Bazil Broketail

Bazil Broketail #1

by Christopher Rowley

The city of Marneri gives no thanks for the century-old protection of the Great Spell this year. Dark Masters of Padmasa want to end all freedom and color in the world and kidnap Princess Besita. If village dragon Bazil Broketail and his Orphanboy Relkin cannot prove their lighting mettle in an arena of honor, can they rescue Besita from Doom's fortress?

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Young Adult, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy

476 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Christopher Rowley is a prolific writer of both science fiction and fantasy novels. He was born in 1948 in Lynn, Massachusetts to an American mother and an English father. Educated for the most part at Brentwood School, Essex, England, he became a London-based journalist in the 1970s. In 1977 he moved to New York City and began work on The War For Eternity, his first science fiction novel. He currently lives in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Bazil!



Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Leif · Rating 5 out of 5]

    The fact that this is not a more well-known novel continues to irk me. I can only assume that the cover art killed the sales of this series. In fact, I often use these books as an example of the worst cover art that I have ever seen.
    Bazil Broketail is a fantasy novel written in a style that reminds me of military science fiction. Rowley has the ability to give just the right amount of detail so that the reader can understand exactly what is happening at any moment, even in a chaotic battle. The two main characters play off of each other very well and the dragons who, at first, seem stupider than the humans, end up being much more sensible, and bringing much to the table besides fighting strength.
    The magic system laid out here is wonderful and unique, focusing on sacrifices and movement between the planes of existence. The evil powers are mostly raiding The Argonath for women to breed imps and cows to breed trolls, and there is a certain creepy logic to their motivations. The witches who support our main characters are not hurling fireballs around, their magics are more subtle and most of them seem rather detached from the events of the world.
    I even love the fact that the princess that they try to save seems like such a twit that you wonder if they will be doing their people any favors by saving her.
    Anyway, read this series. It has not been in print for some time, and there is no audiobook version, but find a copy and read it, it is well worth it.

[Michael Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unquestionably one of my favorite fantasy series that deals with dragons. These dragons are not mythical creatures, nor are they simply pets or mounts. These dragons are unique individuals with quirks and personality. Striding around on their hind-legs wearing leather armor and swinging 10 foot dragonswords they are a vision of incarnate carnage on the battle field. Light and easy to read this book contains more than just an excellent adventure, it explores the depths of the human soul and it's capacity to find hope, no matter how overwhelming the odds or dire the circumstances.

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my friends recommended this book (and series) to me and I have to say I'm really shocked I didn't discover it back in the 90s when it first published. I was definitely reading fantasy then and it feels like this would have been a really popular series at the time.

Ah well, time to make up for that!

Bazil Broketail is a battle dragon. For those who are picky about dragon books not having enough dragons in them, fear not - we get plenty of Baz, as well as a few others! I loved how Baz talked, I loved how HE had a dragonboy....the boy did not have a dragon. In fact, the boy's responsibility was to basically protect the dragon in combat by guarding his flanks. It was a very different set up that I found refreshing. While I love when dragons have magic, these just were in the business of taking names and kicking tail.

I also loved a character named Lessis, a witch, or Grey Sister if you want to get technical. She reminded me very much of Robert Jordan's Aes Sedai, but I didn't mind. I thought she was compelling and would have been happy if this whole sucker had her as the main character.

The story was good and actually wrapped up really well, so even if you didn't love it enough to continue the series, this one stands alone quite well. It's a very fun series, but the villains could use a little work. I just didn't get that dread feeling whenever we came across the magician or "The Blunt Doom" (which, come on, that name really kinda ruins the dread as well, lol) From what I understand in chatting with a few others, this does change for the better as the series continues, so that's something to look forward to!

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty glorious slice of fantasy pulp by Rowley. While not exactly reinventing the wheel when it comes to fantasy tropes, Rowley definitely gave them some interesting twists. The story centers on Bazil Broketail, a war dragon, and his 'boy', young Relkin. The Isles of Confshon, lead by witches, established colonies on the mainland years ago, specifically to thwart the evil 'Masters' of Padmasa. The nine cities of the colonies all must raise armies to maintain their borders and Bazil and Relkin start the tale trying to enter the legions.

Many villages raise dragons, who, paired with orphan boys, try to join the legions; if they do, and serve their 10 years, the villages get tax free status. If they fail, the dragon and boy are doomed to work the farms. Boring! The war dragons, no longer winged like their wild brethren, still weigh a few tons, but walk upright. The dragons fight with massive swords as well; their purpose consists of battling the huge trolls and such the evil Masters sprinkle in their armies of imps. I will not go into the plot here, as that would spoil the fun, but I will say this quickly turns into a quest novel, with a grab bag of about 100 men and 6 dragons, led by an ancient witch, who seek to recover a princess kidnapped by an agent of the masters, and yeah, all kinds of trials and tribulations!

I put off reading this as I thought it would some young adult fantasy series, but happily (for me) it is not at all. Rowley has some very adult dialogue here and some harrowing scenes, filled with lots of action. It seems the imps are created by breeding slave women somehow, who each give birth to one per month until they give out or go insane. With thousands of slave women, the imp army grows apace. Obviously, some massive invasion of the colonies is planned, but the witches have a plan, along with lots of spies.

The dragons really are unique here; not all wise or powerful, but basically regular joes, who want to drink beer and eat good food. Lots of mysteries remain unsolved, however, and Rowley ran with this series for several more installments. While not all black and white, the good guys are good and the bad guys really bad. Rowley really hit his stride with this series! 4.5 toothy stars!!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series. Rowley has such talent at world building. Kills me that the books are so hard to find now. This was possibly one of the best fantasy series I've ever read... and I'm VERY picky when it comes to fantasy.

[Thomas Mcnulty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still one of my all time favorite books and series that I've read. As many have said, really surprised that this isn't more well known. Or the fact that it is so hard to find the books now. Real shame! If you get a copy, enjoy!

[Lauma Lapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd dearly like to shake the hand of the translator in whatever other language of this one. The language is..challenging.
And yes, Bazil Broketail is one of my all-time favourite dragons, together with Mnementh, Kant (from Dragonflight, the Dragon from Blue Moon Rising and Saphira (Eragon, and Robin Hobb creations.
This is a book about war and how ugly it gets, and a book of nuances of taste, colour and sound.
Highly enjoyable, especially when one is encumbered by less creative writing, such as student essays.

[Meryl]

Bazil Broketail is unquestionably the best book I have ever read.

Relkin of Quosh and his dragon Bazil are a hardworking, kind, and whiney duo. Relkin has been trying to get his hands on a dragon stamp so Bazil could join the army. Relkin had recently gotten one from his friend and tried joined the army. Later Relkin was informed that the stamp was actually a fake. Will Relkin give the authorities the slip and join the army and go on the wildest quest ever? Or will Relkin be caught and executed.

I enjoyed this book because of all the imagery and detail. I think the author was good at using the right words at the right time to make a good reading pace. Once I had read the first page I couldn’t stop reading.

[GaiusPrimus · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tremendous book! What an underwhelming cover.

If you are into medieval/fantasy with a twist, this book is for you. While dragons are a thing in this world, they are just another character with their own wants and quirks.

At the end of the day, it's a bit of a fun "coming of age" story, with the dragon being the major protagonist. Highly recommend this not so hidden gem, if you are into this sort of story.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bazil Broketail did not live up to my expectations. It exceeded them, over and over. I picked up this series expecting (based on the woefully inaccurate cover art) a fantastic farce: idiot dragons-as-mounts, foppish riders with ridiculous weapons, helpless princesses, and other such silliness. What I got were fully sentient dragon-soldiers (the best realized I've yet seen) and their human assistants, clear and detailed descriptions of sometimes fantastic locales, and a surprising variety of characters, many with significant depth. Ultimately, the real standout aspect of this book is the author's skill in writing battle scenes and in presenting the complexities of war.

Feminists will find things to love and hate in this book. There is a helpless princess in need of saving, and though this is what motivates the characters into action, it is only of secondary importance to the reader, who will find themselves much more interested in the fates of the rescuers. There's also some interesting tension between the men of several patriarchal cultures, and the matriarchal empire that rules over them. Interesting, but lacking in nuance and complexity. Also, be warned, parts of this book deal with some quite dark topics, and may not be suitable for the squeamish.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints, and yes, there is a strong female protagonist as well as a less-strong female protagonist, in addition to several male viewpoints (adult, teen, and dragon).

This book is probably only for high fantasy readers, but if that's your genre, it deserves your time and attention.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first books I remember buying with my own money. When I was in fifth grade I went on a school trip from the backwoods of North Idaho to Washington DC. My parents gave me what little spending money they could scrounge together to pick up a souvenir. Rather than following my classmates and spending it all on astronaut ice cream from the Air & Space Museum, I bought this book. It's been over a decade since I last read it, though, so I think it's time to see if it lives up to my memories.

[Pennyjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this on recomendation, and i have to admit, i was very very dubious. i'd never heard of it, the cover looked pretty cheezy and the premise sounded like some kind of militarised mrs frizby and the rats of nym (i had no idea what it was about going in)
but i couldnt have been more suprised. the two main leads have a great dynamic, the world-building and magic concepts are actually very well thought out and pretty original, and the adventurous tale itself had enough oomph to grip me and pull me along.
i'm glad i found this little gem

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good begining to a series of seven books. Subsequent books might not have been as good, but were still enjoyable. If you stick with this, and give it a chance, it doesn't disappoint.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read, 4.5 stars.

[Diggerdan Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall: 4.58/10
I get my overall score by rating five categories 1-10 and then take the average from those five categories.

Emotional Impact: 4.2/10
I really wanted to like this book… It has a great cover, the synopsis sounds great, but the execution made it fall flat. There were a decent amount of fight and action scenes throughout this book, but some of them felt redundant and towards the end felt less and less exciting. Also in the beginning, since this is the first book of seven, there was a lot of exposition dumping that really slowed down the pace. The most redeeming thing in this category is the relationship that Bazil the Battle Dragon has with his Dragon Boy Relkin. I genuinely felt stressed out with them when they got separated from each other in the middle of combat. Or when Bazil went on his heroics and chased enemies by himself. But there were too many times where there were stupid things that pulled me right out of the story. For example, in the second third of the book there are a number of battles between our hero’s small army of humans and Battle Dragons, and the evil forces and the good guys lose a bunch of units, but somehow always have enough to fight the evil forces back? Even though their numbers are dwindling and the evil forces are growing. Or just the entire magic system around Lessis. There were sometimes rules surrounding the magic, then in the next chapter Lessis would do something that would break the established rules?? So silly things like that really deflated my ability to enjoy this book as they killed my suspension of disbelief.

Characters: 5.3/10
Like I already mentioned, I loved Bazil and Relkin; they have a great relationship. Sometimes Bazil rips on Relkin for being a “stupid human boy” but in the next scene he snuggles up to Relkin because he knows the boy is cold, just showing that he does care for him. Lessis the witch is a crazy eccentric character, who normally I would like, but she was one of the main culprits of ruining my suspension of disbelief so when she was on the page I became weary and ended up just not liking it when she was in a scene. The princess (I forget her name) was a bad character. Her whole thing was that she was wooed by the evil sorcerer and basically became his concubine (to put it nicely) against her will but she convinced herself that she was enjoying everything done to her, idk every time she was on the page it just made me roll my eyes or made me uncomfortable. The evil sorcerer (again can’t remember his name) he was a bastard and I hated him, but he was the villain so I guess that means he was written properly eh?

Plot: 4.5/10
I didn’t care for the plot. It started off great by having Bazil and Relkin training to join the Dragoneers, special forces that contain Battle Dragons and their human companions. I like those types of stories where characters come into their own and train and realize the extent of their talents and abilities. But then this phase of the story is quickly over and they are thrust into the front lines patrolling the countryside when large forces of evil appear unexpectedly. All the while characters in a castle we never see again are politicking exposition dumping, who are the forces of evil, where did they come from, where do they currently reside, how can we defeat them, where did they take the princess? And of course it falls at the feet of Bazil and Relkin’s small squad to save the day. Which normally wouldn't be a negative (I love when characters overcome the odds) but they are working up incompetent officers who refuse to listen to their captain and Lessis the witch somehow catches up to them and starts ordering men around which causes more strife in the ranks, and the forces of evil they keep running into are shredding the good guys while also bolstering their own ranks… There are just too many things thrown in the story for inconveniences sake, that it makes the outcome of victory unbelievable.

Dialogue/Prose: 3/10
There were a lot of one liner quips that just didn’t land for me and made me roll my eyes in places. There were many instances after a battle where it says something along the lines of, “Bazil helped fend off the enemy forces leaving him with only a handful of companions.” Then in the next line say, “after a head count there were only 3 killed and 4 wounded past fighting form.” So it would grow unclear to me at times how “devastated” the forces of good really were. Almost like the author thought it was a good idea to try and have a running tally of numbers remaining for each force but lost count at some point and just guessed.

I just found the text contradicting itself at times as well. For example, early on when Bazil is training to become a legionnaire he is using a tail mace in a bout, then the next line (in the same fight mind you) it says something like, “Bazil parried the slash with his tail sword.” And this particular example happens maybe 4 or 5 times throughout the book.

World Building: 5.9/10
Aside from Bazil and Relkin’s relationship, world building is the only redeeming thing about the book in my opinion. There is a map, which is always appreciated. And the idea of battle dragons themselves is fun. Where they are flightless and don’t have wings or can breath fire as they’ve been “domesticated” by man, but can speak and fight with weapons and armor is fun. (Dragon purists don’t come at me, there are a couple of wild dragons that can fly and breath fire in here as well, they’re just “wild dragons”) The magic system starts interesting where mages have to memorizes words in specific orders and put the right amount of power in each word, showing the power and study it takes to do magic properly. But later it devolves into a waving of the hands and “something magic happens,” in other words breaking its own rules set for it.

I “Bury” this book, and don’t recommend you read it. But hey, there are 7 of these books so that means people enjoyed them at some point to keep selling and writing more right?

If you want to hear more of my thoughts, watch my video covering this book!
https://youtu.be/seaCN6nj9lg

Check out my YouTube Channel, where I review books! https://www.youtube.com/@DiggerdanReads

[Justin Covey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true hidden gem! Describing it on the surface makes it sound like any other vaguely-Tolkeinesque YA fantasy slop, just like describing The Goonies would make it sound like just another 80s kids movie. Whats missing from the description is the quality of those elements, where everything is a bit more elevated than you expect, and the way they go together just perfectly. And also the surprisingly dark side of what is otherwise a pretty lighthearted story (was this series big in Japan by chance?)
Overall, an absolute blast.

[Raptorix · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only ever really enjoyed this book for its portions about Bazil and his dragonboy, and his fellow Dragons in his squadron. I became very bored whenever the narrative went over the parts about the different warring factions plotting against each other. Bazil was more facinating to read about, obviously! I sadly only could manage to read 2 of the many books in this series, and I hoped that maybe another held more Bazil scenes than this one.

[Eh?Eh!]

a lender from a coworker who also had recommended Bridge of Birds

the tone is very pompous, really takes itself seriously, couldn't finish this (sorry G-Olla-gist!)

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoint on dragons. Too many place names and military buzzwords- can get confusing.

[Matthew Mummel · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book right to the end for those misfits in the world this book is for you.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read! Classic fantasy at its best!

[Jason Glasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just reread this oldie but goodie. High fantasy and adventure at it's best. (Nostalgia may play heavily into that opinion)

[Jb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Severely under-rated series--think Roman legions meets Lord of the Rings. The first book starts off a little slow as the author works to build up the world and relationship of the main characters but very soon it picks up in a big way. The combat is well written and puts you in the fray every single time, whether it's a single duel or a massive battle (of which there are a LOT). The dragonboys and dragons themselves offer witty and often funny dialogue which was enjoyable.

This is a long series to sink your teeth into which will take you all over the world of Ryetelth, each place offering something unique and different. Great character development all around--it's always a good sign when the author can make you hate someone at first and turn you sympathetic towards them as the story goes on.

Highly recommend this series about the ol' Marneri 109th!

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book given who recommended it to me and the reviews I read but while it had some good bits here and there it was overall too messy to keep me interested.
I don't feel that the shifting pov were executed well. it felt more as if the story had two writers who couldn't decide on who was the protagonist.
Also there were way too many plot necessary events going on off stage. That left me thinking more yhan once: "Hey tell me about this other stuff. That sounds way cooler than this thing."
I wonder if the story was first about the witch and then an editor insisted it should be about Jar-Jar... ehh sorry Bazil.
Sorry, but I'm going with 'meh'.

[Caleb M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 40%
2.5 ⭐ actual rating.

Can someone explain to me why so many people apparently love this book? Goodreads reviewers! You let me down on this one! I was so excited to try this book and see what so many people had said was a diamond in the rough!

Don't judge this book by its cover, they said. If it had a better cover it would have dome well and gone down as a classic, they said. Give me a break. This book is definitely not special. Lessis is probably the only character that I thought was interesting. She reminded be a bit of Jasna from Stormlight Archive. Everyone else though, from Relkin to Bazil were just....drab.

The story seemed to fast forward at times too. Like, I told you this part of the story and then instead of moving on at the pace it seems were going......boom, next chapter feels like it jumped over some things and here we are. It did this a couple times and it felt really jarring. You almost have to re-calibrate your brain to this new setting. And it was weird because it felt like you knew that's where the author was taking you anyway, but he just decided to skip details and just put you there.

I can't say I liked this book and I can't say I didn't like it (hence the 2.5⭐). One of those ones that floats between that line a little which made it hard whether to out it down or not. At the end of the day I decided I have to many other books to read and it's just not worth it.

[Latitude]

"The Padmasan agents, aiding the Sephite rebels, sacrifice hundreds of slaves by hanging them upside down and slitting their throats, letting their blood soak the ground below, which is then used to create mud men — giant earth golems to bolster the Sephite forces and provide them with a counter against dragons." from TVTropes, so I'm really excited about that

[David Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This met my expectations as a classic fantasy novel. I enjoyed some elements of this book, such as the relationship between Bazil and Relkin and the action scenes. But, I think the book lacked any meaningful characterization and the pacing was sometimes off. It was still an easy read, but I don't think it will stick with me.
(6.5/10)

[Bakertyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most older fantasy novels, in my experience, have the same fatal flaw... characters always do the "right" thing. I forget the name, but one novel I read years ago had this flaw. The main character was a teenage boy who never made a mistake and always managed to find the right course of action regardless of his life inexperience. This makes those books unbelievable and unrelatable. One reason I like this novel and the Brisingr series was the characters were allowed to be human and make mistakes, just like real people. A good read, and something I can see myself rereading in a few years. I found it at a used bookstore after looking for it after reading about it in Neil Gaiman's "View from the Cheap Seats".

[VirgoRat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Randomly picked this book up from a local bookstore shelf. Saw the cover, laughed, and thought, "yep, this is the one!" Quite the surprise for myself. I enjoyed it so much that I read the book in a week, then I ordered the entire series.