Customer Reviews

Dragonforge: A Novel of the Dragon Age

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With Shandrazel now dead, his son has become king and is determined to bring about the end of kings and establish a commonwealth. But not all of the dragons and humans agree with his method of peace. Hatred and vengeance runs deep. And when the villainous Blasphet escapes from prison, he contributes to the dissention and chaos in the land.

I thought I loved Bitterwood, but Dragonforge is even more fantastic. The character development is exceptional, bringing back most of the characters but concentrating on the most important. Maxey has improved the story flow in the midst of jumping from character to character, making for easier reading and less confusion.

I can't think of another book that contains so many outstanding and complex characters: Jandra is a human, apprenticed by a dragon, and now controls more technology than she understands. Her family was killed by the very dragon that raised her. And she relates more to the dragons than to her fellow humans. Bitterwood became a legendary dragon slayer when his family and home were wiped out, and his whole goal in life became revenge fueled by hatred. Graxen is a sky dragon who is now a messenger for the new king. When he meets a kind female of his race, Graxen begins to form forbidden feelings which leads to danger and deceit. Hex is the brother of the new king, who has returned from his ended exile. From his years of isolation, he has formulated his own ideas about peace and freedom. Hex has become a philosopher with high ideals. He begins to form a strong friendship with Jandra on their quest to find Bitterwood and his young charge.

The story of Dragonforge involves battles, freedom, intrigue, religious zealots, and a forgotten age of history. But to me, the true story lies in the lives and experiences of the main characters. The main themes just add to the heightened excitement and heartbreak for each of the characters and their different point of views.

Dragonforge is an epic fantasy adventure with roots in science fiction. Maxey's sequel has exceeded my expectations, leaving me eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Maxey has followed up his innovative Bitterwood with a sequel every bit as good as the original. In addition, he has pulled off the impressive feat of writing a follow-up book which picks up right where its predecessor left off, but which doesn't require reading Bitterwood first in order to be enjoyed. (Which is not to say you should skip Bitterwood. If it's available to you, by all means read it first. But don't sweat over it if you can't get it right now.) It's also a book for which a follow-up novel is clearly in store (hurrah!), yet it resolves all the important plot threads satisfactorily. In other words, it leaves you panting for the next installment because you know it's going to be good, not because this one leaves you dangling. So you don't need to wait for the next one before reading this.

In Dragonforge, Maxey reveals more of the history of how dragons came to dominate humans, and more of the scientific sources for Jandra and Vendevorex's powers, but without ever causing the book to lose the feel of a rousing fantasy tale. The main plotlines of Bitterwood and Zeeky, Jandra and Hex (a new character--a libertarian sun-dragon), Blasphet the Murder God, and Pet, weave and intertwine with the stories of several new characters and situations to culminate in a rousing adventure yarn.

By the way: for those of you who haven't yet read anything by this promising author, and want an easy way to check him out (as well as those who have read and simply want MORE) his story "Tornado of Sparks" can be downloaded free from Solaris at http://www.solarisbooks.com/pdf/tornado-sparks.pdf . It's a precursor to Bitterwood, and details the origins of Jandra.

The book came in right on time. It looked very new, better condition than I thought it would be. I was very happy with the company, even more that it is a non-profit that helps homeless people who have aids. Would order from them again.

Middle installments of trilogies are tough going. Trapped between initial exposition and the ultimate conclusion, the author must entice his audience without the aid of novelty or resolution. No wonder that so many feel muddled and meandering, a detour from the story's destination rather than a stop along the way. But occasionally you'll happen upon one that consolidates the best parts of its predecessor, dumps its flaws and transforms into a standout novel in its own right. That's exactly what happens with James Maxey's Dragonforge, sequel to Bitterwood.

King Albekizan is dead. The once-mighty dragon lord perished mysteriously when an attempted massacre of incarcerated humans broke out into armed rebellion. Now his once-exiled son Shandrazel is in charge, and he has grand visions of a land where equality reigns, a place where dragons and men can dwell together in harmony. But there are almost as many obstacles to his dream as scales on his hide. The valkyrie legions, female guardians of the dragonic bloodlines, believe such plans endanger their genetic heritage. Ragnar the prophet has begun fomenting resistance among downtrodden humans, amassing war machines with the aid of a Cherokee engineer named Burke. Then there's Blasphet, also known as the Murder God, a dragon dedicated to senseless slaughter who has a coterie of suicidal followers dedicated to following his every whim. And just when you think those might be complications enough, Shandrazel has to deal with that most difficult of foes -- himself. When a realm long ruled by mere might faces strains, lofty ideals can fade like frost under the noonday sun.

Dragonforge improves on its predecessor in most every way. Maxey's mélange of high-fantasy tropes and hard science prove particularly effective. Magic meshes with nanotechnology, siege engines with steampunk, subterranean wyrms with wormholes. "Unique" is a word much bantered about in speculative fiction, but the novel displays a creative vision unlike anything I've ever encountered. It also contains plenty of thematic grit. Characters opine on weighty subjects such as libertarian anarchy and philosophical nihilism. And the actions scenes (of which there are plenty) are so cracking good that I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some Hollywood studio snap up the screen rights. The downside? Well, the prose is a bit rough at points, and fanatical Ragnar is almost a caricature. But these are relatively minor quibbles. Dragonforge burns bright.

James Maxey has written another great book in Dragonforge. He's taken the Bitterwood story and continued it quite well, though Bitterwood figures less in this book, the extended focus to supporting characters (both human and dragon) make the story more intricate and enjoyable. I also thought it ended nicely - you can be satisfied that nothing crucial is left hanging, yet Maxey still has left the door open for a sequel. If you liked Bitterwood you'll like Dragonforge just as well if not more.

I finished this one last month but just haven't gotten around to writing the review.

I liked this one about as much as the previous book.

Setting: We get to see a little more of the world. The lair of the goddess and the Nest were both kind of cool and fun. The whole dimensional travel and stuff just felt a bit weird and out of place (even though this is supposed to be far future) though. Maybe even a bit too convenient.

Plot: There were 2-3 main storylines here. And a couple sub-plots. Nothing too fancy but also not distracting or poorly handled.

Conflict: My biggest problem with this book (and the series) is the super-human-ness of all the characters. But, I know that James is working on this and (probably) fixed it for the next book in the series. The biggest source for conflict in this story is about religion and diety beliefs, and I felt that James took a too simple approach. All rational, thinking characters decried religion; and all lunatics and idiots embraced it. James could have made this much more complex and dirty, I feel.

Character: He does do a great job with creating likable (or hate-able) characters. We meet some new ones and learn fun facts about existing (to the series) ones. This is definitely one of James' strengths as a writer.

Text: James is a competent writer and has lots of intriguing stories in his head. His craft mastery gets better with each book I read of his.

In Dragonforge, Maxey does an excellent job at giving us more of what made Bitterwood great, while adding depth, complexity and nuance to the characters and situations. We learn more about the world and how it got to be the way it is, but at the same time, the action is faster-paced and more gripping. Very satisfying sequel. I can't wait for the third book, Dragonseed!

Just like Bitterwood this was a fantastic book, i didnt want to put it down, it had a great story line, great characters new and old, and just like in Bitterwood, twists and turns that made you want to keep reading!!If you read any of these reviews before Bitterwoods reviews and want to buy Bitterwood i highly suggest buying this along with it because when Bitterwood ends your going to want to keep on reading!!! The sad part is that once you finish Dragonforge you REALLY want to keep reading but you cant because #3 isnt out yet, or at least i did!!! So thats what you can look forward to come summer of 2009.

Ive said it before and ill say it again, James Maxey is a great writer and has got me hooked on fantasy novels now, and i havent found anyone that i like better than James Maxey and at the rate these novels are going and if they keep going he will continue to be #1 for me!!! Basically, BUY THIS BOOK ITS GREAT!!!! Make sure you read Bitterwood first though!

Even though King Albekizan is dead, no one can forget his attempted genocide of the human race. Shandrazel accepts the duty of king, but fully intends to be the king who ends the era of kings. Shandrazel wishes to make dragons and humans equal by creating a new form of government in which all will get a voice. All begin to gather for Shandrazel's talks, but not all want to see the end of dragons ruling over everyone and everything. One of the biggest to oppose Shandrazel's dream is the Matriarch, who is solely responsible for which dragons may mate and which may not. She and her Valkyrie warriors defend the Nest where the eggs are kept. Refusing to attend herself, the matriarch sends Zorasta, commander of the Valkyrie legion, and her contingent. One of Zorasta's guards, Nadala, secretly hopes the talks will succeed so she may have a future with Graxen the Gray (one of Shandrazel's helpers).

Many humans still seek vengeance against all dragons. When Ragnar, a so called prophet, seeks to lead a war to destroy all dragons in the world, he gets many followers.

Bitterwood no longer hunts dragons. With hope that his son, Adam, may still be alive, Bitterwood searches with a couple of his new companions. But even if Adam is still alive, will Adam be all Bitterwood hopes for or a total disappointment?

Jandra and Hexilizan "Hex", Shandrazel's eldest brother, have become fast friends. They are part of the effort to locate Blasphet and his evil human devotees, the Sisters of the Serpent. Blasphet has his own agenda, though slightly changed from before.

***** Some characters are gone, but new characters appear. Readers learn more about the time before dragons, when humans ruled the world. The prophet and the goddess each have their own followers and the possibility for chaos is high. Tensions mount, characters become more developed, and a few secrets are revealed. Bitterwood and Jandra are at the heart of it all. They have gotten some interesting companions with special talents that just may be what the human race needs to survive the upcoming conflict. Once again, I practically inhaled the story and eagerly await the next. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Just as I said about BITTERWOOD, I say about DRAGONFORGE. This book rocks. I'll also say again, that if you are reading this as well as thinking about buying both, DO IT! You will want to pick this up as soon as you finish BITTERWOOD. I'm very excited for the third book to be completed. Just as others have stated, and I completely agree; James Maxey is a fresh new face to the Fantasy genre. I welcome him with open arms. I hope to read many, many more books by him for years to come.