Brûlesables

The Draconis Memoria #0.5

by Anthony Ryan

Une histoire courte se situant dans l'univers de Dragon Blood.

Dans cette histoire préquelle au Sang du Dragon, Ethelynne Drystone, Sang-bénie nouvellement diplômé accompagne la compagnie indépendante des Brûlesables sur une mission dangereuse dans l'arrière pays arradsien, afin de trouver la tanière du légendaire drac-Argent.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Short Stories, Fiction, Steampunk, Epic Fantasy, Ebooks

29 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Anthony Ryan was born in Scotland in 1970 but spent much of his adult life living and working in London. After a long career in the British Civil Service he took up writing full time after the success of his first novel Blood Song, Book One of the Raven’s Shadow trilogy. He has a degree in history, and his interests include art, science and the unending quest for the perfect pint of real ale.

For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: http://anthonystuff.wordpress.com

Reviews

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though it doesn't provide any new important info besides The Waking Fire, it was an enjoyable read, a little piece of the past. I recommend to be read after the first book in the series, as The Waking Fire provides a better understanding of the world and its workings.

[Marcos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story, mixing action and some context for Ryan's new series. Enough to wet my appetite.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me want to read the series...

[Ceki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandrunners is a short, 30-pages long story that is also part of Legends 2: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell anthology.

It follows Ethelynne Drystone, a young and promising blood-blessed that some of us have already met in Waking Fire, and her quest for the mysterious White Drake.

Even though it is a prequel, I would rather call it a companion that would go well with the first book because it is very short and we are not really told anything new. There are no exciting new details or twists because let's be honest - it is only 27 pages long, to be precise.

Having that in mind I wouldn't really recommend it to those who haven't read Waking Fire but rather to those who have and really enjoyed it.

P.S. The cover by Aaron Randall is really amazing, I wish the story was longer though.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about the famous witler expedition.

[Mozart Benedict · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the world within 30 pages. Good presentation of the story as well.

Blue for the mind. Green for the body. Red for the fire. Black for the push... And, white for.......... Madness.

[Bram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after reading The Waking Fire, even though it's a prequel, and I think that's the preferred order. This short story is the full account of what happened on the Sands years prior to the events that took place in The Waking Fire. It is in fact, the driving element for most of its sequel.

Coming in at only 27 pages, this was a very short short, but I still enjoyed it. It was most interesting to get the full account of what transpired, to fill in the gaps that are left open in The Waking Fire.

The writing was good, the pace frantic, and the world building, slim as it is, is interesting.

[Robin Lafond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seems like it is more of a companion-read to The Waking Fire rather than a prequel. It's kindof the live embodiment of historical lore for the Draconis Memoria world. I feel like if you read this before beginning The Waking Fire it wouldn't be as engaging as it could be, should be, is!
It's about the initial search for White dragon blood, and the trail with hardened hunters who regularly go on runs hunting dragons, on a long expedition to explore the dangerous wilds and claim the fame and riches rewarded by the ultimate discovery.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story follows Ethelynne Drystone as she hunts for a fabled white dragon.

The story was okay, I read it before I read The Waking Fire (book one) so I was a little confused. The format of the story didn’t help the confusion either as it kept jumping from the present to the past via Etheylnne memories.

There was a fair amount of action but it felt very choppy, however that was due to the format of the story. Etheylnne would be in the middle of a fight being shot at, then the story would backpedal to some random uneventful day in the desert. As such the action and plot left a lot to be desired.

The characterization wasn’t great but that’s due to the size of the story more than anything. Hard to have thorough personalities in 27 pages.

Overall this was an okay story. Probably better for fans of the series after reading book one.

[Joana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stumbled upon it while checking out other books by Anthony Ryan and decided to give it a go since it was the only one immediately available at my e-library. Reading the other reviews now, I realise it is probably more engaging after having been introduced to the world.
I have to admit though, that I feel less tempted to read Ryan than before. The world didn't draw me in yet, even though I liked guessing about the catch of it and slowly building my own ideas. The writing jumps back and forth between memories and the present time and by that builds up nicely on this short story. Still, for a short story I would expect some sort of a twist. Maybe I should've checked out the comments here first to know what to expect.

[Thomas Lambrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omdat ik me had voorgenomen de reeks Draconis Memoria opnieuw ter hand te nemen - het eerste deel las ik enkele jaren terug - vond ik het gepast te beginnen met deze proloog (waarvan ik toen nog niet op de hoogte was).

Letterlijk een kort verhaal, 34 pagina's. Bracht me terug naar het eerste deel, met andere woorden het was een goede opfrisser, een 'primer' om me klaar te maken om me in die wereld te storten en me met volle overgave te laten meevoeren op het prachtige proza dat meesterlijk gesponnen wordt door Anthony Ryan. Het verhaal schept een glimps op de zoektocht naar de Witte draak, het hoofdthema van het eerste deel als ik me niet vergis....

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

06/18/2020 Notes:

Note to Readers:

I recommend reading The Waking Fire first and coming back to read this short story. This is a good story but it's much more satisfying to read after having read the first book of the trilogy.


Blue for the mind.
Green for the body.
Red for the fire.
Black for the push.
White for the madness.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super short but acceptable for the price. The pacing and structure are fine.

I have some trouble recommending it partly because it explicitly says non-Blessed are fine to drink diluted Red drake blood, which seems weird against the other books (which make clear Green is ok but maybe not the other colors??? - and then there's the fact that book 1 and this one established White marrow gives visions even to normal humans...), and partly because it doesn't at all explain why Ethylenne thought it would be a good idea to hatch the White, or why she simply abandoned it.

[Cory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sand sprint

3.5/5

Anthony Ryan--excellent world builder who can create suspense like few others. Anthony Ryan--who then just....loses interest & lets a potentially excellent series trend toward mediocre. This was a great appetizer to the Draconis Memoria Series, which, in typical Anthony Ryan fashion, started out very strong & fizzled a bit for me. But this was fast-paced & provided some good, if short, context to the following series.

[Nirkatze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice insight into what happened on the Wittler expedition 20 something years ago.

Clears up a few questions that weren't quite made clear by the first book.

I'd probably recommend reading after book 1--I think it would be a little hard to follow without the setup for the world.

[Henry Keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Really liking your new series. The world building, the characters brought to life on each page. Stay true to what you started and it will be magnificent :)

[Soursock · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting to see this account of ethy

[C Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adds little that was not covered in the first main book of the series, but I love the setting enough to forgive that. A worthwhile read while I wait for book 3.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro book into the history of the Sandrunners and the white dragon.

[Patti Bauwens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a taste of what to come. I'm hooked already

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - good short on Ethy's first mission as a blood-blessed with a contractor company - Finding the white

[Nyssy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice explanation 🧐

[Couragyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but doesn't add anything new to the series

[Faisal Khatri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice one. But still it's a short story, so many questions are on the ground right now. So, I have started reading the first book in the series 'The Waking Fire'. Let see.

[Alan Behan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandrunners...🖤

Nice little short story from Wittler's expedition into the red sands to find the legend of the white Drake, if you loved the series, then you'll love this...😊

[Irene ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb storytelling. Ryan's Blood-blessed are a creative twist of Sanderson's Mistborn, and I'm left wanting more.

[Dainis Mazkaļķis]

3.5/5

Not a bad intro - some traditional fantasy stuff mixed with potion magic

[l u b o · Rating 3 out of 5]

Príjemný úvod do série 😌

[tammy (eskel's version)]

i didn't know this existed??? thanks zlibrary

[James H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, quick read! Definitely peaked my interest! I'll be checking out his other stories soon!

I love/hate short stories. I personally feel like if you read them after reading full length novels I enjoy them more (and rate them higher!). I'm immersed into that world better. Yet, at the same time, a short story, is a perfect expose into a brand new world, but it is limited to a small number and caste of characters and pages.