The Waking Fire (Draconis Memoria, #1)

by Anthony Ryan

Anthony Ryan - author of fantasy sensation Blood Song - returns with The Waking Fire, a thrilling new epic fantasy of exploration and adventure, spies and assassins, explosive magic and the furious battle to forge an empire.

For decades the lands of the Ironship Syndicate have been defended by the Blood-blessed - men and women able to channel the powers contained in the potent blood of wild drakes. Elite spies and assassins, their loyalty has established the Syndicate's position as the greatest power in the known world.

Yet now a crisis looms. The drake bloodlines are weakening, and war with the Corvantine Empire seems inevitable. The Syndicate's only hope of survival lies with the myth of a legendary drake, whose powerful blood might just turn the tide of the war - if it even exists.

The task of hunting down this fabled creature falls to Claydon Torcreek, a petty thief and unregistered Blood-blessed. He's handled many valuable things in his time (most of them illegal) but nothing as priceless as his nation's future.

• ISBN10: 0356506398
• ISBN13: 9780356506395
• Publish Date: 7 July 2016 (first published 5 July 2016)
• Publish Status: Withdrawn
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 592
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ashley]

Loved the almost Mistborn-feel of the magic system. The whole concept and the economics of it was awesome! The one disappointment for me was Silverpin. I felt that whole relationship was weak and random from the get-go. Maybe it was because she and Clay actually had very little interaction? Even if you take out the whole “can't talk” thing, there was still very little relationship there. And it came out of the blue. So when Silverpin turned out to kind of betray Clay at the end, I felt very little. I think that would have had a much bigger impact if she actually had a bigger role in the story and a more significant relationship with Clay, other than “out of the blue she invited me to have sex but we never actually really interacted otherwise.”

I will definitely be continuing with the rest of the series! These books are real chonkers though.

[ross91]

DNF at 73%.
I'm sorry but I couldn't do this anymore.
So boring.

[layawaydragon]

I received a free copy from Penguin's FirstReads.com. I wanted it because dragons, obviously.

There are two things that made an impact on the story that (probably) won’t be a factor for others:

• The formatting in my copy messed up somehow when I put it on my e-reader. So it’s normally 592 pages, my mine was stretched to 752 pages. And it was all in italics.


• No map included, marked “TK”. But if you find yourself in a similar situation, the author has provided the maps online. Wish I had known about this earlier!

Cover Judgement:

I liked the UK cover, that's the one I saw and received with my copy. I didn't see the USA one until I looked it up on Goodreads... Even though the dragon is more prominent and looks fucking awesome (YAY!), the UK cover has more style and matches the book better. While the USA captures how the defining beginning moment for the characters, the UK feels like the entire journey. If you could somehow combine the two, take the title look and background (minus the flames or no?) from the UK and put the USA dragon in the forefront, I'd be in love.

Of course, the more I stare at the USA dragon, the more I love it...*sigh*


The Good:
-Loved the types of dragons, how they hunted and lived.
-Love the way magic and technology influence and evolve with each other
-Love the Gaslamp inventions
-Every character was great, including the minor ones
-Eventually enjoyed each POV character
-Eventually enjoyed the adventure more and more as time went on
-Eventually switching POVs caused the desired tension
-Eventually the POVs come together and the next book should be more cohesive.

The Bad & The Other:
-Deus ex machina to the rescue! Often anyways.
-At first, took a long while to get into,
-At first, switching POVs caused it to feel slow
-At first, politics weren't very clear so a lot of the setup and maneuverings were lost on me until later.
-I do wish we knew more about the magic system but that's clearly to come...



As you can see. I’m torn between how it started and how it ended. I can’t lie, the beginning was rocky. Not because it was bad, but it felt like I was reading three different in-universe books at the same time. Our leading trio are on different sides, missions, and places. The brief moment in the beginning when they intersect wasn't enough to establish the connection with Hilemore's perspective but it was for Lizanne and Clay.

I wasn’t immediately sucked it but it wasn’t a struggle to continue either. It was easy to put down and leave. It was better when I could just sit and read it through, starting and stopping doesn't help The Waking Fire's flow. I can't pinpoint exactly when I became invested but it definitely took longer than usual. I'm thinking 200+ pages, but my formatting was all messed up so it's hard to tell. It wasn’t until much later that the switching POVs created tension instead of sabotaging it.

Lizanne and Clay POVs started with a bang and were my favorites. They were also the most intertwined. Lizanne's a badass but I wish there was more of her before. She loves her mentor and I'd appreciate more backstory to understand how Lizanne changed. Was it going on for awhile? Were there hints? Has she disobeyed previously? Her progression wasn't sudden but...it wasn't smooth either.

For Clay, I wish there was a bit more explanation in regards to world-building. His past becomes revealed eventually but what happens to blood-blessed boys? Lizanne's school is an all-girls establishment as I understand it. Why didn't he come forward as one for housing, opportunity, etc.? He also claims to have an affinity for black, but I don't see much variation or difference in the blood-blessed abilities. They all seem to wreck. Is it as simple as being able to use it to pickpocket or is that down to training and experience?

Hilemore was the most difficult for me. It picked up with the pirates but sea battles aren't my favorite. Like NASCAR, it's all about turning and speed. I don't like how he dropped an important line of inquiry because all the action. He should've asked for proof, looked for it, and at least picked her brain some more. His chapters didn't pick up until Zenida was brought to the forefront. She saved his chapters. I kinda wish we followed her instead of Hilemore. However, given the ending, his inclusion makes more sense. I don't know for sure where it's going obviously, but I think it'd be hard to understand him and continue with him without including his perspective.

Besides those minor points, I ended up really enjoying their stories. Seeing them traverse and grow amid the action was awesome. Now if only the plotting didn't revolve around dragons who are supposed to be against them yet saving them time and again...Of course, there could be an explanation later on (no idea on the odds of this happening though), but it's a feeble way to save characters that can't save themselves. The only exception is the instances in Clay's chapters because it is explained and becomes a meaningful part of his narrative. Lizanne was extremely skilled and tactical but all their asses would've been grass without dragons conveniently killing their enemies at certain times.


Besides the deus ex machina dragons and high risk investment value, there isn't anything to complain about. The world-building is vast and unique; I can't wait to explore it more. Characters are fleshed out people and the minor characters shine. For me, finishing The Waking Fire payed off and I will be continuing the series. I have little doubt the next installment will not have the same issues as this one and should plunge deeper into every aspect I want.

BOTTOM LINE:

Torn between the beginning (2.5 starts) and the rest (4 stars), I'm cutting the difference and calling it Good. It was worth it in the end but it's hard giving 4 stars to a book that took so long and could've gone either way.

Recommendations:

If you love fantasy, want a new world to submerse into, and are willing to commit, I recommend The Waking Fire. Especially if you love dragons. Why the blurb tries to play cute with calling them drakes, I don't know. In the book, they're called dragons the whole way through...

If you're looking for an easy-breezy read or are new to fantasy, I'd picked another book.

For others, I'd recommend previewing. It is a longer book and larger reading periods works better for the flow.

[tweetybugshouse]

This is my first book by this author so i was not sure quite what to expect from this book i simply saw a dragon on the cover and thought lets give this a shot. I really glad that i did you get a rich steampunk feel with a twist of adventure as you explore the quest to find this elusive white drake through various characters in the book. It did take me a bit to get the concept of blood blessed and the use of the various colors but once i got that down this was a very enjoyable read, a tad longer then my usual read but still very well detailed did not seem drawn out at all. Thanks first to read for sharing this great book with me.