A Truly Epic Fantasy Ride
584458
A book written with imagination is in comparison with movies that you have watched best in your entire life. I wouldn't say this is the best but the imagination filled and designed to this book is imaginative enough to keep you reading continuously.

I can't agree more reading this is indeed an "epic fantasy ride".
4386933
I definitely prefer this fantasy world to that of Miller's other fantasy series "Empress", but the pacing and the focusing on too many characters at once made me long for grim Hekat and tortured Vortka. That being said, this first novel in the "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" duology was a great, fun, intriguing piece of high fantasy, and I was really impressed with it.

The story begins by introducing the first of many characters- Asher, a young Olken man from the fisherman's coast town Westwailing, who is setting off to the metropolis Dorana to make some money for his overworked father. Asher is an uncommon character in that he is proud and stubborn and quite capable, seemingly the likely hero. He knows what he wants and he'll stomp and swear to get it. He is quite the alpha male, but we do get to see his vulnerable side later in the novel, which is a relief. While in Dorana, he meets many new friends- the lovely but stern Dathne, the caring palace stable master Matt, and the prince of Dorana himself, Gar. After saving Gar from a startled horse, Asher is appointed as his official assistant, despite their glaring differences. Gar is a fair-haired Doranen royal, though he is cursed with a lack of Doranen magic, and Asher is a magickless Olken. I was really drawn into the novel because of their friendship and their buddy dynamic. Gar's cautious and studious attitude and Asher's brash gruffness really work well together, and Miller has such a flair for witty dialogue.

But there is a lot of trouble brewing in Dorana as the delicate balance of magic, set by their goddess Barl, starts to tip. Dathne, an Olken, is a part of a secret magic circle of gifted Olkens, and as Jervale's heir, she is blessed with the prophecy that Asher is their Innocent Mage and his time will come to be their hero. And in the palace, Gar continues to struggle with the fact that he is not gifted in magic and will live in the shadow of his little sister Fane, who will be chief Weather Worker and queen of the city that should be his. A lot of the story focuses on keeping this magic in perfect alignment, and seeing what happens what that alignment shifts.

Miller has weaved a really intricate fantasy world that is quite comforting- magic, taverns, family drama, all the works for a great classic fantasy setting. It is much more light and fun than the dark "Empress" setting. But with this new setting comes a lot of characters, too many subplots, and a strange way of organization. Too much time was spent on Gar's family dramas, even though I love the closeness he shared with the king and queen, and not enough time was spent on the seemingly abandoned romance between Asher and Dathne. Too many subplots were introduced and few questions were answered. A lot of negative reviews for this book say that nothing really happened and it kind of dragged on, which I can understand. But I'm definitely reading the next one...the ending was a shocker, and I need to see what happens!
2188573
Author Robert E Dudley weaves a spectacular tale of sci-fi fantasy with intriguing twists and turns that will easily captivate the reader's attention from the beginning. The author paints an exciting and adventurous story of swords and sorcery in a very vivid and convincing way, and the characters are drawn with great credibility and integrity. If you're looking for an action packed, sci-fi fantasy adventure thats packed to the rafters with courage, bravery and heroism, this book has it alland more.

The book description gives a sneak preview; Lady Dove: Legendary leader, warrior, unstoppable. Yet as the Commander of the Jubilant Order of the Air, an epic fighting order, she is a failure. Two of her members were taken by a Demon Lord from the Pits while she was in command. Twenty times her order descended into the fiery abyss to reclaim their fallen comrades. Each time was a failure. Now the Jubilant Order is no more, its members scattered to the far corners. Only Lady Dove remains.

Finding a powerful sage who augurs that her only hope to recover her fallen brothers is to align herself with Krayer, a fallen Paladin who leads an order of evil warriors, the Knights of the Bloody Rose. Lady Dove will stop at nothing to reclaim her lost members and reform her order. Not even teaming up with the foul Lord of Death.

Follow Lady Dove as she journeys to the harsh Weathershield Mountains where in her way lay Dragon Kings, Feral Trolls, powerful magic and of course the evil Knights of the Rose....

Now, if thats not enough to whet your appetite, I don't know what will. But if you want to find out what happens, youll just have to turn the pages for yourself! However, I will say it was well worth the read. Its my first time reading this author and I must say I was very impressed.

Captivating and commendable, this work had me immersed from the beginning. The story flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are plenty of attention-grabbing moments in this page turner that will take the reader on a truly spellbinding journey!

Its one of those books that come along occasionally that makes you want to read it non-stop until you get to the end. Im giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader.

If this volume is anything to go by, Ill certainly be looking forward to reading more from Robert E Dudley in the future. This has all the hallmarks of making a great series.  I would definitely recommend this book and would love to see it adapted for the Silver Screen. I honestly think it would make a fantastic movie. On a final note, illustrator Maxim Simonenko must also be commended for the excellent front cover artwork and Autumn Conley for fine tuning the script. A well-deserved five stars from me.
451989
Great epic fantasy! I really enjoyed this read. I think there is a little bit of something for everyone. Politics, action, adventure and even a little bit of romance. I am looking forward to the next installment already.
1216352
I am amazed that this book isn't a best seller.  I had never heard of this author or this book, when I stumbled across the second book in the series.  It sounded interesting, so I thought I would go ahead and start at the beginning of the series, and I was immediately immersed in this book and this world.  The author's writing style brings to mind the word "storytelling", and this author is a great storyteller.  This is a fairly long book, but it kept my interest the whole way through.  There is plenty of action, but even when the action was minimal, I never lost interest or wanted to skip ahead.  I just thoroughly enjoyed this book.  This is a truly "epic" fantasy, and it is so refreshing to come across such a jewel of a book.  I highly recommend you give this book a try, if you enjoy long, well told epic tales, I think you will love this book.
4188080
One of the best fantasy novels I have read. Sanderson has really created an interesting setting for his epic and is showing that he can stand toe to toe with the giants of the genre. I love how he gets into the mechanics of the "magic system" that he creates for each world. It was something that made Wheel of Time fascinating and this is just as good.  I can't wait for the next volume!
3604733
This was a brilliant book. I love my epic fantasy and I walked into this book expecting a good story with some typical epic fantasy tropes (stuff I enjoy and why I keep returning to the genre). Yet Daniel Abraham gave me more than that. First, the world of The Dagger & the Coin series is ancient. It has evolved. It was once a place ruled by dragons, where the races of humans were created to serve or entertain the rulers of the world. Now, the dragons have long since disappeared, all but fallen into myth. The races have intermingled, have their own religions, commerce, cities, and politics. Next, the characters we follow are interesting, with pasts of their own, and caught up in circumstances that they must navigate successfully, or perish. Several of the characters grow throughout the book, and there were a few twists of circumstances that turned some characters in a different direction than I expected. Political intrigue, a bank's treasury on the run, military action, manipulation, a troop of actors, and the occasional drunken bout fill these pages. It is a hell of a ride!

Of course, I developed my favorite plot lines with the chapters moving from character to character. Cithrin and Marcus Wester were a lot of fun to ride around inside their heads. Cithrin probably grew the most in this book and I found myself rooting for her at every turn. The conversations, clipped as they were, between Marcus and Yardem often had me chuckling with the dry humor. In fact, if life was a bit different, I could see my man and I having some of those same conversations. At first, I wasn't too interested in Dawson, but as time went forward, I saw how his rigid view of the right and the wrong of the world made him a very complex man. Of course, this same trait also makes him a volatile man in the sense that if you step out of your place he can't help but try to shove you back in it, or even eliminate you entirely. I had the same reaction to his wife Clara, at first practically ignoring her as a woman primarily interested in appearances. Later we learn that she is quite a bit more than that. Of course Geder turns out to be a very complex man. I don't want to say too much here as I mean to avoid spoilers, but damn! I loved watching his story line as it took turns I did not expect.
3904646
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this; I'm not normally much of a sci fi/fantasy reader, but I love this author. If he published a phone directory, I'd probably buy it (and then be blown away by the depth of the characters).

So this is an epic fantasy. The feeling reminded me of Cloud Atlas--it's not necessarily our world, but it sort of is, and you get those flashes of familiarity every now and then. Themes include death and immortality, memory/legacy, time/cycles, race/species, environmental destruction, and the hero's quest. The plotting was familiar enough to engaging, but with enough variations and twists that it never felt predictable.

This is Book 1 out of ... ? not sure. Can't wait for Book 2.
2926176
Rollercoaster ride, non-stop action with incredible characters!
3175554
Top notch Fantasy-Fiction!

The author pulls you into this fantasy by painting vivid details of her world with captivating detail. You can picture the scenes in your mind's eye.
I really enjoyed the use of first person narration.
The protagonist, Olina,wears a veil which limits her gaze and definitely creates intrigue. Her strong character is developed nicely and the writing is superb and stirring; the author can definitely evoke emotion. I was drawn in by realistic imagery, action and character interaction. As the tale unwound the book became harder and harder to put down.

This epic and treacherous journey is gripping and worth the price of admission.
Highly recommended--I really did enjoy it.
1852432
Buy this book now! Your view of fantasy will never be the same. This epic story will go above your standards. Coming from a eight-year-old,you`ll not be able to put this book down.
4001704
This is quite possibly the best fantasy book I've ever read, and the audio book does it justice. If you enjoy thoroughly developed character, deep emotional plunges, and a fair bit of awesome magic, this is the series for you. Rothfuss is an excellent storyteller with a deliberate and powerful grasp of language. This series is entirely enjoyable for any fan of fantasy, and I suspect, fiction readers as a whole will find something worthwhile if they investigate.
2143385
This is an epic fantasy novel. It has a lot of the same plot points and characters that inhabit normal old Europe fantasy settings. What really is the twist here is that action is never really front and center. This is a character study in the realm of epic fantasy.

Daniel Abraham has never gotten to be a big player in fantasy. His books are not for everyone. I think this will remain true for "The Dagger and the Coin" as well. When people read Game of Thrones they know battles are coming. The sense of danger around every corner. I never got that while reading "The Dragon's Path". I instead was really caught up with the characters and their interactions. This isn't for fantasy lovers who are looking for blood.

What really makes this novel is the characters. They grow in the right places. They are stubborn in the right places. They feel real. The world they inhabit is good. I can't say the world feels that deep yet, but this is book 1. One of the best compliments I can pay this book is that I cannot say that I have a favorite character. Every time the POV would change I was delighted to be reading that characters perspective. That is rare in this type of material. Usually there is a character I don't want and characters I can't wait to get back to. Not so here. Add all this up, and add in a great ending, with a cool twist, and you have a really special story.

If everything I have described sounds like a breath of fresh air then you should but it. If the fact that big battles are not the focal point then I think that your dollars would be better spent on other books. For me I loved this novel. I can't wait to start digging into the second book!
1313758
Once I started this book I could not put it down, I have been craving an epic fantasy book like this. Well written and imaginative, I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.
698273
Peter V. Brett's The Painted Man (published in the US as The Warded Man) was the best fantasy debut novel I'd read in well over a decade and definitely one of the all-time best fantasy worlds ever. I was prepared to accept a sophomore slump but he amazed me by delivering an even bigger, better, more action-packed sequel. What was more, his characterization improved considerably, deepening and fleshing out established characters while developing nuances and details to other lesser supporting cast. And the incredible pacing and ability to describe action as well as imbue it with emotion and empathy continues in The Desert Spear. It's a ripping great yarn, and sets up the story beautifully for the third part coming in Feb 2013. I am very impressed by how well Brett writes, far superior to the vast majority of new authors in the epic fantasy field, how wide-ranging his talent is, and how masterfully this series is developing. I look forward to The Daylight War with more enthusiasm than any other fantasy novel I've read in years - including the final installments of GRRM's SOIAF and Jordan's WoT - and for once, I hope he does NOT give us closure but continues this fantastic epic for many more volumes.
3910260
I had never read anything written by this author before so I wasn't sure what kind of fantasy he writes.  After reading this book, I am not only looking forward to the next book in the series but would also read his earlier books.  The good news for other new readers like me is that the author says at the beginning of the book that no knowledge of either The Riyria Chronicles or The Riyria Revelations is necessary to read this and that there are no spoilers in this book for the earlier series.  I apprecited that a lot.

I am certain that the scope of the story will expand over the series, but this is epic fantasy on a personal level.  The world he has created contains several different races/types of beings.  The Rhune seem more like "regular" humans but the Fhrey, though also humanoid, are so much superior in advancement that the Rhune believe they are gods.  Even among the Fhrey, there are several different tribes, one of which has magical abilities.  In addition there are giants, goblins, and Dherg (though we don't meet any Dherg in this book).

The story is told at a personal level with Raith, a Rhune from Dureya, the people of one village from another Rhune tribe, and a handful of Fhrey.  Events unfold at this micro level that set up epic conflicts to come.  I really enjoyed this kind of story telling.  The reader learns about this world while reading about specific people in that world and their lives. What starts as Raith and his father having an unexpected encounter with one Fhrey builds and expands until it pulls in the wider world.

So you won't get epic battles with armies against armies in this book.  Instead you get one-on-one battles, one of which was pretty epic itself, and really well-crafted characters you will like and want to see what happens next to them.  I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this series to see how it builds and continues.
802262
The Firelords Crown is stunning, high fantasy. I picked up this novel after reading the pitch and the first chapter, expecting something enthralling, but the scope of Harrisons world building and the involvement I felt with her characters was beyond expectations. We begin in a kingdom frozen in the tundra, with a prince who is about to quickly, forcedly come of age. He is surrounded by a loyal kinsman, Rolo, a magelike man, Airen, and a destiny shrouded in secrets.

With a taste of both old and new, Harrisons work reminds me of my days in Robin Hoods Nottingham and also strikes me with a reminder of Kristen Britains First Rider series. There is also an epic feel to The Firelords Crown, as if out of Tolkiens mind, and yet I enjoyed The Firelords Crown more.

The entire work was stunning, but by far my favorite part was the final scene. Harrison does suspense extremely well.

After writing this review Im immediately picking up my Kindle to begin the next in the series, Firelords Heir. Thank goodness I don't have to wait.