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The Secret Texts #2
Vengeance of Dragons
Battling over the Mirror of Souls, Kait Galweigh and Crispin Sabir don't realize that it contains the captive spirits of long-dead sorcerers who once conquered the world and are poised to wreak vengeance yet again.
441 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
16 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Holly Lisle
109 books449 followersHolly Lisle has been writing fiction professionally since 1991, when she sold FIRE IN THE MIST, the novel that won her the Compton Crook Award for best first novel. She has to date published more than thirty novels and several comprehensive writing courses. She has just published WARPAINT, the second stand-alone novel in her Cadence Drake series.
Holly had an ideal childhood for a writer…which is to say, it was filled with foreign countries and exotic terrains, alien cultures, new languages, the occasional earthquake, flood, or civil war, and one story about a bear, which follows:
“So. Back when I was ten years old, my father and I had finished hunting ducks for our dinner and were walking across the tundra in Alaska toward the spot on the river where we’d tied our boat. We had a couple miles to go by boat to get back to the Moravian Children’s Home, where we lived.
“My father was carrying the big bag of decoys and the shotgun; I was carrying the small bag of ducks.
“It was getting dark, we could hear the thud, thud, thud of the generator across the tundra, and suddenly he stopped, pointed down to a pie-pan sized indentation in the tundra that was rapidly filling with water, and said, in a calm and steady voice, “That’s a bear footprint. From the size of it, it’s a grizzly. The fact that the track is filling with water right now means the bear’s still around.”
“Which got my attention, but not as much as what he said next.
” ‘I don’t have the gun with me that will kill a bear,’ he told me. ‘I just have the one that will make him angry. So if we see the bear, I’m going to shoot him so he’ll attack me. I want you to run to the river, follow it to the boat, get the boat back home, and tell everyone what happened.’
“The rest of our walk was very quiet. He was, I’m sure, listening for the bear. I was doing my damnedest to make sure that I remembered where the boat was, how to get to it, how to start the pull-cord engine, and how to drive it back home, because I did not want to let him down.
“We were not eaten by a bear that night…but neither is that walk back from our hunt for supper a part of my life I’ll ever forget.
“I keep that story in mind as I write. If what I’m putting on paper isn’t at least as memorable as having a grizzly stalking my father and me across the tundra while I was carrying a bag of delicious-smelling ducks, it doesn’t make my cut.”
You can find Holly on her personal site:
Hollylisle.com
You can find Cadence Drake, Holly's currently in-progress series, on her site:
CadenceDrake.com
You can find Holly's books, courses, writing workshops, and so on here:
The HowToThinkSideways.com Shop, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in a number of bookstores in the US and around the world.
Holly had an ideal childhood for a writer…which is to say, it was filled with foreign countries and exotic terrains, alien cultures, new languages, the occasional earthquake, flood, or civil war, and one story about a bear, which follows:
“So. Back when I was ten years old, my father and I had finished hunting ducks for our dinner and were walking across the tundra in Alaska toward the spot on the river where we’d tied our boat. We had a couple miles to go by boat to get back to the Moravian Children’s Home, where we lived.
“My father was carrying the big bag of decoys and the shotgun; I was carrying the small bag of ducks.
“It was getting dark, we could hear the thud, thud, thud of the generator across the tundra, and suddenly he stopped, pointed down to a pie-pan sized indentation in the tundra that was rapidly filling with water, and said, in a calm and steady voice, “That’s a bear footprint. From the size of it, it’s a grizzly. The fact that the track is filling with water right now means the bear’s still around.”
“Which got my attention, but not as much as what he said next.
” ‘I don’t have the gun with me that will kill a bear,’ he told me. ‘I just have the one that will make him angry. So if we see the bear, I’m going to shoot him so he’ll attack me. I want you to run to the river, follow it to the boat, get the boat back home, and tell everyone what happened.’
“The rest of our walk was very quiet. He was, I’m sure, listening for the bear. I was doing my damnedest to make sure that I remembered where the boat was, how to get to it, how to start the pull-cord engine, and how to drive it back home, because I did not want to let him down.
“We were not eaten by a bear that night…but neither is that walk back from our hunt for supper a part of my life I’ll ever forget.
“I keep that story in mind as I write. If what I’m putting on paper isn’t at least as memorable as having a grizzly stalking my father and me across the tundra while I was carrying a bag of delicious-smelling ducks, it doesn’t make my cut.”
You can find Holly on her personal site:
Hollylisle.com
You can find Cadence Drake, Holly's currently in-progress series, on her site:
CadenceDrake.com
You can find Holly's books, courses, writing workshops, and so on here:
The HowToThinkSideways.com Shop, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in a number of bookstores in the US and around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 17, 2021
3.5 stars.
Following directly on from book 1, Kait Galweight is now a fugitive with enemy families and the remaining members of her own family wanting her dead. Marooned on an island with her few surviving comrades, she's forced to accept help from her frenemy/would-be lover Ry Sabir to get the ancient artifact known as the Mirror of Souls to a location where it can be destroyed. But this is the second book of a trilogy, so of course it's not going to be that easy.
I enjoyed this. It wasn't perhaps as fast moving as the first one, but that's only to be expected. It's still an entertaining read, and I was held by the story. Things are looking pretty grim at the moment, so I'm off to read book 3. If you can find the entire trilogy, I recommend it.
Following directly on from book 1, Kait Galweight is now a fugitive with enemy families and the remaining members of her own family wanting her dead. Marooned on an island with her few surviving comrades, she's forced to accept help from her frenemy/would-be lover Ry Sabir to get the ancient artifact known as the Mirror of Souls to a location where it can be destroyed. But this is the second book of a trilogy, so of course it's not going to be that easy.
I enjoyed this. It wasn't perhaps as fast moving as the first one, but that's only to be expected. It's still an entertaining read, and I was held by the story. Things are looking pretty grim at the moment, so I'm off to read book 3. If you can find the entire trilogy, I recommend it.
August 24, 2020
Not as good as #1. Too much meandering + cheesy, repetitive scenes + seeming lack of urgency = crawling along without any oomph. It's not a long read by fantasy standards, but it took forever because I felt so ambivalent toward the content. (Now I know why I struggled with it back in '01. 🙄) I'll still try the final book, but mostly because I remember nothing about it. Sometimes the final third of a trilogy can redeem a mediocre middle...but not always.
Bottom line: the fate of this series (i.e. to keep or not to keep?) remains uncertain.
UPDATE: I've since decided I don't care enough to continue. The first half of Book 1 was pretty decent, but everything since that midway point has bored and/or disappointed. So...farewell, Secret Texts.
Bottom line: the fate of this series (i.e. to keep or not to keep?) remains uncertain.
UPDATE: I've since decided I don't care enough to continue. The first half of Book 1 was pretty decent, but everything since that midway point has bored and/or disappointed. So...farewell, Secret Texts.
June 6, 2018
Dear Author,
Women are not things. Blindly possessive obsessive objectification of women isn't romantic. Therefore, the following scenes have caused me to be unable to read any more of your work.
"Hero," meeting Our Heroine for the first time: Oh she smells so good my soul calls out I LURVE her forevah I wonder what her name is?
Heroine: You're sexy and appealing, but your family killed all my family and I have to go find a Magical Artifact to bring them back, kthnxbai.
Heroine rents ship, sails off to find artifact.
"Hero": I'm totally gonna follow her, take the Magical Artifact for myself, get rich and famous off it, marry her and live happily ever after.
"Hero" rents ship, follows her.
Three months of sailing follow, in which Heroine tries to hide from "Hero", learns magic, saves the ship at least once and commits to saving the world. Hero is seasick and pends time elaborating on his Perfect Future with Magical Artifact and Heroine who has met him for half an hour one time.
Me: Okay, he's creepy. I assume he's a villain?
Heroine: I'm stranded on the island and my only way to get me and my friends back is to get a ride on "Hero"'s ship. Unfortunately, "Hero" wants to kill my friends, and I want to bring them with. Well, I'm a trained negotiator, so let's negotiate.
Negotiator person: So you claim you should get to keep the Magical Artifact that might save your family because you sailed all this way and suffered (almost died multiple times) to get it, right?
Heroine: Right.
Negotiator person: Ha ha, gotcha! By that logic, "Hero" sailed all this way and suffered (sea-sickness) to get you. So you can only keep the artifact if "Hero" gets to keep you.
Heroine: Okay, that seems fair.
Me: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT????
Negotiator: The two of you have to share a cabin all the way back home. That's three months, folks.
Author: Clearly thinks this is a romance-novel-worthy setup for sexytiems and drama.
Me: Drops book in disgust.
Women are not things. Blindly possessive obsessive objectification of women isn't romantic. Therefore, the following scenes have caused me to be unable to read any more of your work.
"Hero," meeting Our Heroine for the first time: Oh she smells so good my soul calls out I LURVE her forevah I wonder what her name is?
Heroine: You're sexy and appealing, but your family killed all my family and I have to go find a Magical Artifact to bring them back, kthnxbai.
Heroine rents ship, sails off to find artifact.
"Hero": I'm totally gonna follow her, take the Magical Artifact for myself, get rich and famous off it, marry her and live happily ever after.
"Hero" rents ship, follows her.
Three months of sailing follow, in which Heroine tries to hide from "Hero", learns magic, saves the ship at least once and commits to saving the world. Hero is seasick and pends time elaborating on his Perfect Future with Magical Artifact and Heroine who has met him for half an hour one time.
Me: Okay, he's creepy. I assume he's a villain?
Heroine: I'm stranded on the island and my only way to get me and my friends back is to get a ride on "Hero"'s ship. Unfortunately, "Hero" wants to kill my friends, and I want to bring them with. Well, I'm a trained negotiator, so let's negotiate.
Negotiator person: So you claim you should get to keep the Magical Artifact that might save your family because you sailed all this way and suffered (almost died multiple times) to get it, right?
Heroine: Right.
Negotiator person: Ha ha, gotcha! By that logic, "Hero" sailed all this way and suffered (sea-sickness) to get you. So you can only keep the artifact if "Hero" gets to keep you.
Heroine: Okay, that seems fair.
Me: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT????
Negotiator: The two of you have to share a cabin all the way back home. That's three months, folks.
Author: Clearly thinks this is a romance-novel-worthy setup for sexytiems and drama.
Me: Drops book in disgust.
January 14, 2008
I really wanted to like Vengeance of Dragons, but ultimately I was disappointed. The book continues a tiresome tug-of-war for the Mirror of Souls, which really wasn't that cool of an ancient artifact to begin with. Characterizations among the secondary characters were inconsistent, and I often found myself questioning how plausible it was for character X to do or say Y, after it had been established in the previous book or chapter that he thought Z.
All the gushing about how perfect and good the unborn Reborn was got on my nerves too. "The Reborn will build an eternal empire of love" (luuuuhve!!) is possibly the cheesiest line I came across. Apparently the power of his gentle soul, his unconditional love, and his promise to make the world happy forever instantly turns even skeptics into devoted followers, complete with blathering and weeping. I guess I don't find that perfect or omnipotent characters make for interesting reading.
Nevertheless Kait's inner dialog is generally pleasant to read, there were some amusing plot twists, and we saw nice progress in the romantic subplot. Definitely worth trying if you liked Diplomacy of Wolves well enough.
All the gushing about how perfect and good the unborn Reborn was got on my nerves too. "The Reborn will build an eternal empire of love" (luuuuhve!!) is possibly the cheesiest line I came across. Apparently the power of his gentle soul, his unconditional love, and his promise to make the world happy forever instantly turns even skeptics into devoted followers, complete with blathering and weeping. I guess I don't find that perfect or omnipotent characters make for interesting reading.
Nevertheless Kait's inner dialog is generally pleasant to read, there were some amusing plot twists, and we saw nice progress in the romantic subplot. Definitely worth trying if you liked Diplomacy of Wolves well enough.
May 23, 2022
Originally I gave this book a 2/5 rating, calling it boring and lacking something. After re-reading it, the rating went up. There is really nothing too wrong with it, except that it is the middle part of a trilogy: it lacks the introduction to the world the first book offers, and the conclusion the last part will provide to the story. It feels a bit disjointed at times, perhaps due to the short length of the chapters, and even though the book is not much longer than the first one, it is still divided into three sections.
The cliffhanger from the first book is quickly solved, and the MacGuffin keeps most of the characters busy throughout most of this entry. Danya's POV chapters are probably both the strongest and the weakest parts; they offer both interesting character growth but, at the same time, she has really nothing to do but wait for the last book.
I originally also criticised the ending, and that still holds true. It is like the author decided to end the book at a random place in order to turn this series into a trilogy, meaning this second part in the trilogy definitely fails as a stand-alone book.
The cliffhanger from the first book is quickly solved, and the MacGuffin keeps most of the characters busy throughout most of this entry. Danya's POV chapters are probably both the strongest and the weakest parts; they offer both interesting character growth but, at the same time, she has really nothing to do but wait for the last book.
I originally also criticised the ending, and that still holds true. It is like the author decided to end the book at a random place in order to turn this series into a trilogy, meaning this second part in the trilogy definitely fails as a stand-alone book.
May 24, 2016
This books continues to follow Kait and Rye as they attempt to stop the Dragons from changing their world, becoming immortal and enslaving or destroying the souls of everyone in the known world, with their first task being recovering the mirror of souls.
I had problems getting into this book, to an even greater extent than the previous novel. I'm not sure if it was the jumping between perspectives or the plot itself, but I was bored regularly despite the relentless action. I continue to enjoy the characters and do appreciate that there is nuance to many of the characters. Something about the plot wasn't working for me and I'm having difficulty putting my finger on it. Again there is a cliff hanger at the end and I am getting into the last novel right away as an antidote. I'm hopeful that this last novel will redeem the series.
I had problems getting into this book, to an even greater extent than the previous novel. I'm not sure if it was the jumping between perspectives or the plot itself, but I was bored regularly despite the relentless action. I continue to enjoy the characters and do appreciate that there is nuance to many of the characters. Something about the plot wasn't working for me and I'm having difficulty putting my finger on it. Again there is a cliff hanger at the end and I am getting into the last novel right away as an antidote. I'm hopeful that this last novel will redeem the series.
July 15, 2013
As a new mother, I was horrified when one of the characters was tricked into killing her own child. I put the book down and did not pick it back up again. Other than that, it was OK.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2023
It’s good. Fun. Not life changing* or amazing, but a good time.
I cared about the characters, despite all the tiresome romantic drama. They’re not very deep but they are sympathetic. And Hasmal is great. He’s supposedly a middling mage and a bit of a coward, but he’s honestly just a solidly competent guy, not bogged down by silly drama. I love me a Just A Guy character.
The book divisions of this series are strange; the story is comprised of arcs, but the books aren’t divided by the arcs, they’ cut in the middle of them. Maybe that contributes to the minor drag in pacing, maybe not.
* Not life changing unless you are me. Because this book has haunted me for so many years. I read it as a kid and somehow only absorbed Danya’s sixish scenes. When I got older, I realized how weird her plot is (as the mother of fantasy Jesus), especially without context. But I didn’t remember enough to find it again, so it just haunted me. May I never forget such a strange book again.
I cared about the characters, despite all the tiresome romantic drama. They’re not very deep but they are sympathetic. And Hasmal is great. He’s supposedly a middling mage and a bit of a coward, but he’s honestly just a solidly competent guy, not bogged down by silly drama. I love me a Just A Guy character.
The book divisions of this series are strange; the story is comprised of arcs, but the books aren’t divided by the arcs, they’ cut in the middle of them. Maybe that contributes to the minor drag in pacing, maybe not.
* Not life changing unless you are me. Because this book has haunted me for so many years. I read it as a kid and somehow only absorbed Danya’s sixish scenes. When I got older, I realized how weird her plot is (as the mother of fantasy Jesus), especially without context. But I didn’t remember enough to find it again, so it just haunted me. May I never forget such a strange book again.
May 1, 2020
Definitely the romance is a sub plot in this series. A little bit more passion wouldn't hurt anyone, ya know?
Still, the story continues. I did find this sequel to be bit dragging in places. And I'll be honest, it's because I am looking for the romance (that's the part that keeps me going). It was too little too far apart for my tastes.
All told this series will check it at nearly 1400 pages, so it definitely feels epic. I am reading an e-book that is all three books in one. I highly recommend that route, so you can easily jump from the cliffhanger ending to the next book.
Still, the story continues. I did find this sequel to be bit dragging in places. And I'll be honest, it's because I am looking for the romance (that's the part that keeps me going). It was too little too far apart for my tastes.
All told this series will check it at nearly 1400 pages, so it definitely feels epic. I am reading an e-book that is all three books in one. I highly recommend that route, so you can easily jump from the cliffhanger ending to the next book.
Read
May 21, 2021DNF about 9 chapters in. After the first book I hoped Kait was going to send Ry packing, when he finally caught up with her. But it seems clear from the beginning of this one that the fated mates thing is not being subverted as I hoped. I checked out a few spoiler reviews to make sure, but yeah I'm bailing on the series. I'm allergic to fated mates. (To cut the author some slack, they probably weren't a cliche yet back when she wrote this.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2017
3.5
This installment of the series had an interesting twist that I did not see coming. (I always love it when that happens.) The world building is still entertaining and bold in scope. The character development is not stellar, but there's a lot of action to keep you from missing it.
Overall, solid and interesting.
This installment of the series had an interesting twist that I did not see coming. (I always love it when that happens.) The world building is still entertaining and bold in scope. The character development is not stellar, but there's a lot of action to keep you from missing it.
Overall, solid and interesting.
December 19, 2018
This book is generally consistent with the first in the series though it drags a bit and purposefully ends not like a typical book but in a place that leaves you with no option other than to buy / read the next in the series if you want to know what happens.
If you read the first book in the series this is a worthy, but slightly poorer sequel.
If you read the first book in the series this is a worthy, but slightly poorer sequel.
March 11, 2019
This is a fine 2nd book in the set. Takes the story and runs with it. Good characters, twists and turns. Good pace. Real cliff-hanger ending, though, so be ready to move right on to book 3.
February 20, 2024
Am enjoying this trilogy a lot. An oldie but a goodie.
January 2, 2013
Originally published on my blog here in October 2001.
Lisle manages to avoid the main pitfall common to mid-trilogy fantasy novels in the second of her Secret Texts series. Instead of being just a continuation of the first novel in which nothing new or surprising happens, there are interesting developments in the plot and we learn a great deal about her world and the various systems of magic which give the titles of the three novels (as practised by those nicknamed wolves, dragons, and falcons).
The story continues to revolve around the Mirror of Souls, key to releasing the souls of the dragons from the Veil (limbo) where they have been imprisoned for thousands of years since the Magicians' Wars. By deceiving living people, they manoeuvre the Mirror to the centre of the city of Calimekka, where it can restore them to bodies from which the rightful souls have been banished.
The major characters that we are meant to sympathise with, Kait Galweigh in particular, are very well drawn, their opponents somewhat less so. The background is unusual and interesting, and I look forward to reading the conclusion of this excellent trilogy.
Lisle manages to avoid the main pitfall common to mid-trilogy fantasy novels in the second of her Secret Texts series. Instead of being just a continuation of the first novel in which nothing new or surprising happens, there are interesting developments in the plot and we learn a great deal about her world and the various systems of magic which give the titles of the three novels (as practised by those nicknamed wolves, dragons, and falcons).
The story continues to revolve around the Mirror of Souls, key to releasing the souls of the dragons from the Veil (limbo) where they have been imprisoned for thousands of years since the Magicians' Wars. By deceiving living people, they manoeuvre the Mirror to the centre of the city of Calimekka, where it can restore them to bodies from which the rightful souls have been banished.
The major characters that we are meant to sympathise with, Kait Galweigh in particular, are very well drawn, their opponents somewhat less so. The background is unusual and interesting, and I look forward to reading the conclusion of this excellent trilogy.
October 22, 2021
After reading the first book I eagerly anticipated the second book. I mean, there are quests, dragons, magic and good fighting evil. This one didn't pack as much punch for me as the first book. It feels like the author changed direction for me. I did read this back when I was mostly focusing on Sci-fi Fantasy books. I do love Ms. Lisle's books. This series was one of the last I read of hers because her writing changed. And I think she stopped right as much fiction. They were more books on how to help other authors write. I digress.
As a middle book, this book is a bit slower than expected. Sets up for the final book.
As a middle book, this book is a bit slower than expected. Sets up for the final book.
October 21, 2011
The second book of the Secret texts takes deeper into the preparations of war. The dragons have escaped, and the prophecy, the secret texts have faltered, and with this the falcons are driven to hoplessness and despair. With each chapter in this book we are taken to a different character and to which part of the coming war they must play, but with the power of oncoming evil stronger than hope, greed, wealth, and fear of death leave us the readers, never too sure on what each characters true intentions are, and whether they have chosen the path of light or darkness. You think the war is near over. The war hasn't even started.
January 7, 2014
Wow! This sequel was much better than the first book, Diplomacy of Wolves- unexpectedly so! I really enjoyed learning more about the world of Matrin and its fantastic inhabitants. Some of the events in this book were quite shocking - and none of them were expected! A thrilling adventure, with another cliffhanger of an ending - which makes me very glad that I have the next book all set to be read! I can't wait to see how this series concludes!
January 13, 2011
This suffered in comparison to NK Jemisin's The Broken Kingdoms The series has rather too much magic for my taste, and the characterisation and plot are weak, but I imagine it is fairly adequate, standard fantasy.
January 25, 2008
Second in the series
a must-read for fantasy lovers
a must-read for fantasy lovers
May 13, 2009
Sequel
September 17, 2012
Wow - 4-1/2 stars - better than the first book. I find myself really enjoying this trilogy....
January 28, 2011
Review to be added later.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews