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The Empire of Ashes by Anthony Ryan – Review & Giveaway

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The Empire of Ashes by Anthony Ryan – Review & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
For hundreds of years, the Ironship Trading Syndicate was fuelled by drake blood–and protected by the Blood-blessed, those few who could drink it and wield fearsome powers. But now the very thing that sustained the corporate world threatens to destroy it.

A drake of unimaginable power has risen, and it commands an army of both beasts and men. Rogue Blood-blessed Claydon Torcreek, Syndicate agent Lizanne Lethridge, and Ironship captain Corrick Hilemore, spread to disparate corners of the world, must rely upon the new powers and knowledge they have gained at great price to halt its forces–or face the end of all they know.

 

 

Review:

The Empire of Ashes by Anthony Ryan is the 3rd and final book in his The Draconis Memoria trilogy.  This series is an epic fantasy, with an amazing amount of details and world building that includes magic, war, destruction, blood blessed and dragons.  Though the dragons are a major part of the storyline, it is the blood blessed humans who drink the blood harvested from dead dragons that give them the magic to perform many amazing powerful feats.  The story revolves around a war, with the Dragons (Red, Blue, Green & Black) lead by the all mighty White Dragon, who are bent on killing  all humans, with the help of “spoiled” (humans mentally converted by the White to do his bidding).   

As the White Dragon and those enthralled build a powerful and dangerous army to take over the world, the story line continues with the POV of the three leading characters we met in the first book…Lizanne, Clay, Hilemore.  There is also a Pov in the eyes of Sirus, who is spoiled, and working under the White enthrallment.  This is a dark complex world created by Ryan, with the horrors of the battles, as fight they fight for survival in a war against the Dragons onslaught.  

Lizanne and Clay, who continue to be the main characters, are both blood blessed, which enables them to use the effects of the powers from drinking the blood to use magic to fight against the enemy and find a way to defeat them before it’s too late. 

I did feel early on, the complex details and the many characters throughout dragged the story a bit, especially since this was over 600 pages. The last third of the book was thrilling as we raced to the climax. 

What follows is an exciting, dangerous, intense storyline filled with non-stop action.  All of our heroes are on their own, with no contact; and as the tension grows, we fear for their lives, as well as losing hope that this is battle they cannot win. To tell too much more would be spoilers, as this is a difficult review to write, with so many details.  I will say that I loved Lizanne, as she was some tough heroine, who refused to ever give up, and I loved Clay.

Anthony Ryan does a masterful job in bringing this intense  and complex story to a satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy epic fantasies, in a sort of sci-fi dystopian world, with lots of action, then you should be reading this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

Anthony Ryan’s publisher is offering a hardcover copy of THE EMPIRE OF ASHES to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page at the top of your computer

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please LIKE us on FACEBOOK and click GET NOTIFICATIONS

4. Please FOLLOW us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Please FOLLOW us on GOODREADS for an additional entry.

6. Follow ANTHONY RYAN   on Facebook.

7. Giveaway is open to USA only

8. Giveaway runs from July 3 to 7, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan – Review & Giveaway

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The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan – Review & Giveaway

 

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The Legion of the Flame
The Draconis Memoria series – Book #2
by Anthony Ryan
Release Date: June 27th, 2017

The Legion of the FlameAmazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM / Book Depository

Description:
Empires clash and a fell power stakes its claim in the second in a new series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Raven’s Shadow Trilogy.

For centuries, the vast Ironship Trading Syndicate relied on drake blood—and the extraordinary powers it confers to those known as the Blood-blessed—to fuel and protect its empire. But now, a fearsome power has arisen—a drake so mighty that the world will tremble before it.

Rogue Blood-blessed Claydon Torcreek, Syndicate agent Lizanne Lethridge, and ironship captain Corrick Hilemore embark upon perilous quests to chase down clues that offer faint hopes of salvation. As the world burns around them, and the fires of revolution are ignited, these few are the last hope for the empire and for all of civilization.

 

 

Review:

The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan is the second book in his The Draconis Memoria series.  The Legion of Flame picks up after The Waking Fire left off.  Being an epic fantasy there is a lot of detailed information, as the story line progresses.  In this intense world, the humans and blood blessed (humans who drink the blood harvested from dead dragons), are in a fight for survival in a war against the onslaught of all dragons (blue, black, green, red and the new ultra powerful white).  It is also a world filled with magic, war, danger, destruction, ships, and dragons.

Lizanne and Clay, who are both blood blessed, continue as the main characters with POV’s  in this series.  Hilemore, the captain of one of the fleets, also has some POV;s, and Sirius, who has been captured by a white drake (dragon) now has his own POV, as he has been changed into a human-spoiled controlled by the White.   With the danger escalating, and the world very much in danger of being destroyed by the attacking Drakes;  Lizanne, Clay and Hiemore  take on various assignments to stop the enemy before it’s too late. 

Lizanne, after being successful in her last mission, will now go undercover to a city that is a prison for rough tough mean prisoners that survive in the city of undesirables.  Lizanne, who is an agent and assassin for the syndicate, is determined to find someone who has the ability to build items that could help fight the Drakes.   Clay follows a vision to also discover more about the Drakes, and someone who might be able to help them win this war.  Hilemore must push his men on the ship to fight the continued attacks by the Drakes.  Each of them faces terrible odds of survival, especially Lizanne and Clay.

What follows is an exciting, dangerous, intense storyline filled with non-stop action.  All three of our heroes are on their own, with no contact; and as the tension grows, we fear for their lives. The journey for each will take them to depths of hell.    To tell too much more is difficult, as in fantasies there are many details that need to be read to understand.  I loved Lizanne, as she was some tough heroine, who refused to ever give up.  I liked Clay too, but to me Lizanne stood out the most. 

Anthony Ryan does a masterful job in writing this complex story that intensifies the further we delve into the horrors we witness in a world that is falling apart.  As in most fantasies, this is a big book, just under 600 pages.  If you enjoy epic fantasies, in a sort of sci-fi dystopian world, with lots of action, then you should be reading this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

giveaway

Anthony Ryan’s publisher is offering a paper copy of the first book in this series, THE WAKING FIRE to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page at the top of your computer

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please LIKE us on FACEBOOK and click GET NOTIFICATIONS

4. Please FOLLOW us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Please FOLLOW us on GOODREADS for an additional entry.

6. Follow ANTHONY RYAN   on Facebook.

7. Giveaway is open to USA only

8. Giveaway runs from June 26 to 30, 2017

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The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan – Review & Giveaway

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The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan – Review & Giveaway

 

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The Waking FireAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM / The Book Depository

Description:
The Waking Fire is set in a vibrant new world where the blood of drakes—creatures similar to dragons—is valued beyond reckoning, and can be distilled into elixirs that grant fearsome powers to those who are “blood-blessed.” The novel follows an unregistered blood-blessed as he searches for an elusive variety of drake so potent, its capture would mean unrivalled riches; the second in command of a blood-burning ironclad ship; and a young woman in a lifelong contract to a trading syndicate, whose espionage mission places her on the front lines of a newly declared war. As empires clash and arcane mysteries reveal themselves, these characters are tested again and again and soon discover that the fate of the world rests on their shoulders.

The Draconis Memoria is a remarkable new epic fantasy series with steampunk flavor, full of the phenomenal worldbuilding and non-stop action that have gained Anthony Ryan a global fan base.

 

 

Review:

The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan is the first book in his The Draconis Memoria series.  This series is an epic fantasy, with an amazing world building, that includes magic, agents, war, ships, thieves and dragons.  Though the dragons are a major part of the storyline, it is the blood blessed humans who drink the blood harvested from dead dragons that give them the magic to perform many amazing powerful feats.  The story revolves around a war &  finding an unproven myth of a White Dragon that is more powerful than any of the other dragons (Black, Red, Green, Blue), and therefore, the white blood will be more powerful. 

The Waking Fire centers on the pov of three interesting and different main characters, who are sent on separate missions, which will bring them to the same resolution, finding that dragon and saving the world.

Lizanne:  she is a agent and spy for the Ironbound Protectorate.  Lizanne had been trained to be a top assassin since she was a young child, and is considered one of the best.  We see how good she is when she manages to get herself out of difficult situations.  Lizanne starts off as somewhat cold as she is efficient early on; this will change as the story evolves.  

Clay:   He is also blood blessed, but not as powerful or registered like Lizanne.  He is an adventurer and thief, who is forced to help his uncle on a mission to find out the truth of the mythical White Dragon, which Lizanne’s superior, Madame Bondersil  has assigned them on.  Clay by drinking bue blood, allows him to communicate with Lizanne mentally from far away, keeping her up on what is happening on his assignment.

Hilemore:  He is a naval officer, who was just assigned to be on a new warship.  In a short time, he will earn the respect of his ship mates, and when faced with war, will take over command.  He has little interaction with the others main characters, but we can see at the end, this may change in the next book of this series. 

With an epic fantasy type of book, there will be many characters, and The Waking Fire had quite a few memorial ones: Lizanne’s superior, who ruled those with an iron fist; Clay’s uncle and other people on their trek into dangerous and unknown territory; Tekala, a young girl, who will eventually open up Lizanne’s cold heart;  Hilemore’s ship mates, including the captured pirate queen; the missing academy  member, Ethelynne Drystone, who was presumed dead after leaving years before to look for the mythical White Dragon.   Ryan did create some wonderful and complex characters.

The entire book had a lot of action, with many battles against the attacking dragons.  Why are they all of sudden coming after the humans in full force?  Is the White Dragon real and does this have something to do with the attacks?

The Waking Fire was very well written by Ryan. I did think early on it was a slow, but as normal in the start of an epic fantasy, there is a lot of world building and character introductions.  I liked the element of blood blessed drinking Dragon blood to give them more powers, but I would have liked to see more Dragons that were good, or even talked.  I loved seeing one that communicated and helped protect Ethelynne.  I hope they utilize this more in the next book.  The Waking Fire ends with more to come, and the main characters to continue the quest to save the world. If you like fantasy, world building and a big book, I suggest you read The Waking Fire. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

giveaway

Anthony’s publisher is offering a Hardcover copy of The Waking Fire to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page (at the top of your computer).

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE Anthony Ryan on Facebook

4. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

5. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

6. Please FOLLOW us on GOODREADS for an additional entry.

7. Please follow The Reading Cafe on Tumblr

8. Giveaway open to USA only

9.. Giveaway runs from July 14 to July 18, 2016

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