Customer Reviews

The Dragon Hunters (Iron Dragon)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mr. Genesse has created a rich and interesting fantasy world, where man lives on top of giant plateaus surrounded by a demon filled void of mists. Terrible creatures own the sky, and everyone lives beneath cover in order to survive. Humans are slaves to the Drobin empire and wizards have been hunted almost to extinction by war priests.

I read the Golden Cord first and enjoyed it. The sequel, Dragon Hunters, is even better. The characters fight the traditional fantasy quest foes of dragons and evil cultists, but in addition, they have to grow as people, and also face their fears and prejudices. Overall the characters are believable and struggle with issues of faith and determination.

I'm eagerly looking forward to the rest of the series.

-Larry Correia - Author of Monster Hunter International

This book kept me up until 1:30 a.m. I simply could not put it down. I read the first book, The Golden Cord, and found it interesting and enjoyable but The Dragon Hunters is unbelievable. The author immediately drew me in and kept me reading. Genesse seems to have a talent for examining conflict from all angles, filling his story with realistic problems such as prejudice and betrayal contrasted by courageous protagonists armed with love and loyalty. The story has a fast pace and is loaded with suspense to keep you on your toes. Truly a great read.

The Dragon Hunters is the sequel to Paul Genesse's surprising hit The Golden Cord and the second book in his Iron Dragon series. It follows Drake and his two Drobin companions, Thor and Bellor, as they continue their journey to find Bellor's lost brethren and destroy Draglune, an ancient and dangerous dragon foe, once and for all. But as they travel they discover that some parts of the world are not as they should be: Drobin cities are responding to resistance against their rule with genocide while cultists who worship Draglune and his dragon servant Verkahna as gods sacrifice themselves for a cause that seems right, but is fraught with lies and deceit. The farther Drake and his companions travel away from the comparative safety of the Thornclaw forest, the more they realize that Draglune's influence is rapidly expanding, creating more enemies to hinder their journey and to threaten the stability of the Drobin empire and even Drake's home and family.

The Dragon Hunters takes off right after the end of The Golden Cord and drags us through a troubled world of demonic monsters and collapsing society. Perhaps what is most interesting about this particularly installment is that Genesse has taken us into new arenas to meet cultures previously unknown to us, displaying his excellent worldbuilding skills. Moving from a dangerous forest to an equally dangerous desert, Genesse takes us on a wild journey of magic, dragons, questionable characters, and inner turmoil.

And that, perhaps, is what is so striking about this novel in comparison to the last. While The Golden Cord certainly touched on the emotional and ethical questions Drake had to ask himself while aiding Thor and Bellor, this novel shatters Drake's connection to his home with brutal directness. The golden cord between he and Jaena--his wife-to-be--is weakened and ripped away by forces both within and outside of Drake's control. As a result, we get the sense that Drake is not and never was fully aware of himself as a person, that there are things even he is learning about himself, and that his journey is not just one to do the right thing, but to discover more about himself and his destiny. Of course, Drake isn't the only one that experiences a rupture of this sort. Thor and Bellor equally share in the burden of cultural splitting. Here the connection to the characters is stronger, more impacting, because the reader is so invested in Drake and his companions that we cannot help but be affected by the emotional roller coaster that they experience.

The Dragon Hunters isn't a perfect book. While I loved the world, parts of the novel seemed to be overly drawn out. This may be personal preference in adventurous fantasy, but I wanted things to move quicker, particularly in the middle. Of course, I am willing to acknowledge that this is simply a factor that is present in all middle novels and perhaps something that is unavoidable when one expects the same speed and vision of a previous book. Certainly The Dragon Hunters is an action packed novel--the title itself should be an indicator--and I expect that the action and intrigue of Genesse's world will continue to grow and develop over the course of the next few books.

One of my favorite parts of this novel has to be how Genesse created a particularly terrifying character out of Verkahna--a dragon we met in the previous book who certainly had her physical appeal as a horrifying creature, but never quite had that emotional terror working for her. Through her we learn not only about how the dragons of Genesse's world operate--culturally and psychologically--but also how cunning they can be, so much so that even I began to question whether my preconceived notions about his dragons that I adopted from the first book were valid. Even at the end I wondered whether dragons were evil or good, and maybe this question will be answered in the next book. It's hard to say.

All in all, The Dragon Hunters was a wonderful read. I loved the action, the characters, and the world, as I did with the first book. While this novel isn't without flaws, it is certainly worth reading, and if you are a fan of adventurous fantasy, this series is perfect for you. I've called his work "fun fantasy," because it's the kind of work that doesn't allow itself to be bogged down by the trappings of the genre or by negative storytelling. The story is meant to be exciting and interesting because of its characters and action.

As with the first book, the cover art for The Dragon Hunters is absolutely gorgeous and I suspect that the novels that follow will continue in this trend. Hopefully Genesse will have as much success with The Dragon Hunters as he did with The Golden Cord.

If you'd like to learn more about Paul Genesse, you can check out his website here. You can find The Dragon Hunters here at Five Star Press (or on Amazon, or anywhere else, most likely) and the previous book, The Golden Cord, here.

(Note: I avoided commenting on the writing itself in this review because I read an advanced uncorrected proof. It would be wrong of me to complain about things that most likely were changed in the editing process.)

I didn't get around to reading and posting a review for The Golden Cord--Book One in the Iron Dragon Series--until several months ago, but when I did, I gave it 5 Stars and said I would definitely be reading the sequel. Happily, I have now done so and can say that The Dragon Hunters--Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series--is even better than the first book. With the major aspects of his world and the main four characters of the saga firmly established, Paul Genesse sets in motion a rampaging cavalcade of events. The Dragon Hunters starts off quickly and never lets up. Moreover, the story is filled with twists and turns, surprising developments, alliances, betrayals, and more. Paul Genesse gives us a fantasy world and characters that are not black and white, a world where the enemy of my enemy may still not be my friend, and a world where misinformation, mistrust, mistakes, and tragedy can and do occur. While at times you may wish to scream at the characters to make different, better choices, the complexity and difficulty they face and their imperfections in doing so despite their noble motives make their quest even more heroic and more engaging than a simple battle against evil. The complexities of the inter-relationships of the individuals and their societies also provides valuable insights into the real world, but with war dogs, dwarves, and dragonfire masking the learning. Exciting and compelling. Now I'm even more invested in the world and the saga and am looking anxiously forward to the next book in the series.

One note, since the book starts off where The Golden Cord left off without much summary of what has gone before, those who have read the first book some time ago may want to skim the last few chapters to refresh their recollection. Fortunately, The Golden Cord remains available to buy or to read at libraries nationwide, so this shouldn't really be much of a problem.

Highly recommended for gamers, fantasy lovers, and adventurers of all ages.

Donald J. Bingle, Author of GREENSWORD

This rocking and rolling sequel to "The Golden Cord," the first book in Paul's Iron Dragon series, continues the magic and conflict Paul is known to deliver. In this book, a pair of dragon hunting dwarfs, accompanied by an unlikely human and a loud mouthed magic user, go after the most formidable of all dragons. Get it. Read it. You'll love it.

THE DRAGON HUNTERS by Paul Genesse kept my attention from beginning to end. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was pleasantly surprised with how everything fit together. I am growing more attached to characters from THE GOLDEN CORD, but I also enjoyed the new characters that we met in this story.

Though the idea behind the book is fairly straightforward, kill the king of the dragons, the other plot elements intertwined are very intriguing. The rift between the dwarves and the humans become much more apparent in this book and I really felt my sympathies drawn to the various groups. I am really curious to see how all of the plot lines will be resolved by the end of the series.

While the plot gets more and more intricate with this book, so do the characters. I enjoyed the addition of a new human to the band of hunters and although I didn't agree with all of his methods or choices, I liked the difference of personalities. None of the characters felt like cardboard cutouts with only their names being different. Paul Genesse gives us a variety of motives, personalities, and opinions in the characters that keeps the story moving forward with their own development not just within the plot. I look forward to the next book in the series.

I actually had the wonderful chance to attend the book release party for this book at CONduit in Salt Lake City, UT. Paul Genesse is a very cool person to talk to.

Paul's calm personality is a contrast to the passion in his writing. This book has wonderful and gripping action, characters filled with determination a world that will draw you right in and plot twists that might just leave you dizzy. I would call it a must read for anyone who likes dragons or fantasy.

Paul has an exceptional talent for keeping the action flowing while developing his characters into people that you care about. The storyline is incredible. The beginning of the first novel was hard to start because of the new things in the new world, but Paul's talent had me knowing what they were before he fully explained them. If you haven't read The Golden Cord, it is a must read before this one which is a very successful sequel. A twelve-hour shift might be hard to get through today because I just had to finish it. Exceptional Talent, can't wait for book 3.