Some lies are best left buried…
Science and magic are forbidden in Brandshold, where the Seven Gods' scripture dictates daily life. When spirit-magic erupts, disrupting an alchemical experiment, fear rolls across the realm and awakens the veil dragons buried deep beneath a forest, their existence struck from memory by the Gods.
Laoch, a veteran of the crusades, and Sura, an elf disowned by her tribe, stand as warriors of spirit and bone against the oncoming tide, while a queen shackled by the demands of the Gods’ Overseer, seeks to cut through his web of deceit and find the truth about her people’s past and the threat of the awakened dragons.
Drawn into a brutal world of soul-magic, forbidden alchemy, and divine weapons, together they uncover a terrible truth: the realm is held together by lies ‒ and they hide a far greater threat to their future. For the dragons are creatures that were built for the hunt, and their creators are hungry.
My Thoughts:
What a ride! And what an opening to what looks like an amazing new fantasy series.
I’ve already reviewed a few of Nick’s books on this blog – in fact I’ve become something of a fan - but this is the first of his fantasy that I’ve read. Suffice to say it lived up to my expectations.
The worldbuilding is superb, the characters compelling and as the action picks up pace I found myself being swept along in a thrilling chase. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. But not without its moments of passion and sorrow. I became so involved with these characters that I felt their love, their tears, their terror as if I was right there with them.
I particularly loved the mechanical dragons. What an excellent extra dimension.
I thoroughly recommend this book and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
A solid 5 stars from me!
