now grown Darnuir can reclaim the Dragon's Blade and reunite the three races against their demonic foe.

The Reborn King was just ok. I read the book because the idea of forcing the dragon prince to be reborn sounded interesting. It was less interesting and satisfying than I hoped. A small time was spent on Darnuir's upbringing by humans before he was at the age of 20 and the Dragon's Blade returned to him. It largely felt like Darnuir simply had amnesia rather than having his former self destroyed. Once he had the blade dragons followed him no problem.

The Reborn King is definitely for fans of classic fantasy tales. The various races unite to fight a Dark Lord, Rectar in this case, and his minions who happen to be demons and a fallen wizard. I'll be honest, I'm not really a fan of that sort of fantasy story. If I had known it was like that I probably would have skipped it. Nothing felt particularly original and there were no fresh takes on this sort of tale. The characters were all largely forgettable as well.

The Reborn King wasn't what I was hoping it would be.

2.5 out of 5 stars

[DarkChaplain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review also published here

The Dragon's Blade: The Reborn King is Michael R. Miller's debut novel, so I'll be trying to look more at his concepts and ideas and try giving constructive feedback. A fresh mind with cool ideas is, in my opinion, worth more than flawless execution that comes more easily with greater experience.

First off, I love dragons. I still have a bunch of figurines and even plushies standing in my living room to attest to that. Books like Andy Remic's The Dragon Engine attract me by default, by virtue of having dragons up front (and that one had metal dragons at that!), and I still have a few dragon-related books waiting for me in the near future. So my first impulse when it came to The Reborn King was that I wanted to read it. I was a little apprehensive at the idea of dragons-turned-humanoid, admittedly, but that idea, too, had promise in my eyes.

I think that actually hits the book on its head: It offers a lot of fresh ideas with plenty of promise to them. Whether it be blue-skinned fairies living in a caste system with roles assigned early on and stuck to, some with wings, others without, or demons unhappy at being ensnared by the dark lord and struggling in their chains, or, indeed, the idea of having the protagonist rewind back to being a baby, losing his memories in the process, all of those things have huge potential when handled well.

Thankfully, I believe that Miller did indeed handle them nicely. Some things are still bumpy and a little clumsy in places (more on that later), but the overall direction the plot took had me ever more intrigued, to the point where I ordered a retail copy after reaching the halfway point (which has yet to arrive or indeed be dispatched, I'm afraid. Bloody holidays!) and am eager to read the sequel, out in February. So yes, the story and characters did indeed work for me, to the point where I was dismayed by twists and deaths throughout.
Of course, a bunch of the twists were predictable, and sometimes fill the archetypical shoes of a high fantasy novel. But predictability isn't a bad thing in my eyes, not unless the signs are so on the nose that you have to ask yourself why the characters can't figure it out half the book earlier already. That isn't the case here, and even the somewhat predictable events were delivered with a fresh context that I could appreciate.

Seeing Darnuir's growth throughout the book was satisfying. At the core, this is his story, so it better be good. I didn't feel very fond of the character before his inevitable rejuvenation a few chapters in - and indeed, that was kind of the point! He was brash, foul-tempered, arrogant, in short: a douche. A powerful douche, maybe, but a douche nonetheless. He looked down on humans, thought he'd be a better king than his father and ever-eager for battle.
His new self, brought up among human hunters, is very different. He is caring, perceptive, modest and values his friends highly, where before he didn't have any to speak of. Ignorant of his true nature until the magical Dragon's Blade reappears before him as he reaches adulthood, and explanations are in order, he is likeable and offers a good deal of depth.

When the Dragon's Blade makes its influence known, the new Darnuir is thrown into turmoil, as parts of his old life spill over into the new. A priority of the novel is Darnuir's search for himself, the rediscovery of his old self, and the way he reconciles his two halves. Having to find his place in the world, suddenly much bigger than his cold mountain town, and figure out how to be the king of dragons after having lived as a human for two decades, is a tough road for the protagonist, but makes for exciting reading.
Things are complicated by the appearance of the Guardian, Blaine, who wields a sword twin to Darnuir's own Dragon's Blade, but aims to mold him to his own nebulous designs. Adding the misadventures of love and friendship as well as a loyalty to humankind that few dragons appear to share, Darnuir is in for a ride - as is the reader.

Where Darnuir undoubtedly forms the spine of the book, the supporting protagonists were intriguing and exciting as well, whether they had their own point of view chapters or not. Cassandra, a girl held captive by the treacherous wizard Castallan in his Bastion, provides new turns to the story, and Brackendon, the wizard who turned Darnuir into a baby again, adds the bulk of the magical component to the story.

Magic, here called Cascade energy, is highly toxic, addictive and can scorch your body severely. The costs of using magic are palpable everywhere, and even trees suffer from it in places. Magic needs to come at a cost and have its limits to be satisfying, in my eyes, and Miller achieved that very well with his Cascade. It introduced an element of risk while being rewarding too, and its users are anything but all-powerful, as exhaustion and intoxication take their tolls quickly. It was well-done.

On top of that, I ended up enjoying the differences between the three major races: Dragons, humans and fairies. Fairies are, as expected, more nature-bound than the others, while dragons are usually arrogant and revelling in their inherent strength and speed. They are presented with a strong history, their own gods, and their own downfalls. The author even made it a point to detail how they build their warcamps, traditionally, and in Blaine you got a stickler for tradition and disdain for humankind, who waged wars on dragons in ages past. While no, these aren't firebreathing, flying dragons anymore, they still epitomise the pride and grandeur of old, and the tensions between them and humans especially made for good reading.

I am also happy Miller didn't fall into the trap of unrelenting action for his debut. While action and battles are all here, they don't overwhelm the ongoing plot. They are used where it counts, underlining the characters and their motivations, rather than being self-serving sections to keep (and effectively lose) the reader's attention. While the book makes mention of massive armies ravaging the realms, what we see of that is still rooted around the relevant characters and their personal involvement, including the preparations for battle or the misery afterwards. These personal perspectives are valuable when used the way they are here, and the book is stronger for them.

The negative points I have for the novel have more to do with the ground-level execution, namely somewhat clumsy prose and a bunch of errors ranging from typos to little grammatical twists here and there. I'm not entirely clear if what I read was the retail copy, though a cursory check of release dates would indicate it, so I am a little disappointed by how many typos, or instances of a connecting word, slipped through. If you consider yourself a "grammar nazi" or take especial offense at things like these, I can see that as a turnoff for sure. A little more time proofing could have prevented most of these, and I don't expect the second novel to make the same mistakes here.

As for the "clumsy prose" part, this is something I felt a little uncertain of early on, but found got less noticeable later on in the book. Some paragraphs I felt could have been put more effectively, and some lines could have been condensed by using different vocab, but those are things that I'd expect from a debut novel like this, and is something that is best served through practice and writing more, gaining experience rather than ordering a thesaurus off Amazon and overcomplicating things. While I found some things phrased oddly, a lot of those instances seemed relatively easy to solve, and I trust that Miller's editor will grow along with him to catch this stuff while reading over the drafts.

The important thing is, in my eyes, that the building blocks of an exciting world with a rich history are all there, and the characters and their individual struggles within the bigger picture are compelling. They were, and so I can overlook the nagging growing pains of a fresh new author. The end result is one to be proud of, especially since it turned out to be a compelling novel full of depth and concepts I'd like to see expanded on in future installments. Miller has a bunch of bold ideas here, and offers the world building to back them up. What polish the book lacks is well made-up for in its themes and characters.

After some mighty-cool twists towards the end, I can definitely say that I am in for the second book. I am excited to see where all this is going, especially as some characters' motivations are put into doubt. With a lot of the groundwork done, I have high expectations for Veiled Intentions . Next time I won't be putting my read off for so long, that's for sure!

[The Tattooed Book Geek (Drew). · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review can also be found on my blog thetattooedBookGeek.wordpress.com

Onto the formalities, I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my review or how much I enjoyed the book.

Before I review the actual book, I’d like to take the time to mention the cover as I think it really is stunning looking. There’s alot of fantasy books out there all vying for your attention, some have covers that don’t fit the tone of the book, some are very generic looking while others have covers with quality aesthetics and imagery that really fit the book. This cover is one of them, the art direction is outstanding, it looks really smart and stands out. Praise goes to the designer for creating a cracking good cover that fits the book perfectly.

This is a character driven book with a largish cast of diverse characters who are all well written, ranging from the smaller bit part characters (e.g: Lira, Ochnic and Kasselle) upto the main characters (e.g: Darnuir, Cosmo, Brackendon). Alot happens in the book, but for me this is Darnuir’s tale, he is the reborn King of the title, who after being mortally wounded is rebirthed as a child in human hands-not a spoiler as it’s written in the blurb on the back of the book and I really felt that his journey and struggle to becoming King was the core of the story. The books pacing is good, I was never bored or found it hard to get through and the story moves along quickly while giving you all the information you need, the slower parts focusing on developing the characters and the story are informative and the fights brutal. I guessed most of the plot twists but not all and a couple really surprised me.

The author easily adds emotion and humour into the story, though I would personally have liked to have seen slightly more humour in the book, it wouldn’t have felt right coming from the Dragon’s who are portrayed as being slightly arrogant and thinking themselves better than others but from the Human characters it would have been a nice addition.

The actual writing is of an easy to read style that doesn’t get over bogged down in useless clutter enabling the story to move forward at a quick pace, it’s of a high standard and works really well with some high quality passages showing the authors talent and way with words throughout, one of my favourites being:

“Oh, but Darnuir, memory is the heaviest of all things,” Blaine began solemnly. “Even the strongest shoulders will be hunched by it in time. Nothing weighs upon us more, nor for longer, than memory.”

The book has all the standard fantasy races, Human’s, Demon’s, Wizard’s, Dragon’s (in Human form), Troll’s and Fairies, all are well developed and none come across as the stereotypical type often seen in fantasy books, you can tell the author has really thought how to make them individual. The world building also deserves a mention as it is of an exceptional standard, the author has created what feels like a vast world rich in history, lore and mythology.

The magic (Cascade energy) system is both well thought out and in depth. The idea that if a Wizard’s staff tree is destroyed then their use of magic is limited and the use of both the Wizard’s staff’s and the Dragon’s swords (the Dragon Blade and Guardian Blade) to channel the energy allowing more to be used are great ideas and comes across well on the pages. I also liked that there is a cost for using to much Cascade energy, alot of fantasy books just seem to throw magic usage in with no effects to the users and for me it adds an extra element to the system and story knowing there is a risk involved and a price to pay for the use.

The only negative I can find about the book is that, there’s a few grammatical errors, the characters thoughts are normally italicised but on occasion aren’t, a few spelling errors also occur and there’s times where words are sometimes misplaced but I’ve read alot of fantasy books and it seems to be a common occurrence happening more often than not in most of them. I’ve felt the need to write about the errors in the book as I’m writing a honest review, however I need to point out that the errors DID NOT detract from the story being told or ruin my enjoyment of the book at all.

The book comes in at 408 pages in length, still quite long but a fair bit shorter than alot of fantasy books out there that are upwards of 650+ pages, that’s not to take anything away from the book though as the author does a great job filling the shorter page count with everything you want in epic fantasy, the pages fly by with a set of diverse characters, a good story and a decent ending to, that for me as the reader after finishing, felt like it was the right way to end the book while opening up the world and story to expand in the next book and I’m really looking forward to finding out how the story continues.

Michael R.Miller is a great storyteller who has crafted what was to me a cracking good page turner of a book, The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King is fantasy at it’s fast paced finest, a high quality read.

Highly recommended.

On a side note, it probably says alot for both my geekiness and how much I read fantasy books but along with wanting to be a Bridgeburner from the Malazan Book Of The Fallen series and own a Wolven from The Banished Lands in The Faithful and The Fallen series, my fantasy weapon of choice is now the Dragon’s Blade Sword of this book, it sounds awesome and I really want one!

[Trevor Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY full review is up on my blog. https://thebloggoblin.com/2017/01/22/...
I'll post it here in a week or so.

[Liis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Simple as that. It was great. It truly was. When a book manages to make me ditch my responsibilities, it’s a good book.

You probably wonder, after reading the title and the blurb, what does it mean that a king is reborn? Reborn how?

Ha, good question.. Well, without giving away too much of the story, Dranuir the Dragon Prince is a key element to a war that has been waging since his ‘first’ life and will continue to do so in his ‘second’ life. With assistance from a wizard who is lovingly called Brackers, Dranuir goes through the magical process of being ‘reborn’. Dranuir, after having grown up in a kingdom as a Prince will be reborn as a babe far from his home, to be raised by humans. To be honest, Dranuir was considered a bit of a meany in his first spell of life and yeah, while he was maybe grumpy and full of anger he didn’t come across pure evil.

The second spell of his life is interesting though- he grows up with humans and has no idea that he is, in fact, a Dragon Prince for quite some while. Which suits Brackers the wizard to a T because the wizard has high hopes that the second coming of Dranuir will change the Prince’s bad attitude. Through a shattering window and splintering wood the magical Dragon’s Blade flies into the new Dragon King’s hand. This can only mean that Dranuir’s father has fallen and Dranuir himself is left to deal with how to become the leader for the dragin race and with some confusion as to who he really is. He is a Dragon King now, yes, but he grew up with humans and living their way of life. Maybe that’s exactly what the doctor ordered to overcome the demonic war?!

I liked that the dragon race were really not dragons. Through Transformation dragons now looked more like regular people. I liked that little twist. Which leads me to the magical aspect of the whole story. I found it unique and interesting how magic in this particular fantasy was something dragons and wizards had to be careful around. Use too much magic and the consequences are rather uncomfortable. So, there’s no such thing as- ‘I have all the magic, therefore I win!’ The struggles and threats considering magic were of paramount importance and the war could not simply be ended by magicking some demon ass into the next realm.

So yes, the war. It’s the demons whose armies seem to never run out of bodies and with help from another wizard called Castallan they wreak havoc across the Tenalp lands with help from spectres.

What the hell are spectres?

Glad you asked. Spectres are kind of like demons as well I guess, except they have the power to move in the shadows. There’s a shadow? A spectre will jump into it and travel from A to B, from shadow to shadow. I’ve got to say, it gave some mighty mental images to back up the story. Bottom line though, I really felt for the human race because to live your whole life trying to fight back in a war is a sad existence indeed.

Now! Enter the fairy race and a particularly likeable frost troll. Yep, you got it. This book has all the fantastic characters and each of them cooler than the next. Truly? I enjoyed each and every one of them to my highest satisfaction. They were all well depicted, developed and enjoyable. Each also came with their own set of secrets, hardships and hopes. And what’s a book without a character that doesn’t get on your nerves? For me, that would be The Dragon Guardian. His old ways and beliefs reminded me of a religious fanatic. Can’t bloody stand them! Yet he was necessary and besides, his presence in the story gave way for some really neat and ‘up yours’ kind of push backs.

All in all, The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King, is a complex yet well-developed book. There wasn’t a single instance where I felt lost or had to scratch my noggin to understand what was going on. Throughout the whole book the writing was so giving and fulfilling that it was easy to follow and step into the world. The descriptions of places, scenes and characters were on point. At least for me. I could easily visualize it all. There were no info dumps, but rather everything and everyone was revealed when the time was just right. This, my friends, means that there was a strong steady pace throughout the 400+ page book. There were twists and surprises, magical elements but also real life, human problems.

Would I recommend it? Of course! Yes! Certainly!

The next book in the series? Yes, please. Give me!

My rating: 5 fantastic stars dripping of slayed demon blood!

[David Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this was a fantasy tale i could really get to grips with. We have everything I love in a fantasy book, Wizards, Trolls, Dragons, Fairies, Demons and a battle of good versus evil.

The story starts well and we are thrust into a war between demons and the rest of humanity. During this battle Prince Darnuir is hurt but saved by the wizard Brackendon. He uses a dangerous spell which turns him back to a baby.

Cosmo is a wonderful character, a hunter who is entrusted with baby Darnuir. He raises him without the knowledge of his former self. This means when the demons return that Darnuir has to grow up fast and unite everyone to fight. But the demons have been quiet for 20 years.. why did it all stop any whya re tye now suddenly back??

Now I can’t spoil the plot but there’s a good reason why.. things are hinted at throughout the book.. little bits shared here and there that add up to give you a fuller picture but still leaves you desperate for more when the end comes.

As Darnuir grows Brackendon has his own battle to fight. I loved in this book that magic is poison.. If not properly controlled it will break you and the rebirthing spell is just too much for Brackendon to take.

For 20 years Darnuirs past life has been kept secret and he must face an internal battle with himself to become the leader everyone needs.

The main issue he has is trust, none of the races really trust each other..too much bad blood.

Along the way he is aided by not only Brackendon and Cosmo but the mysterious Guardian Blaine. He’s been away for many years...why?? I liked Blaine. He’s certainly got the best interests of his people at heart but how far will he go to save his own race? only time will tell. Dragon's have a rather high opinion of themeselves so will Blaine be able to follow Darnuir's wishes to unite the races to fight the demons as one?

There’s battles, death and so many twists to enjoy in this one and one of the best things had to be the unpredictability of it..I was hooked, even though I had some ideas I really didn't know where the story was going to go and what would happen next.

Now, let's talk about the demons and their master Rectar. I loved the setup and their internal struggles. As a reader you are still left in the dark a bit as to Rectar’s motivations but his plan is clear and towards the end of the tale his past starts to become clearer. There’s so much unanswered at this stage but I felt the author gave you just the right amount of information to hook you so you'll come back to read the next book.

The word I used most often with this book was “Damn”. Mainly -

Damn why didn’t I see that coming, Damn that’s a nice idea! or Damn they killed….(obviously not going to drop names :) )

Overall this is a brilliant story, easy to read, fun, exciting and engrosing. There's twists & treachery around every corner... what more could you want? Early on I felt a lot of questions were unanswered which meant I stopped reading to think these questions through..answers do come but later in the book. My only advice is don’t over think things..all will be explained in due course and what an imagination this author has...Damn it's good!

The author has me excited to see how this one plays out. Bring on book 2 due out in February.

My thanks go to the author for the chance to read/review their work

[Marianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The Dragon's Blade follows the story of Darnuir, Prince of dragons, as he is reborn to become a King.

I really enyoed this first book in the series(?). It is a very fast paced book, full of action and with many battles and the occasional magic. It follows the typical fantasy structure; there are wizards and faeries, dragons and humans, and of course demons. All of them are portayed with a twist that really
makes them stand out. I personally liked the faeries best, but no surprise there.

One thing that makes this book stand out, is the twists. Twists are thrown at you left and right, and you're left with your mouth hanging open, wondering where the hell this all came from.

Nevertheless, there was one thing that dissapointed me. The romance. Why do authors feel the need to incorporate romance to every story? And especially romance that feels awkward, foreign and out of thin air. I felt like the romantic interest made our King act astonishingly out of character and that was quite unnerving.

All in all, I really enjoyed the story. I think that The Dragon's Blade is a very solid start to a series that will keep surprising us. I can't wait for the sequel!

P.S Since I won this in a giveaway (my first ever), and it is SIGNED I was praying to like it. So glad I actually did!

[Michael Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darnuir made many mistakes. Death is his redemption. Reborn, and secretly raised by humans, this former dragon prince must become the king his past-self never was....

It wasn't until early 2017, over a year after publication, that I was able to condense this book into the above pitch. It felt strange to do so, if only because this world and story have been with me for so long. Looking back on the first shaky attempts at Dragon's Blade, I'm not sure what kept me going. God those early drafts were terrible.

I'll likely never write a book quite like this one again.

It was the first book I ever wrote and looking back there is much I'd change if I could wave a magic wand. Hindsight is glorious. But back in the summer of 2015 this was the best I could produce. I sweated, poured in tears and blood, and chased the story that had been forming in my head since I was 9 years old.

The Reborn King is very special because of that.

What has stunned me the most is that other people have loved it too. The effort all seems worth it when you hear that a school kid read this book first and then went on to read the Hobbit - frankly I can think of no higher honour.

I can only hope that years from now, people will still be coming to this story with fresh eyes and find the same enjoyment and passion in it, as I did in creating it.

[ShannaBanana✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is very well written and the most of the characters are likable. The first page had me hooked but there were a couple things that just irked me. First, Darnuir ends up having sex with Eve, knowing his best friend loved her. Then he never bothered to even tell Balack about it. Balack knew Eve loved Darnuir, although Darnuir didn’t feel that same way. Point is, Balack got screwed over by his best friends. Then Balack befriends Cassandra. Then of course, here comes Darnuir ogling her 😒🙄 eventually kissing her but the kiss is unwanted apparently by Cassandra herself 🤷🏻‍♀️ the WHOLE thing with Darnuir and these females irritate the ever loving shit out of me. I didn’t ship him with either of them. None of them become a thing in the end anyway so there is THAT. Sorry for the rant but that’s just how I feel.

Everything else about this story was incredible. The detail and world building the author put into it was amazing. I adore Brackendon, Garon, Lira and Cosmo too. Blaine I just know is going to grow on me as well. I can feel it. Anyhow, time to start the next one.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(You can see a bigger, prettier version of this review here, on my blog.)

Enter a world of fairies, humans and dragons (and wizards!!!) and their war against Rectar, the lord of the demons and his army of... well, demons. :D I know what some of you are thinking. Same ol' Good vs Evil fantasy book, right? Not so fast! While this story embraces the traditional good vs. evil trope, it breaks the mold. It does it differently. A couple of tropes common to fantasy fit here. Farmboy prince fits as well, but this one is implemented in such a way that it almost feels like Miller is saying 'yeah, but in his defense, he was the prince first.' It touches on the traditional, but is refreshingly different.

I love some humanoid dragons, or dragons that can become humanoid. It makes them a bit more relatable (and it opens things up for some sweet, sweet dragon/not dragon roooomance - I AM WITHOUT SHAME). Dragons in this particular case, seem to be mostly dicks to anyone who isn't also a dragon, despite the situation of sort of needing to team up against the greater enemy. Darnuir starts this story as the sort of pompous, arrogant, know-it-all heir to the king of the dragons (whose name is Draconis, because of course the king of the dragons is named Draconis). His father doesn't trust him to wield the Dragon's Blade, a very powerful flying sword that only the royal line of dragons can wield. He says that Darnuir isn't ready for it, which of course pisses off Darnuir because he thinks he is ready for it, goddamn it! He couldn't be more ready for it!

Darnuir is mortally wounded and the only thing that can save him is the dragon king's resident court wizard, Brackindon (I probably spelled that wrong. Audiobook.), who does the only thing that he can do to save Darnuir. He performs a rebirthing spell that more or less rewinds Darnuir's life and turns him into an infant, and then he leaves him in the care of a group of hunters, of which the more or less leader is a friend of his. 'I'll be back in six months!' he says. Fast forward to twenty years later, and Darnuir has come of age to wield the Blade, and while there have been many years of radio silence from them, the demons are now redoubling their efforts.

We get some of the early parts of Darnuir's new life from his point of view, which was actually pretty interestingly thought out. The entire growing up again montage is summed up well, doesn't seem intrusive on the overall flow of the story, and is yet informative on what sort of (second) childhood that he has. Darnuir is raised as a human the second time around. He has no idea what he is, but his abnormally brute strength is noticeable to more than one person in his life, including himself at least once. It's kind of a wonder that nobody figured it out sooner. This simple life humbles him, though. He comes from a more humble upbringing this time around and that is the key to wielding the Blade the way his father would have wanted. Brackindon comes back (20 years late, but as we all know, a wizard is never late but arrives precisely when he means to) with the Dragon's Blade in tow and all is revealed.

Darnuir is a cool character who I started off not liking because he wasn't very likable, but I ended up cheering for him, because when his old, arrogant personality starts to try and break through, he tries his very hardest to not be that person, and tries to restrain himself. Where Blaine and the other dragons tend to continue the tradition of being dicks to humans (and women of all races), Darnuir brings his human upbringing into play to smooth things out.

My favorite characters are more or less in the background though. First is Dukuna (am I close? This one was a tough guess on spelling ^_^), one of Rectar's underlings and the first character we get introduced to. A demon lord's underling who is in a position that he doesn't want to be in. We see some of the book from his POV. He hates Rectar and considers himself a prisoner. He even has other demons that he sympathizes with. It's pretty neat. I actually cheered for him the most. The second is Lyra, the lady dragon who isn't taking any of Blaine's bullshit about lady dragons not being allowed to be warriors. You go girl.

The action/battle scenes were well written and made it easy to imagine the action that was taking place. I was transported into the world of this book quite easily. The magic system is described as a cascade and I thought that was quite an interesting way to think of magic. Like a waterfall, kind of. The plot takes a couple of turns that you don't see coming, and it doesn't plod along. I thought it was quite well written and plotted out quite nicely. It wasn't overly complex, but it was complex enough that I was immersed quite thoroughly.

The narrator totally nailed it. Dave Cruse's narration of this book is more than slightly reminiscent of Simon Vance. So much so that I double checked after a while to make sure that it was not actually Simon Vance narrating the book. He sounds so, so close to the same (I listen to a lot of audiobooks, but for those of you who don't, Simon Vance has narrated a lot of books, many of them classics, and does it rather excellently, in my opinion). Dave Cruse gave each character an appropriate voice and tone and told the story very well! Some pretty brilliant accents were peppered throughout, and I quite enjoyed the listen! My only criticism here is that when characters are having an  inner monologue moment, which they do from time to time, a better way to differentiate that would be awesome. As it stands, it just seems like the same character speaks but... a little muffled. When they're inner monologuing in the middle of a spoken conversation, this can be confusing.

What a great debut! The best part was watching a character that I didn't really start out liking turn himself into a character that I liked rather a lot. I did really dig this story, and really enjoyed my time with this listen! I'm excited to read (or hopefully listen!) to the next book in the series!

FYI, I was given a free review copy of this audiobook by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Fran Soto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect when the story started, but once I got into it I couldn't stop until I finished the book. The combination of naivety and ruthlessness of the main character was really interesting and the overall twists of several plot lines grabbed and kept my attention. Read through the entire book in no time and immediately downloaded the next one. Action, adventure, humor. Excellent character building. An over-all fantastic read. If you like Michael Manning, you will enjoy this!

[Basically Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4\5 stars!

*I received this book free from in the author in exchange for an honest review.

I has been so many month ago since I last read a high fantasy book so it took me a little while to get back into the fantasy world, but once I read about 60 pages I was totally into it! The book was very well written (especially for a debut novel!) and I really liked most of the characters (especially the wizards Brackendon and Kymethra!)

This book is about dragons, witches and wizards, fairies, and humans. The main plotline is that all the demons have to be conquered in order to have peace again in the world of Tenalp. Our main character Darnuir, the prince of dragons, is the only one who can wield the Dragon's Blade, because he is the last dragon in his bloodline. He must become the leader of the dragons in order to save the world from the demons that invade it.

As for the worldbuilding, I was very surprised as to how easily I could remember everything, which made me very happy! The only thing that bothered me a bit was that on the back of the book they talk about the Transformation; the time when all dragons transformed into humans. However, I you don't read the back of the book, you will probably not immediately understand why the dragons in this book are explained as having a human appearance, because the Transformation isn't explained until later on int the book.

All in all, this was a very fun and interesting read and I can't wait for the next book in this series!

[J.P. Ashman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on Audible.


If the blurb didn't forewarn, I'd have expecting leathery wings and gargantuan reptiles. This series, however, puts a new spin on the beasts of legend. In human form for generations, the dragons and their human and fairy allies face demonic foes in a protracted war on all fronts.

The focus of the story revolves around the rebirth of a dragon Prince. I wasn't a fan of this character, due to his arrogance and attitude towards others, although it was clear this was the point of him, so it certainly did the trick. I'm happy to say that he does develop throughout the story and that development is set to continue on through the series, from what I can see, intriguing me more.

The narration was hesitant at times, but improved as the story was told. I look forward to seeing how the performance improves through the second book, which I will be listening to soon.

There's plenty of action and intrigue, twists and turns in this fantasy story. Magic and monsters, betrayals and alliances. A well rounded world building that promises more of the same in the following books.

I give the narration 3-4 (start to end), and the story a solid 4. Some of the supporting characters won me over, which led to some emotional lows as well as mirth filled highs.

Check this beginning to an epic tale out, and explore dragons in a more vulnerable form.

[Celise]

Isn't that just the most stunning cover? I wish I had this in print.

Free on the author's website: http://thedragonsblade.com/free-copy-...
Thanks to Chris for the link.

[Daniel Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary

This is a world that I want to read more of and the characters will keep me coming back for more. The action is delivered with a quick punch and surprise to it, the battles are fast, furious and enormously deadly. The legendary weapons on show are simply magnificent and add a layer of depth to the story (as well as being super cool).

Recommendation

This is pure, fast-paced fantasy at its finest. The characters are plentiful, the action is real, and the story is wonderful. Fantasy lovers will want to read this book. I highly recommend it for anyone with a penchant for the fantastical.

The full review can be found on my blog at https://dancrossbookblog.wordpress.com

[Mark Brownlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a little while to get into, but I'm glad I persevered as it got better and better. A novel take on the concept of dragons, plenty of conflicts between and within characters I cared about, a believable world and a strong story. Will definitely be looking for the sequel.

[Alix Osborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.