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Fortress Draconis (The DragonCrown War Cycle, Book 1)
Fortress Draconis - The DragonCrown War Cycle, Book 1 Author:Michael A. Stackpole The incredible new fantasy epic that began with The Dark Glory War continues in... — Fortress Draconis — In an age of treachery and peril, a young thief may be the prophesied savior ... or the betrayer of the world. — From Michael A. Stackpole, New York Times bestselling author and a master of epic fantasy, comes a stirring chr... more »onicle of magic, intrigue, passion, and the most unlikely of heroes...
Once one of the grandest of human cities, Yslin now has a dark heart known as the Dimandowns. And when Will, an orphaned young thief from the Dim, plots to prove himself to his master by stealing a prize from the exiled Elves who share the fetid slums, his theft of the strange artifact snares him in a web of prophecy.
It also brings him together with Kedyn’s Crow, a shadowy human warrior, and Resolute, a Vorquelf determined to redeem his long-lost island home. To them, Will could be the fulfillment of a long-held dream and the last chance the world has to save itself from Chytrine, the northern tyrant who would be empress of the world.
But their belief in Will finds few allies in a world torn by war and magick. Preoccupied with their own internecine struggles, the world’s leaders see Will as a pawn. Only Chytrine seems able to recognize Will’s destiny, and she sends her Dark Lancers to destroy him. For who better to destroy a hero than the ill-fated heroes of the previous generation, survivors of a failed war to exterminate Chytrine, now corrupted to her service?
Yet even as Will is tested, a new generation takes up arms where their predecessors failed. Alexia, princess of a dead nation, leads an army to oppose Chytrine. And the sorcerers of Vilwan have fashioned their own hero, Kerrigan Reese, bestowing upon him powers and abilities no human has held for centuries.
Together these heroes travel to the mysterious Fortress Draconis to stop Chytrine from stealing more fragments of the DragonCrown — a powerful artifact that, once in her control, will guarantee her dominion forever.
Officially, the first volume in the DragonCrown War Cycle series, this book follows The Dark Glory War. A cast of characters start to take shape in this book that you really get hooked into. Led by Will, an orphan, who is destined to be the hero to oppose the evil Chytrine, the "would-be" empress of the world. Will and a cast of rag-tag heroes travel to Fortress Draconis to stop Chytrine. This is a great adventure story full of what makes fantasy fun-magic,passion and heroes!
HEAthEr S. (ta-dah) reviewed Fortress Draconis (The DragonCrown War Cycle, Book 1) on
A quarter of a century ago, the evil sorceress Chytrine made her bid to conquer the world and be named Empress. King Augustus led a mighty army that engaged her in battle to try to stop her achieving her ambition. He proved partly successful in that he captured her stronghold FORTRESS DRACONIS, but he failed to kill her. Augustus managed to restrain her in the north.
Still many lands are under her control and she is now once again making a new bid for power. She is trying to gather all the pieces of the magical artifact called the Dragon Crown together because once she has them she will be unstoppable. A new generation of heroes has risen up to destroy her including Will, a teenager from the YslinnÆs slums who is part of a prophecy that will spell ChytrineÆs doom. Also battling the tyrant is Princess Alexia, a royal from the conquered land of Okrannel. She fights under the aegis of King Augustus using the moniker General Alex. Vilwan sorcerers have created the most powerful mage ever known, Kerrigan Reese, as their contributor to the upcoming war. KedynÆs Crow and Resolute the Vorquelf whose land is also under the tyrantÆs rule are training so Will can become the man that the prophecy describes.
FORTRESS DRACONIS is an epic fantasy on a par with the Lord of the Rings and the Shannara saga. There is enough action to keep readers turning the pages and the author develops his characters so well that the audience understands them and their motivations. It will be hard if not impossible to wait for the sequel to this exciting novel.
This book and the 2nd & 3rd in the series was apparently marketed as a trilogy. There is a prequel, "The Dark Glory War", which I had tried to read, but found it ponderous and slow. I'm going to have to give it another try, now that I've read this book and enjoyed it so much. It's kind of a military/political fantasy, with magic, of course. The plot is fairly standard - young boy, unaware of his destiny, is sought by others who know that the boy is the key to saving the world. That doesn't matter, because the rest of the book is so good. There's lots of action, fighting, plotting and good characters. I particularly enjoyed the character of Kerrigan the mage.
Loved the prequel book in the series, DARK GLORY WAR. Haven't read this one yet, but I somehow ended up with two copies. I'll give it a slightly above average rating (just based on the first book) so I can enter it in the PBS lists.
Not a bad start to the trilogy. A lot of character building and introductions to a large handful of players, that at the time you are not quite sure why or what they will accomplish. Well enough written to keep things moving along and gets steadily better as it progresses to the end. The story ramps up in book 2, so get this first one and start reading.
