The Dragons of Deepwood Fen

October 2, 2023
With this cinematic and heartwarming adventure, Beaulieu (A Desert Torn Asunder) begins a new epic fantasy series set in the Holt, a reluctant vassal state of a vast empire and a land steeped in magic, dragons, and the legacy of an ancient war. Calling to mind Game of Thrones, Beaulieu uses six perspectives to weave a satisfying, complex web of mystery and lore. Rylan, bastard son of the elected ruler of the Holt, tames dragons by day and teams up with his own acid-spitting dragon Vedron to harry the empire by night. When he’s approached by the Red Knives, a group of militant, anti-imperial rebels living in the Deepwood Fens territory, he becomes an unwilling participant in their larger plot alongside Rhiannon, a child with unusual magical talent. Lorelei, an investigator in one the empire’s capital cities, adds an element of noir, while the politicians that stymie her investigations—Ordren, the Hissing Man, and Azariah—add some villainy to the mix and up the stakes. Though the worldbuilding is not especially inventive, Beaulieu delivers plenty of witty repartee and brings old tropes to life with new intricacies. Epic fantasy fans will feel right at home in this fun, familiar world. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary.

November 1, 2023

Lorelei Aurelius and Rylan Holbrooke have nothing in common. Lorelei is one of the church's most promising inquisitors, while Rylan is just a thief, albeit a notorious one with talent as a dragon singer. After a series of clues leads the two to the mountain city of Ancris, the pair stumble upon a collaboration between the church and the dreaded Red Knives, a discovery that brands the two as traitors to the empire. Fleeing on the back of an illicit dragon, Lorelei and Rylan seek safety within the Holt. However, where they hoped to find refuge, they instead discover someone endeavoring to awaken an ancient evil. The author of the "Song of Shattered Sands" series has again demonstrated that he can build a world with deep lore and engaging characters. Unfortunately, there's so much happening that Beaulieu's otherwise riveting story is mired in inconsistent exposition and an overly large cast of point-of-view characters. VERDICT Provided readers can ignore its flaws, the first entry in the "Book of the Holt" series is worth the attention of those seeking an epic fantasy experience. Recommended for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan.--Andy Myers

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2023
Rival factions vie for control of a colonized forest filled with magic, dragons, and long-imprisoned demigods in this epic-fantasy-series opener from the author of the Song of the Shattered Lands series (Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, 2015). Prospects of a tentative peace between the empire and the Red Knives, the rebel group that has long resisted the empire's hold on the forested Holt, are threatened before they can fully form when a surprising, secret alliance between the Church and a violent faction within the Red Knives comes to light. In the midst of the turmoil, a dragon healer with more than one secret of his own, an ambitious inquisitor for the empire, a holy man with a hidden agenda, and a young girl with a powerful, magical gift each must choose between doing what they're told and doing what they feel is right. This book will appeal to fans of sprawling epic fantasy with multiple points of view � la Robert Jordan and Guy Gavriel Kay and also to readers who can't get enough dragons.

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