rhiannoncs's review against another edition
2.0
This was a real "wasted potential" book. The basic idea was really kind of cool - a dragon has been lying dormant beneath an English village for centuries, and periodically people will stumble close to its lair and receive the "gifts of the dragon" (the ability to see auras, pyrokinesis, flight, and telepathy, abilities which manifest themselves gradually). And now the dragon is going to be set free, which sounds very exciting.
The book suffers from so many technical problems that it's hard to enjoy it, though. He has major issues with shifting POV, the characters are 2-dimensional, and the pacing is off. Add to that the fact that there are only two female characters and they're both extremely passive, and I wasn't really a happy camper.
I would recommend picking up the Bartimaus Trilogy, but steering clear of Buried Fire. This is very much an early novel, before he and his editors really worked things out.
The book suffers from so many technical problems that it's hard to enjoy it, though. He has major issues with shifting POV, the characters are 2-dimensional, and the pacing is off. Add to that the fact that there are only two female characters and they're both extremely passive, and I wasn't really a happy camper.
I would recommend picking up the Bartimaus Trilogy, but steering clear of Buried Fire. This is very much an early novel, before he and his editors really worked things out.
nesskempton's review against another edition
2.0
I was so excited to read more books by this fabulous author, but I was so disappointed by this. I was SO bored. And the ending was very anticlimactic. Skip this one and read the Bartimaeous Trilogy again.
katzenkindliest's review against another edition
3.0
2,5 Sterne, aber nur weil das Finale es ein bisschen "rausgerissen" hat. Insgesamt eher schwach, die Charaktere blass und nicht glaubwürdig, die Story... weiß ich auch nicht...
selinadragonair's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was a rather shallow and flat read. The two brothers were pretty dumb imho. Sarah, who is an important character, stayed faceless for me, I don't even know how she looks like. There was not much character depth and the story was crazy-weird like an old Stephen King novel (but not as good).
It was a light childrens book, good for the stressful time of the year, but it didn't excite me.
It was a light childrens book, good for the stressful time of the year, but it didn't excite me.
bookaneer's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting premise but the story got stale and left me skimming the pages with increasing sleepiness.
agnethamarie's review against another edition
2.0
Very disappointing. This book had a lot of potential which, unfortunately, it didn't exploit at all.
The basic idea was enormously exciting and interesting, I also liked the setting, but the writing style was extremely cumbersome. Actually creepy scenes were spoiled by rather clumsy descriptions. The charm and wit, which I loved in "Bartimaeus" or "Lockwood & Co" was completely missing.
Instead every character was extremely flat and boring, every identification with the heroes was difficult. I find the way they treat their older sister very unsympathetic - after all, she took care of them since the death of her parents. Even this tragic past and the way they deal with it only plays a minor role. Every character has at most one trait and is either "bad" or "good (and only because of the bad guys not so much anymore!)". Especially the two female characters were very passive.
The ending was way too fast, the whole final fight was pressed into five very confusing pages and after that the book was just over. For hundreds of pages of preparation for exactly this event really unspectacular.
I would simply ignore this Stroud book and read Bartimaeus or Lockwood & Co instead - the writing development is enormous compared to this book!
The basic idea was enormously exciting and interesting, I also liked the setting, but the writing style was extremely cumbersome. Actually creepy scenes were spoiled by rather clumsy descriptions. The charm and wit, which I loved in "Bartimaeus" or "Lockwood & Co" was completely missing.
Instead every character was extremely flat and boring, every identification with the heroes was difficult. I find the way they treat their older sister very unsympathetic - after all, she took care of them since the death of her parents. Even this tragic past and the way they deal with it only plays a minor role. Every character has at most one trait and is either "bad" or "good (and only because of the bad guys not so much anymore!)". Especially the two female characters were very passive.
The ending was way too fast, the whole final fight was pressed into five very confusing pages and after that the book was just over. For hundreds of pages of preparation for exactly this event really unspectacular.
I would simply ignore this Stroud book and read Bartimaeus or Lockwood & Co instead - the writing development is enormous compared to this book!
luksie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
almyworld's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Der Roman "Drachenglut" ist an sich eine spannende fantasy Geschichte, die sich vorallem durch die tiefen Charaktere und den gelungenen Perspektivwechsel auszeichnet. Jedoch muss man sagen, dass die Spannung erst ab ungefähr der Hälfte des Buches zunimmt und der Teil davor somit wie eine zu lang gewordenen Einleitung wirkt. Leider fehlte mir persönlich auch am Ende was: Den Höhepunkt der Geschichte hätte man, vorallem nach so einer Einleitung, länger ziehen können und zusätzlich ein vernünftiges Ende erstellen können, welches sich nicht einfach nur hingeklatscht und viel zu kurz anfühlt. Es gäbe noch einige Fragen, die man hätte beantworten können und mithilfe dessen man die Geschichte hätte perfekt abrunden können. Schade.