Customer Reviews

Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe

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

 

 

Combining elements of Horatio Hornblower with Harry Potter, and Robert Louis Stevenson with Robin Hobb, "Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe" is a nautical tale rich in magic and intrigue, set against a panorama of fantastic naval battles. It is the second book in the series, and sequel to "Midshipman Halcyon Blithe".

Halcyon Blithe, a young man of good breeding and lineage--endowed with great potential, is ready to seek his fortune among those who tend and sail the awesome nautical juggernauts--the dragonships which harness the bodies and strength of living dragons with seafaring technology.

In the latest chapter of the young wizard's nautical education, he finds himself second in command of a captured enemy vessel that must engage a demonship in combat before returning to port--whereupon he is assigned duty on a dwarven dragonship. It is on this very ship that he and his shipmates must fight against crooked politics to regain the security of their Arcanian dragonship and trusted crewmates.


James M. Ward does an excellent job of spinning a tale that is fast paced, filled with drama, and highly entertaining. An exceptionally fine book, that is highly recommended.

James M. Ward has done a very good job of translating nautical fiction into a fantasy world, ala Noami Novik's Temeraire novels. While Novik's books are better crafted, Ward knows his subject well, and has obviously spent a lot of time reading Patrick O'Brien, Alexander Kent, and the Hornblower saga. His characters and plot twists are well executed and these books are a fun read. A couple of reviewers have pointed out Ward's writing flaws, and they are real - the most apparent being the rapid switch from one point of view to another. At first I couldn't believe that any editor would allow a book to be published with an exceptional error in prose like that - I mean, at LEAST seperate the paragraphs with a double space to warn readers it's no longer one character thinking but another. Aside from this at times annoying habit, one Ward will hopefully rectify when someone points it out to him, all other points are extremely minor and I find that the books are a good enough read to be able to ignore these violations of the sometimes ultra-rigid Hoyle's of writing. It just goes to show that a good story will overcome even glaring mistakes. God bless Tor and their writer-friendly editors who know their audience better than more uptight companies.

For a writer of role playing games and RPG novels, Ward shines like a diamond in the rough - there's a whole list of these who do not, and couldn't carry off a book like this.

James Ward aptly continues the adventures of Blithe, who manages to land a promotion in this sequel. The character grows during the adventure, leaving the reader wanting another book. The dwarves are particularly well done. Recommended!

Halcyon Blithe is the fantasy equal to Horatio Hornblower, to Ramage and Bolitho.

A good deal of fun in a nicely constructed world. We need to see more of these by Ward and to learn more about the war that is taking place. Our hero grows with each book and adventure. The seventh son of a seventh son, a great and quick read.

I recently picked up this book on a whim. It was well worth while. I devoured it and it's predecessor in a weekend upsetting my wife. But then the following week I began reading it aloud to my 8 year old son. James Ward's shows his depth of knowledge as he introduces and colorfully describes the detail of a multitude of introductory topics of classic fantasy. From the intricacies of shipboard life to sword practice and use, the world of Halcyon Blythe is fantastically described.

The plot flows at a fast pace keeping the reader on the edge of their seat without neglecting to develop a strong core of characters and their capabilities. Halcyon Blythe has entertained myself while engaging, educating and entertaining my son.

A Fantastic Find!

I really enjoyed reading this book, but it leaves you without much closure and so I was hoping there was a sequel out already. Is there a sequel coming out, and if so, when? (because I want to read it!)

Sixteen years old Arcania Empire dragonship naval officer Halcyon Blithe has not only received a pardon following a court martial, but also is promoted for his courageous action that saved his shipmates including a dragon on the Sanguine. However, not everyone is pleased to see this late bloomer seventh son of a seventh son rewarded. His on board enemy Elan Swordson is jealous of the attention and acclaim the upstart Blithe is receiving and plots to destroy his rival.

During a battle against a demon ship and its crew, Blithe's demon-half takes over and saves the day again, but also places him on trial for misusing magical essences. His sentence is a promotion to the dragonship Rage where the crew is escorting an elven ambassador to the Dwarven Empire while their enemy the Maleen plots another sea battle.

The second Blithe tale (see MIDSHIPWIZARD HALCYON BLITHE) once again reads like Horatio Hornblower meets Harry Potter. The story line is fast-paced as much of the plot focuses on battles, but insuring that the magic seems real, and the hero and the dragons appear genuine. Fans especially young adults will want to go to sea with Blithe on a dragon ship at they fight against the Maleen and demons ships in an enchanting military fantasy

Harriet Klausner

A summary of the plot isn't necessary (see its other reviews) but a comment of the writing style of this book is desperately needed.

While the clever setting and basic concepts of this story kept me reading, I was jolted and irritated by the incredible amount of sloppy writing in this book. The first thing that got to me was the constant, poorly done point-of-view switches. Being inside one character's head for a paragraph, inside another's in the next sentence, and then back to the first again is a sign of careless writing, not to mention just odd and annoying. At some point the author is even inside two characters' heads at once! ("At those words, both men's hearts beat with excitement." and "...talking with the king filled them with an enthusiasm they'd never felt before" p. 121 paperback). While I can (with great effort) imagine a narrator that illuminates multiple minds at once, the text simply isn't written that way throughout. It just doesn't work.

This issue - a common error made by inexperienced writers - is the sort of thing I would think editors would address, but perhaps they were lost among the many other small but cumulatively painful issues in this book's writing. Strange sentences abound, like, "Halcyon noticed he didn't countermand Hal's orders." (p. 89) -- Hal and Halcyon are the same person (the latter is a nickname used periodically).

Logical inconsistencies and weirdness (no other word for it) had me re-reading passages in confusion, like the one on pages 154-155 in which Halcyon takes over negotiating for munitions from Chief Fallow because the chief is doing a bad job. Two paragraphs later, Halcyon is unsure about how to proceed, and thinks to himself, "What would Chief Fallow do?" Huh? Didn't you just make it clear that Chief Fallow wasn't up to the task? Why ask yourself what he would do when he's right there to do it if necessary?

Another one: on page 125, Halcyon speaks to the dragonship without "tannin oil," a facilitating balm for dragon communication. Then, on page 160, Halcyon is "surprised that he could hear the thoughts of the dragon without the use of the tannin oil." Oh, then he "mentally thought" something else to the dragon. As opposed to thinking some non-mental way, I guess...?

Other basic plot flow issues make many events and relationships seem awkward, artificial, and jolting, such as the meeting and (boy was *that* fast!) romance between Halcyon and Lady Teagan. I couldn't quite believe that a Lady in this quasi-19th century setting would offer to kiss a man to whom she'd only spoken (literally) 12 sentences (p. 117).

Oh I could go on, but I won't. Just a final thing that has me grinding my teeth and laughing out loud: almost every character is introduced with a description of his/her height - which in EVERY case (in the first half of the book) is either "just under six feet tall" or "about six feet tall" or "just over six feet tall". There seems to be no other height available for reference....

So, to make a long review even longer, I can see that *some* young readers might easily overlook these sorts of things, but I would hope that both they and not-so-young readers would look to work that reaches for higher writing standards. These issues are so painfully obvious and really so intrusive that I can't imagine that Ms. Klausner (and the other reviewers?) actually read the book they reviewed so glowingly (and so similarly to the back cover and inside reviews...).

I'm a huge fan of nautical fantasy, and I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, both the writing and story elements were incredibly tortured.