A Sword for a Dragon

Bazil Broketail #2

by Christopher Rowley

THE 109TH DRAGONS
The most loyal bunch of dragon warriors and human attendants ever to march on campaign had just been reformed when Bazil Broketail and his human boy, Relkin, returned from a fruitless search for Bazil's beloved green dragoness. Eager for action against the evil enemy forces, the dragon and his boy were delighted to discover that during their absence a new sword had been crafted for Bazil by the elves, a sword even more powerful than the one he'd previously lost. So armed, how could they possibly fail to defeat all the foes who awaited them?
But there was one danger neither Bazil nor Relkin could possibly anticipate - the forces of the Goddess of Death had marked them both as her chosen victims for capture and sacrifice...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dragons, Magic, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1993

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]

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why this series seems to have flown under the radar for fantasy readers, but I am really enjoying it. Maybe the incredibly cheesy cover art that really has nothing to do with the story? In any case, the second installment takes Bazil and his 'boy' Relkin on another adventure as they, along with two legions, head south to fortify the Empire of Ourdh. Ourdh reminded me of ancient Egypt and Samaria; the empire resides along a long, fertile river basin and has existed for 1000s of years. Some of the Ourdh cities contain populations of over 1 million, which dwarf the fledgling colonies of Argonath. yet, Argonath possesses the best military force, with well trained legions and of course, dragons to augment their power.

Ourdh, a 'classic' patriarchy populated largely by slaves and serfs, has never really worked well with Cunfshon, with its matriarchal society and leadership of the 'witches'. Nonetheless, the witches sense a great evil emerging down there and hence are willing to send military aid. Unfortunately, Ourdh possesses a weak emperor and the politics are a mess. While populous, the Imperial armies are basically undisciplined serfs with swords.

I did the politics involved in the world building and also the dragons. The laconic dragons, at least of Argonath, serve as battledragons, raised (largely) by villages and appointed orphan boys to work with. The dragon boys tend to their dragons and they work as team. In battle, the dragons take to the fore with the boys looking after them from behind, protecting their legs and such. The dragons have a complicated relationship with their boys! Rather than fonts of wisdom, the dragons seem like regular folk, albeit with a taste for beer. Looking forward to see where Rowley takes this next. 4 strong stars!!

[Stephen Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's be a real - with a book with a cover like this and a title of "A Sword for a Dragon", you know exactly what you are getting into. This book is the second book in the Bazil Broketail series, and follows the continued adventures of Baz and Relkin as they travel to Ourdh to assist stamping out a rebellion. That adventure quickly mixes the two up with old and new allies against a resurgence of dark forces who are literally murdering everybody.

I can't say this is a super literary book or does anything ground breaking. The good guys are good, the bad guys have literally no redemptive qualities to them. There are a few characters caught in the middle, namely namely Glave, but most characters end up being one dimensional without much chance of development. But this book isn't about that, it's about a tale of good versus evil. And the ending battle scene was completely worth the journey soon.

I will say, at one point, I believe they compare something in size to a tennis ball, which made me wonder if they had tennis in this fantasy world. That was strange. Overall though, this is a fun, entertaining, quick book that doesn't have crazy depth to it, but that doesn't detract from the novel at all.

[Ethan Nahté · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the story of Relkin and Bazil, along with a few other characters that make up the military and the witch world, A Sword for a Dragon finds the pair a part of the 109th. The world is in danger from a cult and a very powerful demon they worship as a god.

The story isn't bad, and it can be difficult to write or read a fantasy tale such as this and not make comparisons to Tolkien. The second book of the series borrows a lot of elements from The Lord of the Rings. Rowley doesn't necessarily rip off Tolkien, and the very elements he echoes may be what some readers will love about this book.

The biggest turn-off may be the mighty young hero. Relkin has wits and survival skills. He's lauded for his bravery and derring-do. With the exception of the vague description of who is killed when many of the dragonboys fire bows, Relkin seems to be placed (subconsciously, perhaps) as to being so good that when he's one-on-one with most of the enemy, he disables them, even though the enemy vastly outnumber the army he belongs to. Disabling men who are trying to kill you in battle or sacrifice you and those closest to you to a demon calls for death. Otherwise, they just come to and sound the alarm or you or your cohorts have to battle them again down the line. The book doesn't necessarily have to be graphic, and it could even show Relkin having some remorse for what he must do, but revealing the character to be so merciful to such an evil horde is a bit annoying.

[I.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relkin and Bazil join a new legion and march off to battle in a distant land sort of like Arabia. There’s a big siege and a battle with a giant demon snake thing that a cult thinks is their snake god.
Overall this book was fine. Nothing amazing, but the characters are strong enough to carry the wafer thin story of a siege. The real problem is that Relkin, Bazil, and or Lagdalen are captured and rescued multiple times each. It’s too repetitive. You also get no sense of the overall evil or what it’s plans are. The world building is parcelled out in a need to know basis, which can work, but here you’re sort of left wondering just what the big picture is. There are 5 more in the series so there’s still lots of time to learn.
Overall a decent series but this book wasn’t as strong as the previous one. Oh well, on to book 3.

[Jb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. And yes the cover art is terrible but that is just an unfortunate consequence for most of the books in this series.

The content is great with well written battles. The dragon banter is always good, and you begin to see the growth in Relkin as his journey between this book and the last begin to shape him.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda slow. So much talk about the city. Always the city... Good at the end, when the interesting characters/creatures get attention. Set up for book three? That damn city.

[VirgoRat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Action never stops. As good or better than the first. Excited for the next in series.

[Nerva Maximus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though there were more than a few continuity mistakes I still enjoyed it and the overall story was still good. Although I would say that I could have done with less hair pulling and woe is me from a few of the lesser characters. But all ends well that starts well and the ending made up for many of the woops that were encountered along the way. So it still get three stars from me and a recommendation to those looking for a fun battle filled book.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost nonstop action. I loved it.

[Georgene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragons fight along side of humans in a battle against evil doers. A interesting premise in a book that held my interest. Part of a series, it seems, but reads well as a stand-alone book.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy, fun read. It's written pretty simply so if you want great drama, it's not here.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting, thrilling, a page turner, and a book i would not recommend for little kids