The Dragon King: First Emperor of China

Chronicles of the Watchers #1

by Brian Godawa

It’s 220 B.C. The ancient Western Empire is crumbling. In a desperate bid to save his throne, the Greek Seleucid king over Babylon sends his son, Antiochus, a dishonored warrior, into the mysterious land of the Far East to capture a mythical creature that will give him absolute power: a dragon.

Antiochus takes with him his longtime friend, Balthazar, a member of the Magi order of Babylon, responsible for both the religion and science of the empire. But Balthazar also carries with him a dangerous secret that could destroy Antiochus’ plans and plunge the world into chaos.

They sail beyond their maps into the mysterious and uncharted Eastern Orient. They are discovered and escorted inland to the empire of Ch’in (now known as China), ruled by the first emperor, Ch’in Shi Huang Di. The emperor is a brutal ruler and is on the edge of insanity in a mad quest to find the elixir of immortality.

Antiochus meets and falls in forbidden love with a beautiful concubine of the emperor, Mei Li. But she also harbors a secret that can bring down the mad emperor. It’s the truth of China’s spiritual past that is mysteriously connected to the ancient Tower of Babel.

And there are spiritual principalities and powers who seek to stop them all. These are the Watchers, who have their own plans to rule the world. Finding and capturing a dragon is the least of Antiochus’ difficulties in this action-adventure clash of cultures and war of gods.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Biblical, Fiction

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2016

About the author

Brian Godawa has been a professional filmmaker, writer, and designer for over 20 years. His creative versatility was born of a passion for both intellect and imagination, both left-brain and right-brain. The result: Brian is an artisan of word, image, and story that engages heart, mind, and soul. Just think, "Renaissance Man."

Reviews

[Jeff McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I start by saying I have not previously read any of Godawa's novels of this nature. I did read his When Giants Were Upon the Earth: The Watchers, the Nephilim, and the Biblical Cosmic War of the Seed which was the historic appendixes from each of the novels in the "Chronicles of the Nephilim" series. So that book was nothing like these novels are.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I RARELY read fiction, preferring deeper studies into things like history, theology and ancient cultures. Well, I guess that is why I enjoyed this story so much, because it was jam packed with all of those topics.

East meets West in this historically driven story of a few Greeks making contact with an Asian culture they never knew even existed. And the things they find there astonish them. Dragons, giants, true spiritual beings unlike the myths they were so accustom to in their homeland.

For almost half of the book, I kept asking myself, "what does this have to do with Watchers?" Then it all started creeping into the story, and I was fascinated and hooked. When I got about 40% into the story, I became so hooked I couldn't put it down and I zipped through the rest of the story in two days (thank you snow storm for providing some extra time off).

The multiple story lines were not hard to follow at all, and while the various oriental names kind of were more complicated to keep up with, after a short while the key characters became common knowledge. The book is very well written, the story line flows well, the characters well developed, and the reading level keeps this book within the grasp of most all age groups from pre-teen and up.

My only concern throughout as I was reading and greatly engaged, was wondering how someone without my extensive knowledge of the unseen realm, divine council, spiritual entities etc. would truly grasp the amazing significance of so much of the most fun and amazing character and story parts here. Then I remembered that this series follows hard on the heels of Godawa's eight part series of the "Chronicles of the Nephilim" where I believe most of this was covered. Is that series required reading before starting this one? No, I do not think so at all, as this story stands alone just fine. Would some aspects of the story and characters make a little more sense in the grand scheme of things? Probably so. But even without that knowledge, the book is an enjoyable read with just the knowledge presented in this volume alone. Knowing deeper thoughts on those other aspects, at least for me, makes it that much more thrilling and engaging to see them incorporated in this story.

I am encouraged to read future editions in this series, as well as being prompted now to add additional fiction books like this to my reading list - starting with adding the eight previous volumes in the "Chronicles of the Nephilim" series to the top of the list.

[Dwayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Storyline…

As with all of Brian Godawa’s books that I’ve read (nearly all), this was an incredible work that I just couldn’t stop reading. I am a slower reader because I will often go back and re-read sections or chapters to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. That said, this book had me hooked and I finished it in three nights!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, along with all of Brian’s books in his series sets…”Chronicles of the Nephilem”, “Chronicles of the Apocalypse” and “Chronicles of the Watchers”. I have read all of the first two series twice each and this is my first time through the “Chronicles of the Watchers”.

[Robert Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad collaboration.

As religious fiction goes it takes a piece of Chinese history and rewrites it to suit his thesis. The antagonist is the Emperor of the Terra Cotta warrior fame. He did die and his son and advisors stole the throne from the legitimate heir. Just not in the way Mr Godawa portrays it. I'd can't wait to see how this series ends.

[Don Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read+

Having read the first two Chronicles, I have been drawn into the writing of this author....this Watchers book is really a fleshing out of the other story lines by explaining the behind the curtain Watchers role in real history...in this case Chinese historical setting...well edited, thought-provoking and leaving you wanting for more historical application

[Ronald L. Bruss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome book

I have read several of Brian Godawa's books and they are all great reads. His deep dives into Biblical early history and the stories he weaves around them, give me a better understanding of the Bible. The stories themselves are fantastic. Full of adventure and mystery. His books never disappoint!

[Ruby Spinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not long enough!

This book was not as long, nor as involved, as so many others by this author. My favorite portion was the part of Job, which speaks of Leviathan as unconquerable.

At the end, there is no closure to the narrative. But then, belief in God, it is the beginning of life, when you realize faith and obedience go together.

[Ben Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

better

Sometimes I wonder about the editors various authors use. One thing that bothers me about Godawa’s writing is his use of anachronisms. A character who live in ancient Babylon would never think someone is as graceful as ballet, for instance. You have to find a different metaphor if you want your audience to maintain suspension of disbelief.

[Dennis Asmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great easy read eexciting

This book is a continuing of all of his other books but this'll one is in the Far East and tells us the story of what could have happened there. Very good thing book to read waiting for the next one.

[Patrick Elsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate reading crazy Christian books by accident.

[Sean K Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cinese dragons and the three wise men

This is a great story that blends the legends of ancient chinese dragons with the three wise men of the east.

[David Scovel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Good Godawa story

I have read all of the Watcher series. This one was different but still enjoyable. I enjoyed the finish. Nice

[Bryan Kuranaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Not as page turning as his other books, but still very well-written.

[Genia Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

[Helen Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mama

Another great read from Brian Godawa!! I have tremendously enjoyed all of his books so far. On to the next one! You must give them a try.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one book I am glad I ordered. The Dragon King: The First Emperor of China co-authored by Brian Godawa (Chronicles Of The Nephilim & God Against the gods) & Charlie Wen (the Head of Visual Development for such recent Marvel superhero films as Ant-Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: The Dark World, and other) tells the story of a quest to find a fearsome dragon, opening a entire story that has the non-fiction behind the fiction.
This especially appealed to me since I am already familiar with the historical research into ShangDi and who he is (hint: He shares the same traits as the GOD of a certain middle eastern people), and I wanted to see how Godawa & Wen depict the research. I can say that I am once again impressed with how masterfully Godawa ties everything together with Wen adding essential details as well.
Included in this story are: Leviathan (the fearsome sea dragon of Job 41), ShangDi, The Jade Emperor (who has a connection to the Dragon), dragons (aka dinosaurs), romance, Giants, and even three Babylonian Magi (btw, Godawa adds an interesting twist to the Babylonian Magi that has future implications), and much more.
The pacing of the story is excellent and flows well without ruining the pace (the story pace reminded me of the Epic Dawn of Destiny book by Lee Stephen), and the characters are actually well fleshed out. The showing of the contrasts and similarities between cultures is also present as well, and enjoyable. As I read the book, I easily caught references to the Tower of Babel, the history of the legendary Yellow Emperor, the worship of ShangDi, and even the Warring States Period. To say that both Godawa & Wen made excellent use of the ancient research would be an understatement.
If you are looking for a great fantasy story with an Orient backdrop, The Dragon King is the book you should have in your collection. If you like the biblical references in a fantasy, this book is for you. If you like both, this book is for you.
Kudos to Brian Godawa & Charlie Wen for an amazing, thrilling, and fun book to read.

[Kristin Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was provided with an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book and asked to write an honest review of the book. I love every book that I have read thus far that has been written by Mr. Godawa, (and I have purchased and read most of them) and this book is no exception. It is terrific for more reasons than I could explain in this review, but to save from being redundant, let me simply say I agree with all of the comments made in the other 5-star reviews that have been posted, which I will not duplicate. From a personal perspective, after having lived and taught in Juxian, Shandong Province, China for a ten month period of time in 2004/2005, having spent hours studying and learning to speak and read a survival amount of Chinese, traveling and visiting throughout many of the provinces, and being immersed in the culture, I was especially excited to read this book. It renewed and intensified my interest in exploring Chinese history in greater depth, and shed new light and understanding on many of the subjects I had been exposed to but did not understand regarding Chinese history, i.e. the various dynasties, religious beliefs, mythology, etc. But this wasn't boring history like you suffered through in school. This is history come alive, full of intrigue, mystery, action, and excitement. I learned a lot from reading this book because it motivated me to do further reading on many of the historical figures, time periods, and places mentioned in the book. Very fascinating to explore.

If you love to study topics such as world and biblical history, (including Greek, Chinese, and Babylonian), linguistics, archaeology, etc. you will likely enjoy reading this book. Or if Moby Dick, Jaws, or Jurassic Park, is more your speed, you still will enjoy this book, because you will experience a close encounter with the great sea monster, Leviathan. And Giants, and Dragons. Lots of them.

[Reeda Booke · Rating 5 out of 5]

You certainly cannot go wrong by reading any one of Mr. Godawa's work, and this one was no exception!

This one takes us to the ancient city of Ch'in, (present day China), where our main character, Antiochus the Younger, has traveled to bring back his magi friends who have been kidnapped by the mad, tyrant emperor who is in search for the elixir of immortality. Along the way he is looking for the mythical creature, the dragon. All of this is tied up in the elements of "Tower of Babel" story from the Bible and which includes the Watchers, Nephilim, demons and the confusion of languages.

The story was well paced and engaging throughout and I read it in a day!. Along with the interesting information on the culture and the mild love story, it also included the English pronunciations of the Chinese words which I found to be very helpful. I also very much enjoyed how some of the Chinese characters relate to the biblical accounts. I've recently watched several Youtube videos that talk about this and I find the subject fascinating.

This is the beginning of a brand new series which I definitely plan on reading. It is separate from his Chronicles of the Nephilim series, but if you enjoyed this one, I highly recommend reading this other series also. You will not be disappointed! The only thing I was upset about was that the story was too short!

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because Brian Godawa is a brilliant story teller. But I have to be honest, I just wasn't as into this particular story as I have been in his others. It might be the ancient Asian world, it's never been something that interested me much. And I was hoping to see a little more interaction with the Watchers. And the Nephilim almost felt like an afterthought. I will say that the last 30% of the book was more interesting to me than the rest, but I just didn't get very attached to the main characters, & the love story between Antiochus & Mei Li fell a little flat for me. The one thing that I loved was the twist at the end with certain characters (spoiler removed). I wish that more of the book was devoted to those characters & their twist of fate than anything else.

[Shari Risoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Godawa’s vivid writing transports the reader out of normal life and into the world in his novel. As when I read each book in his series Chronicles of the Nephilim, I found myself easily escaping into this uncharted world. Having not specifically studied it before, I learned a great deal about ancient mythology and ancient cultures. Godawa’s writing is excellent and easy to read.

I originally received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for writing an honest review, which I have provided however I also purchased the Kindle version for my library. I am hooked and look forward to the rest of the series.

[Matt Y. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Mr. Godawa's other books, this one tends to have interesting settings and intriguing ideas about how the fallen sons of God interacted with humans and influenced human history. But it suffers from sometimes two-dimensional writing and I didn't feel that I cared that much about the characters.

[Abel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Godowa does it again!!

Very well written. A real page turner. You will not be able to put this book down! If you follow the Deuteronomy 32 worldview you will love this book!

[Jacqueline Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing reading

[Alice LaJuett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

This is a fast paced, riveting book! I devoured it in one sitting. I would recommend reading this only if you enjoy an exciting story.