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danigrace1030's review against another edition
5.0
This broke my rating system. 6\5 stars. It was perfection. No notes. Just read it.
mattdavenport's review against another edition
4.0
8.4/10 - Great
In a year that saw new books from fantasy stalwarts like Abercrombie and Weeks, "The Rage of Dragons" was my favorite fantasy release this year. An incredibly good debut book, this is one of the bloodiest, most action books I've ever read. Winter's ability to convey fighting from one-on-one combat to full-battle scale is remarkably good, and the regularity of fighting in the book doesn't bleed together or detract from individual enjoyment of each one. Tau's transformation throughout the novel is stark, but it never feels forced or unbelievable. While Tau isn't quite in the elite-scale of protagonists yet, he is certainly better than that of many excellent books I've read. His anger and pain feels so real, and your heart breaks with him as you simultaneously admire his work ethic and passion while shaking your head at his naivety and foolishness. Though not a lot of time was spent building the other characters, they felt alive, and you cared about them. Winters was able to get across a very complicated world, magic system, and social structure in an incredibly short time, and yet I feel I understand it all, and am ready to dive into the next. A definite 8/10 book right out the gate, with author-potential to reach 5-star tiers.
In a year that saw new books from fantasy stalwarts like Abercrombie and Weeks, "The Rage of Dragons" was my favorite fantasy release this year. An incredibly good debut book, this is one of the bloodiest, most action books I've ever read. Winter's ability to convey fighting from one-on-one combat to full-battle scale is remarkably good, and the regularity of fighting in the book doesn't bleed together or detract from individual enjoyment of each one. Tau's transformation throughout the novel is stark, but it never feels forced or unbelievable. While Tau isn't quite in the elite-scale of protagonists yet, he is certainly better than that of many excellent books I've read. His anger and pain feels so real, and your heart breaks with him as you simultaneously admire his work ethic and passion while shaking your head at his naivety and foolishness. Though not a lot of time was spent building the other characters, they felt alive, and you cared about them. Winters was able to get across a very complicated world, magic system, and social structure in an incredibly short time, and yet I feel I understand it all, and am ready to dive into the next. A definite 8/10 book right out the gate, with author-potential to reach 5-star tiers.
lenosnav's review against another edition
5.0
This was so intense I stayed up until 3 in the morning and I had work the next day. Definitely an action book. The characters are developed well enough but are not the focus. I’d recommend this to anyone that enjoys violence.
jimmyjames1971's review against another edition
4.0
It is well thought out. I had some challenges with the main character until i didn't. I t ended well and I am looking forward the next installment.
avalikebook's review against another edition
4.0
Man. Tau really did not have a good time in this book.
robhb's review against another edition
5.0
An extremely impressive, assured, and potent debut. Winters has a great voice. Looking forward to where he takes this story next. Review to come at SFFWorld.com. Just might be the debut of the year for me.
bennylee's review against another edition
2.0
2/5*
I read a lot of raving reviews before reading The Rage of Dragons. Friends who have similar taste in books loved it. My expectations were high.
One of the things that drew me to The Rage of Dragons was that it was set in a nonwestern world, diverging from the quintessential European world of the fantasy genre. Not only that, but it was written by a person of color — Evan Winter, who lived in South Africa, became a director, and eventually, a writer. People of color are all too rare in the realm of mainstream fantasy authors. N.K. Jemisin, author of the Broken Earth trilogy, stands out as another person of color breaking the white-fantasy ceiling, let alone as a black woman. Orbit Books, one of my favorite fantasy publishers, published both Jemisin’s trilogy and Evan Winter’s initially self-published The Rage of Dragons.
A goal of mine this year is to be more mindful of the identities of the authors of the books I choose to read. Nonfiction aside, reflecting on the fictional books that I’ve read, I can’t recall many written by people of color. That’s a problem. For my worldview, for the author, for the arts, and for society. All this to say, we should all branch out to lesser known authors, whose writings (and identities) have been culturally sidelined.
I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the fantastic Prentice Onayemi. I’d never listened to anything narrated by Onayemi, but I hope to listen to more of his narrations. Much like black authors, black narrators are also notably absent from my Audible library. While the book itself was not for me, his narration was stellar. I will absolutely listen to more books read by him in the future.
Now, back to The Rage of Dragons.
“Game of Thrones meets Gladiator”
Not sure how Orbit landed on that comparison. Gladiator? Definitely. Game of Thrones? Not at all. I did not read The Rage of Dragons because I wanted a Game of Thrones story. So, although the description offers a poor comparison, I was not all too bothered by it.
How is it like Gladiator? Melee after melee after training after battle after training after war after melee after melee. The book opens with a war, which is a sure fire way to lose my interest. Battle sequences are usually my least favorite part of fantasy novels, let alone when I have no investment in the characters or the war’s outcome. Later, I realized that this war took place a few centuries before the main characters were alive; the time jump was confusing.
Now, to the present-day Omehi society. Tau is our reactant “gladiator.” Everyone in his society is trained for war, but Tau plans an injury to remove him from the ranks. As it turns out, the goddess had something else in store for him. There is a The Lion King-esque moment that drives forward the rest of the book. Our hero trains endlessly to take revenge on those who have wronged him and his family.
I found the world building to be weak, which was disappointing because Evan Winter created a very interesting world. The caste system, if under-explored, was a highlight. It reminded me of Red Rising at times, which is definitely a compliment (though Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series went downhill for me — I jumped ship during the fourth installment).
Strong female characters were notably missing. For matrilineal society, ruled over by a queen, this was bizarre and a bit off putting. There is only one woman character who received any true character development, and she was Tau’s love interest.
Tau’s society is loosely based on the Xhosa* people, an ethnic group living of present-day South Africa. They have a rich history going back five centuries. This, along with Evan Winter’s lineal ties to the Xhosa, offers a great deal of inspiration for the author to draw from. However, I felt the African-inspired fantasy world fell flat. It was more like inserting African names and phrases into a standard, western-based fantasy world. Though I will not be continuing the series, the potential for crafting a stronger base of African culture is there.
(*fun fact, the Xhosa language, is the language used in Black Panther’s Wakanda)
Evan Winter is a great writer who focused his talent on writing melee, hand to hand, action sequences. As I’ve mentioned throughout this review, I am rarely interested in battle scenes. This, above all, was my issue with The Rage of Dragons.
I am in the disappointed minority. Orbit clearly picked up Evan Winter’s initially self-published fantasy debut for a reason. Perhaps you will connect with The Rage of Dragons in a way that I did not.
I read a lot of raving reviews before reading The Rage of Dragons. Friends who have similar taste in books loved it. My expectations were high.
One of the things that drew me to The Rage of Dragons was that it was set in a nonwestern world, diverging from the quintessential European world of the fantasy genre. Not only that, but it was written by a person of color — Evan Winter, who lived in South Africa, became a director, and eventually, a writer. People of color are all too rare in the realm of mainstream fantasy authors. N.K. Jemisin, author of the Broken Earth trilogy, stands out as another person of color breaking the white-fantasy ceiling, let alone as a black woman. Orbit Books, one of my favorite fantasy publishers, published both Jemisin’s trilogy and Evan Winter’s initially self-published The Rage of Dragons.
A goal of mine this year is to be more mindful of the identities of the authors of the books I choose to read. Nonfiction aside, reflecting on the fictional books that I’ve read, I can’t recall many written by people of color. That’s a problem. For my worldview, for the author, for the arts, and for society. All this to say, we should all branch out to lesser known authors, whose writings (and identities) have been culturally sidelined.
I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the fantastic Prentice Onayemi. I’d never listened to anything narrated by Onayemi, but I hope to listen to more of his narrations. Much like black authors, black narrators are also notably absent from my Audible library. While the book itself was not for me, his narration was stellar. I will absolutely listen to more books read by him in the future.
Now, back to The Rage of Dragons.
“Game of Thrones meets Gladiator”
Not sure how Orbit landed on that comparison. Gladiator? Definitely. Game of Thrones? Not at all. I did not read The Rage of Dragons because I wanted a Game of Thrones story. So, although the description offers a poor comparison, I was not all too bothered by it.
How is it like Gladiator? Melee after melee after training after battle after training after war after melee after melee. The book opens with a war, which is a sure fire way to lose my interest. Battle sequences are usually my least favorite part of fantasy novels, let alone when I have no investment in the characters or the war’s outcome. Later, I realized that this war took place a few centuries before the main characters were alive; the time jump was confusing.
Now, to the present-day Omehi society. Tau is our reactant “gladiator.” Everyone in his society is trained for war, but Tau plans an injury to remove him from the ranks. As it turns out, the goddess had something else in store for him. There is a The Lion King-esque moment that drives forward the rest of the book. Our hero trains endlessly to take revenge on those who have wronged him and his family.
I found the world building to be weak, which was disappointing because Evan Winter created a very interesting world. The caste system, if under-explored, was a highlight. It reminded me of Red Rising at times, which is definitely a compliment (though Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series went downhill for me — I jumped ship during the fourth installment).
Strong female characters were notably missing. For matrilineal society, ruled over by a queen, this was bizarre and a bit off putting. There is only one woman character who received any true character development, and she was Tau’s love interest.
Tau’s society is loosely based on the Xhosa* people, an ethnic group living of present-day South Africa. They have a rich history going back five centuries. This, along with Evan Winter’s lineal ties to the Xhosa, offers a great deal of inspiration for the author to draw from. However, I felt the African-inspired fantasy world fell flat. It was more like inserting African names and phrases into a standard, western-based fantasy world. Though I will not be continuing the series, the potential for crafting a stronger base of African culture is there.
(*fun fact, the Xhosa language, is the language used in Black Panther’s Wakanda)
Evan Winter is a great writer who focused his talent on writing melee, hand to hand, action sequences. As I’ve mentioned throughout this review, I am rarely interested in battle scenes. This, above all, was my issue with The Rage of Dragons.
I am in the disappointed minority. Orbit clearly picked up Evan Winter’s initially self-published fantasy debut for a reason. Perhaps you will connect with The Rage of Dragons in a way that I did not.
jackie_english's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely LOVED this book!!!! I finished this one and immediately bought the 2nd. The world that Evan Winter builds is rich and beautiful, taking inspiration from African cultures which is not always common in fantasy. The last 200 pages was a wild roller coaster and Could not put it down. I was reading it on the couch near my brother and he kept asking if I was ok because I kept gasping and bring on the verge of tears. I highly recommend it!