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A review by xkrow
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
3.5
Great fun book!
As was cemented through The Shadow of the Gods, I am NOT a big fan of fight scenes, especially ones that involve regular sword and shield combat with no combat magic. Even though this book was full of them - a ding against it - I was also appreciative that they were swift and decisive, not expecting you to follow complex movements and the same old attack patterns again and again until you were exhausted
The world is really complex, at least society-wise. It was really intriguing to learn all the words and titles and interactions and locations and how they all joined together in a complex web. Excited to see more of this in the next titles.
I thought Winter's prose was also really solid. You could picture everything clearly, with little to no purple-prosing (which wouldn't have necessarily been a negative - see the balance struck in Children of Time).
Some negatives. I thought Tau's OP nature was a little too much at times, reaching early Darrow like levels. I'm one to enjoy my fair share of OP characters, but their power always comes from a specific magical element unique to them that justifies it more than "too angry to lose". Also, Tau's so fucking impulsive - calm down, take a chill-pill sometimes! Many times it works; other times it feels included only for the plot to progress how Winter wants it. It does most embody the theme though so it doesn't bring the score down too much.
In terms of what I'd like to see next (not a negative yet, but could become with future books):
1) There is a ton of discussion in the book in regards to the efficacy and legitimacy of caste systems. But it does not seem as thought that extends to the specific authority structures - simply what KIND of people are in charge. I would like to see a further questioning of that. Tau puts a character in their place by challenge them calling him a "lesser", but something similar does not happen with the royalty. I would like to see this thread followed to its conclusion if possible.
2) Similarly, and I have hope of this, the Xidden are consistently called "savages" and their brutalism is put on display. I'd like to see them portrayed in a more nuance light next, because of again the discussions the book puts forward about challenging systems.
As was cemented through The Shadow of the Gods, I am NOT a big fan of fight scenes, especially ones that involve regular sword and shield combat with no combat magic. Even though this book was full of them - a ding against it - I was also appreciative that they were swift and decisive, not expecting you to follow complex movements and the same old attack patterns again and again until you were exhausted
The world is really complex, at least society-wise. It was really intriguing to learn all the words and titles and interactions and locations and how they all joined together in a complex web. Excited to see more of this in the next titles.
I thought Winter's prose was also really solid. You could picture everything clearly, with little to no purple-prosing (which wouldn't have necessarily been a negative - see the balance struck in Children of Time).
Some negatives. I thought Tau's OP nature was a little too much at times, reaching early Darrow like levels. I'm one to enjoy my fair share of OP characters, but their power always comes from a specific magical element unique to them that justifies it more than "too angry to lose". Also, Tau's so fucking impulsive - calm down, take a chill-pill sometimes! Many times it works; other times it feels included only for the plot to progress how Winter wants it. It does most embody the theme though so it doesn't bring the score down too much.
In terms of what I'd like to see next (not a negative yet, but could become with future books):
1) There is a ton of discussion in the book in regards to the efficacy and legitimacy of caste systems. But it does not seem as thought that extends to the specific authority structures - simply what KIND of people are in charge. I would like to see a further questioning of that. Tau puts a character in their place by challenge them calling him a "lesser", but something similar does not happen with the royalty. I would like to see this thread followed to its conclusion if possible.
2) Similarly, and I have hope of this, the Xidden are consistently called "savages" and their brutalism is put on display. I'd like to see them portrayed in a more nuance light next, because of again the discussions the book puts forward about challenging systems.