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crybabybea's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Hmmm. I'm on the fence. It wasn't a terrible book by any means, but for me the pacing felt a bit choppy and off.
First of all, the prologue was amazing and gripped me more than any other prologue I've read, holy.
If you like action scenes, you will really love this book. It's pretty much entirely training/fighting scenes. I will say the fighting scenes are well-written and choreographed, being easy to follow while still being tense and exciting. The middle of the book dragged a bit as we went through training after training and they kind of all muddled together after a while. I love action scenes but I think this had a bit too many for my tastes. They do well to progress the plot, but I would have liked to see more time dedicated to characterization, especially fleshing out the side characters. I did love the action but wanted a bit more time with the characters to really connect to the story.
That being said, The Rage of Dragons is an incredibly immersive read and I was thoroughly impressed by the author's world-building. The writing itself isn't anything flashy, but Evan Winter does a great job at setting each scene and revealing lore bit by bit. There were a couple info-dumpy moments but I can forgive them because the overall experience was quite cinematic and exciting. The magic system is incredibly unique and has extreme drawbacks which makes the magic feel meaningful and awe-inspiring. Even the dragons are unique in the way they are connected to the world and magic system. Speaking of, dragons are an important part of this world but they are not a main character by any means, so don't go into this expecting to read about dragon riders or anything.
I loved the themes of vengeance and breaking the chains of oppression. Our main character, Tau, is a member of the Lesser caste of the Omehi tribe. Because of this, he is biologically destined to be less important, less powerful, and to die as fodder in the war against the native Xiddeen population. But after the death of his father, he uses his unhinged rage to break all the rules and force the old ways to acknowledge the power of a man scorned. I found it really interesting for the main character to be of a lower social caste of an imperial invading army. It was a nice change compared to other books with similar themes and added a complexity to the story that I enjoyed.
Here's the thing though, I'm a character loving girlie. I don't mind plot-based books but to really fall in love with a book I have to fall in love with its characters, whether they are likeable or not. I liked our main character Tau and his descent into pure madness fueled by rage and vengeance. He is a fine sometimes unlikeable character and I admire the author's dedication to his motives. He literally has one goal in mind and will do anything and sacrifice anyone to get there. He reminded me a lot of Rin from The Poppy War. He also had some Leeroy Jenkins moments which were frustrating and entertaining. Though I will say his progression is honestly pretty unbelievable and he seems almost impossibly invincible at times. I'm just also not a huge fan of the meritocratic messaging that you can overcome any obstacle by just training really hard and working harder than everyone else.
The other characters were lacking a lot as well. I found it hard to follow his quest for vengeance because I had no connection to the person he is seeking to avenge. As well, he gains many comrades in his quest along the way, and they kind of all blend into one person because we don't spend much time with them outside of battle. Even the main love interest I found lacking in characterization, and she often came across as just another goal on Tau's list and a plot device to push him forward. Because of this lack of depth, some of the emotionally heavy-hitting moments in the later half of the book don't hit like they should.
If you can push through the lull in the middle of the book, the ending is explosive and thrilling. It just takes a little bit to get there, and I found the emotional reveals a bit lackluster, but still fun.
I would still recommend this to fantasy lovers as I think it is overall fun and engaging. I'm interested in continuing the series though I'm disappointed I didn't get the mind-blowing experience I was expecting out of book one.
First of all, the prologue was amazing and gripped me more than any other prologue I've read, holy.
If you like action scenes, you will really love this book. It's pretty much entirely training/fighting scenes. I will say the fighting scenes are well-written and choreographed, being easy to follow while still being tense and exciting. The middle of the book dragged a bit as we went through training after training and they kind of all muddled together after a while. I love action scenes but I think this had a bit too many for my tastes. They do well to progress the plot, but I would have liked to see more time dedicated to characterization, especially fleshing out the side characters. I did love the action but wanted a bit more time with the characters to really connect to the story.
That being said, The Rage of Dragons is an incredibly immersive read and I was thoroughly impressed by the author's world-building. The writing itself isn't anything flashy, but Evan Winter does a great job at setting each scene and revealing lore bit by bit. There were a couple info-dumpy moments but I can forgive them because the overall experience was quite cinematic and exciting. The magic system is incredibly unique and has extreme drawbacks which makes the magic feel meaningful and awe-inspiring. Even the dragons are unique in the way they are connected to the world and magic system. Speaking of, dragons are an important part of this world but they are not a main character by any means, so don't go into this expecting to read about dragon riders or anything.
I loved the themes of vengeance and breaking the chains of oppression. Our main character, Tau, is a member of the Lesser caste of the Omehi tribe. Because of this, he is biologically destined to be less important, less powerful, and to die as fodder in the war against the native Xiddeen population. But after the death of his father, he uses his unhinged rage to break all the rules and force the old ways to acknowledge the power of a man scorned. I found it really interesting for the main character to be of a lower social caste of an imperial invading army. It was a nice change compared to other books with similar themes and added a complexity to the story that I enjoyed.
Here's the thing though, I'm a character loving girlie. I don't mind plot-based books but to really fall in love with a book I have to fall in love with its characters, whether they are likeable or not. I liked our main character Tau and his descent into pure madness fueled by rage and vengeance. He is a fine sometimes unlikeable character and I admire the author's dedication to his motives. He literally has one goal in mind and will do anything and sacrifice anyone to get there. He reminded me a lot of Rin from The Poppy War. He also had some Leeroy Jenkins moments which were frustrating and entertaining. Though I will say his progression is honestly pretty unbelievable and he seems almost impossibly invincible at times. I'm just also not a huge fan of the meritocratic messaging that you can overcome any obstacle by just training really hard and working harder than everyone else.
The other characters were lacking a lot as well. I found it hard to follow his quest for vengeance because I had no connection to the person he is seeking to avenge. As well, he gains many comrades in his quest along the way, and they kind of all blend into one person because we don't spend much time with them outside of battle. Even the main love interest I found lacking in characterization, and she often came across as just another goal on Tau's list and a plot device to push him forward. Because of this lack of depth, some of the emotionally heavy-hitting moments in the later half of the book don't hit like they should.
If you can push through the lull in the middle of the book, the ending is explosive and thrilling. It just takes a little bit to get there, and I found the emotional reveals a bit lackluster, but still fun.
I would still recommend this to fantasy lovers as I think it is overall fun and engaging. I'm interested in continuing the series though I'm disappointed I didn't get the mind-blowing experience I was expecting out of book one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Blood, Gore, Murder, War, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit, Body horror, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Alcohol
badbadwolf's review
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, War, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Rape, and Religious bigotry
kirstym25's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Colonisation, and Violence
alanathehangry's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Liked it.
This was...an interesting book. I think the first and last third were solid. I think there were way too many training sequences. But I enjoyed watching Tau's character development (if not slow and frustrating at times) and his relationships with his sword brothers grow. I loved how he was eventually able to alter the power dynamic. That was fascinating to see. Often in these epics, the main character will just be good because they were born for it. This is where Winter excels. Tau was never a great fighter, he had no passion for it, and no talent. But by pushing himself as far as he possibly could, going to new heights (and depths), he crafted and molded himself into it. That was probably the best part of this book.
I still think at least 100 pages could be cut for the training scenes.
This was...an interesting book. I think the first and last third were solid. I think there were way too many training sequences. But I enjoyed watching Tau's character development (if not slow and frustrating at times) and his relationships with his sword brothers grow. I loved how he was eventually able to alter the power dynamic. That was fascinating to see. Often in these epics, the main character will just be good because they were born for it. This is where Winter excels. Tau was never a great fighter, he had no passion for it, and no talent. But by pushing himself as far as he possibly could, going to new heights (and depths), he crafted and molded himself into it. That was probably the best part of this book.
I still think at least 100 pages could be cut for the training scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Sexual content, Death, Genocide, Murder, Gore, and Racism
zanderbrown's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Slavery, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
blacksphinx's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Death of parent, War, Violence, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual content and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
nerdkitten's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, War, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Genocide, Medical content, Vomit, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Deportation, Torture, Excrement, and Misogyny
lochanreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A vividly imagined warrior type fantasy about two races of people, Omehi and Hedeni, locked in a never-ending war until one of them is completely exterminated. Tau Solarin is a commoner born into the unfalteringly classist Omehi tribe and wants nothing to do with the war. That is until he witnesses his father being killed in front of his very eyes by haughty Nobles and in his effort to seek revenge, Tau is thrown into the thick of battle as he strives to become a stronger fighter. Rage of Dragons is darkly magical, beastly and unrelenting.
I thought for what was supposed to be a matriarchy, the writing did convey some typically male-dominant narratives such as when Tau refers to a woman character he meets towards the end of the book as a "child" and continues to infantalise her despite acknowledging that they are about the same age and height, as well as other bits of dialogue throughout. A high level of reverence is given to women in this fantasy but their representation didn't always hit the right notes.
I was however, pulled into the story and the ending lends itself nicely to the sequel.
I thought for what was supposed to be a matriarchy, the writing did convey some typically male-dominant narratives such as when Tau refers to a woman character he meets towards the end of the book as a "child" and continues to infantalise her despite acknowledging that they are about the same age and height, as well as other bits of dialogue throughout. A high level of reverence is given to women in this fantasy but their representation didn't always hit the right notes.
I was however, pulled into the story and the ending lends itself nicely to the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Colonisation
ehmannky's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've had this book for a year now and for some reason kept putting it off. Which was my loss because this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's just fast-paced and interesting and compelling and the characters and their motivations are so well done. It is a book about war, and one that looks at colonization and violence from caste system. If you're not in the mood for a lot of fight scenes, it's not for you. But if you're good with that it's fabulous.
If you liked R.F. Kuang's Poppy War series, you'll probably love this.
If you liked R.F. Kuang's Poppy War series, you'll probably love this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, War, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Vomit, Body horror, and Child death
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
griffinthief's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Murder, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual content, and Xenophobia