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Bazil Broketail #4
Battledragon
THE LEGENDARY PROPHET
has been drawn back from the dead by a spell of unspeakable power. And with the Prophet's return, the Master of Darkness prepares to launch a devastating new attack against the Empire of the Rose - a war fueled by the most evil of sorceries and by a new magic-cast weapon which, could wipe out legions of men and battledragons alike.
The Empire has no choice but to take the fight to the enemy before the Master can build, hi forces, to an undefeatable strength. Now Bazil the battledragon and his dragonboy Relkin set sail with their fleet. But are they embarking on a bold campaign of conquest - or a journey from which none of them will ever return?
has been drawn back from the dead by a spell of unspeakable power. And with the Prophet's return, the Master of Darkness prepares to launch a devastating new attack against the Empire of the Rose - a war fueled by the most evil of sorceries and by a new magic-cast weapon which, could wipe out legions of men and battledragons alike.
The Empire has no choice but to take the fight to the enemy before the Master can build, hi forces, to an undefeatable strength. Now Bazil the battledragon and his dragonboy Relkin set sail with their fleet. But are they embarking on a bold campaign of conquest - or a journey from which none of them will ever return?
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Rowley
53 books95 followersChristopher 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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 31, 2025
Another book, anther adventure for Baz and Relkin. I mentioned in my review of the last installment that the series has become a bit formulaic at this point (although the next seems to be a welcome break) but still quite enjoyable. Up to now, the action has been largely around Argonath colonies, moving down south in one tale to the Ourdh empire, and also West to the lair of the Masters. Well, Rowley decided to take us way south this time to another land entirely, one akin to the heart of darkness. While no Conrad, we do get an expeditionary force deep upriver akin to the Congo. It seems one of the Masters has been busy with some tribe deep in the heart of the continent.
Rowley continues the pattern of starting with assorted 'asides', fleshing out the characters of Bazil and Relkin before the big adventure takes place. Filler? I still liked it here, with Bazil's escapades to provide a fish that even the 'real' dragon would like. It seems the flying dragons do not like fish while Bazil and his kin arose on the shores of the seas, living an amphibian lifestyle and eating lots of fish. We also have a new Dragon captain for the Fighting 109; a bit of an asshole, just like some of the other officers Rowley bequeathed upon the poor 109...
These installments make for quick, escapist fun. Some decent ponderings on matriarchy versus patriarchy (only the witches empire is ruled by women). Still, nothing very serious and when the action gets going, it really does. 4 dark stars.
Rowley continues the pattern of starting with assorted 'asides', fleshing out the characters of Bazil and Relkin before the big adventure takes place. Filler? I still liked it here, with Bazil's escapades to provide a fish that even the 'real' dragon would like. It seems the flying dragons do not like fish while Bazil and his kin arose on the shores of the seas, living an amphibian lifestyle and eating lots of fish. We also have a new Dragon captain for the Fighting 109; a bit of an asshole, just like some of the other officers Rowley bequeathed upon the poor 109...
These installments make for quick, escapist fun. Some decent ponderings on matriarchy versus patriarchy (only the witches empire is ruled by women). Still, nothing very serious and when the action gets going, it really does. 4 dark stars.
August 2, 2017
After a disappointment, my usual method of holding of this emotion is try to read anything that has devils, demons, any pantheon of gods/goddeses or dragons, again I find myself opening another Christopher Rowley or Bazil Broketail and Relquin(I find putting in the dragonboy is a much better description, since most of time we are treated to Relquin's point of view, hardly any of Baz's), and suffice to say, it paid off, not only was I able to battle and win against that particular emotion but the reading of this book, made me EXCITED again to battle it out!!!
Dragon's of War for me was a bit of a turn off, going against the might of the great enemy the whole affair pales in comparison to Battledragon, from the beginning we are already shown what will happen to this particular book, a pity I thought "HE WHO MUST", was going to be a fine villain, and yet the real villain turned out to be much better in comparison, this is one of the strength of Mr. Rowley, from the beginning you already know who the opponent is and yet the topsy turvy way of reaching the end of the story comes as a surprise always.....Again a good read this one, nothing to say but book five here I come!!!
Dragon's of War for me was a bit of a turn off, going against the might of the great enemy the whole affair pales in comparison to Battledragon, from the beginning we are already shown what will happen to this particular book, a pity I thought "HE WHO MUST", was going to be a fine villain, and yet the real villain turned out to be much better in comparison, this is one of the strength of Mr. Rowley, from the beginning you already know who the opponent is and yet the topsy turvy way of reaching the end of the story comes as a surprise always.....Again a good read this one, nothing to say but book five here I come!!!
December 8, 2023
Battledragon was better than I expected. There was always promise in the Basil series, but I felt like the author really took a step forward in this one. There is a lot of emotion and inner turmoil throughout all the parties involved, and adventure throughout the book. It keeps a steady pace, at times feeling almost like a Louis and Clark journal. It does suffer from a few underdeveloped events, as well as a villain (he who must) that was underutilized, but overall I found it exciting and it pulled me in. The end battle was surprisingly good and had a couple unexpected developments, and it convinced me to carry on with the series until the end.
October 8, 2017
It's always fun when you go from reading the first book in a series to the fourth one. Thankfully, the Bazil Broketail series is a rather forgiving one, so I was able to sate my hunger for a good fantasy novel by diving straight into this one.
The novel follows Relkin and Bazil as their regiment is shipped off to a south western continent to stop an emerging evil who wields dangerous technology. The majority of the novel follows their travels across the sea and through the unknown continent to the battle site, almost like a travelogue in a way. Like every good travel story, the heroes are confronted with a variety of villains and obstacles that seek to obstruct them.
There are two parts of the novel I really liked. The first is how the beginning and ending of the book deal with temptation - The second part that I liked that sent me laughing was I will say one element of the novel that had mixed results was the shifting of the point of view chapters. It was enlightening to see what was going on with the chain of command with the good guys, but with the villains,
Overall, I enjoyed this installment in the Bazil Broketail series, and I should definitely go read books 2 and 3 to fill in the gaps now.
The novel follows Relkin and Bazil as their regiment is shipped off to a south western continent to stop an emerging evil who wields dangerous technology. The majority of the novel follows their travels across the sea and through the unknown continent to the battle site, almost like a travelogue in a way. Like every good travel story, the heroes are confronted with a variety of villains and obstacles that seek to obstruct them.
There are two parts of the novel I really liked. The first is how the beginning and ending of the book deal with temptation - The second part that I liked that sent me laughing was I will say one element of the novel that had mixed results was the shifting of the point of view chapters. It was enlightening to see what was going on with the chain of command with the good guys, but with the villains,
Overall, I enjoyed this installment in the Bazil Broketail series, and I should definitely go read books 2 and 3 to fill in the gaps now.
August 3, 2022
Whereas most of the books tend to have time lapses between when one ends and the other start, this one and Book #5 are basically 1 giant book. Whereas most of the other books takes place on Argonath, this one takes you to the continent of Eigo which is extremely different in a variety of ways to the more civilized Argonath.
This entry spent a lot more time on the interactions and overall behavior of the battledragons and provides some much needed backstory to their origins. The dragons of the 109th as usual provide colorful and funny banter, the Purple Green in particular. The combat is well written again, putting you right into the heart of every fight. A really great book and when it ends you dive right into book 5 so you don't feel like you miss a beat.
This entry spent a lot more time on the interactions and overall behavior of the battledragons and provides some much needed backstory to their origins. The dragons of the 109th as usual provide colorful and funny banter, the Purple Green in particular. The combat is well written again, putting you right into the heart of every fight. A really great book and when it ends you dive right into book 5 so you don't feel like you miss a beat.
July 3, 2018
The best one so far (personal order of book greatness: 4, 1, 3, 2)!! This episode of the series has a great global look at Bazil and Relkin's world, bringing together most of the "good" civilizations to fight the ever present and looming evil civilization.
The plot does not drag with long, boring city occupations, instead serving up interesting character developments, some fun "side quest" story-lines, a few brutal legion battles, and dinosaurs! Even better, we get some very personal and introspective looks at the leader of the looming evil, who has often mostly remained shrouded in whispers and mystery.
Definitely an enjoyable chunk of story to keep one going through a lengthy series!
The plot does not drag with long, boring city occupations, instead serving up interesting character developments, some fun "side quest" story-lines, a few brutal legion battles, and dinosaurs! Even better, we get some very personal and introspective looks at the leader of the looming evil, who has often mostly remained shrouded in whispers and mystery.
Definitely an enjoyable chunk of story to keep one going through a lengthy series!
July 24, 2022
Series has been a lucky find for me. I am really enjoying it. I was worried that the series might start dragging a little, but this one was full of action and excitement. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It got me raring for the 5th and fearing the end of the series.
May 21, 2023
A great adventure story! I love this concept of dragons being incorporated into a Roman-style military apparatus. Mix in magic, dinosaurs, and a heroic baby elephant and in my view it is a winning formula.
May 17, 2015
This isn't my favorite Broketail book, but Rowley continues to keep the story interesting and move the characters along. look forward to the next book in the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews