The Waking Fire (The Draconis Memoria Book 1)

Anthony Ryan is a great writer. He has great ideas. But he lacks the ability for whatever reason to create convincing characters and a coherent plot. The Waking Fire meanders all over, trampling what could have been a very fun plot. Dragons are there, but always in the background as human enemies are the heart of the story. Which detracts greatly from its charm. The characters themselves are wholly hollow with not a one proving particularly engaging or likable. You have essentially a cast of Mary-Sues and Marty-Stus who succeed no matter what and always by the skin of their teeth. There is little to no learning curve. Also the magic system is quite interesting but poorly explained and rarely utilized in a meaningful manner. It feels like more of an afterthought used to progress plot points than anything meaningful.

There are few works that I have read that meld guns and Dragons together without quickly becoming tedious and imprpbable.The world created by Ryan in this novel is properly constructed and the "magic" system if it could be termed as such is very much jn keeping with the "dawn of the industrial age" dynamic of the story.Good characters, developed sufficiently to allow one to root for them.The book is a good read and I am on to the next in the series with no hesitation.

To say I was less then enchanted with the end of Mr. Ryan's last outing; would be putting it mildly. I gave this book a shot due to the treasure I found in his first book. I'm so glad I did. The waking fire grabbed me and didn't let go. I can't wait to read the next installment. I just hope the author avoids the same mistakes he made in Queen of Fire... Well thought out magic system, battles that kept me awake past the time I wanted to go to sleep, and characters that kept me wanting more...what else could I ask for?

Ryan's characters tend to be extremely hard without much emotional depth, if any. He could never write Matt Cauthon, for example. However, Ryan is absolutely incredible at creating amazing, brutal worlds in which it's immediately apparent that such coldness is necessary. If you want that kind of harshness with well developed characters, you're better off going with Joe Abercrombie. I personally find that far, far less satisfying, though it does seem to provoke more conversation.

The start of the Draconis Memoria series is not bad but I did encounter some speed bumps while reading this first entry. Namely the slow first half off the book and one point of view character who just seemed out of place. Now also let me start off by saying that this book is nothing like Anthony Ryan's first series, so if your looking for something like that then this may be a miss for you. However, I like different and this was just that. It has a lot of the elements I want in a High Epic Fantasy series. This first novel laid a great foundation and I can see the great potential.My pros for this series so far, the world building, the unique magic system, and the direction of the story so far. The world building that Ryan has crafted is magnificent. I am incredibly intrigued by the politics and overall workings of world. That includes the magic system. Now the magic system is something quite different, (it is not your typical magic) it focuses on the use of Drake's blood. Which is pretty awesome.My middle of the road feeling is the story, yes it is in my pros but I also have some cons when it comes to the story. The first half of the story was very foundational. It was definitely geared for introducing the world and the POV characters however as much as I enjoyed Lizanne and Clay, Hilemore is a puzzling POV. I didn't really understand why he was in this story, yes even after 600 pages I am still trying to see where he fits into the story.All in all I really enjoyed The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan and I cannot wait to dive into the rest of this series. Which I am going to do right now.

A highly imaginative epic fantasy with complexity, strong characters and excellent world building.Society herein is built on an unsophisticated form of government (basically corporations), with two primary "companies" warring for ascendancy and control of more of the planet, all against a complex backdrop including colored dragons, harvesting of dragon blood, and a frontier-like society. Certain gifted people are able to use dragon blood to briefly acquire extraordinary powers. In addition, the development of their technologies and its impact on the wars is fascinating, much as in a real war, as well as the role played by the gifted, the dragons and the Spoiled. The story builds to a powerful climax, as seen by the main characters aligned with the losing company, but the dragons play a major role including the mythical white dragon. I also enjoyed the evolution of the characters as they mature in response to the stresses of war.I enjoyed the read and it was not easy to put down even briefly. I would happily have given this novel 5 stars except for one thing - the author has an unusual and sometimes stilted vocabulary by using the second and third definition of some words, sometimes misapplying entirely in my opinion. One example is the extreme overuse of 'besmirched' to mean 'dirtied or soiled', technically correct but a second definition more used in poetry.

I loved the Blood Song trilogy, and Ryan didn't disappoint in his next series. World building was the main strength of this book, with decent character development and a really fantastic magic system. It feels a little more quest/adventure book than Blood Song did to me. It fits very solidly within the fantasy genre, so if you are generally a fan of that, definitely pick this one up too.

Gifts are a common thread between the two Ryan series so far. Quite different but both are excellent. There is a science-fiction undercurrent to this steampunk-with-dragons action novel, a hint of the long arc that is so light that it implies multiple sequel volumes. A writer with much to say and the talent and craft and work ethic to say it very readably .

This a review of the series, not just volume 1, and is as spoiler-free as possible.Anthony Ryan is a consummate author, as evidenced by his Raven’s Shadow series (the first two books, anyway – we shall draw a discrete veil over the dreadful third volume), but he never engages in this one. It feels as though he has adopted someone else’s storyline and fleshed it out, but never quite manages to bring it to life. What starts as a promising premise fizzles and sputters along. By part way through the third volume, I couldn’t wait for it to end and, despite the flurry of activity in the last part of the book, it was too late to grip me.The two main characters of Lizanne and Clay evolve slowly, and imperceptibly, and it is an exercise in frustration waiting for something that never really happens. Both are able to use the full gamut of dragon’s blood to wondrous effect, including fire, telekinesis and ESP, she being the expert and he the novice, but there is never the satisfaction of either of them conquering inner demons or achieving something great. There are plenty of side characters, all of whom are expertly brought to life and then taken for granted. Should you leave a gap between books, or even put any of them down for a while (as I did with volume 3), there are no hooks to remind you who these characters are, and by the time any of them dies, it is often difficult to remember what their significance was. This is less so for the characters surrounding Clay.The character of Lizanne stretches credulity slightly (it is fiction, so not exactly a significant complaint), and has the feel of the author trying to make a point that young women can rule the world. He nearly succeeds, but it often feels forced, both in relation to her physical ability and her authority. The end result is more than a little off-balance, and one almost wonders why Lizanne needs anyone else around her, given her almost limitless skillset. And it is interesting that there is not a single female character who is anything other than feisty, knowing and intelligent, or who possesses some unique useful attribute. Personally, I’m all for feisty heroines, but I am not a big fan of being preached at, even when I agree with the message.These two trek around the world to find a way to overcome the threat posed by a new form of dragon (or drake, as they are called in the book), and despite their being in communication, their stories never feel connected.The science is odd and a bit Steampunk. We witness the rapid evolution of avionics, explosives and artillery, which all feels somewhat contrived and out of place. There is no doubt that Ryan knows his stuff, but in a world where dragon’s blood can be used by an elite few to practise magic, there is a disconnect, and the author’s attempts to place a scientific rationale on the effect of blood (or product, after processing) is borderline laughable.This is a series that should have worked, but doesn’t. It has the feel of something that was drafted by committee, not so much in the prose, but in stitching a lot of ideas together without creating the magic that makes you want to believe. Lizanne strides the world as a super-powered Jane Bond, getting into scrapes that create zero tension, while poor old Clay muddles along for little or no reward.This is the second series where Ryan has finished on something of an anti-climax, but this one makes you work for it, and it simply is not worth it.

This product is mainly for advanced readers due to much of the terminology used. But good description of the fantasy setting and is a intriguing read.

I loved the first two books of the last trilogy, and then felt let down by the final one. I am really pleased that Anthony Ryan is back to form with this story.

Keeps on delivering the action and pace that keeps a reader turning pages. A really good read with enough depth and character that improves as you read..

Loved this first book in the series, the characters are great and the storyline is fantastic. Having read Anthony Ryan’s bloodsong series i hope the story does not diminish as the series goes on, as it did with bloodsong. Fingers crossed for two more equally good books.