Blood of Requiem (Song of Dragons, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Daniel Arenson (Author)

Book Description

Song of Dragons -- a trilogy of blood, steel, and dragonfire.  For fans of epic fantasy like A Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings.

BOOK ONE: BLOOD OF REQUIEM

Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky.

But Dies Irae, a tyrant leading an army of griffins, hunted Requiem's people, burned their forests, and shattered their temples. Requiem fell. This ancient land now lies in ruin, its halls crumbled, its cries silenced, its skeletons littering the burned earth.

In the wilderness, a scattering of survivors lives in hiding. The griffins still hunt them, and every day promises death. Will Requiem's last children perish in exile... or once more become dragons and fly to war?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wholly original, gritty fantasy full of angst and epic battles." --Robert Duperre, author of The Fall

"Not only does it have a ridiculously awesome cover, it's about dragons. For those of you in the know, I secretly love dragons." --Bestselling author Amanda Hocking

From the Author

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 511 KB
• Print Length: 318 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004Z8D7TY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #15 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
  • #19 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > Epic

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read July 18, 2011

By MarkAU

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Whilst there is little original about the concepts, and the plot is fairly generic, the book is well written low fantasy which is strong on action. If you are looking for a long read with reams of philosophical rambling, don't buy this book. If you are looking for classic fantasy with action and magic - look no further.

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and Furious Dragons June 4, 2011

By Dave

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

- - no spoilers - -

The vivid image on the cover drew me to this novel, and I am happy I have read it.

Blood of Requiem is a well-crafted novel, with strong, flowing prose, well-developed characters and a fast moving plot that keeps the reader engaged. The story follows the struggles of a few survivors of the Vis Requis to evade the evil King Dies Irae, who hunts these dragon people he calls weredragons mercilessly, aided by a host of griffins.

The plot is quite straightforward, with a few minor subplots. It allows for less intrigue than I usually like in my fantasy, but the storytelling and pace made up for it with ease. The worldbuilding is not earth-shattering, but well-developed and interesting enough, and there are some intriguing characters, most notably those of Benedictus, his daughter Agnus Dei and his estranged daughter and enemy Gloriae and young Kyrie.

My main gripe is with the character of Dies Irae, who is just your average, cruel, sadistic and bitter villain. I know that the black-and-white struggle of good against evil is still a strong theme, but I would have preferred to see a bit more grey. Despite this minor complaint, this was a fast and furious read, just like one of the many battles between Kyrie and the griffins.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Immersive and original March 9, 2012

By Connie J. Jasperson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In Blood of Requiem Daniel Arenson has created an immersive and real world that takes what we thought we knew about dragons, griffins and were-people and twists it into a truly original tale. One of the things that struck me immediately was his use of Latin-sounding names for people and places, a touch which lends a sense of familiarity to his world. The reader immediately identifies the importance of each main character and place as they are introduced, because their names have strong historic and religious roots within our own society.

The Vir Requis are Weredragons, humans born with the ability to shift to draconic shape. The story opens with the final battle between two brothers, in which the young King of Requiem, Benedictus is the last of his kind, the Vir Requis to left alive. He manages to bite off the arm of his brother, the completely mad Dies Irae, and in the chaos he is able to flee to safety. Dies Irae survives and usurps the crown.

Dies Irae was not born with the ability to shift to dragon-form. This is seen as a defect by his autocratic father and as such he could not inherit the crown of Requiem. His younger brother Benedictus is instead made heir to the throne. Dies Irae later kidnaps Benedictus' daughter Gloriae, claiming her for his own, and takes the throne of Requiem by murdering his father. Griffins are bound to serve the ruler of Requiem by virtue of a sacred object, the Griffin Heart. Dies Irae steals that object, thus launching a war between those who can shape shift to dragonform and those who cannot, with himself as their new King. With the nearly invincible griffins in thrall to him, he succeeds in his genocide, leaving only a remnant of survivors.... There is a rich, multi-layered backstory that is revealed in tantalizing bits as the story progresses

Hidden in the world are a few survivors of the Vir Requis, one of whom is Kyrie Eleison, a young boy weredragon who was found on the battlefield and taken into the home of a survivor, Mirum who raises him as her own. One day Dies Irae appears, and Mirum knows that Kyrie is in danger. She gives her life to allow him to escape, and he flees only to end up wounded and near death. Grief stricken, he determines to find the mythical black dragon, King Benedictus, and with his assistance Kyrie hopes take back Requiem from Dies Irae and his cruel daughter Gloriae.

Kyrie finds a man that he believes is Benedictus, who is going by the name Rex Tremendae. He forces his company on the old recluse and through a series of events he is proven right, Rex is none other than Benedictus. Kyrie forces Benedictus to face things that the old man would rather forget.

Benedictus' wife Lacrimosa and their daughter Agnus Dei still live, hidden away. There are many secrets and layers to the love story of Benedictus and Lacrimosa. She is a white weredragon, and Agnus Dei is a red weredragon. Kyrie is a green weredragon, and each color has strengths that are particular to that color that they can bring to any battle.

The many dimensions and rich backstory kept me reading, and turning the pages as fast as I could. I am impressed with the tapestry that Arenson weaves..Just when you think you have seen it all, there is more to see. I heartily recommend this engrossing tale to all who love dragons and truly enjoy epic fantasy. Read more ›

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Childish characters, immature content. December 16, 2011

By Huanar

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Warning to prospective buyers of this novel: This is solid Young Adult fantasy. The writing style is also that of a teenager. This is one of the VERY few books I have ever gave up on finishing due to the terrible quality of story, writing, and character development. I returned this for a refund, it was that bad....

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Just terrible February 2, 2012

By Jahat

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was absolutely terrible. I must say that it was a struggle to finish it, though finish it I did. The characters had no depth whatsoever, and appeared to have only one quality that differentiated them from inanimate objects. The main character Kyrie however doesn't appear to have any personality traits whatsoever.

His most notable additions to the novel were hero worshiping Benedictus, and getting shot by the dragon bane that was in never-ending abundance throughout the poor excuse for a novel. The names of all of the characters and the cities were not even vague in their disgusting rip off from Latin, especially Requiem Mass.

It was a huge detractor trying to get over the whiny nature of Lacrimosa and the poor-attempt-at-fiery nature of Agnus Dei. I don't recommend anyone read this book. I will not be buying the sequels, and I pity anyone who accidentally bought it like I did.

This is an example of a good idea executed as poorly as possible.

-Jahat

43 of 60 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Too Juvenile September 5, 2011

By E. Garrison

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I should've known by the title, but I wanted to love this. I mean weredragons. Frickin weredragons! How much more awesome can you get? I was thinking, "The author can't mess this up." Then... Horrible characters. Simply awful plotting.

I guess that's how.

I don't care about a map. They often look like crud in Kindle editions anyway. There were a couple of times when it was obvious that travel continuity was off anyway. The villains needed to be there so, bang they are. Pay no attention to linear time. Even though it's not a time travel adventure...

Evil tyrants who slaughter indiscriminately have rebellions. Even if they're hopeless rebellions. See human history for reference. When said tyrant decides to follow protagonists in mad genocidal quests, said rebellions get really easy to throw.

The prose didn't do anything for me, and I'm flabbergasted at how anyone can honestly review it well. Opinions vary, so mine is worth what you paid for it. Thought I'd offer a dissenting one to the top review, however.

I think the worst thing about the novel is how stupid the "heroes" are. We are talking epically dumb. So in that sense it is an epic tale. Example: When following a bad guy in pursuit flight on a dark night do you...
A) Follow directly behind bellowing incoherently and shooting flame to present the best possible target for the poisoned, self loading crossbow.
B) Fly high to descend on over-burdened enemy.
C) Fly low to swing up and rescue helpless dragon female dangling from monstrous griffin claws.

In this book you would naturally choose A), because the plot needs the helpless dragon chick to get captured, by the mustache-twirling villain....

The message of the book is that you can be remotely intelligent, but if you are you can't have even a smidgen of morality. Alternatively, you can be too stupid to live, but have a heart of gold. There are no other options.

Awesome cover, but an epic fail book. Read more ›

More About the Author

Daniel Arenson is a bestselling author of epic fantasy.

He began his career writing short stories. He sold his first story, "Worms Believe in God", in 1998. Since then, his work has appeared in various publications, among them Flesh & Blood, Chizine, and Orson Scott Card's Strong Verse.

In 2007, Daniel sold his first novel, Firefly Island, to Five Star Publishing. He's been writing fantasy novels since, including several standalones and three trilogies: Song of Dragons, Dragonlore, and The Dragon War.

At both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Daniel's novels have hit the overall Top 100 bestsellers lists. In total, they've sold over 200,000 copies.

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Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#98 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#98 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy