Tag Archives: dragons

Sailing on The Bone Ships

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The Bone Ships
R. J. Barker
Orbit
Paper $15.99
ebook $9.99

I really liked The Bone Ships. It is a nautical fantasy set about warfare, redemption, loyalty, and honor. It’s also the first book of a trilogy, and I’ll be reading the next two books when they come out.

The Hundred Isles and the Gaunt Islands have been at war for centuries, fighting with ships made from the bones of great sea-going dragons.

The last dragon was killed over a generation ago. The bones are becoming a more and more scarce commodity. But a dragon has been spotted… Continue reading →

Relive the Vietnam War in Of Bone and Thunder

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21412311Of Bone and Thunder
Chris Evans
Simon and Schuster
mmpb $9.99, ebook $8.99

Of Bone and Thunder is a dark, graphic, gripping military fantasy, with dragons, dwarves, and a great deal of combat. But that’s not what the book is about.

It’s about Vietnam.

That’s not any big surprise to anyone who has read the cover copy. I read somewhere that a science fiction novel deals with three times periods, the one in which it is set, the one in which it was written, and the time period that it’s actually about. I’d like to modify that, with apologies to whomever said it, to a fantasy novel deals with three worlds: the one in which it’s set, the one in which it’s written, and the one in which it’s about. This novel is about what it was like to be a soldier in the Vietnam War. Continue reading →

Have a Glass of Dragon Wine

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Shatterwing_cover1Shatterwing: Dragon Wine Book 1
Donna Maree Hanson
Momentum Books
ebook regularly $5.99, as of this writing free
Amazon Amazon UK Google Play Nook ibooks Kobo

Shatterwing is the first part of what is probably a fantasy duology. I say probably, because in addition to dragons, it also contains some sections that remind me of science fiction from the 1930s. More on that later.

It seemed to me that Shatterwing is essentially two short novels that connect on the last couple of pages.

In the first half of the book, we’re introduced to Brill and Salinda.  Salinda is the former wife of an abusive nobleman.  She’s currently working in a prison vineyard where dragon wine is produced.  This involves using dragon dung and dragon urine as fertilizer.  Dragon wine, in addition to being highly intoxicating, has unusual healing properties and is highly prized.  It’s also a risky thing to produce. Continue reading →