Customer Reviews

Adamantine Palace

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The world of the Palace is one filled with violence and tension. The land is split into huge swathes - the 'Sea of Salt' desert, the 'Sea of Storms' ocean and craggy mountains left, right and center. The people are equally violent and tense. A peculiar sort of armistice has been in place since the Dragons ruled the world - nine kings and queens glare at one another icily with an elected 'Speaker' binding them together.


The Dragons themselves are still flapping about merrily. Once they were terrifying menaces, now they are semi-domesticated beasts of burden for the upper classes. Drugged from birth by a secretive guild of Alchemists, the Dragons are the ultimate in currency - giant fanged status symbols for the privileged few.


. Unfortunately, in fantasy, it is easy for authors to see world building and character development as an either/or relationship - generally ignoring the need for character development in favor of nifty ideas (often with fangs and/or magic swords). In the unique case of The Adamantine Palace, we're spared detailed world-building (or, in fact, any detail at all) - but Deas also, unfortunately, skips out on the character development.

The ensemble cast (still very trendy - thank you, George RR Martin & The Wire), is simply paper-thin. There are a few recognizable stereotypes (the ugly daughter who likes Dragons more than other people is particularly painful) and a half-dozen utterly unformed concepts. The political arena swarms with amorphous characters with shifting, uninteresting motivations.

Does anyone actually have any sort of motivation? Certainly, everyone wants to be Speaker - but that seems to be an entirely meaningless goal as we never actually learn why it is important. People are chasing after a McGuffin because it makes the book progress, but they're not doing so in a way that rewards the reader for coming with them. There are plots within plots, but they seem to exist only as a means to a means - nothing actually develops to an understandable conclusion.

As far as the larger plot, The Adamantine Palace is a version of 'while the humans squabble, the Big Bad Cometh...'. While Prince Viper and the Queen Mother and Speaker Shaky all stab one another in the back (for no discernable reason), the Dragons are making a comeback. Just a single Dragon causes a bit of havoc in The Adamantine Palace - the sequel, invariably, will have armies of engorged, blood-drinking beasties. One can only hope that a hero arises in an unlikely place...

Also looming in the background, there's a group of derty ferrin tradesmen that swap sinister-over-technological-goods and back-alley-drugs with the sneakier nobles, trying to get their paws on a Dragon. That's undoubtedly going to end well.

In the author's favor, this is, without a doubt, the fast-paced book that the reviews say it is. It, in fact, travels at something of a breakneck pace. Stephen Deas' commitment to telling a good story is laudable - it is hard not to appreciate the many individual twists and turns, even if they seem to be for naught. Similarly praiseworthy is the aggressive abandonment of traditional world-building. A strong fantasy story should take place in an environment detailed by the characters and their actions. In this case, unfortunately, we only get the actions. Without understanding (or caring) more about the characters, it is impossible to understand how the pieces fit together - or what value they have.

It is ok to make the book purely about telling a good story -but it needs to be a good story to pull it off. The Adamantine Palace becomes too bogged down in the 'hows' and 'whats' to ever explain the 'whos' and the 'whys'.

I started The Adamantine Palace with high expectations, having read several positive reviews. For the most part I enjoyed it, but overall I was disappointed. The book was solid, but didn't blow me away. My biggest gripe was character development. For the most part the characters were a bit hollow. I think Deas painted himself into a corner somewhere between GRR Martin, with many well-developed characters, and a more traditional protagonist-centered novel. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters. The same goes for the dragons.

Overall, solid, enjoyable, but not really memorable.

This is the first book I've read by Stephen Deas, and it won't be the last.

Firstly, I have to say that I love dragons, so reading a book where dragons are the core of the realms, had me hooked pretty early on. The prologue of this very exciting book shocked me so much that it propelled me deeper into the story right away.

In a world where dragons exist and are bred and looked after by the Scales, and then ridden by dragon-knights, queens, kings, princes, and princesses, they are also used to do the bidding of these riders. No dragon is supposed to do anything on its own accord, not since the alchemists made sure of that by creating a potion. That is, until a white dragon called Snow - intended as a wedding present for Prince Jehal - goes missing and begins to awaken. After that, she's willing to do whatever it takes to find those responsible for keeping her kind under the 'Little Ones' control, as well as free other dragons along the way.

Every scene in this exhilarating book is heightened with tension. The suspense kept me guessing as each character's personal motivation started to shine through, only to be turned on its head as soon as I was sure where the story was going to take me. I loved the unpredictability of each character's next move.

I was enthralled from the first page and couldn't wait to reach what turned out to be a very exciting conclusion to a fantastic book. The world building was tight and amazing! The scenery described so flawlessly that I was swept away to these exotic locations.

The Adamantine Palace is a sharp, fast and well-written tale filled with an intriguing secret, treachery, betrayal, ambition, double crossing, and adventure. There are several POVs in this story - ranging from the wicked Prince Jehal, to the scheming Queen Shezira, to the aging Speaker Hyram, as well as the sell-sword Kemir, amongst others. And I found that the quick chapters and shifts in point of view kept me on my toes, and turning every page with interest.

This book will appeal to fantasy fans, dragon fans, as well as anyone who enjoys a very skillfully weaved story that takes you on a very twisted path that doesn't let up until the very last words. And even those last words are good ones.

I have mixed feelings regarding this book. While there are a lot of interesting concepts, and it's written well, I really didn't care about any of the characters. The book isn't too long, yet it took me awhile to read it, as it really wasn't a page turner. There are definitely interesting characters, but none of them are likable, even as villains. There also isn't too much of an arcing story, it's basically just a political power structure. Also, there are dragons. So, I'm really not sure if I want to read the sequel or not, maybe I'll give it a chance if I'm desperate to find something to read.

Dragons have become increasingly humanised in the last couple of decades. Their popularity in the speculative fiction genre certainly hasn't diminished (you only need to look at the popularity of Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels for evidence of that) but their primal ferocity has been gradually replaced with intelligence and docility. Which is fine as far as it goes, but this transition perhaps left some folk longing for dragons to return to their roots as the terrifying beasts of legend. Simon Spanton at Gollancz certainly felt this way, and more importantly he thought others did as well. Subsequently he commissioned unknown author Stephen Deas - on the back of a synopsis and a few sample chapters - to write a trilogy that placed dragons back in in their rightful place: the top of the food chain.

Spanton turned out to be right. The first novel in Deas's trilogy, The Adamantine Palace, apparently sold over 8000 copies in its first month of release.

Yet while this is a novel that unmistakably revels in the sheer destructive force of dragons, it is one where the story is actually largely driven by the human factor. To say the dragons are mere window-dressing would be wide of the mark, but The Adamantine Palace, at its heart, is a novel about human emotions and foibles - lust, greed and ambition chief among them. Make no mistake, the dragons play a prominent role, but this is essentially a tale of shady politics and political intrigue, where a number of factions jostle for the ultimate prize - the empire itself.

Chief among these competitors is Prince Jehal, a pleasingly cunning and sardonic individual, driven by his insatiable ambition. Jehal is easily the most engaging character, not just because of his witty personality but also because of his determination to attain his goals by means both foul and fair. He's both repulsive and riveting in equal measure - the sort of character it's hard not to cheer for, even though he's a lying, murdering bastard.

The rest of the cast lack Jehal's magnetism, though despite this there are some other engaging figures. Hyram is one, a man who is fighting both his failing health and the political machinations of the rivals that want his position. Zafir is another; a newly-crowned queen with an ambition and ruthlessness that matches Jehal's. In fact, the relationship between the two is particularly intriguing - it's enjoyable to consider whether their remarks and acts towards each other are genuine, or all part of yet another political game.

Some of the other characters could have done with a little more development and depth. The background of Sollos and Kemir could have done with more exploration to really clarify their motivations (and why the POV for their scenes switches from Sollos to Kemir halfway through the book, rather than just sticking with Kemir from the start, is a little bewildering). Queen Shazira doesn't come across quite as strongly as some of the other players and her relationships with her three daughters may have benefitted from some added tension or conflict, just to spice them up a little. Meteroa is another character that would have benefitted from more exposure, as he shows hints of being an interesting customer, though perhaps his time will come.

The strongest aspect of Deas's debut is the pacing (perhaps born from the speed at which he sketched out the basic framework for the trilogy, which allegedly took him only a single weekend). The chapters are pleasingly short, meaning that events unfold at a relentless speed that holds the reader's attention. Furthermore, the lean, brisk prose ensures the narrative doesn't get bogged down in the reams of detail that sometimes derails epic fantasy novels. At times it's easy to forget you're reading an epic fantasy, such is the direct approach that Deas takes. And this is a good thing - it's refreshing to see feasts and other typical events dealt with in the space of a paragraph. The focus is very much on the characters and the events, not on superfluous detail. The downside of this is arguably a lack of historical detail; a touch more depth to the world would have been welcome. Yet it should be said that there some very neat ideas here, particularly with regards to the methods that humans use to keep the dragons in check - and the consequences when these methods cannot be implemented.

Verdict: On the whole, The Adamantine Palace is a strong debut, mixing intriguing politicking with the brute force of dragons. Uneven characterisation is made up for with excellent pacing and deft plotting, and the result is an absorbing, satisfying read with plenty left in the locker for the future instalments (of which the second, The King of the Crags, was released last month). Dragons are back at the top of the food chain, in all their fire-breathing primal glory.

Dark dragons this way cometh.

Kings and Queens from the Dragon Realms are eligible every 10 years to become the unquestioned overseers of all the lands. The 10th year has come and many parties are vying for the seat of power whether it is through political machinations, coercive means, or down-right ruthlessness. And let us not forget the dragons who are more monstrous than nearly any other dragon you've read about before.

The Adamantine Palace is Stephen Deas's debut novel and what a rending and smoking debut it is at times. The first chapter sets a dark and compelling tone and never lightens from there with some of the meanest dragons and wicked characters found in Fantasy. If Christopher Paolini decided to go on a meth-fueled writing bender he probably still wouldn't come close to writing his dragons so devilishly.

There are a few problems, but pacing isn't one of them as he keeps to short, tight chapters that push the story along in a Thriller type fashion. However, the pushing is at a sacrifice to the characters and the world-building. The human characters come off very cold and more lizard-like than the Dragons as they can't seem to keep themselves from sleeping with one another or from trying to kill each other at every turn. While the dragons are oppressed creatures who have been held down too long and are after vengeance for what has been done to them and their peers.

Many of the characters just seem like slight variations on one another, especially when viewed from one generation to the next. Also, the motivations of many of the characters are cloudy at best with them seeming to do just what is unexpected to spite people. In some ways the rest of the book doesn't live up to that first chapter, but things take a turn for the better at the end where Deas has pulled off a jaw dropper after setting so much up to go another way.

The Adamantine Palace shows a lot of promise and sets the ground for what could be a memorable series, but doesn't standout from it's predecessors under the name of gritty fantasy published over the last few years. If you are a big dragon fan you may want to pick it up as Deas does give the dragons a fairly original treatment, but I have a feeling there are better things to come from them in future volumes. I give The Adamantine Palace 6.5 out of 10 hats. I'll definitely be checking out the second book in The Memory of Flames series, The King of Crags once it is released in the states to see if Deas brings much needed detail to the world and characters.

I ordered this book based on a recommendation from Amazon. I have done this in the past and been very pleasantly surprised. That was not the case this time. While the book had moments of well written flair and unusual fantasy insight,overall it was not my cup of tea. I read a lot of fantasy and this book just doesn't make the cut. The characters are not well developed and I'm sure the story was left hanging for a second in a series. The dragons were a delight and I enjoy the development of their story but the humans weren't as interesting. I didn't find the land, the various histories or timelines developed enough to care what happened and the story dragged on and on. I wouldn't recommend this book.

The Adamantine Palace is the debut novel by British writer Stephen Deas, and the latest in a number of high-profile debuts from Gollancz, following on from Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss.

The nine realms are unified under the authority of the Adamantine Palace, from where the Speaker keeps the peace. The power of the realms are based on their mastery of dragons. More than seventeen hundred of these fearsome beasts exist, kept under control by discipline, training and the mysterious liquids created by the alchemists. Intrigue seethes in the nations, as the current Speaker, old and wasting away from illness, prepares to pass the mantle onto his successor, Queen Shezira of the North. However, Prince Jehal from one of the southern realms is playing his own, long-term game. When Shezira's daughter is promised to Jehal in marriage, a chain of events is set in motion that will plunge the realms into chaos, and amidst the politicking a dragon goes missing and an ancient secret is unveiled.

The Adamantine Palace reads like a gritty remix of Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels. The dragons here aren't fluffy or cuddly, but dangerous beasts whose very training usually costs human lives. They are hazardous animals to be respected rather than talking flying ponies, and when we get a look into a dragon's mind later in the book it is revealed as a rather alien and unfeeling place indeed. The story is interesting and many of the characters are well-defined, particularly the villainous Prince Jehal.

You can almost sense the large 'but' coming, can't you? The Adamantine Palace is a fast, breathless read, but that's also it's biggest problem. The book is only 350 pages long (in ARC form, anyway) but contains a massive seventy chapters, few of which are more than four or five pages long. This is fine to start off with, but by the time the book is halfway done, ideas, characters and storylines are not so much flying past but feel like they've been blasted out from a minigun like the one Blaine had in Predator. Frequent changes in POV, location and the political situation can leave the reader feeling somewhat overwhelmed, and a number of characters (particular the sell-sword Kemir and Princess Jaslyn) don't quite feel as developed as they could have been due to this. Some major events towards the end of the book are as huge to this world as say Ned's execution is in A Song of Ice and Fire, but because they've been built up to so fast and then happen so quickly, they don't feel tremendously significant. At times, and this may sound unduly harsh, The Adamantine Palace feels like an incredibly detailed synopsis for a fantastic fantasy novel, rather than a book in itself. Ironically, as I normally like it when a writer delivers a short, concise epic fantasy novel, this book really does feel like it should have been twice as long to really give the events it covers much greater resonance and weight.

As it stands, The Adamantine Palace is a fast, furious and entertaining book that grabs hold of the reader and whisks them off like a rollercoaster. The dragons, as promised, indeed kick ass and the book's ending is enticing enough to make the year-long-wait for the second volume feel irritating. However, the feeling of a lack of weight to elements of the narrative also makes it feel like a somewhat slighter book than perhaps it deserves.

The Adamantine Palace (***½) is available now in the UK from Gollancz and from Roc in the USA. The much-improved sequel, KING OF THE CRAGS, is out now in the UK and will be released in the USA in February 2011.

I've been excited to read The Adamantine Palace ever since I first read the synopsis on Amazon a few weeks ago. Now, after reading The Adamantine Palace I can say it doesn't disappoint.

The Adamantine Palace's plot contains an exhilarating mix between political subterfuge and the fantastical rebellion of both dragons and outlanders, the people that live outside the kingdoms. These two plot lines mixed seamlessly throughout the book, and the process of jumping back and forth between the different characters offers an interesting and insightful viewpoint into what the other characters are thinking, showing like real life people don't know everything that is going on.

But what I like most about The Adamantine Palace was the level of excitement that accompanies each moment of the book. This excitement grows with each page causing the reader to literally sit at the edge of their seat waiting for the exciting conclusion.

In fact, the only thing I found a problem with was the immense number of characters that the book switches between in the first few chapters. I initially found this confusing and felt it detracted from the overall story. This is of course rectified as the book continues and as characters die off, but it can be a tad daunting for readers who have just started the book.

Of course for all its benefits and flaws, this book is part of a series and so the reader is left with more questions than answers at the end of The Adamantine Palace. But the foundation is set and the anticipation palpable, and I, myself can't wait for the sequel The King of the Crags.

[..]

Prince Jehal is known as the Viper because of his vicious march to sit on the throne of the Kingdom of the Endless Sea. He poisoned potential rivals and tortured those reluctant to support his claim. The Viper allowed no opposition to survive his reign of terror.

At the same time that the Viper murders his way to the crown, the white dragon Snow telepathically communicates with her handler Kailin. Snow wants freedom for herself and her dragon compatriots. However, alchemists know the damage these fire exhaling beasts can cause if allowed to soar drugless. Snow rebels and gains supporters with her plan to burn their enemy alchemists and other human supporters to include a viperous monarch who use them as weapons of war. To the trepidation of everyone in the realm she escapes captivity as her dream begins to gel into reality.

This is an interesting fantasy when the story line focuses on the dragons especially Snow as the readers obtain a different mindset yet a thirst for freedom that rings similar to the humans who hold them captured through drugs. When Jehal is on the center stage, the plot feels like a zillion others before it and slows down comparatively speaking. Still with Snow soaring the skies over the Kingdom of the Endless Sea, fans will want to fly with her; just avoid her flame throwing.

Harriet Klausner