Scan barcode
A review by sarahetc
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
5.0
Dudes. Dudes, we start with a note from the author himself:
And then, we move back a bit. I added this to the queue because it comes up in every list of "If you love X, then you'll love Rage of Dragons!" Plus also being on several other lists of "New Great Voices in Fantasy." Always looking for something to fill the Lightbringer void and totally burned by the overwhelming recommendation of Powder Mage (Meh, y'all. Meh!) I went for it. Burned an Audible credit and thought what the heck. Then started listening and was like, "Is it supposed to incredibly derivative? Like, is this the west African retelling of Eye of the World? I mean, The Broken Eye? I mean, Harry Potter? Wait, did we just prologue it with Storm of Swords and fast forward to Harry Potter? Did someone write some Kingkiller fanfic and do a find/replace with Kvothe/Tau?"
And then I went and looked at other reviews, saw that quote from Winter, the author, and truly leaned into it. And y'all, I am so glad I did. He set out a write a book he'd love, because he loves books like I love books and he wrote a book I LOVE. I love Tau. I love Zuri. I love Jayed. At the end, I even loved Kellan. I really, really want more from Temba*, because dude is hilarious and it took me a while to catch the subtleties of the humor Winter was writing through him. I can't say I'm not dismayed by some of the twists at the end (no spoilers!), but as a long-time fantasy-lover, I chose to ignore the clues in order to love the characters.
I won't write much more about the plot because, as stated, it's crazy derivative. You could probably piece it together just from Winter's own references. But oh, his characterization! And the relationships between those characters. Plus, it's the kind of book where you're really starting to take sides and Winter does the literary equivalent of "J/K LOL" and suddenly you doubt everything you know, have concluded and predicated, and wish to happen. And it. Is. Glorious!
Get on this as fast as you can. And I highly recommend the audio. Prentice Onayemi does an incredible job. Was singing his praises to a friend and said friend goes, "That dude also reads the KJV Bible." And I immediately thought, "Well, OF COURSE he does!"
Five stars! More stars! Making myself wait on the sequel because oh, this is just delicious!
* Temba, y'all. Derivative! IN THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WAYS!!!
I think it's great, but then I wrote it, and my mother always said I should be proud of myself and the things I accomplish. I'm very proud of this. Maybe too proud. You be the judge. Though, you're most likely to have a good time if you enjoy Robert Jordan's expansive worlds, Brandon Sanderson's detailed magic systems, Joe Abercrombie's gritty combat, and Pierce Brown's page-burning pace of action.
My goal was to write something that I would, as a reader, love.
And then, we move back a bit. I added this to the queue because it comes up in every list of "If you love X, then you'll love Rage of Dragons!" Plus also being on several other lists of "New Great Voices in Fantasy." Always looking for something to fill the Lightbringer void and totally burned by the overwhelming recommendation of Powder Mage (Meh, y'all. Meh!) I went for it. Burned an Audible credit and thought what the heck. Then started listening and was like, "Is it supposed to incredibly derivative? Like, is this the west African retelling of Eye of the World? I mean, The Broken Eye? I mean, Harry Potter? Wait, did we just prologue it with Storm of Swords and fast forward to Harry Potter? Did someone write some Kingkiller fanfic and do a find/replace with Kvothe/Tau?"
And then I went and looked at other reviews, saw that quote from Winter, the author, and truly leaned into it. And y'all, I am so glad I did. He set out a write a book he'd love, because he loves books like I love books and he wrote a book I LOVE. I love Tau. I love Zuri. I love Jayed. At the end, I even loved Kellan. I really, really want more from Temba*, because dude is hilarious and it took me a while to catch the subtleties of the humor Winter was writing through him. I can't say I'm not dismayed by some of the twists at the end (no spoilers!), but as a long-time fantasy-lover, I chose to ignore the clues in order to love the characters.
I won't write much more about the plot because, as stated, it's crazy derivative. You could probably piece it together just from Winter's own references. But oh, his characterization! And the relationships between those characters. Plus, it's the kind of book where you're really starting to take sides and Winter does the literary equivalent of "J/K LOL" and suddenly you doubt everything you know, have concluded and predicated, and wish to happen. And it. Is. Glorious!
Get on this as fast as you can. And I highly recommend the audio. Prentice Onayemi does an incredible job. Was singing his praises to a friend and said friend goes, "That dude also reads the KJV Bible." And I immediately thought, "Well, OF COURSE he does!"
Five stars! More stars! Making myself wait on the sequel because oh, this is just delicious!
* Temba, y'all. Derivative! IN THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WAYS!!!